"This is truth about both political parties."
Should read: This is the truth about both political parties."
The first doesn't even sound correct.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Political Discourse Fail
Huffingtonpost always has spirited commentors. But this one takes it too far:
Facebook Pet Peeve
This is a small thing, but it is a pet peeve when people don't have a verb in their facebook statues.
For example, "Ellen so happy and so excited!" showed up on my newsfeed this morning. Ellen is? Ellen was?
I'll never know.
Final Week
Many people's facebook statuses are about how many finals they have.
Many announce the number like this: "Susie has 5 finals left!" "Tim has 3 more!"
Friendly reminder: In this case, numbers less than 10 should be written out. School is almost over, good grammar isn't.
Fashionista Fail
As any fashionista knows, it's Christian Louboutin, NOT Laboutin.
It's just a misspelling, but come on Marie Claire-this is suppose to be your speciality.
Word Fail
DUin page 24
Reads: "Would I have come attended the games after I saw how they played?"
Should read: Word fail. either come to or attended, but not both.
Sunday Morning Fail
Duin, pg 18.
Reads: "Change out of your Sunday's Best."
Should read: "Change out of your Sunday best."
Don't need to capitalize best, and we don't need possession on Sunday.
spacing fail
Duin pg 14
"other than the fact that t he vandal..."
Should read: Obviously, t he should be one word- the. t isn't a word and he isn't what we want here.
Will Will Will
DUIN pg 11
Reads: "...due to the anticipation that it will God will strike it down"
Should read: There are several options here, but here's one: "due to the anticipation that God will strike it down."
Extra words doesn't let anyone win
Time to Modify
DUIN, page 10.
Reads: "...will be sufficient for the week long celebration of drinking"
Should read: "...will be sufficient for the week-long celebration.."
We need a hyphen here. Week modifies long.
DUIN
Duin spring 09 issue, page 8
"Night is coming on, and you've gotta plan your move for the evening."
Should read: you have. These kind of contractions are fine when we are talking, but when written, they should be spelled out.
Duin
On page 5 of Duin spring 09 issue: (well, your mom's)
There should be a period after mom's.
It needs some kind of punctuation.
Administration Fail
Speaking of this picture, the title should be two separate sentences. You're the President of the United States. Which Friends would be in your administration?Punctuation. You should use it.
facebook fail
Sent on facebook chat:
Anonymous: Between you and I, that was the worst class ever.
It should be between you and ME.
***Word to the wise: It's always between you and ME.
Jimmy Fallon Fail
bachelors degree. not Bachelor's degree.
Hope the degree wasn't in editing.
http://perezhilton.com/2009-05-10-back-to-school
President Fail
This was sent to me on Facebook. Your the president of the United States?It should be you are. You're.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Fergie
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/13/caption-this-photo-vote-f_n_186250.html
Fergie is no fan of spelling things correctly, but it's sing, not sand.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Question: What to do with quotes.
My Stephen Colbert calendar strikes again.
It reads: "How can you suggest we slam the door"?
It should read: "...slam the door?"
We just talked about this today in class. When the question is the quote, the question goes INSIDE the quote.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Plural Possessive
100,000,000 against facebook owning it's user's photos!
This greeted my inbox on facebook a couple mornings ago. Facebook is kind of a big deal, and definitely has more than one user, so it should be users'. Plural possessive
Yum...pie.
From my Stephen Colbert daily calendar:
"A limo driver has been dispatched to bring Tucker Carlson, James Carville and A Boston Creme Pie from MSNBC headquarters...
Should say: "a boston creme pie..."
We don't need to capitalize boston creme pie. It's not needed. It's not a proper noun.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
LOL
Another funny post.
What are these people thinking? 's implies possession, not multiple of something. I know it's tempting, but fight the urge!
Those Tricky Possessives
Haha...too funny not to share.
On a grammar fail site, I found this gem from an official University of Michigan posting.
Possessives can be tricky, but in this case it's fairly straightforward. 'Desposit's' should be deposits--there is just more than one. It doesn't belong to anything.
The Lovely Mrs. Beckham
Not to beat up on perezhilton.com tonight, (I realize he's not exactly a journalist), but his website DID have 20 million hits last month, so one would hope he would write correctly.
With posts like this, we can't be too sure.
Gosh.
It reads: And we love Mrs. Beckham, because ridiculous or not, she's not afraid to try something different.
Should read: And we love Mrs. Beckham because, ridiculous or not, she's not afraid to try something different.
Rule: When we want to set off non-essential information, we use commas. In this case, 'ridiculous or not' in the non-essential info.
