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- Military titles and AP Style
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Monthly Archives: March 2011
Gadhafi? Qaddafi? Kadafi? The spelling mystery revealed!
You say Moamar el Gaddafi. I say Moammar Khadafy. Somebody says Moamer El Kazzafi?! According to an ABC news blog, there are at least 112 ways to spell the Libyan leader’s name. With the continuation of the United States’ and … Continue reading
Posted in foreign language, in the news
Tagged AP Style, Arabic, style issues, translation
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“Lead” versus “led”
Lesson: the verb “lead” in the past tense lead: a verb that means “to take charge” and “to show the way” lead: a metal In the past tense, the verb lead acts just like the verb bleed. For … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged common grammar mistakes, confusing words, vocabulary, word usage
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Tsunami: An etymological perspective
While on vacation last week, I joined you in watching the tragedies in Japan unfold. Being a news junkie, and a periodical journalist, I spent many hours glued to the TV watching updates on the tsunami. It was difficult to … Continue reading
Posted in etymology, in the news, semantics, story time
Tagged etymology, foreign language, Japanese, word usage
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Funny Spanish idioms
Dear Grammar Party readers, Next week I will be sunning myself on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas. And while I will probably still be thinking about grammar, since I am a nerd, there will be a one-week hiatus … Continue reading
The effect of this English query has deeply affected me
Lesson: effect versus affect In English, being the difficult language that it is, one letter can change a lot. Perhaps the two biggest pests of this problem are effect and affect. Interchanging their meanings is one of the most … Continue reading
I will answer this question after I face east
Lesson: orient versus orientate Which word is correct, orient or orientate? The answer is actually simple. They’re both correct . . . technically. Etymology Orient and orientate both originated from the same French verb orienter (which came from … Continue reading
Posted in etymology, semantics
Tagged etymology, foreign language, French, vocabulary, word usage
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It’s all that and a bag of grammar
Lesson: it’s versus its For such a little word, it can cause a lot of trouble—especially when you add an “s” into the equation. (But, please, this is a family friendly blog, so let’s leave the “h” out of … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, punctuation
Tagged apostrophe, common grammar mistakes, confusing words, grammar, word usage
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