Posts tagged writing

If He really is coming tomorrow, it’s one ‘m’ – not two.

May20
2011 1 Comment Written by Renelle George

Ok, so with all the talk of the rapture taking place tomorrow, I’d like to address a fundamental issue – spelling (yes, I dare say it will be valuable hereafter as well, for those among us who will be departing).  Come, coming, came. The end.  Never a need to double up on the ‘m’.  ONE m.  Get it?  Just one.  If He really is coming, I bet it’s one ‘m’ as well.  That’s not going to change.  So no, He’s never comming.

I know, you’re going to argue with me and give me a list of words that double up on the consonant before adding ‘ing’.  And, I’m going to tell you that you’re right (provided your list is accurate, of course).  But try doubling the ‘m’ in come before adding ‘ing’, and you’ll be wrong.  There’s a whole host of rules I usually can’t be bothered to remember – this post on 5minute English may help.  Chances are, you’ll have to use “coming” more frequently than not.  So please, pay the grammar gods homage and spell it correctly.

I trust that after my long rant about this one gracious word, you’ll spell it correctly.  If not, heaven help you!

And, speaking of heaven – to the faithful who will be departing tomorrow, I bid you farewell.  To the rest of us, keep an eye out for the new face of The Write Foot – coming soon!!!  (Yes, that’s one ‘m’ as well – not two.)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

One of… is. Not are.

Mar10
2011 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

Ladies and gentlemen, one can only be one thing – SINGULAR.  Therefore, one of cannot be followed by a plural verb.  Ok?  Good.

Of course, I wouldn’t be writing this post if some wonderful person out there didn’t give me the opportunity to :) .  I guess it may be pardonable, as the offender seemed a tad bit confused by the presence of a plural word after one of (and before the verb).  But I know you’re smarter than that, right?!  (You do follow TWF, that should say something ;) ).  On a serious note, this is as easy a mistake to make as it is to fix.  Just remember that one always is.

Examples:

  • One of my friends is attending the function later today.
  • He is one of the persons who was nominated to receive the award.
  • This is one of the reasons TWF makes me happy.

Hope this is one of the reasons TWF makes you happy too!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , , ,

…and we’re back!

Feb28
2011 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

Yes, yes – I know, I’ve been away for too long.  I’ve missed TWF so very much – life just got crazy busy the last few months.  But I simply couldn’t resist the urge to blog about this one, despite the fact that I’m in class and I should be paying attention!!

No beating around the bush on this one – when you use more, drop the “er,” “ier,” “est” etc. Please! It legit crawls my blood (yes, that was slang :D ).

Now that that’s out of the way, the more friendly version :)

When comparing items, there are a few words which stand perfectly well on their own two feet.  To get grammar-techie on you, those include superlatives – the ones we reserve for the real fancy stuff.  Examples include prettier, nicer, better – you get the point.  More and most can be savored for special occasions as well, and thankfully do not need crutches!  Generally, they are used when you can’t add “er” or “ier” to the end of the word, or when you simply choose not to (the beauty of language – you can do that!).  Examples:

  • She is the most obnoxious person I have ever met.
  • This car is more expensive than the other one.

Get it?  Peeve of the day: more better.  Trust me, anything that’s more better is worse than anything you can ever imagine.

See you next time, and I promise it won’t be as long as the last!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, General Tips - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Celebrity offenders

Oct14
2010 4 Comments Written by Renelle George

While reading CNN online earlier today, I came across the following remark from T.I.:

“I believe that I have been put here for a purpose, and I believe that I have an ability to reach people that most people can’t reach, that I can turn lives around that other people, they can’t have the same affect,” he said. “I think that God placed me here for that purpose.”

Can you spot the error?  There are several, but I’m thinking of one in particular.  Maybe someone should send him the link to TWF… Check out my August 23 post if you need help!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , ,

I’ll forgive you for saying “forgivance”… eventually.

Sep16
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Renelle George

You may have realized that Facebook is the land of all things incorrect when it comes to grammar.  I mean, do we not teach English in schools anymore?  Is it not a fundamental skill to be able to communicate effectively?  I must live in some sort of historic abyss, because it used to be a mandatory subject back in my day (and I’m not that old, I promise!).

A mere perusal of my Facebook Home page recently yielded an atrocity more severe than you can possibly imagine.  To date, it is responsible for one of the most painful grammar convulsions which I have ever endured.  An acquaintance of mine (who obviously does not share my penchant for all things written) dared post something about having forgivance for another.  Really?  Of course, I was completely taken aback, thrown for a really long loop (and still not quite sure if I’ve returned!).  Now, this disturbs me on more than a grammatical level.  Are we not taught about forgiveness as children?  Is it not one of the more common values known to provide immeasurable release from hurt, pain, vengeance, etc.?  To err in such a fashion – my ears still ring when I repeat “forgivance” – is to demonstrate not only a breakdown in the fundamentals of grammar, but a disintegration in the rubric that forms our society as well.  Highly disturbing…

Loyal readers of The Write Foot, “forgivance” is not a word.  I’ll give the individual the benefit of the doubt – maybe (s)he really meant to say something else.  What do you think?

