Category: Writing & Grammar

by Jennie Ruby

No "correct" answers came in from my last punctuation challenge. But one answer explained why, and another answer revealed a strange pattern I've been noticing lately in training voiceovers.

The answer that explained why I received no correct answers came from Krista Allen. Faced with these compound sentences–sentences that contain two entire sentences within them–she rewrote every one of them as two sentences. And, I have to say, she was correct to do so. Training writing should be concise, clear and written at about the 4th through 8th grade level. These compound sentences came up to almost 10th grade level. By breaking up the compound sentences, Krista brought them into the recommended range. Together, they now clock in at the 5.5 grade level:

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions. What's more, you can also use the shared folders with external clients through a shared link.
2. Right-click the folder. When you see the shortcut menu, choose Create Shortcut.
3. Using the Map Network Drive feature eases desktop access to a networked drive. It enables end users to type and click through much shorter path names.
4. On the General tab, click Settings in the dialog box. Next, access the Advanced group and click Delete Cookies.

Of course, by rewriting the sentences, Ms. Allen side-stepped the comma issue. I was looking for what people would do with the commas at the spots where two complete sentences were joined. I offered, in my intro to the challenge, the Gregg Reference Manual's recommendation. That well-respected grammar guide kept the comma before the word and. That comma is, after all, marking the clear boundary between the two sentences.

Here is how Gregg would have us punctuate sentence 1:

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions, and what is more, you can use the shared folders with external clients through a sealed link.

And here is how our respondent David Zimmerle punctuated it:

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions and, what is more, you can use the shared folders with external clients through a sealed link.

I was amazed at David's insight into this puzzling pattern that I hear in voiceovers. Trainers giving voice instruction regularly pause after the word and, not before. By the written rules and logic of punctuation, that is just wrong. But from a training standpoint, it does everything right. It immediately signals to the listener that another thought is coming. It then provides a pause during which the listener can prepare for the next instruction. And by providing a pause before the next instruction, the speaker calls attention to it.

Listen to some voiceovers this week–whether on YouTube or in your own work–and let me know if you hear what David and I hear. He has gone beyond the rules and is exercising what I call "literary punctuation." Rather than punctuating by the structure of the sentence (the rule states that we should separate the two parts of a compound sentence with a comma followed by a conjunction: , and), his rewritten examples reflect the cadence of training speech:

1. Right-click the folder and, when you see the shortcut menu, choose Create Shortcut.
2. You can ease desktop access to a networked drive by using the Map Network Drive feature and, thus, enable end users to type and click through much shorter path names.
3. In the dialog box on the General tab, click Settings, and then access the Advanced group, and click Delete Cookies.

Notice in the third example above, the comma after Settings is in the grammatically mandated spot. But it also marks a logical break in instructions, giving the learner time to click Settings before announcing the next instruction.

One more note: in the first example, the phrase introducing the second sentence in the compound ends up marked as parenthetical, with a comma on each side, when it is not. Again, however, the part about when you see the shortcut menu, in the spoken cadence of training, would typically have pauses before and after.

So should we go with technically correct, structural punctuation? Or should we just punctuate by feel? I think that skillful punctuation, as in any field that is part logic and part art, demands that we know the rules first before breaking them.

Challenge

Lower the grade level of each of these sentences.

1. It is incumbent upon the office holder to ensure that the documentation is filled out to a thorough and complete extent and that the printed names are clearly and legibly readable.
2. The sales representative must ensure that the introductions between the client and the technical staff are accomplished in a polite and courteous manner.
3. Confidentiality in regard to the final pricing decision points must be maintained by the financial services representative.

As always, your answers come straight to me.

***

Correction:

Two weeks ago, I misspelled the name of the vireo bird, even though I am a birdwatcher! Chris Niestepski sent in this fun correction notice. Thanks Chris. –Jennie

"I'm nobody's vereo!" rattled the vireo, scathingly.

***

by Jennie Ruby

Are you guilty of overusing commas? If so, you're not alone. Consider the following sentence:

Fill in all the fields in the form, and, then, click the submit button to send it in.

The Gregg Reference Manual suggests that although you may feel like pausing before and after the word and, three commas are too many. It suggests omitting the one afterand. Thus we keep the comma before and, which is separating two independent clauses. We also keep the comma after then, which separates an introductory transition word from the rest of the sentence.

