HumbleApostrophe.com Blog

Tomatoes / Tomatos / Tomatose??

2006-11-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

This is always a belly-laugh when I'm walking or driving past a fruit and veg vendor.

What's so hard about adding 'es' to the end of potato and tomato?

For some people it just seems way beyond their understanding or knowledge, so I thought I'd mention it again here.

CORRECT

one potato
two potatoes

one tomato
three tomatoes

Have you seen any other instances of fruit and veg 'gone bad' in the spelling department?

Let me know!
Cheers
Teena

When to use LOOSE or LOSE

2006-09-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

A great question came via my website asking about when to use either 'loose' or 'lose'. Let me see if I can explain it in a way which will help ...

The pronunciation for these words is slightly different in UK English - 'loose' definitely has an 's' sound at the end, whereas 'lose' has more or a 'z' sound.

Some examples of when to use them both are:

"If my pants are loose and fall down, I'll lose the race!"

"I have a pocketful of loose change - I hope I don't lose it."

"To win or lose - the choice is yours."

"The overcoat was way too loose, and made him look silly."

"Did you lose something, sir?"

Summary

LOOSE = not tight [clothing], morals [as in loose morals]

LOSE = a form of the word "LOST", e.g I lose, you lose, we lose

These are wrong ways to use the words:

"Pretty soon she will loose her baby teeth."
= Should be 'lose' her baby teeth.

"My skirt is lose, I need to wear a belt with it."
= Should be "skirt is loose".

Hope this helps someone understand the difference between loose and lose,
Ciao for now
Teena!

Apostrophes with PLURAL WORDS

2006-09-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

This is a question which does confuse a lot of people ...

What is the correct way to use an apostrophe in this case?
Is it : "my children's schools" OR "my childrens' schools"?

First of all we need to know that the word CHILDREN is already plural.

That's really all you need to know. :)

If the word 'children' is plural, then the apostrophe goes BEFORE the 's', like this:

I have 3 children who are school age. The children's schools each send home a Newsletter weekly, and the 3 of them keep us up-to-date.

Remember : You put the apostrophe *before* the *s* when the word is already plural.

Examples : children, women, men - each of these words is already plural.

You can read more on my website http://humbleapostrophe.com/plurals.html

Ciao ciao, hope this helps!
Teena!

Easy tip for spelling STATIONERY

2006-09-03T02:22:00.000-07:00

I received a wonderful tip in the email this week from Mike:

A good mnemonic is
"stationERy papER,
stationARy cAR".

This is indeed a very good way to remember when to use -er and -ar for the word stationery.

Thanks Mike!

Cheers
Teena

Does "others" have an apostrophe?

2006-09-03T02:05:00.000-07:00

I had an enquiry from my website HumbleApostrophe.com the other day, and it was this:

Would you use an apostrophe in the word others for the following? And if so, before or after the s?

"While he is assertive and dominant, he is also able to maintain awareness of others needs."

Now to help you understand when and where to put the apostrophe, let's look at the sentence.

==> The important bit is - he is aware of the needs of others.

Therefore the word 'others' I would consider to be plural, and so 'others' will 'own' the 'needs'. So, it would be written with the apostrophe AFTER the 's' of others, showing [1] plural, and [2] ownership. Here is how it should be written:

"While he is assertive and dominant, he is also able to maintain awareness of others' needs."

PS - if the word 'others' referred to ONE other person, the apostrophe would be before the 's'.

I hope this helps someone - let me know if you have questions!

Ciao,
Teena!
the Apostrophe Queen

Burnt or burned?

2006-08-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

I had a great question today, which I'd like to share.

"What's the difference between 'burnt' and 'burned'?"

The answer is there is NO difference - it just depends on where you learnt English.

In English, the word is 'burnt'.

In American English, the word is 'burned'.

The choice is yours - the meaning of the word is the same with both spellings.

Cheers
Teena! [ApostropheQueen!]

