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Know the Language of Graduates

May 4, 2017 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

By Kathleen Watson (used with permission)

Spring brings graduations, along with confusion about use and misuse of related terms. Let’s clear up a few.

Do you say: “Seth graduated Harvard University last week.”

What about: “Becca will graduate Clemmons High School in May.”

Neither is correct. Why?

Because Seth is not graduating Harvard; he is not causing Harvard to graduate.

Nor is Becca graduating the school named Clemmons.

Harvard University and Clemmons High School are conferring graduation status by awarding a degree to Seth and a diploma to Becca.

The correct way to express these accomplishments is:

Seth is graduating from Harvard University.
Beth is graduating from Clemmons High School.

Graduating with honor
There are three levels of graduating with honor (cum pronounced koom; laude pronounced loudy):

Cum laude: Graduating with honor (grade point average of 3.5–3.7)
Magna cum laude: Graduating with great honor (grade point average 3.8–3.9)
Summa cum laude: Graduating with highest praise (grade point average of 4.0+)

Post graduation
Moving on, once Seth graduates, he will become a Harvard alumnus.
When Becca graduates, she will become a Clemmons alumna.

Alumnus refers to one male graduate.
Alumna refers to one female graduate.
Alumni is the plural of alumnus, but it also can refer to a group of mixed-gender graduates.
Alumnae is the plural of alumna, referring to a group of female graduates.

A shortcut and easy way to avoid errors when using these Latin terms is to use alum for a graduate of any gender and alums for any group of graduates. However, I recommend using these generic terms only in informal contexts.

Post retirement
A retired university professor is referred to as a professor emeritus.
A retired female university professor often is referred to as a professor emerita.

However, not every retired professor is granted this honorific; the educational institution from which a professor retires decides to whom it grants this honor.

Nor does everyone agree that it is necessary to distinguish a male from a female when it comes to retirees from academia. Professor is a gender-neutral term, so some claim that emeritus is appropriate for any gender.

If you’re graduating this spring, sincere congratulations! If you’re attending a graduation, best wishes to you and yours. I’m sure your support has been vital to the success of your friend or family member.

And please don’t say or write that a graduate “received” a degree. Honor the accomplishment with the appropriate verb: Graduates “earn” a degree.

Kathleen calls herself the Ruthless Editor. She has created Grammar for People Who Hate Rules to help people write and speak with authority and confidence. Kathleen can be reached at kathy@ruthlesseditor.com.

Why Grammar Matters

March 3, 2017 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Barbara McNichol

Did you celebrate National Grammar Day on March 4th? I think it needs to be celebrated all year ’round especially when it comes to business writing.

Here’s why using proper grammar is important:

“Grammar is credibility. If you’re not taking care of the small things, people assume you’re not taking care of the big things.” — Amanda Sturgill, associate professor of communications at Elon University

What’s the best way to recognize Grammar Day? Spend extra effort to make sure your sentences, whether spoken or written, are grammatically correct.

grammar book How do you know what’s correct? Let me direct you to my colleague Kathleen Watson’s new reference book, Grammar For People Who Hate Rules: Killer Tips From The Ruthless Editor.

This week only, Kathleen is offering it in ebook form for only 99 cents, downloadable on Amazon. This special offer expires at midnight on March 8, so act now!

You can order the paperback version at any time. It’s available at:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Powell’s Books

This is one resource I use often and highly recommend!

Setup or Set Up and Other One-Word-or-Two Mysteries

January 26, 2017 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Kathleen Watson (used with permission)

What’s wrong with this headline:

How to Setup a Marketing Campaign
to Capture More Leads

If you recognized setup as incorrect (it should be set up), good for you! You have a better sense of grammar than the person who wrote the headline.

When a verb such as set is used with a preposition such as up, it is called a phrasal verb: set up. Combining a verb with an adverb also creates a phrasal verb: cut back.

But when the elements of the phrasal verb are combined and expressed as one word, they create a noun: set up / setup | cut back / cutback | break down / breakdown.

