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Writing & Grammar: Do You Get Mails?

by Jennie Ruby 

 

We have a good collection of peeves this week, starting with one from Geri Moran:

Emails--I have given up using the original form with a hyphen (e-mail) because the Microsoft Manual of Style finally capitulated, but it drives me crazy to see the word emails used for multiple email messages. I don't get "mails" from the U.S. Postal service, I get mail.

Right, Geri! Some editors used to say that email is only an adjective, not a noun, so that it should always have the word messages after it. I think we mostly gave up on that idea long ago, but email as a noun should certainly parallel the usage of mail!

Anita Weiler brings us an incorrect pronoun usage, a substitute word, and a misspelling, followed by a pronunciation peeve:

• Saying myself instead of me. It isn't more polite, it's just wrong!
• Ask as a noun: "That's a good ask.: (Makes my skin crawl.) [I received other complaints on this one-you are not alone.]
• Loose instead of lose: when did you loose your keys? [I hate it when people unleash their keys and loose them upon the world!]
• Mispronouncing nuclear as "noo-kyoo-lar"

She brings us another word that is similar to the aforementioned use of ask instead of question or request:

I understand that language evolves. I just don't like many of the changes. Often the result is language that is less clear, or just ugly. For example, I really detest when people say (and mispronounce) INvite to mean invitation. "Did you get the invite I sent you?" However, after checking some online dictionaries I see that invite is now listed as an informal word for invitation. Which means eventually it will likely be considered standard usage. Ugh!

Barbara Kennedy takes us into a more esoteric realm: the use of the subjunctive mood. She is peeved by these errors:

Incorrect: "If he would have"

Correct: "If he had"

Incorrect: "If I was you"

Correct: "If I were you"

Incorrect: "I suggest is that he is removed."

Correct: "I suggest that he be removed."

Incorrect: "I recommend they do not enter the competition."

Correct: "I recommend they not enter the competition."

She says she is afraid she'll have to let this bit of grammar go, but I think it is not on the brink quite yet. These incorrect uses would be corrected in any professionally edited context, I hope!

A few weeks ago, I asked people to send in their memory aids.Julie Robertson has one that she would like to ask all of you about. She remembers one that started like this:

 

"Capitals SHOUT; italics whisper. Bold [does something]; underline points the way, and so on.

Have you heard this one? she asks. It is not familiar to me. If you know this one, please help us out by filling in the gaps.

I'm sure there are more peeves out there, free to add them as comments below.

Writing & Grammar: Fake Words

by Jennie Ruby

Starting off our pet peeves this week are two about fake words. Julie Vails gives us

 

Anyways.  That is not a word!

Anyways is a dialect entry in Webster's. Certainly it does not belong in business writing.

 

Lisa Blaski calls out

 

Made-up words--for example making the word "solicit" into "solicitating."

That is a great example of a "back formation." People invent incorrect verbs by working backward from the noun form, in this case, solicitation. Since the noun has that extra syllable in it, they put that syllable into the verb form, or in some cases just make up a verb that does not exist. Here are a couple of others:

 

Conversate, conversating (from conversation)

commentate (from commentator)

emote (from emotion)

What happens next is that the dictionary writers observe these words and some of them become accepted usage, like curate (from curator).

 

That extra syllable creeps into some other words as well, such as preventative (should be preventive), but that is not even a back formation from anything!

Stacey Edwards gives us a wordy phrase as a pet peeve:

 

I frequently see the phrase "in order" added to a description of how to accomplish a particular task. For example, in order to bake a cake, you must have an oven. I cannot think of an example when "in order" actually adds any information or is required for clarity.

And rounding out this week's batch, Mary Gerhardt  gives us another example from a regional dialect:

 

My pet peeve is when people pair the verb need with a past-tense verb, for example, "Those dishes need washed," or "This project needs finished." I respect and appreciate regional dialects, but I cringe when I hear it in a formal business setting or see it in corporate documents. I believe this is just an Iowa phenomenon. 

 

What they are leaving out, of course, is to be.

 

The hoard continues to grow, and I will keep sharing the peeves. In a few weeks we will try another direction; but for now, stay peeved, my friends, stay peeved.

Writing & Grammar: Meeting of Peeved Minds

by Jennie Ruby 

 

We are finding some agreement, those of us sharing our pet peeves. First, Lisa J. Stumpf voices her agreement with Michael Stein:

I totally agree with Michael. Moot is much different in meaning and sound than mute! And keep the "t" sound out of often!

