Grammar Punk Blog

Proofreading

You’ve heard me lament about the subjugation of writing for printing, spelling, and overused words, well, today let us discuss proofreading. Or the lack thereof.

Now I for one applaud the advent of progress when it comes to the act of writing. I not only emphatically embrace writing with a computer (my first novel was written entirely on a typewriter—which means, make a mistake, retype the page!), email, IM, Twitter, et al. I love it all. And my philosophy is: if it makes writing easier, yahoo! However, as with many things that are suddenly easier, complacency sets in. And with complacency…okay, I’ll just say it, carelessness follows.

Communication is communication, no matter its format, and thus should be clear, readable, and free from mistakes—at least the easily found and fixed ones. Yes, I’m talking about even the most casual of missives. And, yes, I’m harping. Because it is with casual communication that bad habits are developed. And even the most casual communication reflects its author.

Proofreading, people! Take that extra couple of minutes after you’ve typed out what you want to say to reread what you’ve just written. You’ll be amazed at the common mistakes that can be avoided: missing words, commonly misspelled words, lack of punctuation, etc., and you’ll be astonished at how much more impressive even the simplest message can be if it is error-free.

So before you hit the Send button, stop and proofread. All who read you will appreciate it. And want to hear from you again. ;o)

jo·cose

Pronunciation: \jō-ˈkōs, jə-\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin jocosus, from jocus joke

Date: 1673

1 : given to joking : merry
2 : characterized by joking : humorous

synonyms see witty

— jo·cose·ly adverb

— jo·cose·ness noun

— jo·cos·i·ty \jō-ˈkä-sə-tē, jə-\ noun

Okay, it’s time to get imaginative. I rather pride myself on having a rather extensive vocabulary. I love words, long words, short words, weird words. I like being able to come up with the right word to describe, exclaim, or illuminate what I want to say. And as I’ve mentioned, I have read the dictionary, not once but twice, and have in fact just begun reading number three. Therefore, my challenge words will begin to move outside of the ordinary. Don’t be scared, this will be fun. Promise.

Today’s entry for instance; I can honestly say that I have never used the word jocose in a sentence. On the other hand, it’s derivation, joke, is most commonly used. Cool, huh? So the next time you want to tweak an obnoxious coworker for his apparent need to crack wise, you can just tell him to stop being so jocose!

Grammar Punk Sentence

J O 3 ! Pro. Jocose  

Patting the copy of Acme’s 101 Favorite Jokes of all Time tucked into his back pocket, Lionel prepared to join the party; he may not be handsome but by golly, he could be jocose!  

Share your sentence with us. Make sure it contains 3 words with the letters J and O and the word jocose or one of its derivatives.

Desert or Dessert

Back to our regularly scheduled commonly confused words. This is a particularly good one because it not only contains two words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently, but two that are pronounced differently but spelled the same. Jackpot! Have I mentioned I love the English language! C’mon, challenges are good for us, builds fortitude.

I always remember that dessert has an extra S by thinking of all the extra sugar in desserts!

Desert can mean: (1) To abandon (a verb); or (2) Desert, a hot, sandy place, (a noun)

Dessert is a sweet course eaten at the end or toward the end of a meal

Grammar Punk^™ Examples:

T U 3 | Claire didn’t want to desert Barry, but there was no way she was going to sit through a showing of Spartacus again.

T U 3 | The butterfly flitted carefully through the thicket of cactus in the middle of the desert.

P E 4 | Lola looked dubiously down at her plate; pickled pear pancakes for dessert?

 I’ve talked about utilizing the dictionary, which I do. A lot. I love the dictionary, it is, in fact, my favorite book of all time. I always felt that way, even as a kid. I read through the dictionary for the first time in the seventh grade, then again as an adult. I know what you’re thinking—you actually read the dictionary? The entire dictionary? Yes. I did. Twice. And I’m prepared to do it again. Okay, it’s a little thin on plot and a tad wordy, but… Seriously, it’s a great book.

I’ve always had a thing for the dictionary, then I read a perfectly marvelous book: The Professor And The Madman. Title notwithstanding, the book is about the amazing and monumental task of compiling the dictionary.

I suppose I’d given some thought as I was wading through A to Z what prodigious amount work must have gone into its creation—then again, maybe I didn’t. The dictionary has always just…been there. Need to know how to spell a word? Look it up? What does that word mean? Look it up. There it was, once upon a huge tome sitting on a shelf in your bedroom, nestled between Nancy Drew and that copy of Wuthering Heights you forgot to return to the library. Just there.

Well guess what, it was compiled one word at a time, one definition at a time, one language ideation at a time. I’ll talk more about this remarkable book and the remarkable men who undertook this mammoth task, and yes, you’ll find it interesting. Maybe even interesting enough to pick up that big old dictionary from your own shelf and begin with the letter A…

ich·thy·ol·o·gy

ɪk θiˈɒl ə dʒi  / Show Spelled[ik-thee-ol-uh-jee]

noun

the branch of zoology dealing with fishes.

Use ichthyology in a Sentence

See images of ichthyology

Search ichthyology on the Web

Origin:
1640–50; ichthyo- + -logy

[Latin, from Greek ikhthuo-, from ikhthūs, fish.]

