Editor's Corner

The pronoun subtype of the day is indefinite pronouns. These refer to unspecified people, things, or groups.

Here is a partial list, from The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage:

Examples:

· Both were elected, but only one was chosen.

· Some were happy; all were entertained.

As you can see, when these words function as indefinite pronouns, you are left with a pretty vague sentence. Outside of imprecision, these words cause confusion because they’re often used as adjectives. Remember this so you can tell how the word is being used: indefinite pronouns can stand alone. If the word is being used as an adjective, it will be coupled with the noun it modifies.

Examples:

· Indefinite pronoun: Oliver would like some.

· Modifying adjective: Oliver would like some porridge. (In this case, some is modifying porridge.)

· Indefinite pronoun: She has a few left.

· Modifying adjective: She has a few jellybeans left. (In this case, few is modifying jellybeans.)

And here are a few more indefinite pronouns that are compound words:

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Today we have reflexive pronouns on the menu.

Reflexive pronouns are easy to spot, but they are still often misused.

According to our book, The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage:

Reflexive pronouns must refer back to a specific noun (usually, but not always, the subject) in the same sentence. This noun is called the antecedent of the reflexive pronoun. The term reflexive comes from a Latin word meaning “bend back.”

Here are some examples of the correct and incorrect uses of reflexive pronouns.

Correct:

· He looked at himself in the mirror and straightened his tie. (He is the antecedent for the reflexive pronoun himself.)

· She was angry at herself for forgetting to bring the birthday card. (She is the antecedent; herself is the reflexive pronoun.)

· When I’m alone, I often talk to myself. (I is the antecedent; myself is the reflexive pronoun.)

· Grandma gave to cookies to Fritz and me. (Myself is not used since there is no reflexive pronoun antecedent and Fritz and me are the objects of the sentence. Often people use “myself” in this structure because they don’t know whether to use I or me at the end. Remember from yesterday: I is the subject and me is the object.)

Incorrect:

· My mom and myself are going to the store. (There is no antecedent in this sentence for myself to refer back to.)

· Joel laughed at Victor and myself. (There is no antecedent in this sentence for myself to refer back to.)

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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As promised, here are the tables of personal pronouns from The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage.

First-Person Pronouns (represent the speaker or writer of the sentence)

Note: People often mix up whether they should use I or me. As you can see, they are both first person singular pronouns. The thing to remember is whether you are talking about yourself as the subject of the sentence, or the object. For example:

I made a party hat. (I am the subject—the doer—of the action in this sentence.)

That letter is from Ray and me. (The letter is the subject of this sentence; Ray and me are the objects.)

Ray and I attended the BBQ in our Sunday best. (In this case Ray and I are the subjects; the BBQ is the object.)

Second-Person Pronouns (represent the hearer or reader of the sentence)

Note: Some areas of the country claim a second-person plural like y’all, you’ns, etc. These are handy but they are not grammatically correct.

Third-Person Pronouns (replace names of specific people, places, or things)

Notes:

· Its is the singular possessive indicating that something belongs to “it.” For example, the bird built its nest out of lint and twigs. It’s is a contraction of the words “it is.”

· English doesn’t have a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. To get around it, try using a noun, such as “the user,” “the teller,” or “the member,” since using “they” or “them” is incorrect when they stand for a singular noun.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Good morning! It’s time to dive into the final part of speech: pronouns!

First, let’s start with a quick definition. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. For example, without pronouns we have this mess: “Donnie wondered where Marie was, even though Marie told Donnie that Marie was going shopping.” With the use of pronouns, we have something much smoother: “Donnie wondered where Marie was, even though she told him that she was going shopping.”

There are four subclasses of pronouns that we will discuss this week:

· Personal

· Reflexive

· Indefinite

· Demonstrative

The list of personal pronouns is divided into three types: first-, second-, and third-person. Tomorrow I will provide you with the lists and brief descriptions of personal pronouns. Until then, here is Schoolhouse Rock’s interpretation of the helpful pronoun: Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Today’s misheard song lyrics (mondegreens) are continued from your contest entries. Between hellfire and cigarettes, it seems like folks were in a grim mood while they listened to this music! I hope your weekend promises to be happier than some of these lyrics!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
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Good afternoon folks!

I’m recovering from bronchitis and a head cold—you know how nasty San Diego winters are. I don’t have my books here with me today, so I’m sending you a lovely photo my husband brought back from his lunchtime trip to his favorite taco truck. Apparently, they are proudly displaying new signs, but they didn’t ask the Editrix for any help. I think my favorite part is the $12.00 Coconut Delight, which promises to be X-Tra ordinary. Outside of this error, I spy capital letters a-go-go, spelling problems, punctuation errors, and more. If you can find at least 10 errors, I suggest you stop at the 9 Seas taco truck on 30th and Grape St. and offer your editing services.