Too many grammar words in one sentence? Barge ahead and try punctuating these sentences. They need comma help.

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions and what is more you can use the shared folders with external clients through a sealed link.
2. Right-click the folder and when you see the shortcut menu choose Create Shortcut.
3. You can ease desktop access to a networked drive by using the Map Network Drive feature and thus enable end users to type and click through much shorter path names.
4. In the dialog box on the General tab click Settings and then access the Advanced group and click Delete Cookies.

Answers to Last week's Challenge

This week's answers are brought to you by Mark Rudden:

1. Diners may choose from steak, lobster, chicken, and tofu. [removed the colon after from]
2. The bundle includes a wireless router, cabling, backup power box, and installation. [removed the colon after includes]
3. Our bird-watching trip was a success; we saw woodpeckers, finches, vereos, and juncos. [removed the colon after saw]
4. The function displays the following: search results, formatting inconsistencies, and suggested corrections.[correct as is]
5. In this lesson, you will learn to apply a cover page, add a contents page, and set up custom page numbering. [I would put a coma after lesson, but I'm not sure if it's technically required. It just sounds better to my reading ear.]
6. New songs include Coins for the Canopy, Ice Room Graffiti, and The Figurine. [removed the colon after include]

Alternative answers are brought to you by David Zimmerle. Other respondents with all answers correct were Carol Ansorge, Howard Gold, Jay Herman, Carole Stull, and Vera Sytch.

1. Diners may choose from the following entrees: steak, lobster, chicken, and tofu.
2. The bundle includes everything you need for setup: a wireless router, cabling, backup power box, and installation.
3. Our bird-watching trip was a success; we saw such a variety: woodpeckers, finches, vereos, and juncos.
4. The function displays the following commands: search results, formatting inconsistencies, and suggested corrections.
5. In this lesson you will learn to apply a cover page, add a contents page, and set up custom page numbering.
6. New songs include the following tracks: "Coins for the Canopy", "Ice Room Graffiti", and "The Figurine".

Carol Ansorge also asked whether it is really okay to introduce a bullet list with no colon. The answer is yes. I edited scientific journals for years, and that style was the preferred style. But most people do prefer to see the colon. Therefore, the usual practice is to make sure to complete the introductory sentence and use a colon.

by Jennie Ruby 

A very common error I see at all levels of writing is failure to use a complete sentence before a colon. I see this most often in text after words such as including, are and such as, in sentences like this:

*Our new monitoring centers have many advanced features, including: multiple server backups, high-speed fiber-optic cabling, and 48-hour backup power systems. [no punctuation needed after including]

The other main place I see this error is in the introduction to a bulleted or numbered list. The introduction does look better with the colon, but it has to be a complete sentence. Here is an example of this error:

*Our main objectives are: [no colon needed, or more words needed to complete the introductory sentence]

• Meet or beat the deadline
• Come in under budget
• Exceed the stated quality standards

Here are two ways to correct this error:

Our main objectives are as follows:

We seek to meet these objectives:

 Challenge: Correct these sentences. Be careful! Some are correct as they are.

1. Diners may choose from: steak, lobster, chicken, and tofu.
2. The bundle includes: a wireless router, cabling, backup power box, and installation.
3. Our bird-watching trip was a success; we saw: woodpeckers, finches, vereos, and juncos.
4. The function displays the following: search results, formatting inconsistencies, and suggested corrections.
5. In this lesson you will learn to apply a cover page, add a contents page, and set up custom page numbering.
6. New songs include: Coins for the Canopy, Ice Room Graffiti, and The Figurine.

When ready, send your answers right to me.

***

Answers to my last challenge are brought to you by Vera Sytch, who also voiced this opinion for many of us: "Glad I'm not in the field of economics!" I am happy to report that everyone who submitted answers won this week: all punctuation of these compound sentences was done correctly. Many of you injected transition words or changed transition words in an attempt to make this writing clearer. All of them were an improvement.

1. Perfect markets are not at all proxies for real markets; they suppose an institutional form opposed to the idea of a market.
2. Preference orderings and endowments are a good abstraction of consumers' production sets; hence, and they give an idea of the level of technology use within a firm.
3. There is no relation, let alone identity, between individual and collective behavior; this has been philosophically acknowledged since ancient times.
4. The methodological implications of differing definitions of economic processes are quite drastic; however, long-term investment cannot be determined in an acceptably meaningful manner because the system is subjected neither to the rules of competition nor to the optimizing behavior of cooperative arrangements.
5. The moment a macro-system is broken up into subsectors it no longer holds together; nor can itcannot be built from the bottom up either.

by Jennie Ruby 

Putting two sentences together to form one larger sentence is a common way to express more complex thoughts. But I see even academic writers with MAs or PhDs get the punctuation wrong. Here's how it works. You put two complete sentences together.

