The GrammarPhile Blog

Horrible Homonyms: What Your Spell Checker Won't Tell You

The following post is by guest blogger, Tom Drinkard. Tom challenges all of us to see how well our spell checkers work.

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Homonyms are devilish things.  They are, of course, words that sound alike—and may even be spelled alike—but have totally different meanings.

For a writer, they can be like poisonous vipers.  Misuse of a homonym can ruin an otherwise literate document.  A reader, noticing homonym errors, may simply stop reading.  Whether in business documents, fiction or personal correspondence, a poorly chosen word—quite frequently a homonym—can be deadly.

But, a writer may say, “My word processor has an excellent built in spell-checker.” Good, but consider the following fictional story from WWI.  How many homonym errors do you spot?

Treat this as a test, and then grade your score at the end of the article.  Copy/paste the story and run it through your word processing program for a quick spell cheque  (bet your software found that one).  How many of the errors did your program find? 

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Major General Wytheby-Foster stood in the lea of his squadron’s hanger, sheltering from the vicious wind. 

His aid stood nervously by, watching as his superior officer checked the fabric of each wing of every biplane. The general’s meticulous inspection had the affect of making the aid remember one of his boss’ guiding principals, “Check everything twice.”

All night long, the general had poured over the plans for today’s operation.  With the terrible weather, an ariel attack on the gorilla bases was virtually a case of the old saw, “Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t.”  Was it reasonable to send his fliers up with the wind roaring and lightening ripping the skies? Wytheby-Foster asked himself again and again.

He wasn’t a man who was phased by criticism.  He had personally led squadrons of warplanes into direct battle and, on occasion, had participated in strategic faints to draw the enemy into traps. It was his flare for unconventional, but successful tactics, which had earned him his stars. Catching the enemy unawares was his fort.  Today appeared to be the right time for audacity.  Weather that was barely fit for flying augered well for surprise. If his squadrons flue today, the enemy would be totally off-guard.  If he ignored the opportunity, it would be a gaff, a huge waste of a military advantage.  Wytheby-Foster could not foregoe this chance.

“Brixby, form the troops.” He said to his aid.  This was the queue to assemble the flyers in formation for his pre-mission address. 

Once the flyers and their crews were in formation and the general had given them their orders, he told them to take care of themselves above all, he said, “I don’t want you to hesitate to bale out if necessary. You are too important to your families and the Air Service.  Above all, come home.  I want to complement all of you on you’re courage, but don’t sacrifice yourself on the alter of unnecessary daring-do.”