Enjoy your day.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Good morning (or good afternoon depending on the region where you live and work).

And speaking of different regions, some parts of our big, beautiful nation are experiencing some dang cold weather recently! So today, I thought I’d share eight words that all relate to winter and cold climates. I found this group of words at dictionary.com slideshows. Click the link to read more about the words and hear the pronunciations.

· Hibernaculum (noun): winter quarters [dbb – Note the similarity of this word to
hibernation. They share the same root and both relate to the winter]
The bear retreats to her hibernaculum during the cold winter months.

· Gelid (adjective): Very cold, icy, or frosty

It’s not just cold in Minneapolis today, it’s absolutely gelid!

· Halcyon (adjective): calm or peaceful
Albert missed the halcyon days of youth.

· Brumal: (adjective) Of or characteristic of winter (from the Latin bruma meaning winter)

The hibernating bear was deep in a brumal sleep.

· Frore: (adjective) Frozen or frosty
The painting depicted a frore landscape.

· Névé: (noun) Granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice
The mountain was covered in névé.

· Hiemal (adjective): Of or pertaining to winter; wintry (from the Latin hiems meaning winter)
The family had long lived in the hiemal town of Lillehammer.

· Algid (adjective): Cold; chilly (from the Latin algidus – sometimes used in medicine to describe states of abnormally low body temperature or shock resulting in clamminess)
It was an algid night on Lake Michigan.

It looks like many places are starting to warm up a little. I hope you are all safe and comfortable.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Technical Editor, Adv. | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Extension: 765432

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
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Good day, good people.

A while back I was asked to cover the difference between the words everyday and every day and also between the words anymore and any more. I can’t ignore the request any more, so here goes.

Let’s start with everyday and every day. According to the Grammarist website:

· Everyday is an adjective used to describe things that (1) occur every day, or (2) are ordinary or commonplace.

Example: Listening to the radio is an everyday occurrence for me.

· In the two-word phrase every day, the adjective every modifies the noun day, and the phrase usually functions adverbially. For example, every day you eat breakfast. You brush your teeth every day. Maybe you go for a walk every day. These are everyday activities.

When you’re not sure which one to use, try replacing everyday/every day with each day. If each day would make sense in its place, then you want the two-word form. Everyday, meanwhile, is synonymous with daily or ordinary, depending on its sense.

In the U.S., we also distinguish between anymore and any more. I found the following information on the Grammarphobia website.

· Anymoreis an adverb that means nowadays, any longer,or still.

Example: I don’t get the newspaper delivered to my house anymore.

· Any more is an adjectival noun phrase meaning any additional, or anything additional.

Example: I do not want any more of Grandma’s famous sweet potato casserole.

If you research, you’ll find that in Britain, the word anymore is considered an informal word for any more, and most British grammarians advise against using anymore in formal writing. Click here for more information on the British definitions, but we’ll adhere to the U.S. standards.

Enjoy the rest of your day. In fact, enjoy every day.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Technical Editor, Adv. | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

Dear Editrix,

I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain…I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.

I’ve also seen a lot of login, logon, log in, log into, log-in, log-on, log on, log onto. Where does it stop? Is there a correct way to write how to get into an application or onto your PC?

Sincerely,

Logophile

Dear Logophile,

I’m so glad you asked! The JHA Style Committee works hard to make decisions about these things and we keep track of the decisions in the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training (click here for the internal document). For your immediate viewing pleasure, here is a screen shot of that section, and as you can see log on and log off are the preferred terms for verbs; logon is the preferred noun and adjective form.

Everyone should be following these guidelines so we present ourselves as One Company.

Sincerely,

Editrix

Log on, dudes!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Good morning! Thank you to everyone who sent in their mondegreens (misheard song lyrics) to the Editor’s Corner for the latest contest. I received over 100, though several of them were repeats and a few of them were not for polite company. (They made me laugh, but I like my job so I won’t be passing them on!) Over the next few weeks I will share your co-workers’, friends’, clients’, and families’ submissions with you.

The winner of the book, Hit Me with Your Pet Shark: Misheard Lyrics of the 1980s, by Charles Grosvenor Jr. is Morris Hardin. Congratulations to a great guy! I’ll bring your book down some time this morning.

Happy Friday!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory