Author Archives: [email protected]

Grammar In The News – It’s So Gangsta!

By | | , , , , ,
Comments Off on Grammar In The News – It’s So Gangsta!

Grammar In TheI love it when grammar issues become a news story. Grammar is important! And apparently so is knowing your slang when you’re on a national game show.

http://nationalpost.com/entertainment/television/jeopardy-contestant-loses-thousands-by-going-gangsta-on-grammar

 

Email, RSS Follow

Confusing Words Of The Week

By | | , , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Confusing Words Of The Week

Words of the WeekIt’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use the Ask PTB tab on the website or send an email to [email protected] and they may appear here soon!

This week’s words are:

  • Casual – incidental; informal
    • The party attire was casual, so I wore jeans.
  • Causal – causing
    • The casual link to the accident was her cell phone.

Memory tips:

Casual – “You all” (casUAL) are more comfortable in an informal atmosphere

Causal – Root is “cause” so “causal” is “causing”

Email, RSS Follow

Grammar Giggle – Everyday

By | | , , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Grammar Giggle – Everyday

This was another sign I recently saw for sale. Here is a link to a blog post I wrote on this very topic. This sign should be “Every Day.”

proofthatblog.com

 

Email, RSS Follow

Grammar Giggle – Tog Hether

By | | , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Grammar Giggle – Tog Hether

I saw this sign in a Home Goods store recently. It took me a minute looking at it before I was completely confused. I have never heard of a “tog hether,” but I can’t think of why else they would have added the extra “h.” I’d like to know about tog hether because I love to travel and it sounds like a fun place!

Tog Hether

Email, RSS Follow

Replay Thursday

By | | , , , , ,
Comments Off on Replay Thursday

Thursday ReplayIt’s time for a review of recent blog posts just in case you’ve missed them. We call this Replay Thursday. Here are posts from Proof That proofreading blog and 60 Is The New 60 blog during the past week.

Grammar Giggle – Movelist

Grammar Giggle – In The Past, I Passed The Top Score

Confusing Words of the Week

I’m Number 2!

 

Email, RSS Follow

Confusing Words of the Week

By | | , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Confusing Words of the Week

Words of the WeekIt’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use the Ask PTB tab on the website or send an email to [email protected] and they may appear here soon!

This week’s words were part of yesterday’s Grammar Giggle. They are:

Passed – moved along; transferred (past tense of past)

He passed along his notes from the seminar to Jean.

Past – time gone by

In the past, our televisions had five channels.

Memory tips:

Passed – Think of the “ss” as tracks where you are moving something along

Past – Think of “ast” as like “aft”er as in something that has already happened.

 

 

Email, RSS Follow

Grammar Giggle – In The Past, I Passed The Top Score

By | | , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Grammar Giggle – In The Past, I Passed The Top Score

This popped up on my phone while I was playing an online game recently. Watch tomorrow for a new Confusing Words of the Week on the difference between “passed” and “past” and how to remember the difference.

Passed

Email, RSS Follow

Replay Thursday

By | | , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Replay Thursday

Thursday ReplayIt’s time for a review of recent blog posts just in case you’ve missed them. We call this Replay Thursday. Here are posts from Proof That proofreading blog and 60 Is The New 60 blog during the past week.

Grammar Giggle – Mater Main

Grammar Giggle – Junk Mail

Confusing Words of the Week

For Want Of A Comma–The Oxford Comma Update

 

Email, RSS Follow

For Want Of A Comma–The Oxford Comma Update

By | | , , , , , , ,
Comments Off on For Want Of A Comma–The Oxford Comma Update

Update Oxford CommaNearly a year ago, I wrote a blog post about a case, the crux of which was the lack of an oxford comma. Here is the section of that post quoting the language missing the Oxford comma:

Here is the law’s wording about activities NOT meriting overtime pay:

The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:

(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.

Based on this language, is packing for shipment its own activity or is it packing for the distribution of the three things on the list? If an Oxford comma had separated “packing for shipment” and “or,” the meaning would have been much more clear. According to court documents, the drivers arguing for overtime actually distribute perishable food, but they do not pack it. That argument helped win the case.

The Oakhurst Dairy drivers who brought the case had asked for $10 million. Court documents filed last week indicate the case was settled for $5 million. All for the want of a comma . . .

Email, RSS Follow