Nothing is more central to neoclassical microeconomics than the concept of a market.

+

Textbooks leave its meaning up in the air.

=

The asterisk indicates where the two original sentences meet. The three most common ways to correctly negotiate this meeting spot are as follows:

Add a comma plus a conjunction (but, or, yet, for, and, nor, so)

Add a semicolon alone

Add a semicolon plus a transition word (however, therefore, hence, etc.) followed by a comma

Although there are some circumstances where a colon or a dash can work well, these three are the most frequent correct methods. Failure to use sufficient punctuation between two sentences combined into one creates an error called a "run-on sentence."

Challenge: Correct these run-on sentences from the technical field of economics using the three methods described above. Please send your answers to me when ready.

1. Perfect markets are not at all proxies for real markets, they suppose an institutional form opposed to the idea of a market.
2. Preference orderings and endowments are a good abstraction of consumers production sets and they give an idea of the level of technology use within a firm.
3. There is no relation, let alone identity, between individual and collective behavior, this has been philosophically acknowledged since ancient times.
4. The methodological implications of differing definitions of economic processes are quite drastic, long-term investment cannot be determined in an acceptably meaningful manner because the system is subjected neither to the rules of competition nor to the optimizing behavior of cooperative arrangments.
5. The moment a macro-system is broken up into subsectors it no longer holds together it cannot be built from the bottom up either.

Last Week Answers

The answers this week are brought to you by Phil Eschtruth Harrison.

1. If you need to file a claim (even during nonbusiness hours, when we are not available), submit the form by fax or online. [Removed comma after "available".]
2. Please verify your address (our database needs to be updated). [Moved comma outside closing parenthesis.] Or, another option would be to make it a separate sentence like this: Please verify your address. (Our database needs to be updated.)
3. It is extremely important that all of your membership data is verified before the end of the month (when we finalize our billing). [Removed extra period after word "billing".]
4. Use our paperless option (it's easy, we swear!), and we'll give you a credit to use in our online store.[Removed comma before the parentheses.]
5. Choose the Internet speed that's perfect for your needs. (We offer four different speed and price options.) [Added a period after "needs" to make it two separate sentences.]
6. Our network is 99.9% reliable (even during extreme weather events). [Moved period outside the closing parenthesis.]

By far the hardest item was number 4, with 25 percent of respondents getting something wrong–usually removing the comma after the parenthesis. This sentence is actually two complete independent clauses, so a comma is needed, along with the word and, to separate them. Although extremely short sentences can be combined with a conjunction alone, the parenthetical element adds enough complexity that I think the comma is required. One respondent removed the exclamation point, but that is not required.

by Jennie Ruby 

I routinely get questions on this mechanical detail in my grammar and editing classes: does a period or comma go inside or outside of the closing parenthesis? And the answer is it depends. The way I think of it is that if the previous sentence was over before you inserted the parenthetical part, and you have a complete sentence inside the parentheses, then the period goes on the inside:

We offer classes on writing and grammar. (We also offer classes on training design, but that is a different topic.)

If the sentence was not over, and the parenthetical element is actually inside the end of your main sentence, then the period goes on the outside. That is true regardless of whether the words inside the parentheses form a complete sentence or not:

All fifteen participants took three classes last week (InDesign, Photoshop, and Captivate).

All of the participants completed the final exercise on Friday (the snowstorm had no detrimental effect on their learning).

And what about commas? Never put a comma before a parenthesis. If your main sentence needs a comma, place it after the parenthetical element:

We offered two classes last week (Proofreading for Nonproofreaders and Essentials of Adobe Captivate), but we had only 18 students registered.

Here is this week's challenge: Add parentheses, periods, and/or commas as necessary. When ready, you can send your answers directly to me.