“Now go to your plains and, for your old commander, once you’ve begun your assent, give me a wave from your cockpit.  Godspeed, gentlemen, we cannot afford to loose any of you,” he said as he concluded his remarks.

~~~~~~~~~

How many homonym errors did your computer spot?  How many did you spot that the spell-checker missed?

19 to 24	Excellent
13 to 18	Not bad, use your dictionary frequently
8 to 12	Have another proofreader look at the text before publishing
Less than 8	Some excellent homonym-finder software is available

Click here to see the errors!

 

Tom Drinkard is the lead editor for Pinnacle Editing and a writer.

Avoid Confusing Words When Writing for Business

The goal of this week's post is to help you become a better business writer. The better your writing, the greater your chances of success. It's just a fact of life. Sure, there are some exceptions to every rule. But why not better your chances by avoiding the following common confusions?

So; so that. So as a conjunction means "therefore"; so that means "in order that."

• The work is now finished, so you can all go home.
• Please finish what you are doing so that we can all go home.

Individual; party; person; people. Use individual to refer to someone whom you wish to distinguish from a larger group of people.

• We wish to honor those individuals who had the courage to serve their country in its time of great need.

Use party only to refer to someone involved in a legal proceeding.

• All the parties to the original agreement must sign the attached amendment.

Use person to refer to a human being in all other contexts.

• Please tell me the name of the person in charge of your water ski tournament.

If reference is made to more than one person, the term people usually sounds more natural than the plural form persons. In any event, always use people when referring to a large group.

• If you like, I can send you a list of all the people in our club who will be skiing in the tournament.

Doubt that; doubt whether. Use doubt that in negative statements and in questions. Use doubt whether in all other cases.

• We do not doubt that she is capable. (Negative statement.)
• Does anyone doubt that the check was mailed? (Question.)
• I doubt whether I can go.

Everyday; every day. As one word, everyday is an adjective. Don't use it for each day.

• You'll soon master the everyday (ordinary) routine of the job.
• He has skied every day (each day) this week.

Fiscal; financial. The adjective fiscal (as in fiscal year or FY) can be used to refer to all types of financial matters--those of governments and private businesses. However, with the exception of fiscal year, it is better to use fiscal only in connection with government matters and to use financial in all other situations.

How to Adapt Your Writing Style to Your Business

The following is a guest post written by Kyle Simpson.

When you got your bachelor’s in English, everyone told you how lucky you were to have a degree that would help you in any field you chose to work in, from corporate marketing to communications to service writing for an automotive shop.  But now that you’ve started your professional life, you’re having trouble adapting the lessons you learned from classical literature and poetry classes to practical purposes.  After all, how does penning a sonnet relate to organizing a marketing campaign for dog kibble?  However, having a strong grasp of the mechanics of the English language (spelling, grammar, vocabulary, structure) can only help you in any area where writing and communicating (or even thinking and organizing) are required.  You just have to work at it.

1. Write for your audience.  The first thing you’ll want to do is tailor your writing to the business you’re in.  For example, writing a service manual for a vacuum cleaner doesn’t exactly call for flowery prose (“Attach the hose with the utmost attention to detail, ensuring that all parts go together like cake and ice cream” will probably leave customers scratching their heads – and you out of a job). 
2. Format properly.  Every position is going to call for a specific style, so do whatever you can to learn the format as quickly as possible.  Advertising, marketing, and press releases all require completely different types of writing (even though they’re closely related fields), and you’re going to stand a lot better chance of excelling at your job if your writing is versatile. 
3. Be smart.  Believe it or not, there is a certain amount of logic involved.  If you want to run a successful ad campaign, you need to learn how to influence people in a subtle manner, whereas a press release is the very simple conveyance of information, largely unembellished.  You will benefit a lot more from learning how to say what you want if you understand the reasoning behind it.
4. Never stop learning.  Chances are, you’re not going to write the definitive novel of your generation, or get the dream job working in a publishing house or writing literary reviews for a well-known magazine.  It’s much more likely that you’ll take a paying job wherever you can get it.
5. Have fun!  You can still use your writing skills to your advantage and enjoy whatever career you pursue.  And you’ll find that pushing yourself to learn a style that is not familiar to you will present not only difficulties, but rewards.  There is nothing more fulfilling than flexing your mind in a new and challenging way…and succeeding.

