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Why It’s Not St. Patty’s Day

Last year, on this day, I received a lecture from a friend of Irish heritage. I made the mistake of wishing him a “Happy St. Patty’s Day.” I know I can be a stickler for certain things related to spelling and grammar — and I fully admit to being in the wrong on this one. He explained: The holiday is St. Patrick’s Day, named after Saint Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland. Patrick, being a saint, of course, is a boy’s name. It’s the Americanized version of the Irish name “Padraig.” (I feel like I should put the period outside the quotation marks, as a tribute U.K. punctuation conventions, followed in Ireland.) If... [Read More...]

Using Numbers in Writing

As with so many other grammar and style rules and conventions, the way we write numbers has changed as blogging has grown. More and more writers now use numerals in all instances rather than spelling out numbers below 10. It makes sense; numbers are easy to read and catch your eye on the computer screen. But according to both the AP style guide and the Chicago Manual of Style — it’s wrong. I confess to straying from this rule recently, until one client steered me back in the right direction. I won’t break this hard-and-fast rule again! (Unless, of course, a particular editor dictates it; that falls under the rule, “The client... [Read More...]

Obliterating “And,” “Also,” and “Additionally”

The rule that you can’t begin a sentence with the word “And” was drummed into my head by elementary school teachers and my mother from the time I could write. “Everyone” knew that was wrong, wrong, wrong. For years, I wouldn’t begin a sentence with “And,” took the word out of every article I edited, and figured writers who used “And” just didn’t know any better. Then, an editor or workshop leader (probably from my fiction days, although I don’t recall) said it was okay to sometimes begin a sentence with “And.” It’s a rule, like split infinitives, that it’s okay to break. I went “And-wild.”... [Read More...]

Why Yoda Was Right

Part 2 of “Words Our Writing Can Do Without” My business development coach (who is neither green nor hundreds of years old, but is at least as wise as the Star Wars character) likes to say, “There is no try.” Here’s her rationale: Too many times, when people fall short of achieving their goals, they excuse themselves with the words, “Well, I tried.” Unfortunately, in most cases, that really isn’t good enough. If I miss deadlines and tell my editors, “Well, I tried to make the deadline, I really did,”… first of all, I’m using a comma splice. (We’ll get to that later.) More importantly, it’s... [Read More...]

When “Might” IS Right

I recently faced a situation where I had to choose between using “might” or “may” in a sentence. Usually, I intuitively pick the right word (as I do with so much of my writing), so I never considered the rules behind when to use “might” and when to use “may.” It turns out, there’s a very simple rule, which I found with just a glimpse through the recently-reviewed Grammar Done Right by Karen L. Reddick. (Thanks Karen, and thanks for stopping by the blog, as well.) May = Maybe, Probably Use “may” to indicate the probability of something occurring. Since I’m flying early Saturday morning, I may have the whole row... [Read More...]

Words Our Writing Can Do Without, Part 1

When a new writer comes to me for advice, I typically recommend they begin their career by stocking their bookshelf with several must-read titles. Some cover the craft of writing, and others, the business. Of course, I always recommend they visit FWJ, too, including, but not limited to, the job listings and Bob Younce’s business tips. Since this is a grammar and (to some extent) style column, what titles top my list of writing books for style, grammar and craft? Strunk & White’s Elements of Style On Writing Well – William Zinsser The Ten Percent Solution – Ken Rand What is the Ten Percent Solution? You’ve... [Read More...]

Much Ado Over “To-Do”

My friend and fellow writer, Rebecca Laffar-Smith came to me this morning with a sticky grammar and usage question. I knew the answer intuitively — that I would write the words to-do list with a hyphen. So I sipped my morning coffee and began the quest for another authority who agreed. In a Google search, first page results were split nearly 50/50 between to-do and to do. Often when it comes to grammar and usage questions, Google search results will give insight into the most commonly accepted (if not always correct) usage. But it seems cyberspace can’t agree on whether or not to-do requires a hyphen. First-page results even turned... [Read More...]

Grammar Book Review: Grammar Done Right

Based on the cover of Grammar Done Right, which shows the words Grammar Done “Good” and “Well,” with those adjectives crossed out, I expected a humorous, lighthearted look at grammar. Compared to other titles written in the same style, however, Grammar Done Right falls short in the humor department. If you’re expecting “wit and wisdom,” you’ll find plenty of wisdom, but the book doesn’t exactly keep you up until all hours perusing its laugh-out-loud anecdotes. It is, however, a comprehensive yet tiny desk reference guide to grammar. On her website, author Karen L. Reddick notes: “No lecturing or using silly examples... [Read More...]