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , ,

Effecting change, affecting lives – TWF!

Aug23
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Renelle George

Small plug for The Write Foot :)

Affect vs. effect- not rocket science.  Let’s start with effect.  Effect is one of those pretty cool words that can be used as both a noun and a verb, hooray!  (Somehow I don’t get the sense that anyone out there is celebrating this uniquely fascinating characteristic with me, but it’s ok – I still love y’all :) )  When used as a verb, effect means “to cause”.  Therefore, an act or a thing effects change.  When used as a noun, it’s more like “the result of something else”.  So, one thing has an effect on another – like certain foods have a negative effect on your digestive system when you consume them… (you know what I mean!)

The good news is that affect can never – say it with me, NEVER - be used as a noun!  It’s always a verb meaning “to impact” or “to influence”.  I really like to think of it as “to have an effect on”, but I can see how that can be confusing.  If your brain works like mine does (heaven help you!) and you can remember that definition, then power to you!  But, I digress.  In case you forgot what I said before the rambling, affect is always a verb.  Always.  Forgetting this can affect your ability to distinguish between the two.

Hopefully helpful memory aid (gimme a break, it’s the best I can come up with right now :D )

  • A always affects B (see the alliteration there?  A.. a… a… – one thing always affects another)
  • When A affects B, A is said to have an effect on B.
  • To cause anything (read: enything) to happen, one must effect change.

They say that 9 times out of 10 when you need a noun, you’re looking for effect, and when you need a verb, it’s affect.  Not too sure about that one, but I do know that you shouldn’t let your inability to distinguish between affect and effect negatively affect (or have a negative effect on) your reputation.  Check?

See you next time!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , , , , ,

“Irregardless” really irks me…

Aug16
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Renelle George

Just thought I’d put that out there from the get go.  Now, the prefix ir means not.  Therefore, irrational = not rational, which is what I become when I see “irregardless” or similarly egregious grammatical faux pas.  Irrelevant = not relevant, and so on.

Over to the suffix, less.  Less means, without.  So, regardless = without regard.  Add ir to the mix and you’ve created a double negative – contrary to what the math wizards will tell you, two negatives make a really big (bad) negative!!!  Seriously though, think about it – not without regard would mean with regard…  That’s not really what you’re trying to say, is it?  (If it is, just say that – don’t think that substitution with “irregardless” can make the cut.  It can’t.)

Regardless of how much you like to say “irregardless,” it’s wrong.  Cease and desist, please and thank you very much!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Uh-vv mice and men… but not quite :)

Jul09
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

I’m sitting here minding my own business and I had a random (or not so random) thought re: off vs of that I thought I’d share with you wonderful folks… Off and of are pronounced reeeealllly differently – if you missed the differences in their meaning, I guarantee that you’ll find no trouble spotting the differences in the way the words are enunciated (btw, you can’t take me to court for that guarantee – it’s one of those non-legal ones :) ).

So… of is pronounced “uh-vv” while its counterpart off is closer to “aw-ff” – there’s that hard (?) ‘f’ sound you make when you say the word fight.  (I promise I’m not violent, I don’t bite, but that was the first – and only – word that came to my head… call it what you will, I’m happy in my own mental state!)

Merriam Webster did a fabulous job of recording this one – have a listen:

Hear it?  (Feel free to nod in agreement even if you don’t.  Better yet, play it non-stop all day… it’ll grow on you, promise – you got it, another one of those non-legal ones.)  And remember, the more you read, the less you’ll make some of these mistakes.  Stay tuned for a post on pronunciation, coming soon!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Let’s converse about “conversate,” shall we?

Jun13
2010 14 Comments Written by Renelle George

It’s very simple.  We have a conversation; we converse.  We cannot conversate.  Absolutely not.  I know we live in a society where hybrids are the in thing, but you really cannot combine converse and conversation to create your own verb.  It just can’t happen.

I heard a song on the radio earlier today where the artist was “conversating” with someone else.  Uhm… you mean to tell me that nobody – not a single person – from composer to producer could tell him that conversate isn’t a word?  You have got to be kidding…

Contrary to what you may think, saying “conversate” doesn’t make you sound intelligent; you appear quite the opposite (cough cough).  Use talk, discuss, speak, dialogue - anything else.  Whatever you do, don’t try to help the word converse by adding “ate” to its rear end – it is not in the least bit necessary!  Converse is a bellyful all on its own; it doesn’t need to eat anything else, remember that :)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , , , , ,

It’s very different from “different than…”

Jun03
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

It’s quite simple, really.  Different is followed by from, not than.  One person or thing differs from another and is therefore different from its counterpart.  Do you say, “This shoe differs than that one?”   Well for the love of Pete, don’t say “than” when you add “-ent!”  And then, there are the dual violators who write “different then” (see my post on the use of than vs. then).  Heaven help us.

I would share one of my traditional mnemonic devices to help you remember that different should be followed by “from” instead of “than,” but the problem appears to have less to do with memory than the fact that people just don’t know they’re making a (big) boo-boo when they say “different than.”  Willing to be corrected if I’m wrong though…

Make my day by not making this mistake, will you?  I know it’s a toughie, but try, just for me :)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , ,
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