Grammar Grousing
Essays in this category were originally posted to Nancy's first blog, "Pieces of My Mind". They've been moved here for preservation as the original website at NancyBabcockWrites.com has been taken offline.
Being the grammar nut that I am known to be, I nearly stood up and cheered when I heard Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito deliver his nomination acceptance speech. Given that he was preceded on the speaker's platform by Dubya, it is no wonder that hearing Alito's...
That did it...I just heard it again. The TV was turned on to the 6:00 news--apparently nothing earth shattering was going on. A reporter was talking about a dispute between a suburban mayor and his city council. What I heard the reporter saying was something about a...
In an attempt to tackle the eternally confused situation of "lie" and "lay," I am taking on two of the most confused and misused verbs in the English language. It would seem that the verb 'to lie'--as in to put one's body in a horizontal position on a bed, the floor,...
(Not exactly grammar, but a similar issue.) Spelling--a lost art. All I have to do is go to any message board out there in cyberspace to see the state of the general public's spelling. It's pretty scary. Yesterday I went to a spelling bee that my 11 year-old friend...
Have you noticed? Perhaps you haven't. The changes are subtle but sure. The French have apparently arrived unannounced and taken us over without our knowing (isn't that what the Communists were supposed to do?), and all of us Americans are now speaking French--well,...
'Yave' you noticed? One of the letters of the alphabet is missing--at least in its spoken form. We need a search posse because this is serious. The eighth letter of the English alphabet, previously known as 'H,' has gone missing--at least the sound of it is gone. I...
7:00 a.m. and it's still pitch black. Just a few days ago it was light and bright at this same hour. We have the wisdom of our Congress--of two years ago--to thank for this plunge back into darkness that they were demented enough to think was an improvement. I could...