1. If you need to file a claim (even during nonbusiness hours, when we are not available,), submit the form by fax or online.
2. Please verify your address (our database needs to be updated.)
3. It is extremely important that all of your membership data is verified before the end of the month (when we finalize our billing.).
4. Use our paperless option, (it's easy, we swear!), and we'll give you a credit to use in our online store.
5. Choose the Internet speed that's perfect for your needs (We offer four different speed and price options.)
6. Our network is 99.9% reliable (even during extreme weather events.) 

by Jennie Ruby  

Here's another challenge on confusing words and usage. Take a stab at the correct answers and send them to me. 

1. I am one of the required signatories, aren't I/ain't I/am I not?
2. I thought it was an incredible/incredulous coincidence that my dentist was at the movie theater and saw me buy the popcorn.
3. She took the vitamin D as a preventative/preventive measure.
4. After reading the research, however, she decided to take a different tack/tact.
5. I was less worried about it then/than she was.
6. I use/used to take a lot more vitamin C.
7. He wondered whether/whether or not she would get to the ticket window before the show sold out.
8. He racked/wracked his brain to try to figure out how to get in without his ticket, which he left/had left at home.
9. He was reticent/reluctant to drive all the way home to get it.
10. She was reticent/reluctant about why she was so late.

Here are your results from our last challenge.

First, extra points go
to Carla Craddock and to Tara Allen for knowing that the ugly duckling
grows up to be a swan. And thanks, Tara, for the memory of Danny Kaye
singing "A swan?…Go on!" And no one got 100% because I was a stickler
about wanting an explanation about symposia and symposium. Technically,
though, everyone got that one right-as you will see below.

Although symposiums/symposia is at the top of the list, it is not because anyone got it wrong. In fact, both spellings are equally valid. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
lists both spellings as equal variants, which means that "either one
may be used according to personal inclination." That does not mean we
should all spell it one way in one sentence and the other way in the
next. In professional publishing, typically the publisher's in-house
style guide indicates a preference for the sake of consistency.
Sometimes the context may suggest which is more appropriate. In the
sentence in the challenge, where an academic setting is evident, the
Latinate spelling does seem arguably more appropriate. And in fact most
respondents answered symposia.

The history (sorry) of the use of a or an before the word historic is checkered. But the upshot is that today's consensus is a historic, a historical, and a historian are correct, according to The Chicago Manual of Style, Theodore Bernstein's The Careful Writer, The Associated Press Stylebook, and the Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. According to Bryan Garner writing in the latter, at some point in the past some argued that the h
is weak because the emphasis is on the second syllable in these words.
However, the idea currently is that you do pronounce the h, even though the syllable is not accented, so the use of a is correct, in both American and British English.

Baited: like a fishhook or a mousetrap.

Bated: restrained.

Into is the preposition for move something from one place into another. In and to
may find themselves next to each other through some coincidence in a
sentence, in which case the two words remain separate. Here are some
ways that can happen. First, the word in might occur before an infinitive form of a verb. So you might have something like this:

He went in to go to sleep. (The word in is acting as an adverb specifying where or in what direction he went. The word to is part of the infinitive verb form to sleep. The infinitive of a verb is the "to verb" form of the verb. Some examples are to go, to dream, to sleep, to be.)

Another coincidence might occur when the word in is acting as part of a phrasal verb. A phrasal verb is a verb whose meaning relies on a small, related word. An example is throw out (the word out changes the meaning of throw from "propel through the air" to "place in the trash," as in "I don't need these papers so I will throw them out." In fact, you will find the phrasal verb in the dictionary with its "particle" attached: I found throw out in the dictionary as a separate entry from throw.

He is plugged in to all the new social networks. (Plugged in is a phrasal verb, meaning something like "involved in." The word in is part of the verb, and, separately, to is the preposition)

The electric train was plugged into the outlet. (Plugged is not used as a phrasal verb here, so into is the preposition, not part of the verb. Compare with these sentences: Place your wet towel into the drier. The towel was placed into the drier. Stuff your pajamas into the duffle bag. The pajamas were stuffed into the duffle bag. Plug your power cord into the outlet. The cord was plugged into the outlet.)

My radio is tuned in to WJLA. (Tuned in is a phrasal verb. In is part of the verb, and to is the preposition.)

Crummy: term meaning of low quality.

Crumby: having crumbs (as from bread or cake) all over it.

Everyone correctly
answered the examples about electric versus electrical. But I was
surprised to learn that the guide is whether the following word begins
with a vowel or a consonant!

by Jennie Ruby  

We continue our series of challenges with a mixed challenge on confusing words and confusing usage. See if you can ace these without looking them up. Please send your answers directly to me.

