Tag Archives: writing
Time to Run Down Run Up
There are myriad reasons for objecting to the war in Iraq, and I will focus on the least important of all–the now-obsessive use of the term run up. Ever since that war was merely in the planning stage, the phrases run … Continue reading
Hope Against Hopefully
The word hopefully is an adverb; notice the -ly, which to an adverb is analogous to the stripes on a zebra–most adverbs have them. An adverb is a word that describes a verb, so hopefully is a word that describes how something is done. Charlie … Continue reading
You Have a Couple of Something, Not a Couple Something
AP article, January 20, 2008: In a national economy teetering on the brink of recession, there are a couple bright spots for Pennsylvania. Perhaps it’s not fair, but I expect more from institutions such as the AP. I actually didn’t … Continue reading
Where Are You At?
Asking where are you at is a common grammar mistake, and the mistake and error is as obvious and evident as is the redundancy and repetition of the second part of this sentence and complete thought. More simply–and less redundant–the word where … Continue reading
Is it Healthy or Healthful?
There’s a person for every diet plan. There are low-carbohydrate diets, low-fat diets, macrobiotic diets, vegetarian diets, raw food diets, etc., and for every diet, there is a different list of acceptable food. One thing that I’ve seen all diets … Continue reading
Values Voters
Certain parts of the media–and by that I mean nearly every part of the media–have started to refer to the part of the electorate who supports candidates based mainly on Christian religious beliefs (in this case, those who support Governor … Continue reading
Impact Does Not Mean to Affect
This grammar error is becoming more popular than pointed ears at a Star Trek convention. I know that this is going to come as a surprise to many people, especially those in the media (since they’re the ones who seem … Continue reading
Choosing Later Retirement Age?
I talked about the subtley of language a couple of days ago in a post about politics (Democrat Party). When a politician says something, he or she clearly does so for a specific reason; when it’s done in a news … Continue reading


