Negatives

Negatives

In grammar, a negative word expresses the absence of something. If I say, "I have no flour for the cookie dough," I am telling my reader about the absence of flour in my pantry. This is called a negative statement.

In grammar, as in math, two negatives make a positive. If I say, "I hardly have no flour for the cookie dough," I've used two negatives, hardly and no, to explain the condition of flour in my pantry. This is called a double negative. My sentence becomes a positive statement, indicating to my reader that I do indeed have flour in my pantry.

In English grammar, two negative words should never be used in the same sentence to refer to same thing.

Negative words include:
no
none
nobody
not
nothing
nowhere
no one
hardly
barely
scarcely
neither
 . . . and in Georgia, nairn, as in the standard double negative, I ain't got nairn, which southerners innately understand to mean, I don't have any.

What double negatives are commonly accepted in your local vernacular?

Tomorrow: Objects

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Mixed Conditionals

Mixed Conditionals

Conditionals are if-statements. One condition in the statement relies on the other condition in the statement. For example, if we go to the pizza joint, we can all sit together. Conditionals may be used to make statements about real or imagined events: If aliens ring my doorbell, I'm not answering.

There are four types of conditionals (don't worry, I haven't forgotten that today I'm supposed to discuss mixed conditionals):
     Zero Conditionals - If statements that are always true. If I fall through the frozen pond, I will get cold.
     First Conditionals - If statements about things that are likely to happen. One future event is dependent on another future event. If I take voice lessons, I will try out for the next American Idol.
     Second Conditionals - If statements that are unlikely in the future or impossible in the present. If I audition for American Idol, I'll get to be friends with Steven Tyler. If I had a beautiful singing voice, he would want to meet me.,
     Third Conditionals - If statements that are impossible in the past.It is a statement about what we imagine could have happened. If I had been one of the contestants, I would have been his best friend.

Okay, take a deep breathe. Here comes the mixed conditional. Stay with me, here.

There are two types of mixed conditionals:
     Third Second Mixed Conditionals - If statements about imaginary present conditions or if statements about situations that are not possible because conditions were not met in the past. If I had taken the high road, we would be in a different position.
     Second Third Mixed Conditionals - If statements that avoid illogically saying "If I had been you," which implies I wasn't you on that occasion but could be you in the future, which you and I both know is impossible. If I were you, I would blot my lipstick.

Conditionals are CRAZY! I'm exhausted. Now that I've been through all of that, I conclude that proper use of mixed conditionals is the least of a writer's worries. Let's not get hung up on them.

Tomorrow: Negatives

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Loanwords

Loanwords

Words adopted from another language and used commonly in everyday dialogue are loanwords. Many loanwords are used so regularly in writing and conversation that most of us think they originated in the English language. Other loanwords, ones not employed as often, lend themselves to misuse. Successful use of a more obscure loanword depends of the writer's skill and the reader's knowledge. Loanwords are generally found in the dictionary.

Examples of loanwords, along with their languages or origin and their meanings:

Barbeque (Caribbean) - A raised grill for cooking meats.
Bizarre (Spain - Basque) - Strange or weird.
Breeze (Portuguese) - A light wind.
Chutzpah (Yiddish) - Extreme impudence.
Negligee (French) - A soft, filmy nightgown.
Entrepreneur (French) - A person who takes a financial risk to start a business.
Hazard (Arabic) - A danger or risk.
Motto (Italian) - Words to live by; a phrase that captures one's personal philosophy.
Futon (Japanese) - A low sofa bed with a quilted mattress.
Blitz (German) - To charge directly or attack vigorously.

Can you give an example of a loanword?

Tomorrow: Mixed Conditionals

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Killed It - A Bit about Word Usage

Killed it

A single word can have so many different meanings, and the nuances of a particular meaning can make or break a sentence. "She killed it" could mean that she gave her very best performance and is sure to take top prize in the kazoo blowing contest. Or it could mean the squirrel that unwisely chose to cross the street in front of her car, as she excitedly yelled her good fortune from the auto's open windows, came to a flat and definite end.

Similarly, lots of words in the English language sound alike, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Don't use the word break, when what you really mean is "She stepped on the brake, but it was too late" or the word brake when what you should say is "Slapping her guilty, sweaty palm on her forehead, she whispered, 'Give me a break.'"

Misunderstandings are common when the wrong words are used or when meanings are confused.

Do you have a good example of confusing contexts?