The main thing to keep in mind is that confidence is the key.  If you don’t believe you can master a particular style of writing, you’ve already lost the battle.  People don’t like to change, but we are, by nature, adaptable creatures, and teaching yourself to think and express your ideas in new ways can be as easy or as hard as you make it.  The truth is, being flexible will not only make your job easier, it will allow you more opportunities in the future.  And if you are writing that novel or blogging in your spare time, every technique you pick up will allow you a greater range of expression and help you to hone your individual style.

Kyle Simpson writes for Medical Billing and Coding Certification, where you can find more information about a career and training in the medical field.

 

Fun with Adverbs

Let's spend some time this week on parts of speech. This post is on the adverb. The fun is in getting them right, and, if your personality is such, helping others with their adverbs.

An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb can also modify an entire sentence, as in Regrettably, my opponent won the slalom competition.

Almost all words that end in ly are adverbs (quickly, largely), but some are not (friendly and leisurely are adjectives, though the latter is correct, if awkward, as an adverb too). Many common adverbs do not end in ly (very, quite), and some of these are adjectives as well as adverbs (better, long) and may require a hyphen joining them to the word they modify to prevent misreading. Often a word that is usually a preposition becomes an adverb, as in Used-car buyers like to trade up, in which up modifies the verb trade rather than acting as a preposition.

Adverbs are often misused as adjectives, as in I feel badly. Adverbs are also often used when adjectival forms might be better, e.g. first...second vs. firstly...secondly.

Adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses are so called not because they contain adverbs—often they do not—but because they function as adverbs. He swore when shaving and sang while he showered contains the adverbial phrase when shaving, modifying swore, and the adverbial phrase while he showered, modifying sang. Since swore and sang are verbs, the modifying phrase and clause are considered adverbial.

A conjunctive adverb is one used to join clauses or to connect the thought of a sentence to the preceding sentence. In She made the first three buoys; however, she crashed before the end of the course, the adverb however is conjunctive. In However, she didn't win the tournament, the adverb However connects the thought of the sentence to that of some preceding sentence and thus is conjunctive. It is also a sentence modifier.

Now - go have fun writing your own adverbial phrases!

Misused Words

Most of us are prone to misuse words - some of us more than others. Whether in public speech, or in heated tête-à-tête, we panic and forget how a word is used. Don't despair—it happens to the best of us. Sometimes we're confused for just a fleeting moment: How many readers recall an incumbent U.S. president, speaking at his party's convention on live television, confusing Hubert Humphrey with Horatio Hornblower? Other times we're confused for a lifetime. 

Consider the word Frankenstein. In 1818 a young woman prodigy named Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (wife of the poet in today's Aside) published a horror story called Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, about a German student, Frankenstein, who fabricated a monster that ultimately became the agent of his creator's destruction. The aptness of the fable and of the foreign-sounding name popularized the plot and notion among the many who never read the classic novel. For decades it was therefore felt necessary to correct those who thought that Frankenstein was the monster ("What are you going to be on Halloween?" "Ooooh. I'm dressing up as ... Frankenstein!" "Um, no, you silly, you're dressing up as Frankenstein's monster." "Oh, yeah.").

In any direct reference to the story itself, this correction is still in order. But in alluding to situations in which the creature undoes the creator—e.g., man and his machines—it seems permissible to many writers to transfer the maker's proper name to his invention. The change follows the natural course of acceptance. Thus a mackintosh (not the computer), a Ford, a silhouette—to say nothing of a Rembrandt, a Malaprop, or a sandwich—are familiar extensions that would encourage legitimizing a Frankenstein, and not just by yielding spinelessly to a common misunderstanding.

Here are some additional commonly misused words:

• honed/homed: as in "We honed [read: homed] in on the solution at our staff meeting"
• climactic/climatic: weather changes are climatic, a Big Poppy walk-off grand slam is always climactic
• capitol/capital: the capitol often has a gold domed roof, and it is always in the capital city, and you write the name of the capital with a leading capital letter, as in "Carson City" or "Pierre"

What commonly misused words bug you?

Writing for Business -- Create a Professional Image

