It’s not I - believe me! I overheard one of the moonshiners on the Discovery channel TV show say, ”Billy trusted Joe and I to keep the mash warm.” What kind of highfalutin' language is that for a good ol' boy? He should have said, “Billy trusted Joe and ME to keep the mash warm.” Not because he's a moonshiner, but because it's grammatically correct. Yet I've heard professionals and even … [Read more...]
Search Results for: grammar
What, Why, How: Hiram Larew
What? What’s my poetry? Well, it’s slanted. It’s made of roundabout and surprise. And, it’s surely implied rather than outright. I’ve always relished, even worshipped, the unexpected in poetry. In fact, I want words, lines or hops in poems to launch me into some skyward place I never knew existed. Yes, poetry is my passport. Such an all-askew point of view depends upon a life of … [Read more...]
A Plural Primer
Can you spot the error in each of these signs? An apostrophe is never used when pluralizing a noun! Apostrophes are for showing possession or contractions. Despite this, apostrophes are so often misused that we are accustomed to seeing errors. Most nouns are made plural by simply adding *s* to the end of the word, but like anything, there are lots of exceptions and rules to confuse … [Read more...]
I, Myself, or Me?
Myself? A letter to advice columnist Miss Manners begins: “My husband, myself and another couple went out for dinner last summer…” I read the rest of the question but kept bouncing back to that opening sentence. It was so wrong. Myself? MYSELF? Miss Manners wisely didn't correct the writer; she focused on the question at hand. I, however, couldn't let it go. Myself is a special kind of … [Read more...]
What, Why, How: Amanda Schmidt
What: I write adventure novels which fall into the Fantasy genre, and one that is Dystopian. I have fans both male and female in all different age groups (middle school, high school, college, my age, my mom’s age, and older). My books have a strong female and male protagonist, there are twists and turns, action, adventure, love, heroes, vicious enemies, and fighting (weapons and hand-to-hand … [Read more...]