1. We waited with baited/bated breath.
2. The university conducts symposiums/symposia on linguistics every semester.
3. The electric/electrical train was plugged in to/into the same electric/electrical outlet as the electric/electrical toothbrush.
4. The speech was a/an historic moment.
5. This crummy/crumby software does not even have an automatic update feature!

Here are the Results from Last Week's Challenge:  

We had quite a few winners, with 19 respondents getting 100 percent correct! Here are your winners, alphabetically by first name: Amanda P. Avallone, Beatrice W. Mukora, Bob Cunningham, Carla Craddock, Chris Zimmel , David Pitts, Irene McCoy, Jackie Knoy, Jim Dages, Jing Ping Fan, Karyn R Smith, Krista Allen, Nancy Wright , Susan Czubiak, Susan Klick, Tanya Davis , Tara Allen, Terri Schultz, and Toni Wills. Congratulations!

The hardest idiomatic expression appears to be toe the line, with 17 percent of respondents answering tow the line. I was not surprised that this one was among the hardest, because I have heard people not only argue that the word is tow, but also give a detailed explanation involving horses towing barges up a canal. Reliable authorities, however, including the Merriam Webster Dictionary online, agree that the expression is toe the line, meaning conform to rigid standards. The origin is variously attributed to something sailors or students were made to do during roll calls–stand perfectly lined up side by side with their toes all touching some kind of line on the floor–or to making sure your toe does not cross some kind of starting line in a sport or fight such as racing or sword fighting.

The second hardest idiomatic expression turned out to be hard row to hoe–an expression from farming, involving the back-ache-inducing task of hoeing the weeds out of a row of plants such as corn. Having had some experience with hoeing rows of corn, I personally think the expression really should be "long row to hoe" rather than "hard row to hoe," because of the dismay one feels when looking down the row of corn to see how far is still left to go compared with how far one has already come. I suppose how hard the ground is also plays a role in how hard a row is to hoe, and I suspect that the "road" to hoe expression might come from someone's play on words indicating that the ground was so hard that it was like hoeing a road. But that is pure speculation, and does not change the fact that hard row to hoe is correct.  

Attribute–to state that one thing is the cause of another;contribute–to make a donation. Confusion probably comes from the fact that multiple causes might contribute to a result, but when a person is the subject of the sentence and is making a judgment as to what caused something, the word is attribute. You attribute the result to causes, and causes contribute to a result.

Carla Craddock brings up an interesting point about the sixty-four thousand dollar question: who cares what the number is, since everyone knows that your point is that it is an important question? What an interesting point! In fact, you have made me realize that using these expressions "correctly" may mean we are using a lot of clichés. Using them somewhat differently than the standard usage might actually be a good idea, to give a fresh take to these phrases. Nevertheless, you want to make sure you know whether you are deliberately playing with these phrases or just plain getting them wrong. Probably most readers will understand you (or be able to figure it out, given Google) if you write tow the line or road to hoe. But with idiomatic expressions, there is usually some specific source of the saying–in this case a radio quiz show in the 1940s and a TV quiz show of the 1950s–and careful readers will know the difference if you use the wrong word.

I am reminded of a colleague who was assigned the job of finding art for an article in a magazine. The article was titled "Ugly Ducklings," so she had found a photograph of some web-footed, wide-billed birds and was set to go. When she showed the art to the editorial board, however, her bad luck came into play: three out of the five members of the editorial board were avid birdwatchers, and they burst out almost simultaneously with "Those aren't ducks! They are geese!" Needless to say, that art was nixed, and some graphics of actual ducklings, along with an image of a swan, went into the layout. Extra points to anyone who can tell me why a swan photo was accepted!

No one missed the moot point/mute point question. Maybe I should have asked, "How do you pronounce moot?" I know I hear people call this a "mute" point quite frequently. Moot rhymes with what a cow says: moo. And, by the way, the birdwatchers can also tell you that there is such a thing as a mute swan!

by Jennie Ruby  

On the long, traffic-bemired trip back from Thanksgiving, my car passengers contributed their pet peeves to this week's challenge. Do you know these? Are they your pet peeves also? Please select the one you think is correct and send me your answers. Results next week. 

