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Triangle Grammar Guide
Longtime N&O journalist Pam Nelson writes about language use and misuse and answers questions about grammar and style. Readers can weigh in on what annoys them, too. Think of this as your online grammar class. Send e-mail to Pam at pam.nelson@newsobserver.com.
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Favorite blogs
- The American Copy Editors Society
- John McIntyre's You Don't Say
- Doug Fisher's Common Sense Journalism
- Andy Bechtel's The Editor's Desk
- Bill Walsh's The Slot
- Pam Robinson's Words at Work
A few favorite books
- Garner's Modern American Usage by Bryan A. Garner
- Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference by Gary Lutz and Diane Stevenson
- The Gregg Reference Manual by William A. Sabin
- Fowler's Modern English Usage by R.W. Burchfield
- The Careful Writer by Theodore M. Bernstein
Archives
View archived blog postsTools
Modify your misplaced and dangling modifiers
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/29/2009 - 12:46Misplaced and dangling modifiers can sneak in when writers and editors aren't paying attention. A couple of readers found such constructions in recent N&O pieces, and I found a couple in one article I was reading on another Web site. Those examples provide the makings for this post.
Say it like a native: place name pronunciation
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/27/2009 - 12:16Staff writer Martha Quillin's story about the pronunciation of Lejeune reminds me of the peculiarities of place name pronunciation. Even if the name of the family was pronounced one way, the name of the Marine base has come to be pronounced another way.
What the Grammar Guide is about
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/26/2009 - 12:35A slogan I've seen from time to time comes to mind today: Christians aren't perfect -- just forgiven. Sometimes I'd like to post this slogan: Grammar advisers aren't perfect -- just trying very hard.
Confusing pairs: gel and jell
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/23/2009 - 10:05When we speak of a group or a team coming together to form a cohesive whole or when we write about an idea becoming a concrete plan of action, we usually use the spelling jell for the verb. However, gel can also mean something has taken definite form.
I like to reserve gel, though, for congeled, as when a gelatin sets. The dessert gelled; the plans jelled.
Follow this link to a longer treatment of gel vs. jell.
Errors in unexpected places
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/21/2009 - 18:07Sometimes, an error in a public sign surprises me because of the context.
Word watch: reform
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/21/2009 - 07:41Reform has been in the news, both foreign and domestic.
You may "Twitter" or "Tweet" now
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/15/2009 - 09:26The Associated Press has updated its widely used stylebook for 2009. It has at least a couple of entries that will irritate those who don't care for turning nouns into verbs.
Word choice: Bring and take
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/09/2009 - 09:24A reader objects to loose usage on bring and take.
Punctuation particulars: the long dash
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 06/08/2009 - 07:27A colleague's recent note led me to try to find the rules for using dashes.
Phrases you don't hear any more
Submitted by Pam_Nelson on 05/12/2009 - 14:46This morning, the phrase "struck on himself" popped into my head. I realized that I hadn't heard it in ages. It means someone who has an inflated opinion of himself or who is in love with himself. As in, "Earl was the best looking boy in the school, but I thought he was struck on himself."
The Learner's Dictionary's entry on "strike" says the phrase is British informal. I grew up hearing it all the time, though, in Catawba County, North Carolina. Being "struck on" yourself was a bad thing to be, too, in my family. Â
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