No Doubt
Full disclosure: No Doubt is one of my favorite bands. So the news that they have tickets going on sale at cheaper prices makes me totally happy. What I'm not so thrilled about: The fifth paragraph of the story.
It says, "Fan club members were required to pay a $15 dollar fee but with the charge came access to the band's entire digital audio catalog as well as stickers, magnets, and iron-ons promoting the tour!
Should say: ...magnets and iron-ons...
Check it out.
We don't need a comma after magnets. AP style doesn't dictate running, or serial, commas.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
This game is for WORD people
I'm playing Lexulous online (It's facebook scrabble) when this unfortunate message jumps out at me.
Says: "Some of your friend's do not have Lexulous : ("
That sad face should apply to more than just not having lexulous.
Should say: Some of your friends do not have Lexulous..."
Rule: 's shows possession. We don't need possession here. There are simply more than one friend- just add a simple s and you're golden.
Could, Woulda, Shoulda
Overheard on The Real Housewives of New York (yes, I was watching it)
Said: "Well, I woulda gone to the party, but..."
Should Have Said: "Well, I would have gone to the party..."
Rule: Coulda, woulda, shoulda. We all say these words sometimes, but we have to say them out. Could have, should have, would have.
:
Duin pg 9, fall 2008 issue
Reads: Essentially they are the same thing to me; two groups...
Should read: same thing to me: two groups...
Rule: We need a colon here. Colons lead to expectations of what to follow, and with 'two groups' that is what we want here.
Then vs. than
Duin, fall 2008 issue, page 7
Reads: ...but if you take up 10 minutes making a point than I'm basically paying $22 to listen to you.
Should read:...but if you take up 10 minutes making a point then I'm...
Rule: then vs. than. Working with words, page 45.
It's pretty self-explanatory
Duin, page 4. Fall 2008 issue.
( I guess now would be a good time to point out that I really love reading DUIN, so I'm certainly not trying to pick on them.)
Reads: Seems pretty self explanatory, doesn't it?
Should read: Seems pretty self-explanatory, doesn't it?
Rule: Ok, besides the fact that this sentence still isn't that great, self-explanatory is hyphened. self modifies explanatory.
Easy Mistake
Duin fall 08 issue, page 32
Reads: "Intellectual manual skills".
Should read: "Intellectual manual skills."
Rule: Periods, and other grammar symbols, go INSIDE the quote, not out of it.
Facebook Offenders
Alright. So I'm reading over my friend Brittney's tv quotes, and she has one from 30 rock. Perfect, right?
Reads: "I want to go to their"
ouch. Their? You want to go to show possession? That doesn't make any sense.
It should read: "I want to go to there"
Rule: there is a place; a location. their shows possession. For the record, they're is a contraction meaning they are.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Now I'm Hungry
pg 24, DUIN fall 2008 issue.
Says: "The Olmstead nachos; they may be lacking in meat, cheese, and tomato from time to time...
Should say: The Olmstead nachos (colon or em-dash)
Rule: Semi-colons can only be used if both clauses are complete. 'The Olmstead nachos' isn't a complete thought.
Complete sentence=success
Page 16, DUIN fall 2008 issue.
Sentence reads: Whether you want to piss on Herriott or try steal a security cart, you'll be able to do it without any fear of getting caught.
Should read: Whether you want to piss on Herriott or try TO steal a security cart,...
Rule: Um, steal needs a helping verb to make a complete sentence. Which is what I assume they are striving for.
I love books.
They caught themselves, but it's worth pointing out anyway.
Rule: In this case, it's me,not I. Take out the other person, in this case, you, and see what sounds better. Grammar Book for me? Grammar book for I? ME. There's your answer.
Monday, February 16, 2009
We Talk Good Down Here
This is just bad business.
Rule: We're talking about multiple reasons. We need to say there are, rather then there is, as we are talking about more than one thing.
Don't Get Overeager
Sign found on tables in Drake University dining hall.
It read: Napkins made with 100% Recycled Paper
It should read: Napkins made with 100% recycled paper.
Rule: We don't need to capitalize recycle or paper. Those words aren't proper nouns-so don't worry about capitalizing them. They just aren't important enough.
Comma Comma Everywhere
Sign found in Hubbell Dining hall, on all the tables.
"Don't wait for people to be kind show them how."
Should be: Don't wait for people to be kind, show them how.
Rule: We need a comma to break up separate clauses. Think: two separate thoughts.
This is Unfortunate
Uh-oh. An editor clearly didn't need to pass a sensitivity test to get the job.
Check it out.
Rule Broken: Just good old-fashion common sense.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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