I Love You, Literally

My head will literally explode if I hear one more person use the adverb “literally” incorrectly. It will be quite the mess to clean up. Fortunately, though, my brains will blend right in with the other off-white mushy substances (yogurt, oatmeal, aged banana) my toddler regularly spills on the floor. The tiles could probably use a bit of gray mixed in with the beige foods. I’ll simply clean it up with my Supermop, scrubbing up bits of brain as if heads explode everyday. And the way people use that phrase, you’d think they do! Literally means “in actuality.” Correct usage: “I literally had 50 content articles to write last week.”... [Read More...]

A Grammatically Correct Presidents’ Day Ad? That Was Easy!

I was impressed by an ad from Staples recently. The email campaign offered a “sneak peek” at Presidents’ Day deals. Way to go, Staples. I was so impressed by the company’s use of “s’” and the correct spelling of “peek” that I will ignore the random and inconsistent use of capital letters in the words “Weekly Ad” and “Dollar days”. First, the Presidents and Their Day In George Washington’s final year as President, his birthday – February 22 – was declared a holiday. In 1832, Americans began celebrating the day as a National holiday, presumably with “Amazing Close-out Deals on Horses and Buggies!! Every Equine Must... [Read More...]

3 Simple Rules for Writing Effective Metaphors

Web writers whose job is to turn out 50 – 100 articles in a few days often forget to have fun with the nuances of language. I’m not condemning those who write for those clients or in that style. Keyword writing is simply another form of the craft. Web writing is straightforward; similes and metaphors don’t make for good SEO. If you’re a full time freelance writer for Web or print it may have been some time since you’ve heard the words simile and metaphor. On the other hand, good copywriters employ this device all the time. When I had a homework assignment for the business success course I’m taking I was excited for the... [Read More...]

What Fun Are Discreet Illusions?

Discreet Illusions. This title reminds me of a song from an eighties band. I think it’s calling to mind Queensryche’s Silent Lucidity, or maybe something by Sting. I’m having flashbacks to the awful poetry I wrote as a teenager. But my cryptic title has a purpose (and I don’t mean a porpoise, which is a sea creature.) The title: 1). Caught your attention, if only because you began thinking, “What the heck is she talking about?” 2). Uses two out of four commonly confused words we’ll discuss today. Discreet v. Discrete If you’ve been shopping for Valentine’s Day, you may have noticed a lot of lingerie on the Web advertised with... [Read More...]

Are Companies Singular or Plural?

I admit, I can be lax – or at least flexible – about certain grammatical “rules” that are really more stylistic conventions. I’m not a grammar purist by any means. I think that works well both for this column and in my other writing and editing. I write the way most people speak, and I never sacrifice clarity for the sake of grammar rules. I’m fairly forgiving of mistakes, which keeps me from going insane when I’m copyediting the work of non-writers. But I do have a few pet peeves that drive me crazy. People (who are not British or Canadian) who write company names as plural cause me to toss my red pen across the room. In fact, as... [Read More...]

Martial Arts, Chinese Food…and Computer Repair?

I received a flyer in the mail the other day that was just too funny, on so many levels, not to share. The top of the flyer said, “Jackie Chan’s Chinese Restaurant.” Fair enough, although I tend to stay away from restaurants that use celebrity names but are not actually affiliated with said celebrities. Mickey Mantle’s restaurant? Let’s go! Wolfgang Puck’s? I’m in. Something tells me Jackie Chan of movie and martial arts fame has little to do with this place. Because I’m pretty sure Jackie Chan has proofreaders for his marketing materials. Stay with me and you’ll see what I mean. The flyer continued to advertise “Jackie Chans’s... [Read More...]

Things That Make Us [Sic]: A Grammar Book Review

Have you ever read a book whose ideas resonated so strongly, you felt compelled to call up everyone you know and tell them about it? You want to throw up your fist and shout, “Yes! Yes! That’s exactly how it is!” I often feel this way about novels (Atlas Shrugged is my latest infatuation), and sometimes about business and marketing books. (Seth Godin’s Purple Cow was the last one I read that had that effect.) As much of a logophile as I am, rarely does a grammar book hit me in such a way. Until I read Things That Make Us [Sic] by Martha Brockenbrough, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. Not only does Brockenbrough... [Read More...]