Proofreading : you can never have too much

2006-07-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today I read a fascinating article online, and I was totally drawn in by it - well written, concise, very informative.

And then I got to the very last sentence.

Spell check: With both an automatic checker and a manual re-read. Beacause no won wants to look like an idiot. ;-)

Can you see any problems with this text? I can see TWO ...

Spell check: With both an automatic checker and a manual re-read. Beacause no won wants to look like an idiot. ;-)

The word 'because' is spelt incorrectly - it should be 'because'.

And two - the word 'won' should be 'one', and it should even be hyphenated as 'no-one'.

The point this person was making was excellent - double proofread your work, but then they forgot to do it on that last sentence. Dang.

Have you spotted any errors recently, in your work or others'?

Spelling : Don't forget to proof your website!

2006-07-01T02:10:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing a few websites and came across this News item:

>> May 23, 2006

Template Monster celebrates its forth anniversary by giving out presents

Can you see the problem in this text?

That's right - the word 'forth' should actually be 'fourth' :)

TIP :: Always proofread or ask someone to proofread for you, before you publish info to your website.

Ciao for now!
Teena

Soccer ...

2006-06-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit quiet ... the soccer has kept everyone busy, as our team is overseas and trying to do their best. We were finally out of the competition in the wee hours of Monday morning [Australia time] but boy did our team come through with shining colours!

National spirit, pride in sporting heroes - it's a wonderful way to forge friendships and comradeship.

More on 'humble' soon!

Cheers
Teena!

Check your website spelling

2006-05-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

I have been doing a bit of research online and couldn't help but take a step back when I read this:

to assist you in producing a company logo, letterhead, business cards, fliers and even stationary that will match your new website.

Ouch! I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like a company to help me with my important stationEry and flYers, if they don't proofread their home page.

If you're not good at spelling, ask someone to help you who IS good with spelling, grammar etc. Make sure your written words always look professional.

Have a gorgeous day,
Ciao,
Teena!

Funny tidbit :: Chinese influence?

2006-04-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Also read about this in a local newspaper:

wonton damage done to council property has had a demoralising effect on the community.

Hmmm - I'm pretty sure they meant to write wanton damage, which means "hard to control, malicious", rather than wonton damage, which means "yummy in soup", haha

Funny tidbit :: Affluent?

2006-04-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Just read this in my newspaper, and had to laugh:

"Entry level position to suit school leaver. Must be energetic, well presented and affluent in English."

hahahaha - I love the creativity!

The word they meant to use is fluent.

SoapBox :: Journalists have a duty to proofread ... don't they?

2006-04-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I have great concerns over journalists who don't know how to proofread their own articles before publishing.

Or maybe they do proofread, but don't see the errors; and then continue to make the same errors over and over and over ...

It was a sad sad day when organisations, newspaper offices and many other businesses decided to remove the Proofreading person from the payroll. These days I see enough typos and grammatical errors to make my hair curl, and that's online and offline, in professional documents, magazines and newspapers - it's not just the fruit and veggie shop who makes common errors any more.

So what do we do? What do you do? If you see a website with typos, do you let them know?

I've just finished reading a local glossy magazine, and one particular journalist obviously never had English lessons, as the articles are filled with many basic spelling and grammatical errors.

I could ignore it.

Or I could do something about it.

I've decided on the latter - I'm going to write to the magazine and offer my proofreading services, stressing that their journalists must be under tight deadlines and much pressure, and my service could benefit the community at large. Let's get it right in the press, then adults and children will get used to seeing correct spelling, grammar and punctuation, and learn by example.

If we continue the way we're going, I fear we are raising generations of kids who won't know and won't care how to spell anything much at all.

Stepping off the soapbox ... :o)

At least until another day,
Ciao for now,
Teena!

Spelling : Proceed, Precede

2006-03-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

I've just seen this as a signature file in an email - can anyone spot what's wrong with it?

"Dream Deep because every dream proceeds the goal"

If you said proceeds is the wrong word, you are correct.