And on the topic of pronunciation (have you heard people say "pro-nounce-ee-a-shun"?), Julie Walawender gives us "processes":

One of my pet peeves is the mispronunciation of the plural form of process. The correct pronunciation is pros-es-iz, NOT pros-es-eez. An online resource suggests that this new pronunciation is increasing in popularity, perhaps by mistaken analogy with such plurals as "theses" and "hypotheses," with which it has no connection. I've also heard users attempt to make a parallel to "matrices." Drives me nuts!!

Right? That "eez" on the end always sounds a little pompous to me--but a trip to Merriam-Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) indicates that the long e is used equally often by educated speakers as the short e! But again, Webster's is descriptive, meaning it is a record based on observation of how people are actually using and pronouncing words, rather than an analysis of how words should be pronounced and used.

So Julie is absolutely right that processes, from the Latinprocedere, has nothing in common with theses or hypotheses, which come from Greek words. Given that, together with my feeling that it is pompous, I would guess that the origin of this pronunciation is in hypercorrectness. Hypercorrectness occurs when people create "a nonstandard linguistic form or construction on the basis of a false analogy (as ... "widely" in "open widely")." In other words, when they try so hard to get it right that they get it wrong.

Speaking of getting it wrong, Laura Gillenwater writes in to clarify her pet peeve about impact, which I mistakenly took to be complaint about its use as a verb:

One small clarification...I actually wasn't complaining about the use of impact as a [verb], but, rather, its incorrect use when the person means "effect." So, for example, I'm fine with

The impact that the asteroid made when it hit the Earth 246 million years ago can still be seen today.

But I'm not okay with,

The price of that new TV has an impact on whether people will buy it.

Finally, one more pronunciation peeve: Tanya Davis writes,

I have a pronunciation pet peeve. It is "our." Most people pronounce it as "r," when it should be pronounced just like the word "hour"!

If you've got some peeves, feel free to post them as comments below. If I have not featured yours yet, it means I'm either hording it or researching it, one or the other, but I intend to publish them all. (Haha!, a self-peeve just happened! When I proofread the previous sentence, I found I had typed [or autocorrect had helped me type, I'm not sure which] punish instead of publish! Don't you hate it when that happens? Is that a new category of peeve? The SELF-peeve? Write in if you have any of those that you are willing to share. We have a new category: pronunciation.)

Writing & Grammar: New Year, New Peeves

by Jennie Ruby

I'm not sure it's the best of luck to start the New Year peeved, but when it's a grammar pet peeve, I cannot resist. Here are two pet peeves from Laura Gillenwater, both of which I end up covering in every writing class:

Two of my current pet peeves are the misuse/overuse of the word "utilize," instead of "use" and the word "impact," instead of "affect" or "effect" (depending on whether "impact" is being used as a verb or noun).

Let's start with the first one: You are so right, Laura! Using the word utilize is overkill when the word use will do just fine. Although the dictionary does indicate that utilize is a synonym for use, utilize does have a more specific meaning that goes beyond the plainer verb use: you utilize something that was previously going to waste or not being used for the purpose you now propose. A sentence like this would be a specific place where utilize is more specific than use:

Why don't we utilize some of the empty classrooms as offices?

 

Here is an example where use is definitely better:

We used three reams of paper to print the phone directory.

On the word impact, however, I like to allude to the impact wars of the late 1980s. Sorry, Laura, but those of us insisting that impact is a noun, not a verb, long ago lost that fight. Webster's dictionary now lists impact as both a verb and a noun and has done so for at least 15 years. Not that many of us in the writing and editing business don't still protest that decision. When I double-checked Webster's just now, I saw a comment by a reader complaining that impact should be used only as a noun.

Yep, many of us are still bitter over this. But we lost. Webster's is a widely respected dictionary, but it is descriptive, rather than prescriptive. That means it tries to reflect how people are actually using a word, rather than how people should use a word. And right now, Webster's solidly supports impact as a verb. Sigh.

Nevertheless, I could not agree more with Laura's opinion here:

It's "business-ese" stuff like this that really annoys me. If people would just write more naturally, more like they talk (but with correct grammar), most of their writing would really be much better.

Michael Stein adds a new category to the pet peeves parade:

 

Two pronunciation pet peeves: Saying mute when you mean moot. Pronouncing the t in often.

Post your pet peeves below. I've got a bunch more stored up, and now we have the new category to add to: pronunciation.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

Writing & Grammar: More Grammar Pet Peeves

by Jennie Ruby

Thank you to all those who sent in grammar pet peeves! I'll talk about them here over the next few weeks.

 

First, Ann Ray brings us premise versus premises.