1. He got fired because he would not toe the line/tow the line about the new company policy.
2. If he wants to get his job back, he has a long row to hoe/road to hoe.
3. Whether he will still get his pension payment is the sixty-four dollar question, sixty thousand dollar question/ sixty-four thousand dollar question/ sixty-four million dollar question. [ignoring number and dollar sign style-which is the right amount?]
4. I'm sure he still attributes/contributes his firing to anything other than his own actions.
5. But I think it is a mute/moot point whether he re-applies for the job, because our boss will never hire him again.

Answers to last week's challenge are brought to you by Michele Rose, who missed only one word (which I have corrected here). No one reached 100% this time! Honorable mentions go to Carla Craddock, Chris Zimmel and Mary Saunders, who missed only two each. I especially loved the fact that Michele Rose pointed out that should would be a better (more formal and professional sounding) option than had better, and that she pointed out that you should leave out the word figuratively and use neither figuratively nor literally. 

1. I wish someone had apprised me of the situation with the angry client.
2. I thought the books had already been shipped.
3. When I left on Friday, the books were all ready to go.
4. When I got back to work on Wednesday, I found out the shipment had been held so we could send the books and the other items all together.
5. Meanwhile, the client had told us it was all right to send the items separately.
6. I was loath to make the phone call, because I was not sure how to handle the situation.
7. Nevertheless, I made the phone call without further ado.
8. Because I called right away, I was able to soothe the client's temper.
9. Because of our mix-up, I decided to offer the client a discount on a future purchase.
10. However, the client said she couldn't care less about getting a discount.
11. Instead, she tried to persuade me to give her the entire shipment for free.
12. I said that getting good service was different fromgetting products for no cost.
13. I then decided I had better ["should" might be a better option] offer overnight shipping on the order.
14. Once she agreed, I could hardly wait to get off the phone and do a victory dance.
15. After our discussion, the client was [neither–it's figurative, but there is no need to include the word] on fire with enthusiasm for our business.

The most difficult choice this week was between different fromand different than. I was not surprised, because the difference in usage is rather hard to describe, let alone follow easily. Grammarians and other linguistics experts have argued about the difference, if any, for literally decades (yes, literally). Many people consider different than to be incorrect most of the time, but different from is always correct, if you don't mess up the two things you are comparing. Different from is the preferred usage unless your sentence ends up comparing nonparallel items:

*I see the argument different from you.

Here, I've ended up comparing argument with you. To fix it using from, I would have to say

I see the argument in a way that is different from the way you see the argument.

That is more than twice the words, and ugly, to boot. This is where the word than comes in:

I see the argument in a different way than you [do].

By the way, if you are thinking of using the word differently, you do have a point. But the word different has a second meaning that is actually an adverb, synonymous with differently. So it would not technically be wrong to say

I see the argument different [or differently] than you.

My personal shortcut for this is to use than in adverbial phrases, and from only when comparing two nouns or gerunds [-ing verbs functioning as nouns]. In the challenge, I was comparing two gerunds : getting this versus getting that.

Due to is an adjective, because of is an adverb. A thing is due to something; an action is taken because of something. In the challenge, I did the action of deciding something because of our mix-up.

Alright is always all wrong.

The phrase couldn't care less is used to indicate how little a person cares. How little does the person care? So little that it would not be possible to care any less. The person already does not care at all, and thus could not care less. If you misspeak–and this is a VERY common error–and use could care less, then you have mistakenly indicated that the person does care to some extent that is not zero, since there is room for them to care less than they currently care.

Altogether means thoroughly, all together means all at the same time or in one package.

Loathe is a verb that means hate and requires a direct object: you have to loathe [hate] something. Loath is an adjective meaning reluctant. I am loath [reluctant] to do something that I do not like.

Being as how is less incorrect than beings as how. (I have not found evidence for this, but my sense is that the s is actually short for the word as, so that being's means being as, and thus being's as is redundant. But I am just going on my own judgment without corroboration there.) But both expressions are archaic, although they are used in colloquial and conversational English especially in the South. The common grammarian wisdom here is always use because instead in writing.

Persuade means to try to get someone to do something

Convince means to get someone to agree with an idea. So you try to persuade me to give you a discount, but you try toconvince me that giving a discount is a good idea.

Had better is the correct expression, and using better by itself is incorrect. Again, speaking just from my own theories, using better by itself comes from mishearing and then misspeaking the contracted forms I'd better, you'd better, etc.