If *every dream comes before the goal*, then it precedes it.

Proceeds = can be a result such as money [proceeds from an auction]
Proceeds = can be an action [she proceeds slowly towards the cliff edge]

Precedes = comes before

Hope this helps!

Teena

Apostrophe : sighting of misuse!

2006-03-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

A huge corporation has advertised for staff this week, and their online job says, "The role will provide an apportunity to work for inspirational Director's.

"Director's what??!", I ask.

This apostrophe, placed willy nilly, is not needed.

Do the directors own something in this sentence? No.

Is there a missing letter? No.

Then these inspirational directors should be just that - inspirational without an apostrophe!

Ciao!
Teena

Which_word :: Affect or Effect?

2006-03-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

Affect or Effect?

How can you remember the differences?

I had a question posed to me recently by a young boy of 10, and I remembered how hard it was for me to understand all this gobbledegook about grammar when I was that age. It doesn't come naturally to most people, it needs to be practiced over and over, and learnt by repetition. Let's see if this helps:

Affect is the *action*.
[Remember A for Action!]

Effect is the result [or END] of the action.
[Remember E for End Result!]

.............

If you're going to do it, use "Affect."

If it's something already done, use "effect."

............

"Affect" is a verb [doing it], and "effect" is the noun [the end result].

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Examples:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"The internet start-up company I worked for failed - how will that affect me?"

[meaning, "What will happen because of this? Will I be able to find more work?"

"The effect [result] will be that I no longer have a job."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If I spill the milk, it will affect the carpet.

The effect of spilt milk is soggy carpet. [The result.]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Screaming at me will affect my mood.

The effect of your screaming is that I now have a headache, and you've made me very sad. [The result.]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sending the wrong email to your boss can affect his perception of you.

The effect of your boss reading your email may mean you will get into trouble.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I hope this helps you better understand the differences.

Pop over to http://www.humbleapostrophe.com/affect.html to read more.

Let me knoww if you would like more examples ...
Ciao ciao

Misc: What the heck is cumulo nimbus cloud?

2006-03-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I mentioned I had missed out on grammar lessons as a child due to illness, and also missed out on the explanation of clouds. Well I've just done the first bit of research online about clouds since my school days, and here's what I found ...

Cumulonimbus is a type of cloud that is tall, dense, and involved in thunderstorms and other bad weather. The clouds can form alone, in clusters, or along a cold front in a squall line.

Cumulus cloud is one in the shape of individual detached domes, with a flat base and a bulging upper portion resembling cauliflower. Pig puffy clouds!

A nimbus cloud is a dark grey cloud bearing rain. An angry cloud.

As kids we used to chant:

"Rain rain go away
come back another day!"

And don't forget stratus clouds [ok, so I did]! What's the story with them?

There are lots of great info sites, click here to read more definitions.

Welcome to the Humble Apostrophe blog!

2006-03-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

The apostrophe is something which has had an important place in my life, I adore it, I want to see it being used properly, I want it to be second nature to all who grow to love it like I do.

When I lived in France for a few years, I took on the same attitude with French written accents [those little lines above some of the alphabet] and graves [pronouned *graahv* rather than the burial place], but as it wasn't my first language, and many French people didn't always know when to use them, my task became trickier, and I eventually gave up trying. I assumed the French laissez-faire attitude [leave it be].

So how did I get to learn about apostrophes?

When I was about 10 years old I missed whole chunks of English grammar and punctuation at school when I had a burst appendix [too much info?] so there are things which I never got around to learning, like clouds - what's the difference between nimbus, cumulus, and cumulo-nimbus?? To this day I've never found out :o)

But I did learn about apostrophes, and it wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I realised I actually knew how and when to use them. I created a website for apostrophes, I talk about them ... a LOT [ask my friends] ...and would dearly love other people learn how to use them properly.

So welcome to my Humble Apostrophe blog, I look forward to sharing with you on this never ending fantastic adventure!