An E-Newsletter of Profitable Advice about Writing
To Increase Your Personal and Professional Success
|
|
| August 2010
Volume III, Issue 8
|
Forward
this Newsletter
to a Friend!
|
|
Increase Your Success by Improving Your Writing Skills.
Subscribe Today!
|
"The Write Stuff!"
|
| Writing, Ghostwriting, Editing & Publishing Services
| |
|
|
My office is conveniently located on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. |
|
Sarah Buell Dowling
Original Paintings
Prints & Note Cards
| 
|
|
|
The Most Common Grammatical Mistake Made by Educated People
Communications professionals, elected officials - even the president of the United States - commonly commit this grammatical error. What is it? I'll tell you in this issue, so you won't make the same mistake. Also in this issue of The Write Stuff you'll get to take my monthly grammar quiz. It's a great way to sharpen your communications skills and increase your success. Enjoy reading about writing!
Michael J. Dowling
Professional Writer, Ghostwriter, Editor & Publisher |
The most common grammatical mistake made by educated people
|
|
Even highly educated, high-profile personalities commit
this grammatical error frequently, especially in oral communications. In fact, very few people get it right.
What is this
common mistake? See if you can spot it in the following four quotes:
"...there's a chance of
us changing the way we do business in Washington."
Senator John McCain (quoted
in The New York Times)
"These goals can be achieved without us increasing troop levels."
President Barrack
Obama (in a Fox News interview)
"Thanks for the call. I appreciate you being with us."
Sean Hannity (on his talk radio broadcast) "And so in this case, me spending a little more time on things became part of that." David Plouffe, adviser to President Obama
(quoted in the New York Times Magazine)
Did you identify the error?
All four of these quotes incorrectly use participles instead of
gerunds. Here's what they should have said:
Senator McCain: "...there's a chance of our changing..."
President Obama: "...without our increasing troop levels."
Sean Hannity: "I appreciate your being with us.
David Plouffe: "...my spending a little more time.."
To understand why the grammar used by these
high-profile people is incorrect, remember what your seventh-grade English teacher
taught you about participles and gerunds.
A present participle is a word ending in ing that is formed from
a verb and used as an adjective. Examples: working woman, swimming coach.
A gerund is a present participle used as a noun. Example: His favorite
pastime is sleeping.
All four of the quotes above contain gerunds, not participles. One way to test
for a gerund is to see if you can substitute a noun for it and retain the
meaning.
For example, in President Obama's quote
above, suppose we replace the gerund "increasing troop levels"
with the equivalent noun "reinforcements." That would have President
Obama saying "... without us reinforcements," which certainly would
provoke a laugh.
Of course, the proper expression is "... without our reinforcements." And
because a gerund functions as a noun, President Obama should have said, "...
without our increasing troop levels."
Here's the rule:
Gerunds should be preceded by possessive pronouns (his serving, my going, your having, etc.), not objective pronouns (him serving, us going, me having, etc.).
If you follow this rule, you'll avoid making this very common grammatical error. And as I pointed out in the January issue of this newsletter, there is a correlation between good grammar and professional success.
If you correctly identified this
common grammatical error above, you deserve a reward!
So
I'm going to generously give you the £850,000 prize
I just won in an international lottery. Below is a copy of the email I received
just this week notifying me that I won. It contains all the information you need to claim your money.
Congratulations
on your winning!
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the online
Lottery Winners International programs held ON 28TH JULY 2010, your E-mail
address attached to ticket number:SSP 6746372 07421. has just won you an award
sum of £850,000.00, (Eight hundred and Fifty Thousand pounds) in the Category
"A" draw, you are required to stake your claim with this info below:
Ref. Number: SNL 9910289/ES 856
Batch Number: SNL 71197431-ZNG/2010
1. Full Name 2.Age 3.Sex. 4. Address 5.Marital Status
6.Nationality 7.Telephone Number 8. Occupation, 9.Country of Residence,
10.Notification date
Claims Agent: David Thomas
Email: winnersmatch210@gmail.com
Tel: +447404183022
UK National Lottery-
London.
If
you're suspicions about these types of emails, let me put your mind at ease. I'm
pretty sure this one's legitimate because Mr. Thomas uses correct grammar in the
first sentence. Notice that he says, "Congratulations on your winning," not "congratulations on you winning."
So
have fun with your winnings. If you take a voyage to Hawaii, send me a postcard!
P.S. Oh, oh! I just noticed that Mr. Thomas made a huge grammatical error in the
second sentence. He spliced three sentences together with commas. That's what
your seventh-grade English teacher disdainfully called a "run-on sentence."
Maybe
you should be cautions about this email after all!
|
Do you know people who would like to
increase their
success by improving their writing
skills, all while having fun?
Encourage them to subscribe to "The Write Stuff!"
|
Mike's Famous Grammar Quiz
|
|
Which of the following sentences is
grammatically correct?
He orders his clothes from the Lands' End catalog.
He belongs to the baseball players' union.
She bought a purse in the womens' department.
(See answer below)
|
You May Find These White Papers Helpful.
(They're free, but don't let the price fool you!)
|
| |
|
| Answer to Grammar Quiz
|
| Only the second sentence is correct.
In the first sentence, the apostrophe should be placed before the s because it's referring to only one land. (By the way, Lands' End has admitted the error, but says it's too late to correct it.)
In the third sentence, since the word women is already plural, the apostrophe should precede the s.
|
|
|
Michael J Dowling ~ Writer ~ Editor ~ Ghostwriter ~ Publisher
133 Worthing Road, St. Simons Island, GA 31522
Phone: 912.230.5051 Fax: 912.634.5777
E-mail: MJD@MichaelJDowling.com Website: www.MichaelJDowling.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljdowling
Clear, concise, creative, and convincing writing and editing to enable individuals and organizations
to accomplish their goals and increase their visibility, credibility, and profitability.
|
|
|
|
|
|
