The KellyGram

Poor grammar:

• Misusing its and its (latter always and only means it is or it has)
• I feel badly (should be bad)
• Where Im at (delete at)
• Off of (delete of)
• Singular noun with plural pronoun, adjective or verb, or vice versa.
• "Since" or "because" "Since" always applies to time. Incorrect use: "Since youre not going to the convention, Im not going either."

Wordiness:

• At this point in time (write now)
• At the present time (ditto)
• Needless to say (dont say it)
• It goes without saying (ditto)
• Not to mention the fact that (ditto)

Redundancies:

• reveal your true essence
• subtle nuance
• very unique
• plan ahead
• plan for the future
• past history
• tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.
• unanticipated surprises
• hypothetical possibilities
• In a loud voice, he yelled

Wrong choice of words:

• "Ask a friend to loan you" A common error! Loan is a noun, lend is a verb.
• "We may have become complaisant about it." (Means "willing to do for others.") Correct word is complacent (self-satisfied).
• "a well-educated populous all over the globe." (Adj. meaning "thickly populated.") Correct word is populace (a noun meaning "general public").
• "Management styles are beginning to waiver." (Means "intentional relinquishment of some right.") Correct word is waver (sway to and fro).
• "The foreseeable future." Strunk & White, in The Elements of Style, called it "a cliché and a fuzzy one," asking, "How much of the future is foreseeable? Ten minutes? Ten years? Any of it? By whom is it foreseeable? Seers? Experts? Everybody?"

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A WEBSITE WORTH CHECKING

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My thanks to John Pearson for calling my attention to a Wall Street Journal article (12/6/06) about a wonderful online journal, The Vocabula Review (www.vocabula.com), produced monthly by Robert Hartwell Fiske.

The author of the WSJ article, Joseph Epstein, describes Fiske as: "the latestand let us hope not the lastin a line of language guardians that goes back, in English, to Jonathan Swift and has been continued, closer to our time, by H.L. Mencken, H.W. Fowler, George Orwell, F.L. Lucas and Sir Ernest Gowers. About the decay of language, Mr. Fiske is earnest without being humorless, strict without being scornful, and elevated without being snobbish."

Epstein reports that, in addition to his ezine, Fiske has also written three books: The Dictionary of Concise Writing, The Dimwit's Dictionary, and The Dictionary of Disagreeable English.

Mr. Fiske sounds like a man after my own heart, and Im looking forward to spending more time on his site. I also strongly recommend that you read Epsteins complete article, which youll find at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116546247393343110.html. Its well written, highly entertaining, and filled with lots of great information about this wonderful language of ours.

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SMILE AWHILE

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While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor, "Its essential that husbands and wives know each others likes and dislikes." He addressed the man, "Can you name your wifes favorite flower?"

Tom leaned over, touched his wifes arm gently and whispered, "Its Pillsbury, isnt it?"

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ODDS AND ENDS

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Answer to Fun with Words:

Answer: Each is the middle name of a famous 19^th century author or poet:

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THE LAST WORD

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What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.

(Pearl Bailey)

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© 2007 by Bob Kelly. All rights reserved.