 

A premise is a basis for an argument:

I see his point, but I have to question his premise that municipalities should do all trash collection for free.

In the plural form, premises can mean multiple bases for an argument, or premises can mean a building and its grounds. This latter use comes from legal documents in which the location is identified in the "preliminary and explanatory" section of a deed or other real estate document (Webster's). It should always be used as plural, and a very strong usage tradition has this word always appearing in the phrase "on the premises." Weirdly, I usually hear this pronounced "premiss-iss," whereas the plural meaning bases for an argument I usually hear pronounced as "premis-eeze," although there is some crossover.

We can adjust your eyeglasses right here on the premises.

Here are Ann Ray's examples:

A local funeral home advertises that they do cremation on premise.

A huge telecom company writes about wiring the premise!

Jim Dages complains that young folks these days say on accident instead of by accident. The whole issue of which preposition goes with a particular word or phrase is utterly one of usage. Usage is basically a feel for or conventions for how people use words in phrases and sentences. I have also heard people in my kids' generation say "on accident." I don't know where it came from, and I failed to cure any of them of it.

 

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

Writing & Grammar: Word Crimes

by Jennie Ruby

 

This week I bring you more spelling and word usage aids. Aimee Bosse brings us three that are more about word usage than just spelling. These pairs of words are easily confused, so a memory aid is the best way to keep them straight, short of looking them up every time you use them.

Torturous (pertaining to torture) versus tortuous (indirect, not straightforward)--think of the extra R in torturous for Really painful.

Discreet (showing prudence) versus discrete (separate, distinct)--you separate the e's with the t.

Premier (head of state or first in rank) versus premiere (first public showing)--not sure of an easy way to remember, for me an extra e makes it look more fancy [you have to really dress up to go to the premiere--JR].

Lisa J Stumpf gives us another version of the desert versus dessert distinction:

You want more dessert so use more letters--two s's.

And one more, just on spelling, brought to us by Marsha Kuhn:

My seventh grade teacher told us that the "villain lives in the villa."

Grammar Pet Peeves: Word Crimes

While sending in these memory aids, several of you wrote in to tell me about Weird Al's video "Word Crimes." I totally love it! Thank you! Check it out if you have not seen it before.

And in the spirit of Word Crimes, this week I'd like to hear from you about your grammar pet peeves-you know you have them! Aimee Bosse starts us off with these:

Residence versus residents: this should be a no-brainer! Someone living in my college dorm actually wrote a sign asking "residence" to be considerate of others.

 

Feel free to post your grammar pet peeves below as comments.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

Writing & Grammar: Memory Aids for Grammar--And a Few More for Spelling

by Jennie Ruby 

 

"My 8th grade English teacher taught me this little gem many years ago" says Laura Witte:

 

"Never use a preposition to end a sentence with!"

Witte also gives us this one:

"Off of sounds like you're stuttering. (Just off will suffice.)"

Both of these are about that perennial problem of ending a sentence with an UNNECESSARY preposition, which so many people misremember as "never end a sentence with a preposition under any circumstances." The true test is whether you can delete the unneeded preposition, and both of Witte's examples beautifully illustrate that concept. If you delete with and of, the sentences retain their meaning. Contrast those with instances where the ending preposition is actually part of the verb, completing and changing its meaning:

I didn't need the receipt, so I threw it out.

Here, if you delete out, you change the meaning. So just keep the preposition at the end. Years ago, teachers would have us revise the order of a sentence this way in order to avoid ending with a perfectly fine, necessary preposition:

That is not the ladder you are supposed to go up.

That is not the ladder up which you are supposed to go.

If you find yourself in this sort of mess, a better answer is to recast the sentence as

That is not the ladder you are supposed to use.

Here are some more memory aids for spelling, along with warm memories of the teachers who gave them to us.

Krista Wolter writes: Seeing the posts from others reminded me of one from high school. Our chemistry teacher taught us "there is a rat in separate." He took points off your lab work if you spelled separate wrong. I still think of him when I type that word.

Sherrie L. Trechel says, "I am a fan of a memory aid a friend told me about long ago for loose vs. lose":

 "You can't lose your nose."

And I really related to Elaine Study's experience described here, when she remembered that

"There are 3 e's buried in cemetery."

Elaine said "I will never forget a few years ago I was watching the TV show 'JAG' with my husband and the scene location printed on the screen was "___________ Cemetary.

"I was so outraged at the misspelling on a national TV show that I kept chanting at the screen, "There are 3 e's buried in cemetery!  There are 3 e's buried in cemetery! My husband's response was, "I didn't know that."'