Each of the following examples has two sentences. The first uses a phrasal verb (two words), and the second uses a noun — a single word created by a verb and a preposition. (Exception: cut in No. 4 is followed by the adverb back.)

Please arrive early to set up the room.
Setup should be done by 3 o’clock.

Guests must check out before 11 a.m.
Checkout is 11 a.m.

We had to clean up the pavilion after the picnic.
Cleanup didn’t begin until late afternoon.

We’re going to have to get more exercise and cut back on desserts.
If you want to lose weight, calorie cutback should be part of your plan.

Businesses that start up with too little capital often fail.
The startup required SBA financing.

You can sign up for the seminar in room 208.
Seminar signup ended last week.

I back up my computer daily.
Do you use the cloud for computer backup?

Please break down the price by material, labor and profit.
What kind of price breakdown did she provide?

He’s going to fall out of favor with his boss if he misses more work.
He got fired — the fallout of missing too much work.

If you can stand by for a later flight, you’ll get a free fare.
If you have a flexible schedule, flying standby can save you money.

When you take a shortcut and combine words, take care not to cut short the accuracy of your message.

Share these free Killer Tips with a friend or colleague who is striving to become a better writer and speaker.

Kathleen Watson is known as the ruthless editor who has just published an excellent grammar book that clears up questions that have been festering. Grammar for People Who Hate Rules: Killer Tips from The Ruthless Editor.

You can also request a One-Word-or-Two handout by emailing Barbara at editor@BarbaraMcNichol.com with One-Word-or-Two in subject line.

Election Season: Historic vs. Historical … or Hysterical?

November 8, 2016 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Kathleen Watson (used with permission)

We’re about to the end (thank goodness!) of a historic election.

Or is it a historical election?

Or an historic / historical election?

Or maybe it’s simply hysterical?

If you’re now as confused as I am, here’s the rest of the story:

historic (adjective): famous or important in history, or potentially so; having great and lasting importance

The historic importance of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is widely recognized.
The president was pleased to see so many citizens attend the historic ceremony.
The Supreme Court has heard many historic cases.

historical (adjective): of or relating to history or past events; belonging to the past rather than the present; based on history

He has a collection of historical artifacts from the Revolutionary War.
There’s no historical data to support her claim.
Historical treasures abound at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
We historically have always followed the board meeting with dinner.

Historical also can mean showing development based on chronological order:

They provided a historical account of the battles of the Revolutionary War.

Killer Tip to help remember the difference:

One source describes historic as implying judgment, because the term deems something as significant. Historical, on the other hand, simply describes anything from or that occurred in the distant past.

And remember: a historical, not an historical

Hysterical, by the way, is defined as marked by uncontrollable, extreme emotion. Enough said.

To complete this post, there is a valid word that I don’t recall every having heard — and I don’t expect to ever use it, unless possibly in jest:

historicalness (noun), the state of having existed in the past; the quality or fact of being historical

Now you have it: the meanings and implications of historic and historical. Expand the enlightenment by sharing this post with others who might find these highly similar terms as confusing as I — and maybe some of you — did.

Kathleen Watson is known as the ruthless editor. She has just published an excellent grammar book that clears up questions that have been festering. Lie vs. lay is just one of 60 tips you’ll find in Grammar for People Who Hate Rules: Killer Tips from The Ruthless Editor. At $8.95, that’s just 15 cents a tip!

To buy your copy, click here: Grammar for People Who Hate Rules: Killer Tips from The Ruthless Editor.

Do You Lie Down or Lay Down?

October 17, 2016 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Kathleen Watson (used with permission)

Lie vs. lay is one of our most confusing word choices.

You might want to lie down when you finish reading this blog, but I’ll lay it on you lie-vs-lay-on-beach-150x150 anyway. I’m counting on my examples to help you make the right choices.

lie: to recline

Nicole can’t wait to lie on the beach in Florida.
Steve thinks he should lie on several mattresses before he decides which one to buy.
Grandpa likes to lie on the couch and take a nap.

Tip: Lie shares three letters — l, i and e — and a similar i sound with recline.

