Paula LaRocque
Nothing annoys readers like having to plow through a litter of errors on their way to a period. And because even professional writers can get rusty regarding the basics, it’s a good idea to check on one’s recall from time to time.
Here’s a little quiz that reflects the kind of grammar and usage snafus that readers complain about. Answers follow — along with brief explanations where deemed useful.
- Every writer has heard the axiom, “Write like you speak.”
- It’s a very unique project.
- There’s the guy who the department is investigating.
- They plan to report to whomever is in charge.
- He graduated high school with highest honors.
- Have you read “Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf”?
- Winning the Pulitzer gained him alot of notoriety.
- The research folks are honing in on their target.
- Henderson is the tallest of the two brothers.
- It was him, not me, who had to make the decision.
- The vehicle was parked in the lot when another auto collided with it.
- Both candidates were equally as impressive.
- He loaned her the money she needed.
- The building was declared an historical site.
- The reason he was fired was because he was embezzling.
- And that’s the reason why he went to prison, too.
- Either of the documents are fine with me.
- They spent the day laying in the sun.
- The lawyers said the protests should be called off for awhile.
- She’s one of those people who wants to run everything.
ANSWERS
- Every writer has heard the axiom, “Write as you speak.”
Careful writers use “like” with nouns and pronouns: I look like her; it looks like a disaster. Use the conjunctions “as,” “as if,” or “as though” to introduce clauses. (A clause contains both subject and verb — in this case: you speak.)
- It’s a unique project.
Strike “very.” It’s best not to modify unique, which means one of a kind.
- There’s the guy whom the department is investigating.
The department is investigating him — we need an object. Another option is to simply strike the pronoun: There’s the guy the department is investigating. Whenever we can cut a word without harming sound or sense, we should do so.
- They plan to report to whoever is in charge.
We need a subject for “is.” The object of “to” is the whole clause whoever is in charge.
- He graduated from high school with highest honors.
This “graduating school” error is as common as it is senseless. The preposition “from” is necessary.
- Have you read “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Also, the question mark goes inside the quotation marks in this case because it is part of the book’s title.
- Winning the Pulitzer gained him a lot of notice.
“A lot” is two words. Always. Also, notoriety is linked to notorious, by definition negative. Don’t confuse it with being noted or famed.
- The research folks are homing in on their target.
“Honing” means to sharpen; “homing” means to aim or focus in on, to “get home.” (Think “homing pigeon.”)
- Henderson is the taller of the two brothers.
The correct superlative when comparing two entities is “taller.” More than two: “tallest.”
- It was he, not I, who had to make the decision.
We need subjective pronouns in all three cases: “he,” “I,” “who.”
- The vehicle was parked in the lot when another auto struck it.
“Collide” is the wrong word. Both objects must in motion in order to collide.
- Both candidates were equally impressive.
Strike “as.”
- He lent her the money she needed.
“Lent” is the past tense of the verb “lend.” “Loan” is a noun and has no tense — no “loaned.” She needed a loan; I gave her a loan.
- The building was declared a historical site.
Use “an” before a silent “H” and “a” before a sounded “H.” Example: an honorable man, but a happy man.
- The reason he was fired was that he was embezzling.
Strike “because” and substitute “that.” (“The reason is because” is redundant).
- And that’s the reason why he went to prison, too.
Strike “why.” (“Reason why” also is redundant.)
- Either of the documents is fine with me.
“Either” is singular.
- They spent the day lying in the sun.
The verb “to lay” means to place or put. The verb “to lie” means to rest or recline.
- The lawyers said the protests should be called off for a while.
“Awhile” is two words when preceded by such prepositions as “for.”
- She’s one of those people who want to run everything.
Sentences like this cause confusion even among skilled writers and editors. So if you changed “wants” to “want,” bravo!
The problem? We see the word “one” early in the sentence and jump to the mistaken conclusion that “one” is the antecedent for the verb “wants” — “one wants.” In fact, the sentence parses like this: Of the people who want to run everything, she is one. The correct antecedent is found in the structure people who [want.]
PAULA LaROCQUE is author of five books, including The Book on Writing. She has authored two mystery novels, Chalk Line and Monkey See. Available from Amazon.com.
Tagged under: copy editing, editing, grammar, words and language
