Last week, I received a question about when to use good versus well. To really understand the answer, I’m afraid we have to get into the grammar of it. Grammar Girl does a great job of explaining it at quickanddirtytips.com, though there’s nothing very quick about it. I’ve cut the article down here and there and reformatted it to make it a bit simpler.

It’s such a simple little question: How are you?

“I’m good” is what you’re likely to hear in general conversation, but there are grammar nitpickers out there who will chide you if you say it. The wonderful news is that those nitpickers are wrong: it’s perfectly acceptable to say, “I’m good,” and you shouldn’t have to shamefully submit to teasing remarks such as the time-honored and leering, “How good are you?”

The nitpickers will tell you that "well" is an adverb (and therefore modifies verbs) and that "good" is an adjective (and therefore modifies nouns), but the situation isn’t that simple.

The key is to understand how linking verbs differ from action verbs.

· Action verbs – They’re easy; they describe actions (e.g., run, jump, swim). To describe an action verb, use an adverb like well. For example:

o He runs well.

o She jumps well.

o They swim well.

Well is an adverb that relates to all of those action verbs.

Note: Do not use adjectives with action verbs. For example, “They swim good” is incorrect. The proper sentence is "He swam well," because swam is an action verb and it needs an adverb to describe it.

· Linking verbs – Less about actions and more about connecting other words together. The verb to be is the quintessential linking verb. The word is is a form of the verb to be, and if I say, "He is shy," the main purpose of is is to link the word he with the word shy. Other linking verbs include:

o seem

o appear

o look

o become

o feel

o smell

o taste

o etc. (There are at least 60 in English.)

One complication is that some verbs—such as the sensing verbs—can be both linking verbs and action verbs. A trick that will help you figure out if you’re dealing with a linking verb is to see if you can replace the verb with a form of to be; if so, then it’s probably a linking verb.

For example, you can deduce that feel is a linking verb in the sentence "He feels bad" because if you replace feels with the word is, the sentence still makes sense: "He is bad." On the other hand, if you have a sentence such as "He feels badly," and you replace feels with is, it doesn’t make sense anymore: You get "He is badly." So in that case you know that "feel" is functioning as an action verb.

It’s standard to use adjectives—such as "good"—after linking verbs. When you do it, they are called predicate adjectives, and they refer to the noun before the linking verb.

Aside from the linking-verb-action-verb trickiness, another reason people get confused about this topic is that well can be both an adverb and a predicate adjective. As I said earlier, in the sentence "He swam well," well is an adverb that describes how he swam. But when you say, “I am well,” you’re using well as a predicate adjective. That’s fine, but most sources say well is reserved to mean healthy when it’s used in this way. So if you are recovering from a long illness and someone is inquiring about your health, it’s appropriate to say, “I am well,” but if you’re just describing yourself on a generally good day and nobody’s asking specifically about your health, a more appropriate response is, “I am good.”

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Good morning, folks! I want to give a big “thank you” to Donna for her contributions to the Editor’s Corner and to y’all for being so welcoming to her.

Since I spent my long weekend in the Pacific Northwest, I figured I had two choices of topics:

· First, I could discuss the words my eight-year-old nephew wrote on my hands using ink only viewable under black light. I think you are probably already familiar with those words, and we try to avoid bathroom talk at work. Let’s just say I won’t be going to any bars until the ink wears off; I don’t want to offend the bouncers.

· Second, I thought maybe I would look up some of the words we’ve added to English from the different indigenous peoples of America. I know we’ve borrowed a lot of names (Klickitat, Kopachuck, Puyallup) but I didn’t realize how many words we’ve adopted. This is a partial list of words from Algonquian and related languages. For other languages and additional words see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_from_indigenous_languages_of_the_Americas

Caribou

From qalipu, "snow-shoveler”.

Chipmunk

Originally chitmunk, "red squirrel".

Eskimo

From aiachkimeou (modern ayassimēw), meaning "snowshoe-netter".

Hickory

From pocohiquara, "milky drink made with hickory nuts".

Hominy

From uskatahomen/usketchaumun, literally "that which is treated", in this case "that which is ground/beaten".

Moose

From mo·swa (Proto-Algonquian)

Opossum

From apasum/opussumz/aposoum, "white dog-like animal”, “white dog".

Pecan

From pakani, "nut".

Persimmon

From pessemins/pushemins, "fruit, berry".

Pone

From poan/appoans, "something roasted".

Raccoon

From arahkun/aroughcun.

Squash (fruit)

From askútasquash.

Succotash

From msíckquatash, "boiled whole kernels of corn".

http://www.nps.gov/mora/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

I was looking for a resource today to help a co-worker with some writing improvement tips. I thought I’d check out the trusty Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) because it has a lot of great lessons in it. The OWL did not let me down!