Could hardly wait is the proper expression. Putting a negative word in there negates the adverb that indicates the slightness of your ability to wait, hardly, creating a sort of double negative that cancels itself out and ends up meaning the opposite.

by Jennie Ruby  

Several respondents called these word-choice challenges fun, so let's do this one more time. Your challenge this week, once again, is to choose the right word or phrase:

1. I wish someone had appraised/apprised me of the situation with the angry client.
2. I thought the books had already/all ready been shipped.
3. When I left on Friday, the books were already/all ready to go.
4. When I got back to work on Wednesday, I found out the shipment had been held so we could send the books and the other items altogether/all together.
5. Meanwhile, the client had told us it was alright/all right to send the items separately.
6. I was loathe/loath to make the phone call, because I was not sure how to handle the situation.
7. Nevertheless, I made the phone call without further ado/adieu.
8. Being as how/beings as how/because I called right away, I was able to soothe/sooth the client's temper.
9. Because of /due to our mix-up, I decided to offer the client a discount on a future purchase.
10. However, the client said she could/couldn't care less about getting a discount.
11. Instead, she tried to convince/persuade me to give her the entire shipment for free.
12. I said that getting good service was differentthan/different from getting products for no cost.
13. I then decided I better/had better offer overnight shipping on the order.
14. Once she agreed, I couldn't hardly wait/could hardly wait to get off the phone and do a victory dance.
15. After our discussion, the client was literally/figuratively on fire with enthusiasm for our business.

Results from last week's Challenge

Your answers this week are brought to you by Lorna McLellan, the only respondent with 100% of the answers correct. Congratulations, Lorna! Also an honorable mentions go out to Susan Czubiak and Mary Lee Foley for pointing out that Boy Scout is capitalized and should be two words! That's what I get for ignoring Word's red underline!

1. He led the charge into the superstore for the one-day sales event.
2. The biennial event last occurred in 2010.
3. You may have to wait awhile to see these prices again.
4. I remember playing the first version of that classic game back when I was 12.
5. The Boy Scout enjoyed his celebrity after saving the little dog from the stream. 
6. When the bully who had threatened the boy gave his congratulations, butter wouldn't melt…. [assuming it was a cold greeting, so cold that butter would not melt in his mouth!]
7. Can you ensure that the dog does not run away again?
8. I am so eager to hear about the ceremony that I can hardly wait.
9. She slept soundly, knowing that the puppy was safe.
10. Here is the latest news on the price decrease.

The statistical analysis is interesting this week, as several words proved to be no challenge: everyone correctly answered led, soundly and latest. Only 5 or 10 percent of us missed eager, classic and ensure. Here are brief explanations for those.

Although there is some overlap in meaning between eagerand anxious, a careful writer will be aware of the connotations: Eager is more positive and enthusiastic; anxious is more negative and afraid.

Because Webster's dictionary describes how people use a word, rather than always indicating whether they are using it accurately, the third meaning of anxious is the same meaning as eager. However, the synonyms (from Merriam-Webster.com) tell the tale:

anxious–aflutter, antsy, nervous, atwitter, dithery, edgy, goosey, het up, hinky [slang], hung up, ill at ease, insecure, jittery, jumpy, nervy, perturbed, queasy (also queazy), tense, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, uptight, worried

eager–agog, antsy, anxious, ardent, athirst, avid, crazy, desirous, enthused, enthusiastic, excited, geeked [slang], great, greedy, gung ho, hepped up, hopped-up, hot, hungry, impatient, juiced, keen, nuts, pumped, raring, solicitous, stoked [slang], thirsty, voracious, wild, champing at the bit, chomping at the bit

Here is a memory aid for classic versus classical:

Classical music is Mozart, classic rock is Led Zeppelin.

classic–timeless, authentic, setting a standard

classical–refers to music, art etc. from a specific era

Many of us are already clear on this one:

Ensure–make sure; assure-reassure someone

And here are the harder ones:

Biennial/biannual–I long ago made a rule for myself to always look up these words before using them, along with the similar words biweekly and bimonthly, simply because they are so easily confused. And since I don't use them often-no more than twice a year (or is that every other year?)-looking them up is a good practice.

A while/awhile–use the two-word version only after a preposition, such as for, in or after, like this:

I stared at the words for a while.

When you leave out the preposition, awhile becomes a one-word adverb:

I stared at the words awhile.

Notoriety is negative fame; celebrity is positive fame. We are all so used to seeing celebrity as a noun meaning famous person that we may overlook its other meaning as simply fame.