Grammar Gremlins
Last week I was sifting through the bargain section at Barnes & Noble and ran across a book entitled Grammar Gremlins by Don Ferguson. I decided to purchase it because, even at a glance, I realized that its format was concise, charming, and easy to read. Of course, the fact that it was less than $10 sealed the deal.
Don Ferguson's book grew out of his newspaper column by the same title. The author has collected grammatical "mischief-makers" that have crossed his path. His book discusses these errors and gives sound advice for how to avoid them in writing and speech. I read Grammar Gremlins in less than an hour, but I know that I'll use it as a quick reference when I'm perplexed by a particular gremlin.
I've listed below some of the awkward and incorrect usages that Ferguson highlighted. The ones I've chosen are the ones that drive me the battiest (or that I have the most trouble with). I hope that you enjoy them. If you want a cheap, fun grammar guide, I'd recommend Grammar Gremlins.
1. It's-Its (p. 3) "With the apostrophe, the term means it is or it has. Without the apostrophe, its is the possessive form of it, as in 'The cat ate its food.'" (This is definitely one of my pet peeves because it's a no-brainer. It's ONLY stands for it is or it has).
2. "The Johnsons live here" (p. 5) (Plural, NOT possessive, so NO apostrophe).
3. Periods and commas ALWAYS go INSIDE quotation marks (p. 7). Period. End of discussion!
4. Don't use British spellings for traveled and canceled. Use only one l. "Judgment spelled with an e inserted in the middle--judgement--falls into this category also. And theater and center should not be spelled theatre and centre unless you have a special reason for doing so. These spellings are mainly British" (p. 25).
5. "It's saving, not savings, in daylight-saving time" (p. 34).
6. "There're five cars in the show" (p. 94) There's stands for there is, not there are. "It's lazy speech to say there's when you should be using there are."
7. A lot is two words (p. 107).
8. "Prostrate and prostate have different meanings" (p. 196).
9. "The ending of the word asterisk is not pronounced rik" (p. 200). Okay, this one drives me to drink!
10. "A thought or an opinion is an idea, not an ideal. An ideal is a standard of excellence or a model to follow" (p. 210).
Last week I was sifting through the bargain section at Barnes & Noble and ran across a book entitled Grammar Gremlins by Don Ferguson. I decided to purchase it because, even at a glance, I realized that its format was concise, charming, and easy to read. Of course, the fact that it was less than $10 sealed the deal.
Don Ferguson's book grew out of his newspaper column by the same title. The author has collected grammatical "mischief-makers" that have crossed his path. His book discusses these errors and gives sound advice for how to avoid them in writing and speech. I read Grammar Gremlins in less than an hour, but I know that I'll use it as a quick reference when I'm perplexed by a particular gremlin.
I've listed below some of the awkward and incorrect usages that Ferguson highlighted. The ones I've chosen are the ones that drive me the battiest (or that I have the most trouble with). I hope that you enjoy them. If you want a cheap, fun grammar guide, I'd recommend Grammar Gremlins.
1. It's-Its (p. 3) "With the apostrophe, the term means it is or it has. Without the apostrophe, its is the possessive form of it, as in 'The cat ate its food.'" (This is definitely one of my pet peeves because it's a no-brainer. It's ONLY stands for it is or it has).
2. "The Johnsons live here" (p. 5) (Plural, NOT possessive, so NO apostrophe).
3. Periods and commas ALWAYS go INSIDE quotation marks (p. 7). Period. End of discussion!
4. Don't use British spellings for traveled and canceled. Use only one l. "Judgment spelled with an e inserted in the middle--judgement--falls into this category also. And theater and center should not be spelled theatre and centre unless you have a special reason for doing so. These spellings are mainly British" (p. 25).
5. "It's saving, not savings, in daylight-saving time" (p. 34).
6. "There're five cars in the show" (p. 94) There's stands for there is, not there are. "It's lazy speech to say there's when you should be using there are."
7. A lot is two words (p. 107).
8. "Prostrate and prostate have different meanings" (p. 196).
9. "The ending of the word asterisk is not pronounced rik" (p. 200). Okay, this one drives me to drink!
10. "A thought or an opinion is an idea, not an ideal. An ideal is a standard of excellence or a model to follow" (p. 210).
posted by Sonya at
6:52 AM
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