And that reminded me of one of my own tricks--how to remember the difference between stationery and stationary.

"Stationery is about envelopes." (e)

"When you are stationary, you are standing still." (a)

Send me more if you've got them..

 

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

Writing & Grammar: Memory Aids

by Jennie Ruby

A colleague wrote to me because she was trying to remember that little rhyme used by teachers to help us remember how to spell words with the letters e and i:

I before e, except after c

Or sounding like a, as in neighbor or weigh

Probably 40 years or more after learning this rhyme in elementary school, she still had it right. Of course, later in life we find out that things are a little more complicated than what we learned back then. As a copyeditor, I made up an additional sentence for the end of the rhyme:

Or certain weird words such as

Either, neither, seize, weird, and leisure

Well, okay, my additional sentence doesn't exactly rhyme, but at least it gets the job done.

My question for you this week is this: Do you remember other little rhymes, tricks, or memory aids for grammar and spelling from your school days? Please share them with the rest of us. We'll take a look, see if they need updating, see if they are still true, and see if we can still get use out of them long after we've been out of school.

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Here are the results from last week's questions about spelling preferences: 

• Dialogue beat dialog
• Catalog beat catalogue
• Sync overwhelmingly beat synch (Kay Honaker pointed out that synch looks like it would rhyme with inch.)
• In a surprise upset, advisor beat adviser by a landslide.
• High-tech shut out hi-tec, with no one choosing the latter.
• Wi-fi was also a winner by a mile, but wifi did get a few votes, even though, as Kay Honaker commented, wifi looks like it should sound like wih-fee.

I like clear results, and the results among this newsletter's readers are quite clear. So add these spellings to your style guide and join the crowd!

 

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

Writing & Grammar: Synch or Swim?

by Jennie Ruby

How do you spell the shortened form of the word synchronize? Is it synch or sync? I have seen it both ways recently, so I checked out the Webster's dictionary. I found that sync is the more frequently used variant, but that both spellings are listed. So which one is better?

 

It turns out that when Webster's lists two spellings of a word, they may have the word "or" or the word "also" between them. The word "or" tells us that the two variants are used equally and often, whereas the word "also" tells us that the second one is significantly less often used.

 

Meanwhile, the next listing in the dictionary was lip-synch, spelled with the h. Go figure.

 

How about dialogue versus dialog? The dictionary lists dialogue first, in such uses as for a dialogue in a play, or dialogue between two people. However, dialog box uses the variant without the -ue on the end. So in the software training industry we see the secondary variant far more often.

 

This week's challenge is not so much a test to see if you can get the answers right, but more a survey to see which is your preference. Survey results (and correct answers to the last two Confusing Words challenges) will be coming soon.

1. During the role-play we set up a dialog/dialogue between two class participants.
2. We catalog/catalogue the results from all of our quizzes for later data analysis.
3. I need to synch/sync my phone with my Outlook calendar.
4. The two devices were already in synch/sync.
5. The professor served as an adviser/advisor for the online class.
6. The high-tech/hi-tec solution did not work.
7. The wifi/wi-fi in our office was down all afternoon.

When ready, submit your answers as comments below.

 

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

Writing & Grammar: Synch or Swim?

by Jennie Ruby 

 

How do you spell the shortened form of the word synchronize? Is it synch or sync? I have seen it both ways recently, so I checked out the Webster's dictionary. I found that sync is the more frequently used variant, but that both spellings are listed. So which one is better?

It turns out that when Webster's lists two spellings of a word, they may have the word "or" or the word "also" between them. The word "or" tells us that the two variants are used equally and often, whereas the word "also" tells us that the second one is significantly less often used.

Meanwhile, the next listing in the dictionary was lip-synch, spelled with the h. Go figure.

How about dialogue versus dialog? The dictionary lists dialogue first, in such uses as for a dialogue in a play, or dialogue between two people. However, dialog box uses the variant without the -ue on the end. So in the software training industry we see the secondary variant far more often.

This week's challenge is not so much a test to see if you can get the answers right, but more a survey to see which is your preference. Survey results (and correct answers to the last two Confusing Words challenges) will be coming soon.

1. During the role-play we set up a dialog/dialogue between two class participants.
2. We catalog/catalogue the results from all of our quizzes for later data analysis.
3. I need to synch/sync my phone with my Outlook calendar.
4. The two devices were already in synch/sync.
5. The professor served as an adviser/advisor for the online class.
6. The high-tech/hi-tec solution did not work.
7. The wifi/wi-fi in our office was down all afternoon.

When ready, post your answers below as comments.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.