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Percent. Is? Or Are?
Make your choice usually based on the number of the noun preceding the verb in the sentence.
Tali reported that 80 percent of the cake is now gone. (The verb is singular because cake is singular.)
Kate assured us that 90 percent of the water skiers were professionals from the defunct Cypress Gardens water ski show. (The verb is plural because water skiers is plural.
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Far-flung Vocabulary List.
Our first vocabulary quiz of 2008 is all over the map. We do this every now and then, usually when the vocabulary GPS is on the fritz. Take your best shot at today's quiz.
1. quango: (a) (capped) a province in Mexico; (b) credit granted to an individual especially to finance the purchase of consumer goods or to defray personal expenses; (c) a partly autonomous regulatory agency organized outside the civil service but financed and appointed by the government; (d) a variation of the tango, involving four dancers instead of two.
2. bacon: (a) money gained through employment or legislation; (b) money gained through embezzlement or bribery; (c) something (as money) given in earnest; (d) caboodle.
3. balefire: (a) a barn fire, caused by spontaneous combustion of bales of hay; (b) an outdoor fire often used as a signal fire; (c) sulfur; (d) ill will, malevolence.
4. roustabout: (a) a circus worker who erects and dismantles tents, cares for the grounds, and handles animals and equipment; (b) a person who can do passable work at various tasks; (c) one engaged in logging; (d) a football play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff, hides the ball against his hip, and rolls out.
5. pecuniary: (a) different from the usual or normal; (b) of or relating to money; (c) something trivial; (d) something major.
6. biome: (a) a major ecological community type (as tropical rain forest, grassland, or desert); (b) an upward fold in rock whose sides dip uniformly in all directions; (c) of, relating to, or comprising the northern biotic area characterized especially by dominance of coniferous forests; (d) (capped) the Jacksonville Jaguars football stadium.
7. lucre: (a) monetary gain; (b) a person who borrows money on a promissory note; (c) a sweet crystallizable material that consists wholly or essentially of sucrose; (d) one that has an attractive appearance.
8. prairie schooner: (a) (capped) the best-selling brand of beer in Nebraska; (b) a covered wagon used by pioneers in cross-country travel; (c) a long narrow shallow-draft boat with flat or slightly V-shaped bottom and one or two masts each carrying a triangular sail; (d) a seagoing ship equipped for carrying a train of railroad cars.
9. aeronaut: (a) any of a band of heroes sailing with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece; (b) a blue signal flag with a white square in the center used to indicate that a merchant vessel is ready to sail; (c) a traveler by water; (d) one who operates or travels in an airship or balloon.
10. casus belli: (a) the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction; (b) an event or action that justifies or allegedly justifies a war or conflict; (c) a contract of peace between two warring parties; (d) upsetus stomachus.
If errors in printed publications are running you all over the place, from the printers back to the office, then to the library, then to the Rolodex, then to the unemployment office and finally to the almshouse, STOP! ProofreadNOW has the solution to your minimize your carbon footprint and make your rivals green with envy (I see a future vocab quiz on this subject!). We examine the spelling, punctuation, and clarity of your ad, proposal, Web page, brochure, or anything else in print. We're focusing, focusing, focusing on your text, making it perfect for your readers.
1:c 2:a 3:b 4:a 5:b 6:a 7:a 8:b 9:d 10:b Rate Yourself: Your TV will break Saturday night at 8pm, letting you watch the shopping channel and nothing more.
3 to 5 correct: OK, watch the Pats and the Jags play, but on a pocket-size TV monitor while on a bus.
6 to 7 correct: Watch the game at the local sports bar: fun; come home smelling like beer and cigarettes: not fun.
8 to 9 correct: You get the recliner for the game.
All 10 correct: You get the recliner, PLUS Tom Brady waves to you on camera and points to your name written on his helmet.
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| Weekly Grammar Tip |
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Forming Possessives of Singular Nouns
This is one of the most often-confused aspects of writing today: How do you show the possessive form of a singular noun? Is it "the boss' desk" or is it "the boss's desk"? Read on, and see if our examples help you today.
To form the possessive of a singular noun not ending in an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun. (But you knew all these...)
my lawyer's advice
my child's teacher
Tulabelle's haircut
Mr. and Mrs. Snerd's woodpile
Illinois's politicians
Arkansas's former governor
Des Moines's mayor
the corps's leadership
To form the possessive of a singular noun that ends in an s sound, be guided by the way you pronounce the word.
If a new syllable is formed in the pronunciation of the possessive, add an apostrophe plus s.
your boss's approval
the witness's reply
Ms. Lopez's application
Mr. and Mrs. Morris's plane tickets
St. Louis's airport
Dallas's football team
Congress's failures
If the addition of an extra syllable would make a word ending in an s hard to pronounce, add the apostrophe only.
Officer Phillips' water ski
Judge Hastings' decision
the Burroughs' condominium
Los Angeles' freeways
New Orleans' restaurants
Jesus' parables
Moses' flight from Egypt (it was 'grounded' but arrived nevertheless)
for goodness' sake
Achilles' heel [but: Achilles tendon]
NOTE: Individual differences in pronunciation will affect the way some of these possessives are written. For example, if you pronounce the possessive form of Perkins as two syllables, you will write Mr. Perkins' kindness; if you pronounce the possessive of Perkins as three syllables, you will write Mr. Perkins's kindness. The important thing is to listen to your own pronunciation. When you hear yourself pronounce the possessive of boss as two syllables (boss's) and the possessive of witness as three (witness's), you will not be tempted to write your boss' approval or the witness' reply. Naturally, tradition should take precedence over your ear. For example, the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain is appointed to the Court of St. James's (not, as you might expect, Court of St. James).
When forming the possessive of any noun ending in s (for example, Mr. Hodges), always place the apostrophe at the end of the original word, never within it.
Mr. Hodges' message (not: Mr. Hodge's message)
Source: The Gregg Reference Manual.
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| Word of the Week |
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contemn
Pronunciation: con-TEM
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English contempnen, from Middle French contempner, from Latin contemnere, from com- + temnere to despise
Date: 15th century
Definition: to view or treat with contempt as mean and despicable; reject with disdain.
Example: "Samuelson would have us not only contemn the treatment of economics of such men as Jewkes, F.A. Hayek, Ropke, Anderson, Watt, and von Mises, we are also to doubt their motives."
- William F. Buckley, God and Man at Yale, Regenery Books, 1986.
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Copyright 2008 by ProofreadNOW.com, Inc., 447 Boston Street, Topsfield, MA 01983 USA. Published weekly (we try) by the editors at ProofreadNOW.com, Inc. and sent to customers of record and to opt-in guests. Many readers find it is best to read a portion, put it aside, then come back and read more.
Please rate this GrammarTip (10=high, 0=low):
10 - Like having all your picks win the bowl games.
8 - Like having half the day off after New Year's Day.
6 - Like finding a parking space at the mall.
4 - Like finding a parking space near the mall--across the street.
2 - Like working all day the day after New Year's Day.
0 - Like staying home and forgetting the office was open all day the day after New Year's Day...until they tracked you down.
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