Read what was written in a Georgia newspaper.
Some people are calling on politicians to undo some of the law's unintended affects.
In this sentence, the last word, affects, should be effects. What is the difference? The word affects is a verb, as in The gloomy weather affects her mood. The word effects, on the other hand, is a noun and belongs at the end of our sample sentence or in the sentence The effects of his actions were widespread.
As with many grammar rules, there are exceptions. Effect can be a verb when it means to cause to happen. A common use of this is to effect change.
Keep it simple, and remember that affect is usually a verb and effect is usually a noun. You'll be right most of the time, and if you aren't, you can effect change in your usage.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Hwo Decided How to Pronounce Interrogatives?
Today's topic is based on the spoken word again. It involves commonly used interrogatives, or words used to ask questions, such as what, when, where, and why. I hope that I am not the only person who is bothered by the "correct" pronunciation of the aforementioned words.
A childhood memory (and that goes way back) is of my mother returning home from a teachers' conference and telling us that an alleged English expert confirmed that the correct pronunciations are hwat, hwen, hwere, and hwy. Hwy is that? I promise not to confuse where with wear because the meaning will be obvious from the surrounding words. Only a well-known football player should verbally mix the order of the letters and pronounce them out of order. The rest of us should be happy to ignore the Hs and pretend that they are as silent as the t in listen.
Who makes the decisions regarding correct pronunciation? I don't know, but maybe it should be I. Whenever I hear television announcers or game show hosts or people with otherwise good radio programs using the proper form of those interrogatives, I think about how ignorant it sounds. This usage doesn't seem to have the excuse that it is based on a language of derivation, either. Please join me in my campaign to end the use of hw words. It isn't sophisticated, it's ingorant.
A childhood memory (and that goes way back) is of my mother returning home from a teachers' conference and telling us that an alleged English expert confirmed that the correct pronunciations are hwat, hwen, hwere, and hwy. Hwy is that? I promise not to confuse where with wear because the meaning will be obvious from the surrounding words. Only a well-known football player should verbally mix the order of the letters and pronounce them out of order. The rest of us should be happy to ignore the Hs and pretend that they are as silent as the t in listen.
Who makes the decisions regarding correct pronunciation? I don't know, but maybe it should be I. Whenever I hear television announcers or game show hosts or people with otherwise good radio programs using the proper form of those interrogatives, I think about how ignorant it sounds. This usage doesn't seem to have the excuse that it is based on a language of derivation, either. Please join me in my campaign to end the use of hw words. It isn't sophisticated, it's ingorant.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Subjectively Objective
I found this sentence in an Illinois newspaper:
A friend just invited my husband and I to her home for some good cooking.
Did you see an error in that sentence? I'm sure you noticed that the "I" should be "me." That is because "I" is a subject, and in the example, it is used as the object of the verb "invited." I remember that when I was very young my mother suggested using the second object alone if I couldn't decide which word to use. For example, you wouldn't say "She invited I to her home," so it is equally wrong when another direct object precedes the pronoun.
Don't be afraid to show your intelligence while using correct grammar. It sounds better, it makes the meaning clearer, and it might be a good example to others who want to improve their English usage.
A friend just invited my husband and I to her home for some good cooking.
Did you see an error in that sentence? I'm sure you noticed that the "I" should be "me." That is because "I" is a subject, and in the example, it is used as the object of the verb "invited." I remember that when I was very young my mother suggested using the second object alone if I couldn't decide which word to use. For example, you wouldn't say "She invited I to her home," so it is equally wrong when another direct object precedes the pronoun.
Don't be afraid to show your intelligence while using correct grammar. It sounds better, it makes the meaning clearer, and it might be a good example to others who want to improve their English usage.
Monday, March 5, 2012
An Uncomma-n Verb
This sentence is from an Illinois newspaper:
The third time the dog attacked, an officer fearing for his safety, shot the animal once.
The second comma in the sentence isn't needed because it separates the subject and the verb. It is like saying The dog, chewed the bone, which no one would do. If the writer wanted to include a phrase telling why the officer shot the dog, a third comma should be added after "officer." It would read, "The third time the dog attacked, an officer, fearing for his safety, shot the animal once." Also acceptable is "The third time the dog attacked, an officer fearing for his safety shot the dog once." Here the words "fearing for his safety" describe the officer.
Sometimes life lessons are more important than grammar lessons. In this story, a man had let two dogs get out of a fenced yard. Neighbors and police officers feared for their lives, and one dog was killed. It is important to use commas correctly to communicate well, and it is important to use common sense to live well.
The third time the dog attacked, an officer fearing for his safety, shot the animal once.
The second comma in the sentence isn't needed because it separates the subject and the verb. It is like saying The dog, chewed the bone, which no one would do. If the writer wanted to include a phrase telling why the officer shot the dog, a third comma should be added after "officer." It would read, "The third time the dog attacked, an officer, fearing for his safety, shot the animal once." Also acceptable is "The third time the dog attacked, an officer fearing for his safety shot the dog once." Here the words "fearing for his safety" describe the officer.
Sometimes life lessons are more important than grammar lessons. In this story, a man had let two dogs get out of a fenced yard. Neighbors and police officers feared for their lives, and one dog was killed. It is important to use commas correctly to communicate well, and it is important to use common sense to live well.
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