The link below has information on improving writing, understanding the purpose of different documents, and structuring documents appropriately.

Note: I’m not trying to override current practices, so if you already have a template for your documentation, keep using it as intended. This is simply a resource to help those who would like more information about these topics.

General writing topics include:

· Effective workplace writing

· Audience analysis

· Parallel structure

· Tone

· Design procedures

Document types include:

· White papers

· Technical reports

· Abstracts

· Proposals

· Memos

· Business letters

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/4/16/

When you have a minute, check it out!

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

Today I’d like to take a break from our normal fare to introduce you to a couple of my favorite people: Donna Bradley Burcher and Jacqueline “Jackie” Solano.

I’ve mentioned Donna to you before. Donna is a Technical Editor here at Symitar, and this week she’s going to be a guest star in the Editor’s Corner! Donna has a BA and Master’s degree in Literature and Writing. She’s my knight in shining armor (minus the horse) and she is the one I refer to as “the editor’s editor” (and sometimes Honey Badger). I’m looking forward to having her share her sharp wit and fascinating observations about English with us.

Jackie has recently joined Donna and me in our efforts to bring about world peace through grammar, punctuation, and editing. Jackie has a degree in Business (emphasis on Marketing), and as a seasoned Technical Writer and master of minimalist writing, she’s a terrific addition to our group. No more couples skating, we’re now the gang of three!

Keep your eyes open for these visitors to the corner in the next months (it’s a small corner, so we’re pretty easy to see) and enjoy!

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Let’s slide into the week with a short lesson for today.

From grammarbook.com, it’s the Q portion of the “Spelling, Vocabulary, and Confusing Words” list:

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It’s Friday and Cinco de Mayo weekend. If you’re in San Diego, huge events celebrating the Mexican culture are taking place in Old Town and Balboa Park—just be careful out there!

The next four suggestions are all decent, straightforward ways to avoid gender bias. In our documentation at Symitar, we use number six a lot, and as we move toward more concise task documentation, number nine is extremely useful because it not only avoids gender bias, it promotes active writing. From DailyWritingTips.com “Ten Ways to Avoid Gender Bias”:

6. Replace the Pronoun with an Article

Before: “Ask the student to prepare his presentation.”
After: “Ask the student to prepare a presentation.”

7. Revise the Sentence to Use the Pronoun One

Before: “A prepared student is more likely to succeed than if he has not done sufficient research.”
After: “A prepared student is more likely to succeed than an unprepared one.”

8. Revise the Sentence to Use the Pronoun Who

Before: “A student is more likely to succeed if he does sufficient research.”
After: “A student who does sufficient research is more likely to succeed.”

9. Revise the Sentence to the Imperative Mood

Before: “A student must be well prepared for his presentation.”
After: “Be well prepared for the presentation.”

I think I might’ve said “edtiors ndeeded,” instead. 🙂

Thank you, Jolie L., for the photo!

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I received quite a few responses to yesterday’s e-mail. They ranged from the interesting and clever to those that completely missed the point. And then there was my Mom’s solution: “Instead of he or she, I prefer babe.” I suppose we could spice up our documentation with some of that.

Scenario: A member walks into your financial institution and babe wants to deposit $12,500 to savings and $1,000 to checking. After you perform this transaction, babe asks to open a CD for $5,000.

Well, I’ve got to give her credit for trying! Now for the next three suggestions on “Ten Ways to Avoid Gender Bias” from DailyWritingTips.com:

3. Omit the Pronoun

Before: “Ask the student whether he is prepared to give a presentation.”
After: “Ask whether the student is prepared to give a presentation.”

This revision does not clearly indicate whether the student or another person is being asked; writers must recognize and respond to such lack of clarity if it affects comprehension. [KC – Depending on what precedes this sentence, this method can work well.]

4. Repeat the Noun in Place of the Pronoun

Before: “Ask the student whether he is prepared to give a presentation.”
After: “Ask the student whether the student is prepared to give a presentation.”

When the noun is repeated in the proximity shown above, the sentence is awkward; in a more complex sentence, the repetition may not seem so obvious. [KC – This is definitely stilted and sounds horrible.]

5. Use a Plural Antecedent for the Pronoun

Before: “Ask the student whether he is prepared to give a presentation.”
After: “Ask the students whether they are prepared to give their presentations.”

Employing a plural noun and a plural pronoun may change the meaning somewhat; writers must be alert as to which other nouns, if any, should be made plural as well. [KC – This can be a good solution, but sometimes you just need to talk about a
single customer or a single member. Generally people don’t come into a financial institution to do transactions as a big group.