Tomorrow: Loanwords

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Jargon

Jargon

Jargon is the  vocabulary particular to a certain profession, trade or group. Amongst the peers of a specific group, it carries great meaning that simplifies and expedites communication. For outsiders, it is meaningless. Almost every profession and trade has its own jargon, from education to electrical engineering to medicine to publishing. Even grammarians have jargon: preposition, predicate, nominative, compound complex, superlative, indirect object . . .

The good thing about jargon is that within a relevant context, it aids exchange of information.

The bad thing about jargon is that some people choose to use it outside of its relevant context. They speak to laypeople in language that only a colleague could interpret. Some people do this because they are unable to translate the jargon into layman's terms. Some people do this because it increases their self-perceived importance. Some people do this because they don't realize that the vocabulary they are using is trade specific. The reasons for misuse of jargon, however, are not as important as the outcome: communication breakdown.


1) Avoid using jargon unless the target audience of what you are writing  includes only readers in the field that uses that vocabulary.

     For example, the following sentence is meant only for techies: This option makes the list command show the interface name, the rule options, and the TOS masks. The packet and byte counters are also listed, with the suffix 'K', 'M' or 'G' for 1000, 1,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 multipliers respectively. (http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-iptables-examples.html)

2) If the use of jargon is unavoidable, provide an explanation of the term or provide significant context clues to the meaning of the term.
     For example:
          One of the determinants for passing 5th grade is the CRCT. The Criterion Referenced Cumulative Test is a standardized test that measures a student's retention of and ability to apply math and language arts skills. Other performance standards, such as classroom grades, teacher recommendations, and periodic benchmark tests are also used for making promotion decisions.

Can you give an example of jargon used in your profession?

Tomorrow: Killing it: A bit about word usage.

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

It's v. Its

It's v. Its

Do you ever find yourself caught between the two? Wrestling with which one applies? Confused about what each one means? Wondering if the apostrophe-s signifies possession or contraction? Fret no more. The quick explanations and the dirty examples follow:

It's is a contraction of either "it is" or "it has." The apostrophe indicates that letters have been left out to form a contraction with the two words. The pronoun "it" refers to an object, animal, idea, place; in other words, anything other than a human.
     For example:
          The pig wallowed in the foul-smelling mud that covered the entire sty in a thick slurry. It's happy to live in such swell squalor.

Its is a possessive pronoun. This pronoun indicates that the object, animal, place, idea (essentially any noun that is not human) to which it refers owns something else in the sentence.
     For example:
          The sweet smell of its pigpen denied the distant ringing of the farmer's dinner bell. The pig never dreamed it might one day sprawl upon the big-house table.



Usage of these words is so understandably easy to confuse. When in doubt, insert "it is" or "it has" into the sentence in place of its or it's. If the sentence makes sense, then use the contraction, it's. If the sentence does not make sense, then the possessive pronoun, its, is what you're after.

It's a great day to leave a comment. If you have other helpful tips or suggestions in regard to its and it's, do tell.

Tomorrow: Jargon

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Hyphen

Hyphen

It is a form of punctuation that looks like this: -

A hyphen is used to join two words that express a single idea. In typed text, a hyphen is used to connect syllables of a word when it is continued to the next line. Grammarians have conjured up many rules for using the hyphen. A few for you to connect with:

1) Hyphenate all numbers, twenty-one through ninety-nine.


2) Hyphenate fractions when written out.
     For example, add one-third cup of flour to the batter if it is too watery, or add three-fourths cup of water if it is too thick.

3) Notice! DO NOT hyphenate compound nouns. If in doubt whether a word combination is a compound noun, look it up in the dictionary.
     For example, fireman is a compound noun; therefore we would not write fire-man.

4) Hyphenate two (or more) adjectives that express a single idea about a noun they precede.
     For example: The genius-slight PeteJoe determined that if he got a good stick, he could hold that rattler's head to the ground while Junior grabbed it by the tail. (Together, the adjectives genius and slight convey the understanding that PeteJoe is none too smart.)

5) Hyphenate any compound verbs (two verbs expressing a single idea) not found in the dictionary as one word.
     For example: PeteJoe slash-slapped a willow stick at the viper's head.

6) Compound adverbs that do not end in -ly and come before the noun are hyphenated. If they come after the noun they refer to in the sentence they are written as two separate words.
     For example:The little-anticipated forked tongue whipped threateningly from its lips.


Get creative. Leave a sentence in the comments with properly hyphenated adjectives or verbs.

Tomorrow: Its v. It's

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.