This is my favorite essay on the eccentricities of the English language. The author is Richard Lederer, who wrote Anguished English, Crazy English, Get Thee to a Punnery and other delightful books about language. Enjoy. Let’s face it. English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger, neither apple […]
The (Lost) Art of Proofreading
I am continually amazed at the number of typos and other written errors I find. How could such mistakes happen? It’s easy because we read: The outside shapes of words, not the individual letters Words in phrases, not just individual words Words in context, not isolated from the sentence’s meaning. Specifically, aoccdrnig to rscheearch at […]
One Word? Two Words?
I often see a single word being used when it should be two words. Here are some examples. Logon and log on “Logon” is a noun, describing the procedure used to get access to an operating system. “Logon” can also be used as an adjective, as in the “logon procedure.” “Log on” is a verb. […]
Yours, Mind and Ours: Using Pronouns Correctly
Using pronouns correctly is important if your material is to be clear and correct. Unfortunately, all too often pronouns do not refer to the correct noun, which can confuse readers and obscure your meaning. For your message to be clear, your pronouns—words like “it,” “they” and “everyone” —need to refer specifically to a given noun. […]
Is Your Modifier Misplaced?
This is an updated version of a post that appeared in October 2011. What’s wrong here? “Born at the age of 48, the baby was a great joy to the mother.” It’s simple. Unless we have a medical “miracle” here, the mother, not the baby, was 48. In this sentence, the phrase “born at the […]
Proofreaders Beware!
View image | gettyimages.com <Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs […]
