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Big Proposal Due January 5?
Your office is probably closed today... No one around to help you with that big proposal due Monday. BUT... ProofreadNOW is still working over the long holiday weekend, as we always do. So if you have that big proposal that's due next week and you want it proofed while you recover from all your partying this weekend, be sure to use our service. It takes 60 seconds to register, and 30 seconds to submit something. We're here for you!
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Let Your Vocabulary Take Flight!
Grounded by your limited vocabulary? Today's list of words might help. Study, practice, converse, and fly!
1. artificial horizon: (a) a distant cloud bank that fools pilots into thinking they are at a higher altitude than they really are; (b) an arc of the horizon measured between a fixed point (as true north) and the vertical circle passing through the center of an object usually in astronomy and navigation clockwise from the north point through 360 degrees; (c) a gyroscopic flight instrument designed to indicate aircraft attitude with respect to the true horizon; (d) the rising of the earth above the horizon of the moon as seen from lunar orbit.
2. fledge: (a) to acquire the feathers necessary for flight or independent activity; (b) fly; (c) to attempt to fly off something (as a gauntlet) in fear; (d) to pass away swiftly.
3. echelon: (a) streaks of condensed water vapor created in the air by an airplane or rocket at high altitudes; (b) the height above the level of the sea; (c) a flight formation in which each airplane flies at a certain elevation above or below and at a certain distance behind and to the right or left of the airplane ahead; (d) a prearranged usually low-altitude flight by one or more airplanes over a public gathering (as an air show).
4. gaggle: (a) a flock of geese; (b) a flock of geese when not in flight; (c) a flock of geese in flight; (d) a flock of ostriches when not in flight.
5. skein: (a) a flock of sparrows in flight; (b) a flock of pigeons in flight; (c) a flock of wildfowl (as geese or ducks) in flight; (d) a flock of chickens in flight.
6. hack: (a) a jet engine designed to produce a pulsating thrust by the intermittent flow of hot gases; (b) a weakly hit fly ball in baseball; (c) original name for a biplane; (d) to rear (a young hawk) in a state of partial liberty especially prior to the acquisition of flight and hunting capabilities.
7. VFR: (a) visual flight rules; (b) velocity flight regulations; (c) variable flight recorder; (d) very fine riting.
8. volant: (a) one that flies; (b) having the wings extended as if in flight � used of a heraldic bird; (c) commanding a high price especially because of intrinsic worth; (d) guided by a high sense of honor and duty.
9. ace: (a) one who fires, pilots, or rides in a rocket; (b) a pilot who flies behind and outside the leader of a flying formation; (c) a triangular swept-back airplane wing with a usually straight trailing edge; (d) a combat pilot who has brought down at least five enemy airplanes.
10. escadrille: (a) an aircraft similar to an airplane but without an engine; (b) a unit of a European air command containing usually six airplanes; (c) a path customarily followed by airplanes; (d) a special tool used to create precision holes in an aileron of an airplane.
If errors in printed publications are making your company's image fall from the sky like a stone, ProofreadNOW has the perfect flight plan to restore your hopes and get the wind beneath your wings once again. We examine the spelling, punctuation, and clarity of your ad, proposal, Web page, brochure, or anything else in print. We're streamlined and ready for takeoff.
1:c 2:a 3:c 4:b 5:c 6:d 7:a 8:b 9:d 10:b Rate Yourself: You have a ticket on People's Express, aka People's Distress.
3 to 5 correct: You're flying Untied Airlines (yes, Untied - no e-mails, please).
6 to 7 correct: Southwest for you---MOOOO!
8 to 9 correct: The USAF Thunderbirds will take you.
All 10 correct: You get to fly with the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels!
A ProofreadNOW shirt to the first person who knows why the flying theme is here today. Click the image.
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| Weekly Grammar Tip |
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Add an S? Or don't add an S?
Here are some examples of when the letter s is added to a possessive form.
Nouns plural in form, singular in meaning. When the singular form of a noun ending in s looks like a plural and the plural form is the same as the singular, the possessive of both singular and plural is formed by the addition of an apostrophe only. If ambiguity threatens, use of to avoid the possessive.
politics' true meaning
economics' forerunners
this species' first record (or, better, the first record of this species)
The same rule applies when the name of a place or an organization (or the last element in a name) is a plural form ending in s, such as the United States, even though the entity is singular.
the United States' role in international law
Highland Hills' late mayor
Calloway Gardens' former curator
the National Academy of Sciences' new policy
Names like "Euripides." The possessive is formed without an additional s for a name of two or more syllables that ends in an eez sound.
Euripides' tragedies
the Ganges' source
Xerxes' armies
Words and names ending in unpronounced "s." To avoid an awkward appearance, an apostrophe without an s may be used for the possessive of singular words and names ending in an unpronounced s. Opt for this practice only if you are comfortable with it and are certain that the s is indeed unpronounced.
Descartes' three dreams
the marquis' mother
Francois' efforts to learn English
Vaucouleurs' assistance to Joan of Arc
Albert Camus' novels (the s in Albert Camus is unpronounced)
but
Raoul Camus's anthology (the s in Raoul Camus is pronounced)
W.E.B. DuBois's writings (the s in DuBois is pronounced)
Other exceptions. For ... sake expressions traditionally omit the s when the noun ends in an s or an s sound.
for righteousness' sake
for goodness' sake
for Jesus' sake
but
Jesus's contemporaries
Where neither an s nor an apostrophe alone looks right (as with such names as Isis), avoid the possessive and use of instead.
Source: The Chicago Manual of Style.
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| Word of the Week |
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Hanukkah
Pronunciation: HAh-nah-kuh
Function: noun
Etymology: Hebrew hanukkah dedication
Date: 1864
Definition: an 8-day Jewish holiday beginning on the 25th of Kislev and commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after its defilement by Antiochus of Syria
Example: "This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 21. Happy Hanukkah!"
- The Editor
Definition source: Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary.
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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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