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Mr. Smith
Gold Gut Grabbers
Gut Grabbers: Week 1a
You may not use a plural pronoun for an unknown singular. e.g. One should bring his or her pencil to class. {Remember "everyone" and "everybody" refer to each person in a singular manner!" Week 1b
If she is on the phone, answer the phone: "This is she." Week 2 - When trying to decide whether to use "I" or "me," use the same with the plural as you would use with the singular. Week 3 -
Double Negatives are no-no’s
As you learned in grade school, double negatives are not permissible (except for strict exceptions) in English. The problem with adult writers and speakers is with mild forms of “double negatives.” Adverbs such as scarcely, only, but, and hardly; pronouns like no one and nothing, and conjunctions like neither and nor are all negative in effect and should not be used with other negatives. An especially egregious error results from trying to make a negative word “more negative”: “We will go irregardless of the weather”: “The men unloosened their ties.” Exception
A double negative is acceptable when the second negative is almost an afterthought, as in the children’s song about George Washington: “I will not lie / Oh no, not I.” Using a double negative is also acceptable when one negative word or phrase is used to cancel another. “Not for nothing was George Washington called “the father of our Country.” Week 4
False Comparisons
Comparing two things which cannot logically be compared is one of the most common grammatical errors. For example, “Foods are not as rich tasting in France as England” makes an illogical comparison of foods and England. The sentence is easily cured by inserting the word “in” before England. Then the foods are not as rich in England as they are in France! Although false comparisons don’t always cause confusion, they can be very confusing. For example, “The employee’s view, like the manager, was not relevant to the decision” leaves your audience wondering whether the manager or his/her view was irrelevant! Remember any ambiguity you create in your speaking or writing could be construed against you!!!! Week 5
The different from/different than conundrum
Rule: This common problem results from confusing adverb/adjective forms. Remember from grade school that adjectives and adverbs can take 3 forms, positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive is the basic form i.e. a good book. The comparative form compares 2 things i.e. a better book. The superlative form compares one of a group of more than two i.e. the best book of the three. The superlative should not be used with only two items. The comparative form is used almost exclusively with the conjunction “than.” However, since the adjective different has no degree (i.e. there is no such word as “differenter” or “differentest”), it can not compare anything. Thus, the conjunction than is inappropriate. The correct phrase is different from. Gut Grabber: Substitute the word differs for the word different.
E.g. Which of the following two sentences is correct?
Eva’s recipe is different from Zsa Zsa’s. or Eva’s recipe is different than Zsa Zsa’s. Substitute differs for different and your ear tells you that the 1st sentence is correct: i.e. use “from.”
Note: “differs from” is almost always the correct choice. Week 6
When using fractions, or words that suggest parts, the verb must agree with the subject of the sentence or clause. Therefore, the sentence "A majority of Americans backs Bush...." is correct because the subject of the sentence is majority and that is considered a singular noun. For the same reason, the verb in the following example sentence would read "The state department should take into consideration that half of the Iraqis is of the Sunni sect.” In the sentence where the subject is "two-thirds," the verb would be "are" because two-thirds is a plural subject. Week 7
Certain nouns are singular in form but may be either singular or plural in concept e.g. couple, family, group, staff, majority, team, jury, total, number, and committee. Most of the time, collectives are treated as singular not plural. But, as with many grammatical questions, function rather than form is the more important consideration. Simply stated, what the writer has in mind should be the controlling factor. The best way to determine which verb form to use with a collective is to ask yourself what you want to say. Most of the time, the correct verb form will be evident. Here’s a hint, when using the words number or total, the conjunction “A” refers to a plural, the conjunction “The” refers to a singular. Example of the problem: Which of the following sentences is correct?
• The couple were married four years ago. ** The couple was married four years ago.
• Now how about this? The couple was divorced and is now living in separate homes in different parts of the city. Doesn’t make sense, does it? Week 8
“A” vs. “An”
The a/an rules seem pretty straightforward; you say a boy, an elephant, etc. But how about this sentence: "She received (a or an) MBA degree from Purdue University." M is a consonant, but the sound is “em.” Which article should you use? The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (sound) quality of the first word in a letter, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the letter. If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter makes a consonant-type sound, you use "a." So, "an" would be the most appropriate choice in the example above because the "M" in the abbreviation MBA is sounded as "em." Week 9
Could Of or Could Have?
Could of does not exist. Neither do should of, will of, or would of as verbs.
Write could have, should have, will have, or would have.
If you want to emphasize the pronunciation, write it as a verb contraction: could've, should've, will've, or would've. Week 10
There are many examples of redundancies: phrases which say twice what needs to be said only once, like "past history." Advertisers are particularly liable to redundancy in hyping their offers: "as an added bonus" (as a bonus), "preplan" (plan), and "free gift." Two other common redundancies which are clearly errors are "and plus" (plus) and "end result" (result). But some other redundancies are contained in phrases sanctioned by tradition: "safe haven," "hot water heater," "new beginning," and "tuna fish." Week 11
Rule 11a Compare to/Compare with:
To 'compare to' is to point out resemblances between dissimilar objects; to 'compare with' is to point out differences between related objects. You might 'compare' the Ringling Bros. Circus 'to' parliament, but you would 'compare' it 'with' the Moscow Circus. Rule 11ab Farther/Further:
'Farther' is used when referring to physical distance; 'further' is used when physical measure is not relevant - as in Further reading would be helpful. |