Important:
A common error is to use “they” to avoid the gender-bias. For example, instead of “The CEO called a meeting because
he needed to deliver some fantastic news,” you might see or hear “The CEO called a meeting because
they wanted to deliver some fantastic news.” This is grammatically incorrect, since CEO is a singular noun, and “they” is a pronoun for more than one person.]

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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I was indulging in a guilty pleasure on my way to work—listening to the ‘80s station on XM radio. The now 60-year-old MTV “VJ” Mark Goodman was talking about the Eurythmics and how Annie Lennox (also nearly 60 years old) wrote a riveting article about Margaret Thatcher tearing England apart. “She’s a smart girl,” he said. I nearly veered off the road after hearing that condescension. Under what circumstances would he think it was okay to say “Yeah, that Stephen Hawking is a smart boy”?

So, I don’t have tips on avoiding condescending and judgmental language, but I do have an article about avoiding gender bias in writing. No matter which way you bend, this is good information for business. We will start with the first two items from the DailyWritingTips.com article: “Ten Ways to Avoid Gender Bias”

How do you write around the outmoded usage of the pronoun he or him when a male is not necessarily the subject of the reference? Here are ten strategies—none ideal in every circumstance—for achieving gender neutrality.

1. Use He or She

Before: “Ask the student whether he is prepared to give a presentation.”
After: “Ask the student whether he or she is prepared to give a presentation.”

This solution is stiffly formal and is awkward in repetition; use sparingly. [KC – This is preferred to many options, though.]

Using he/she, s/he, or any such alternative (or an invented neutral pronoun like ze) is not advised. [KC – And is punishable by public flogging.]

2. Alternate Between He and She

Before: “Ask the student whether he is prepared to give a presentation. If he is ready, tell him that he may begin when he is ready.”
After: “Ask the student whether he is prepared to give a presentation. If she is ready, tell her that she may begin when she is ready.”

This solution works only in the case of two or more references to a hypothetical subject of either gender. In the proximity of the references in the examples, this solution is awkward, but when the references are at some distance from each other, it can be effective in moderation. [KC – This is
very unclear. Stay tuned for better options tomorrow.]

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I was just trolling my mailbox for something fun to discuss today (welcome to those of you who have recently joined) and I stumbled on an article from http://grammarist.com/. I guess “fun” is relative, but here’s some info on a special kind of censorship editing and a comic for fellow word nerds. Enjoy!

Bowdlerize

Henrietta and Thomas Bowdler were an English sister and brother who prepared and published an 1807 edition of Shakespeare’s works that was meant to be appropriate for women and children and for families to read together. To accomplish this, they removed or changed many words, phrases, and passages they believed to be racy or offensive. This is the origin of the verb bowdlerize, which means to remove elements considered offensive (from a literary work or other work of art).

Bowdlerization is similar to censorship, but more narrowly defined. Censorship is often official, often politically motivated, and often applied to nonartistic texts, while bowdlerization is usually done by a private individual or group seeking to make a work of art more morally acceptable. Also, censorship often involves outright removal of parts of texts, while bowdlerization often involves cleaning things up but not removing them. The word tends to have negative connotations. Bowdlerizers typically use other terms to describe what they do.

(Thank you for the comic, Jarvae!)

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

Today we review a question I got back in February: What is the proper use of alternate vs. alternative? From Common Errors in English Usage, by Paul Brians:

Alternate and Alternative

Although UK authorities disapprove, in US usage, “alternate” is frequently an adjective, substituted for the older “alternative”: “an alternate route.” “Alternate” can also be a noun; a substitute delegate is, for instance, called an “alternate.” But when you’re speaking of “every other” as in “our club

And additional information from Merriam-Webster:

al·ter·nate

· adjective

: occurring or succeeding by turns : one following the other in time: not side by side <stems with alternate leaves>

Substitute for alternative <this highway is an alternate route> <copper may be used as an alternate material> <make an alternate selection>

· verb

: to perform by turns or in succession : interchange regularly <alternate the melodies>

· noun

: a choice between two or among more than two objects or courses : alternative <the port is the alternate to New York as a shipping terminus> <several basic alternates to expansion of the building>

: one that takes the place of another : one that alternates with another: such as an extra person appointed to take the place of another who is unable to perform a certain duty : substitute

al·ter·na·tive

· adjective

: offering a choice of two or more things : <several alternative plans> : expressing a choice or choices <alternative proposition>

: occurring or succeeding by turns : alternate <On alternative days, most stocks seem to be either wildly over-priced or tanking. — Linda Stern Newsweek 3 Apr. 2000>

: different from the usual or conventional: such as a : existing or functioning outside the established cultural, social, or economic system <an alternative newspaper>

· noun

: a proposition or situation offering a choice between two things wherein if one thing is chosen the other is rejected <a government facing the alternative of high taxes or poor highways>

: one of a number of things or courses offered for choice <a third alternative>

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