Archivo para el julio de 2007

Dos artistas dejan la escena

Dos de los grandes artistas del vigésimo siglo-cineasta [etiqueta] Ingmar Bergman [/tag] y cuenta Walsh [/tag] - ambos del innovador del balompié [etiqueta] pasaron lejos encendido el mismo día, lunes 30 de julio de 2007.

El balompié todavía se está jugando la manera de Walsh de la cuenta, y las películas actualmente nunca tienen la profundidad emocional o significar que Berman podía inculcar en su repertorio. Por otra parte, eran los caballeros de la clase y del estilo. Es duro a encontrar-y perder-gigantes como éstos.

Otra celebridad pasó lejos el mismo día, newscaster y entrevistador [etiqueta] Tom Snyder [/tag] de la TV. Snyder exhibió un seguro joie de vivre (más probablemente ocasión de joie de bonne), pero yo póngalo apenas en la categoría de los otros dos.

Sin embargo, es inusual que tres tales individuos dejarían nuestro mundo encendido el mismo día, con solamente uno-Bergman-vivir a lo que consideraría una vejez madura.

Es nuestra pérdida colectiva.

Fijado por el grammarblogger

Nueva palabra: Manaicizing

Esto baja en la categoría de “fuera de las bocas de los viejos farts (yo).”

Siempre que tome mi perro para un paseo del coche, él va absolutamente los bonkers, sacando este aullido chillón en la vista de cada animal, sea el pájaro, gato, perro, ardilla o hunched-sobre ser humano. El sonido chillón es realmente oído-perforación, y mientras que él los shreiks él, él agarra maniacally a la ventana.

Hoy, tenía bastantes y grité en él, el “manaicizing parado!” Esto es pronunciado, por supuesto, “muh-nai-ih-cizing” (no soy ningún bueno en estos dispositivos de la pronunciación, y no soy realmente seguro cómo incluso deletrear la palabra correcto-puede ser que necesite dos i antes de la c).

De todas formas, nos recomiendo comienzo un movimiento para esta palabra. El E-mail cinco de sus amigos con esta nueva palabra antes de la puesta del sol, o de usted se encontrará el ir misterioso maniaco.

Fijado por el grammarblogger

100 la mayoría de las palabras y de las frases de Mispronounced

En inglés, por supuesto. Ahora, no compilé esta lista; Soy el ligarse justo a un sitio llamado “100 lo más a menudo posible palabras y frases de Mispronounced en inglés,” que descubrí cuando me preparaba para escribir a Bloques de edificio del inglés entrada en frases.

Conseguiré a la explicación de las frases sobre el fin de semana, pero gozo the list. I’ve already seen several words and phrases that I routinely mispronounce.

Posted by grammarblogger

Match Up: Just For Fun

Match Up

Match each word in the left column with its synonym on the right. When finished, click Answer to see the results. Good luck!

NOTE: This stays permanently at the top, and my daily posts appear right below this.


Match Up provided by The Free Dictionary
Posted by grammarblogger

What Happens Here, Stays Here

We’ve all seen those cheesy Las Vegas ads that tout the benefits of having sex in Sin City (as if you can’t have it anywhere else and as if your spouse/significant other doesn’t care that you go to L.V. by youself or with a circle of horny friends).

The ad saying is: "What happens here, stays here."

Now, the truth of this saying aside (and there is none), let’s look at the grammar. I’ve read numerous grammar explanations that mandate a comma after the first verbal phrase. But why?

Doesn’t "What happens here stays here" make the same sense without the interrupting comma? To me, this is another example of a misued and overused comma, the grammar books (and Oxford English Dictionary if they’ve weighed in on this) be damned.

Now, if you start with a dependent clause, finishing it with a comma is appropriate: "When you sin here, it stays here."

But that doesn’t sell. I guess clean grammar doesn’t sell overall. LOL

Posted by grammarblogger

What’s Wrong With This Headline?

From the Los Angeles Times Sports section, Tuesday, July 24, 2007: Vick told to not go to camp.

Bad grammar, because in truth he was told not to go, which is correct English. Putting the not before go split the infinitive, to go. And worse, it’s not even the correct meaning, though to most ears it makes perfect sense.

I supposed the copper-outters at the Oxford English Dictionary, who basically end up approving of anything that people do everyday, no matter how much it’s based in ignorance and laziness, would approve of this usage, but it jars my ears.

Sorry, folks, but you’re told not to do something, not to not do something.

Posted by grammarblogger

No Such Thing as Unbiased Writing

One of my students in an online writing class enquired whether she should use only "unbiased sources" for her references. I replied in the negative, saying that "there’s no such thing as unbiased writing."

Now, the terms objective writing and objective reporting came about when newspaper owners and editors realized what partisan rags their products had become in the 19th century. Thus was born a movement toward objectivity in the national interest.

Of course, anybody who reads newspapers frequently knows that the editor’s or publisher’s agendas dictate how events are covered. For instance, what’s the ratio of road-kill stories to helping-save-people stories coming out of Iraq from the liberal media and why the preponderance of body-count articles? The answer is obvious, and it’s not just that tragedy sells (though that’s true too).

Similarly, even a scientist has an agenda, and I believe it was a man named [tag]Werner Heisenberg[/tag] who developed the principle that a scientist would invariably find what he’s looking for because his bias would influence the results; nature would oblige, so to speak. (I extrapolate a bit here.)

Anyway, if you can find a work with no bias in it besides the bills you get in the mail, please let me know.

Posted by grammarblogger

NotWords: Now Days

I just graded a pile of papers for a writing class, and I can’t tell you how many students wrote now days when they meant nowadays.

Is this because of faulty hearing, faulty pronunication, or just faulty learning of English words? I mean, nowadays could sound like now days depending upon how the person pronounces it.

Which came first–the now or the days? LOL

(TIP: Don’t use the stupid word anyway. Today works just fine.)

Posted by grammarblogger

Hidden Communication: Reading Body Language

Tonya Reiman body language analystI’m so lousy at effectively using body language that I usually end up sending the exact opposite message of what I’m trying to say. I guess this reveals something about the inner me that comes through when I’m speaking with others. Or maybe it’s just that I look like Richard Nixon (one of the many reasons I don’t post my photo here).

However, [tag]Tonya Reiman[/tag] of Smithtown, N.Y., is a fairly noted body language expert (a word my first newspaper copy editor told me meant nothing, but I couldn’t think of another word here–aha, analyst!), who appears on The O’Reilly Factor. She’s pictured here in her publicity photo, but she’s really much more attractive when she has her glasses on and you see her on TV.

Ms. Reiman has a newsletter available on her Web site, and you can also book her for your next seminar or business meeting if you’ve got that kind of jingle. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t mind having lunch with her to discuss anything and everything except my body language. LOL

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Building Blocks of English: Part III

Yesterday, I discussed the importance of being able to, and knowing when to, combine and separate independent clauses. Usually, it’s obvious when two independent clauses need to stand alone as unique sentences, but people will still try either to pack too much into one sentence or to use too many sentences (and words) when they can combine and economize.

Today, I’m just going to give rules, five of them, for combining and separating independent clauses (see yesterday’s post for a definition and examples), without going into detail about the sins and abuses I mentioned in the first paragraph.

Full Story »

Posted by grammarblogger