by Flo Selfman
My biggest recent achievement is tossing about fifty pounds of papers from boxes in my dining room (okay, I’m often given to hyperbole). Most were recipes collected and not prepared and grammar errors gathering dust since 2015. I hated to throw out all this stuff, but I bravely gathered my resolve and into the bin it went!
I flipped through the grammar errors and discovered that many are the same as ten years before and are being made today. Here are a few.
Hyphens: The hyphen should only be used:
1) for hyphenated words (well-being),
2) for connecting two or more words to create a one-word adjective modifying a noun (a ten-year-old boy) (Note: there is no hyphen between “old” and “boy”) and
3) at the end of a line when a word is continued on the next line (information).
In the last few years, people seem to hyphenate any groups of numbers where no adjective is involved. In this example from UCLA Medical Center’s U Magazine: “… and even strictly limit weight gain in women who are already obese to 11-to-20 pounds — it should say, “to 11 to 20 pounds.” If it were written as “an 11-to-20-pound weight gain,” the hyphens would be correct, creating a one-word adjective modifying “weight gain.”
Another hyphen error: “[He] is Hollywood’s go-to-guy for hot jazz tracks from the 1920s and 1930s.” (LAT 4-9-17) Just one hyphen is needed, for “go-to”—an adjective modifying “guy.” (And note: there is no apostrophe in “1920s” or “1930s.”)
What a difference a letter makes—just one single letter: “Complementary movie tickets”; “A complementary subscription to Entertainment Weekly™ magazine.” These phrases are from a promotional letter sent by AFI (the American Film Institute) in January 2018. They should have said “complimentary”—meaning free. “Complementary” means something that goes with or enhances something else: “Sara’s jewelry always complements her outfits.” “My living room paint color complements my new sofa.”
An LA Times article on behind-the-scenes happenings at the Oscars (February 23, 2015) had this quote from Reese Witherspoon: “It’s about creating strong women’s roles in his wonderful industry.” Surely she said “this” wonderful industry.
An ad in the LA Times for a book written by well-known columnist Patt Morrison on 3-2-19 spelled her last name as “Morrisson.” Someone must have alerted them (perhaps the wonderful Ms. Morrison herself) because the same ad ran on 3-10-19 and her name was spelled correctly.
Do you sometimes think your autocorrect is governed by unseen forces? Here are some examples of words my devices altered, which I know I typed correctly! They’re off by only one letter, but it changes the meaning entirely, often drastically. I wrote “show,” clicked Send, and my missive went out with “slow.” I’m trying to double-check every email and social media post in time to catch words like these that my “helpful” software messes up. Most times I head it off at the pass; other times it’s just too quick for me.
appraise / apprise
avenue / venue
boarder / border
bowl / bowel
cadre / padre
charge / change
elected / selected
holey / holy
closet / closest
engaged / enraged
inane / insane
condo / condom
fiancé / finance
inhabit / inhibit
cyst / cost
due / do
good / goof
heroes / herpes
inter / intern
missive / missile
planning / planting
preset / present
invidious / insidious
prostate / prostrate
public / pubic
pus / puss
recital / rectal
regime / regimen / regiment
reworded / rewarded
scar / scare
started / startled
tears / years
tumor / humor
wet / whet
There are thousands of others. Caution: double-check before hitting Send.
Until next time …
Flo Selfman is an in-demand copy editor, proofreader, and PR consultant. She served as president of the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC.org, now part of WPN) for a dozen years and won The BookFest’s Honorary Achievement Award, Spring 2023. Away from the computer, she loves exploring SoCal, camera in hand. Find her at WordsalaMode.com/.
