Category Archives: writing

Exact Opposite

Posted on October 9, 2008 by languageandgrammar

An oxymoron is a word or phrase that is contradictory. My favorite is jumbo shrimp–although I’m not sure that this is actually contradictory. You have your small shrimp. You have your medium shrimp. You have your large shrimp. Finally, you … Continue reading →

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Manage the Game

Posted on October 6, 2008 by languageandgrammar

I’ve been a professional sports fan for a very long time, but it’s only been during the last couple of years that quarterbacks have started to manage the game. I’m not sure why this trend of talking about a quarterback … Continue reading →

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Up to More than the Limit

Posted on September 30, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Many a late-night infomercial and women’s magazine hawk products that promise we can lose up to 50 pounds or more, save up to 100 dollars or more, and cut housework by up to 2 hours or more. I don’t buy … Continue reading →

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One of Your Problems Is…

Posted on September 29, 2008 by languageandgrammar

While we, especially Sherry, focus on common grammar errors, my book (Literally, the Best Language Book Ever) discusses words or phrases that should be avoided for other reasons. That brings me to any sentence that begins with the phrase One … Continue reading →

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See, Saw, Seen: See the Difference?

Posted on September 24, 2008 by languageandgrammar

I seen (or he seen, she seen, you seen, they seen, or we seen) is substandard grammar. Do not use seen as the past tense of the verb to see. The past tense is saw, as in the old movie … Continue reading →

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Pardon the Interruption

Posted on September 22, 2008 by languageandgrammar

A recent Internet headline read Bear Interupts Live TV Broadcast. I had planned to read the article, but I got interrupted—and sidetracked—by that headline. If it had been possible, I would have interrupted the site editor before he or she … Continue reading →

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It’s Friday!

Posted on September 18, 2008 by languageandgrammar

I might be incorrect since I don’t know him, but sports talkshow host Jim Rome strikes me as a person who isn’t obsessed with grammar rules. He’s articulate and communicates well; otherwise, he’d never have been successful in his field, … Continue reading →

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No One Ever Graduates College

Posted on September 17, 2008 by languageandgrammar

It’s true. You can’t graduate a college—-or a high school—–or any other institution of learning. It isn’t possible. The preferred usage of the verb graduate is the following: The local high school graduated 300 students this year or He was … Continue reading →

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Actual Fact

Posted on September 15, 2008 by languageandgrammar

A fact is something that exists; it’s reality or the truth.  It’s a fact that the collapse of banks is an indication of a very poor economy. Actual is an adjective that is used to describe something as existing or … Continue reading →

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If You Think This Is Correct, Then…

Posted on September 11, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Which is correct: If you think that you’re going out of the house in those ripped jeans, then you have another thing coming or If you think that you’re going out of the house in those ripped jeans, then you … Continue reading →

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