Other forms of lie:

Grandpa lies on the couch every day.
He will lie on the couch tomorrow.
He has lain on the couch every day for a month.
He would have lain there sooner if he’d had the chance.
but: He lay there all yesterday afternoon.*

Tip: You want to recline, to lie, on something soft. The letter d is a hard sound, so laid should never be used when talking about reclining.

lay: to place

Nicole wants me to lay her towel on the sand.
The salesperson asked Steve to lay his shoes on the floor before trying the mattress.
Grandpa asked me to lay his glasses on the nightstand.

Tip: Lay shares two letters‚ l and a — and a similar a sound with place.

And lay requires an object; you have to lay something: a book, a set of keys, a pair of shoes, etc.

Other forms of lay:

I lay Grandpa’s glasses on the nightstand.
I laid them on the nightstand yesterday.
I will lay the glasses there tomorrow.
He often has laid them there himself.
I would not have laid them there if he hadn’t asked me to.
but: Grandpa left his glasses lying on the nightstand.*

Notice the two exceptions:*

The past tense of lie is lay, the verb that also means to place:

He lay there all yesterday afternoon.*

Although you lay objects on something, once they get there, they are described as lying.

Grandpa left his glasses lying on the nightstand.*

I have yet to think of a catchy, easy way to remember the difference between these two uses of lie and lay. In essence:

Lie is to recline. Lay is to place.
The past tense of lie is lay. An object that is placed somewhere is lying there.

Is it any wonder people consider English a complicated language?!

You likely won’t be judged for using lie or lay wrong; few people keep them straight. But as The Ruthless Editor, I need to know the difference and to try to set a good example.

Two more tips:

Avoid laying in all cases; it is nonstandard English.
Don’t count on silly spellcheck to make the right choice for you.

To buy your copy, click on the link to order now.

Subconscious vs. Unconscious: What’s the Difference?

August 29, 2016 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Kathleen Watson (used with permission)

A reader asked me to discuss subconscious and unconscious, clarifying the implications of prefixes sub and un.

First of all, conscious means to be awake, aware, and responding to one’s surroundings.

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that appears at the beginning of a word and changes its original meaning.

The prefixes sub and un have distinctly different meanings:

sub: under or below
substandard, subcommittee
Substandard living conditions contribute to poor health.
The subcommittee will investigate the cost of the proposal.

un: the opposite or reverse of
unlike, unwearable
She is so unlike her twin sister in temperament.
The soaked jacket was unwearable.

Your subconscious (noun) is the part of your mind just below awareness; a subconscious (adjective) thought is one of which you are not fully aware but that might influence your feelings or actions:

Trevor has a subconscious fear that his girlfriend, Jenna, will break up with him if he goes fishing this weekend.
At a subconscious level, Jenna hopes her boyfriend, Trevor, will go fishing this weekend so she can use it as an excuse to break up with him.

To be unconscious means to lose consciousness.

When Trevor fell in the fishing boat and hit his head, the jolt left him unconscious for a few seconds.
When Jenna learned that Trevor’s fall had left him temporarily unconscious, she couldn’t be mad at him for going fishing — or use it as an excuse to break up with him.

grammar book Our language is full of prefixes: anti (antidepressant), bi (bilateral), dis (disassemble), extra (extracurricular), infra (infrared), inter (interoffice), multi (multicolored), non (nonfiction), out (outperform), over (overpay), para (parasailing), post (postgraduate), pre (precondition), re (reintroduce), under (underestimate).

Note that none of these words created with a prefix requires a hyphen.

My new book Grammar for People Who Hate Rules has a list of words with these and other common prefixes, most of which don’t require a hyphen.

Kathy has a love/hate relationship with grammar; she loves words and the punctuation that helps them make sense, yet she hates those pesky rules. Be sure to check out her new book Grammar for People Who Hate Rules (great title) at Amazon.com now!

Any time or Anytime: One Word or Two?

May 26, 2016 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Kathleen Watson (used with permission)

I’ve found myself pausing lately when I’m about to write anytime … or should it be any time? Which is it: one word or two?

As is sometimes the case with grammar, our choices are not easy or clear. I’ve learned from my online search that most sources say anytime and any time are not necessarily interchangeable; anytime is acceptable in one context, but any time is more often preferred.