I recently had a conversation with Rick Roberge who told me what a great service our company provides. Rick, a sales coach and trainer, said he believes that every salesperson who writes proposals, e-mails, letters, etc., should incorporate proofreading as a standard part of their business writing process.  Rick then went on to write a blog post about this topic.

I had to agree with Rick about the need for attention to detail in writing. As you may know, I've written before about the lack of quality and the inattention to detail that I see almost every day on the Web and in e-mails and other written correspondence.

I'm constantly amazed that there are folks who think it doesn't matter that their posts include misspellings or bad grammar. Their attitude is that it's more important to have timely posts than correct posts. But while I firmly believe a casual style of writing is appropriate in many instances, such as blog posts and some e-mails, this doesn't mean that all writing guidelines should be ignored.

First impressions are very important. If you're a businessperson who comes across unprofessionally in a first encounter, whether face-to-face or in writing, you may very well take yourself out of the running for new business.  I'm totally in agreement with Rick on this!

So are you in agreement with us? How do you approach your business writing projects? Do you use the "get it done quickly" approach, without paying heed to misspellings, grammar and punctuation? Or do you stop to proofread before posting, e-mailing, or printing your document?

We at ProofreadNOW.com can help you present a professional image. But if you're looking for help in perfecting your company's professional sales image, I recommend you talk with Rick at Kurlan Associates.

What business communication, writing, editing, topics should we cover?

Each week (well mostly!) our team posts articles to the GrammarPhile blog that we hope you find helpful and interesting. Our goal is to provide posts that you look forward to reading and that you find helpful as you go through your daily work routine. But I sometimes wonder if we're giving you what you'd really like to read. So this week, I'm inviting you to give us your feedback.

Will you give us a few moments to take our brief survey and give us your thoughts?

This is your chance to help shape this blog, because after all, this blog is for you!

Click here to take the survey.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you.

Vocabulary Test - How many of these do you know?

Time for another vocabulary test. Answers are located at the bottom of this post. But don't cheat -- see how many of these you get correct!

1. epitaph: (a) a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing; (b) a work of art (as a novel or drama) that resembles or suggests an epic; (c) an inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there; (d) a riddle.

2. round-robin: (a) a written petition, memorial, or protest to which the signatures are affixed in a circle so as not to indicate who signed first; (b) a bill of sale returned to the buyer to memorialize the transaction; (c) slang for bird flu; (d) rockin-robin's sedentary sibling in the play Bye-Bye Birdie.

3. cairn: (a) battlefield; (b) a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark; (c) a song or hymn of grief or lamentation; especially one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites; (d) a burial vault.

4. buffalo soldier: (a) an African-American soldier serving in the western United States after the War Between the States; (b) a soldier dispatched to secure fresh meat for troops; (c) a scout; (d) an American pop singing group of the 1960s.

5. propitiation: (a) fortification; (b) an antagonistic military maneuver; (c) an atoning sacrifice; (d) something pleasing to the senses; especially, something aromatic.

6. antebellum: (a) existing after a war; especially: existing immediately after the American War Between the States; (b) an antitoxin to a venom; (c) serving to prevent, derail, or alleviate war; (d) existing before a war; especially: existing before the American War Between the States.

7. wraith: (a) the exact likeness of a living person seen usually just before death as an apparition; (b) an existence after death; (c) abundance of valuable material possessions or resources stored in eternity; (d) destitute.

8. Valhalla: (a) a memorial service; (b) the great hall in Norse mythology where heroes slain in battle are received; (c) in memory of; (d) the great hall in Norse mythology to which villains slain in battle are banished.

9. copperhead: (a) a white Southerner acting in support of the reconstruction governments after the American War Between the States often for private gain; (b) a shroud; (c) a member of an escort or honor guard; (d) a person in the northern states who sympathized with the South during the American War Between the States.

10. ultima ratio regum: (a) death is the final reward; (b) the final argument of kings, i.e., war; (c) if you wish peace, prepare for war; (d) the king remembers the most.

With Memorial Day on the horizon, we all start to think of summer. But let's not forget the real meaning of Memorial Day. ProofreadNOW encourages you to fly your flag this Memorial Day, thank a war veteran, and send a message of gratitude to a military person on active duty somewhere.

 