You’ve gotta love a word that simply means what it means. This is a great word to know when it comes to trivia games and watching Jeopardy. The study of fish. That’s it, that’s what that big old word means. An ichthyologist is a person who is involved in the study of fish. Yet how much more important, interesting, even exotic does it sound to say, “I’m an ichthyologist!” It’s a great word to add to your vocabulary arsenal.

Grammar Punk Sentence

G I 2 ; Adv. Ichthyologist  

Marching up to the podium, Clyde eagerly reached for the diploma; finally, he was an official ichthyologist, proving them all wrong.

Share your sentence with us. Make sure it contains 3 words with the letters G and I and the word ichthyology or one of its derivatives.

This one isn’t precisely a commonly confused as much as it is a commonly annoyed—for me. This particular duo is in fact one word pronounced and used correctly and another word that is often used instead. Sort of the way Calvary and cavalry are mispronounced; this is also more about diction than it is about spelling, but bear with me.

Jewelry vs. Joolery.

Pretty obvious, right? One is obviously correct, one is so not. I never mispronounce that word, you say to yourself. And maybe you don’t. But sooo many do. Pay attention next time you’re watching television, a movie, or eavesdropping. It so often comes out joolery. Diction, people! One is right, the other wrong. One means pretty, shiny, expensive adornments, the other means…nothing!

Diction is another of those ideas that seems to have lost (most) some of its popularity in the past few decades. Knowing how to spell a word is one thing, pronouncing it should (must!) be a priority.  

Okay, climbing off my soap box.

“Hey,” Myron protested, “what happened to my joolery box?”

“I threw it out, Myron,” Natasha said snottily. “If you can’t pronounce jewelry properly you don’t deserve it!”

Thank you.

Spelling 105

The dictionary is our friend.

With the popularity of typing instead of writing, spell-checkers, and gulp, dare I approach, texting, one of our oldest and most reliable friends seems to have fallen by the wayside; or at least been left to the side of the road. The dictionary!

Now even I’m not vouchsafing the monstrously heavy old Unabridged I used to have sitting on the corner of my desk like a ponderous old toad, I’m still talking computer dictionaries. Not sure how a word is spelled? Get as close as possible, highlight that puppy (if your spellchecker hasn’t already attempted to give you alternatives) and look it up!

Another challenge—and opportunity—that presents itself with dictionary use is expansion of your vocabulary. It’s such a temptation when writing along and you’re reminded by your spellchecker that a word you’ve used is spelled incorrectly to just replace that word with a simpler, more prosaic word. Fight the temptation! Stretch your word usage and your writing by exploring new meanings and new words with the use of the dictionary!

hor·ti·cul·ture

hɔr tɪˌkʌl tʃər/  | [hawr-ti-kuhl-cher]

–noun

1.

the cultivation of a garden, orchard, or nursery; the cultivation of flowers, fruits, vegetables, or ornamental plants.

2.

the science and art of cultivating such plants.

Yet another example of how snooty you can sound when speaking about something rather prosaic. We’re talking gardening here, digging in the dirt, tucking seeds into the ground, plowing, reaping and sowing. Horticulture sounds so…elevated. So noble. I suddenly can’t wait for Spring!

Grammar Punk Sentence

H  I 3

Giving her Stanislavsky Blue Sweetheart Orchid a tender pat, Stephanie tucked in her Horticulturists Rule! T-shirt and headed off to the Annual Flower Show.

Share your sentence with us. Make sure it contains 3 words with the letters H and I and the word horticulture or one of its derivatives.

Their, There or They’re

Their is a possessive pronoun

There refers to a location

They’re is a contraction of they are

Like too, two, and to, the commonly confused words their, there, or they’re get messed up regularly. And they shouldn’t be.

Like most commonly confused words getting them right is pretty much a matter of paying attention. Their and there, okay, those can be a bit confusing. Sort of. I myself remember them with another one of those little mnemonic kind of tricks.

Their is a possessive pronoun, that means it will always deal with a person, which makes me think of I, therefore, I know that the their I need to use when talking about ownership or possession of something I use the their with the I in it. Thus eliminating the other there. There. The last of the trio, they’re is also a no-brainer. It’s “they are!” That’s all it is, no ambivalence about it!

Note: As I’m trying to write this blog my spell-checker kept bopping in and changing all my variations of “there’s” to, you guessed it, there’s! I told you to watch out for spell-checkers; the can mess you up good!

Grammar Punk^™ Examples:

R E 4 | All I know is that these are their sweaters and I’m tired of looking at them.

P U 2 | Don’t ask me who put them there, Paula, but I’m setting them over here.

H E 4 |They’re going to have to come and get those sweaters themselves.

Write your own sentence using these commonly confuseds.

Write with purpose! Especially when it comes to writing your scenes.

Your scene might be in a short story or something longer; doesn’t matter, a scene is a scene. And every scene should have a purpose. And every scene should move the story forward in some way. And every scene should blend with the one before it—and the one following on its heels.

Scenes are the building blocks of your story. Think of scenes as what happens between the commercials of a television show. Remember, scenes should have a beginning, middle, and an end. Scenes should be like wee little mini-stories that when put together form the story as a whole. Don’t worry, that’s not as daunting as it sounds. Actually, I’ve always found that to be sort of comforting. Tackling a story—or gulp—a novel one scene at a time makes the journey much more manageable. And fun. I promise.

Begin at the beginning. Have an idea for a story? Something longer? Can’t seem to get past the idea of getting that idea down on paper and letting it do its thing? Think of it one scene at a time. How does your story begin? Write!