Always my first choice, The Associated Press Stylebook doesn’t specifically list anytime, but it does cite anyone vs. any one as a similar example:

Anyone may attend the class.
Anyone is indefinite; it implies any and all people may attend the class.

You may check out any one of the books on the table.
Any one is definite; it implies a limit, a specific thing: one book from the selection.

Anyone (indefinite) who attends the class may borrow any one (specific) of the books on the table.
If anyone (indefinite) wants to ride along, pick any one (specific) of the bikes in the rack.

Getting back to anytime, the same general guideline applies:

anytime is indefinite; it implies at any time whatsoever

We’ll leave for lunch anytime you choose.
My new truck will tackle rough roads anytime, anywhere.
Call me anytime.

any time can imply something specific or an amount of time:

specific
Did you call me any time last week?
Attendance fell any time a holiday created a conflict.
Did you talk with her any time after the accident?

amount
I don’t have any time to mow the lawn this weekend.
Don’t waste any time trying to influence the outcome.
If you find any time to make brownies, please bring them to the picnic.

Some online sources claim that the two-word any time is always the safer choice if you’re writing for school, for work, or in any formal context.

I predict that we’ll see greater use of the one-word anytime. Life continues to get more casual, from attire, to the informal way we address people, to the way we use language. As our culture evolves, grammar tends to evolve with it.

For other confusing words that start with the letter a, check out my A-Word post from July 2015.

And please let me know when you have specific questions. Use the comment section below or send me an email anytime . . . at any time you choose!

Kathleen Watson has a love/hate relationship with grammar; she loves words and the punctuation that helps them make sense, yet she hates those pesky rules. She has for nearly three decades been helping individuals and organizations craft messages that inform, convince and inspire.

Clear communication is at the heart of success in nearly every field and endeavor. Kathy encourages and supports those who want to fine-tune their writing and speaking skills. Her Grammar for People who Hate Rules, a compilation of the killer tips she has been sharing for years, will be available soon. Her email is kathy@ruthlesseditor.com

For a three-page list of more examples, request One Word or Two at editor@barbaramcnichol.com.

Dangling Modifiers: From Confusing to Downright Silly

May 1, 2016 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Kathleen Watson

I know, I know . . . I’ve heard all the jokes about dangling modifiers.

But when it comes to grammar, they are no laughing matter.

A dangling modifier is a phrase that either is in the wrong place or modifies the wrong thing. These misplaced or poorly worded phrases can create confusion, or they can totally change the meaning of what you intend to say.

Or they can sound darned silly.

Consider these examples:

Having finished eating dinner, the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher.
Problem: The dishes did not eat dinner; people ate dinner.
Better: Having finished eating dinner, we loaded the dishes into the dishwasher.

Without knowing her phone number, it was impossible to contact her.
Problem: Who didn’t know her number? It?
Better: Without knowing her phone number, I found it impossible to contact her.

At age 7, Josh’s father entered the Army.
Problem: No one’s father could enter the Army at age 7.
Better: When Josh was 7, his father entered the Army.

Buried in an old cedar chest, Kia found her cheerleading sweater.
Problem: Kia wasn’t buried in the cedar chest, her sweater was.
Better: Buried in an old cedar chest was the cheerleading sweater Kia had worn.
Better yet: Kia found her cheerleading sweater buried in an old cedar chest.

Walking home last night, the porch light was visible a block away.
Problem: The porch light was not walking home last night.
Better: As I walked home last night, I saw the porch light from a block away.

To avoid dangling modifiers, pay attention to the order of your words and to the doer of the action.

***

Do you have an example of a dangling modifier (aka dangling participle)? Share it here!

Know the Language of Graduates

Why Grammar Matters

Setup or Set Up and Other One-Word-or-Two Mysteries

Election Season: Historic vs. Historical … or Hysterical?

Do You Lie Down or Lay Down?

Subconscious vs. Unconscious: What’s the Difference?

Any time or Anytime: One Word or Two?

Dangling Modifiers: From Confusing to Downright Silly

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