Answers: 1:c 2:a 3:b 4:a 5:c 6:d 7:a 8:b 9:d 10:b

 

Infinitives: To Split or Not?

We left you dangling on whether or not to split infinitives when writing your business communcations. We conclude today with the straight dope on the subject.

Splitting an infinitive (that is, inserting an adverb between to and the verb) should be avoided because (a) it typically produces an awkward construction and (b) the adverb usually functions more effectively in another location.

- WEAK: It was impossible to even see a foot ahead.
- BETTER: It was impossible to see even a foot ahead.
- WEAK: He always tries to carefully do the work.
- BETTER: He always tries to do the work carefully.

However, split the infinitive when alternative locations of the adverb produce an awkward or weakly constructed sentence.

A. Before splitting an infinitive, first try to place the adverb after the object of the infinitive. In many instances the adverb functions most effectively in that location.
- You ought to review these plans thoroughly.
(BETTER THAN: You ought to thoroughly review these plans.)

- I need to make the decision quickly.
(BETTER THAN: I need to quickly make the decision.)

B. If step A does not produce an effective sentence, try to locate the adverb directly before or directly after the infinitive. In some cases the adverb functions effectively in this position; in other cases the resulting sentence is awkward.

CONFUSING: I want you to supervise the work that is to be done personally. (When the object of the infinitive is long or involved, it is difficult to place the adverb after the object without creating confusion. Here personally seems to modify to be done when in fact it should modify to supervise.

AWKWARD: I want you to supervise personally the work that is to be done.

GOOD: I want you personally to supervise the work that is to be done.

C. If steps A and B fail to produce an effective sentence, try splitting the infinitive. If a good sentence results, keep it; if not, try rewording the sentence.

CONFUSING: I want you to consider Jenkins' proposal to handle all our deliveries carefully. (When carefully is located after the complete object, it no longer clearly refers to to consider.)

AWKWARD: I want you carefully to consider Jenkins' proposal to handle all our deliveries.

AWKWARD: I want you to consider carefully Jenkins' proposal to handle all our deliveries.

GOOD: I want you to carefully consider Jenkins' proposal ...

D. When an infinitive consists of to be plus a past or present participle of another verb, inserting an adverb before the participle is not considered splitting an infinitive. Nevertheless, in many such sentences it may be possible to locate the adverb to better advantage elsewhere in the sentence.

- These plans need to be thoroughly reviewed.
- Claude appears to be continually turning up with last-minute objections to any decision I make.

NOTE: By the same token, it is perfectly acceptable to position an adverb between a helping verb and a past or present participle. It is even acceptable to position an adverb within the elements of a helping verb.

- This new technology has already been effectively applied in many industries.
- I hear that Martha has been seriously considering early retirement.

Source: The Gregg Reference Manual.

Using Infinitives in Corporate Documents

Infinitives are used in many of the corporate communications we review. But what is the best way to use them? Let's take at look this week.

An infinitive is the form of the verb preceded by to (for example, to write, to do, to be). When two or more infinitives are used in a parallel construction, the word to may be omitted after the first infinitive unless special emphasis is desired.

• Ask JoJo to sign both copies of the contract, return the original to me, and keep the other. (Return and keep are infinitives without to.)
• I would like you to teach Melanie to ski, to give her help if she needs it, and to see that she does not drown. (For emphasis, to is used with all three infinitives--teach, give, and see.)
  NOTE: The word to is usually dropped when the infinitive follows such verbs as see, hear, feel, let, help, and need.
• Will you please help me prepare the report? (rather than: help me to prepare)
• You need not return the clipping. (or: You do not need to return the clipping.)

Infinitives have two main tense forms: the present infinitive and the perfect infinitive.

(1) The perfect infinitive is used to express action that has been completed before the time of the main verb.

• I am sorry to have caused you so much trouble last week. (The act of causing trouble was completed before the act of expressing grief; therefore the perfect infinitive is used.)

(2) The present infinitive is used in all other cases.

• I planned to leave the tournament early. (not: to have left. The act of leaving could not have been completed before the act of planning, so the present infinitive is used.)

The passive form of the present infinitive consists of to be plus the past participle. Do not omit to be in such constructions.

• This office needs to be repainted. (not: This office needs repainted.)

Next week: To split or not to split? (An infinitive, not a banana.)

Source: The Gregg Reference Manual.