Editor's Corner

Good morning, good grammarians! Today’s topic begins in a straight-forward way—and then it takes a delightful deviation.

Let’s start at the beginning. You know that was and were are past tense conjugations of the verb to be:

• I was
• she/he was
• you/they were
• we were

Pretty simple so far; but now for the deviance. Along with being a past tense form of to be, the word were is also the past subjunctive form, which means that it expresses an action or state that is not reality. For example, we use were instead of was to allude to something hypothetical, wished for, or conditional.

And this is where many of us don’t follow the rules. But since you all care about the rules, here they are (courtesy of Grammarly.com):

• Use were if the state of being you are describing is contrary to the current reality. This is true whenever a hypothetical situation is expressed, for example:
  • If I were you, I would clean the counters before the floors.
  • Would you invite me over if I were more polite at the dinner table?

The first sentence can be described as an unreal conditional sentence. These hypotheticals are easy to spot because they are often introduced by an if and are related to another clause containing a would or could.

• Another type of unreal conditional sentence that uses the same construction demanding the subjunctive were is the impossible or improbable type.
  • If it were possible to solve the puzzle, I would have done it.

Here the speaker implies that the puzzle is unsolvable. Therefore, solving the puzzle is not a likely reality, and the subjunctive were is used instead of the past tense was.

That does not mean that every clause beginning with if requires the use of were rather than was. [dbb – this is a helpful hint.]

• • If I was wrong about Felicity’s love of puppies, I can take this one back to the shelter.

In this sentence, the speaker acknowledges that it is possible they were mistaken about Felicity loving puppies and thus shouldn’t be giving her one. The fact that the speaker is describing what may be reality makes this an indicative sentence, not a subjunctive one. Therefore, we use was instead of were.

· Use were, not was, for wishful thinking.

A sure sign that you should use the subjunctive is when the word wish is used. A wish is the desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen.

o I wish I were the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

o He wishes his grammar were better.

o I wish the stories about me were true, but I am not really the master of the universe.

o She wishes she were at least five inches taller.

Here’s a tip: These phrases are never correct: I wish I was, I wish it was, he wishes he was, she wishes she was.

That’s all for today! I wish I were able to snap my fingers to make all these rules easier to follow. But where’s the fun in that? It’s the challenge that keeps us interested. Happy Tuesday!

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Good morning!

At the beginning of each year, various dictionaries reveal their “word of the year.” They choose a word that has been most often looked up or a word they feel represents something we all experienced during the previous year. When deciding on the word for 2023, Dictionary.com gave themselves this prompt: “Using lexicography and data science, choose a single word that best represents, at this moment, AI’s many profound ramifications for the future of language and life.”

What did they come up with? According to Dictionary.com, the word of the year for 2023 is hallucinate. Here is what they have to say about this winner of a word:

Hallucinate is one of many new terms related to artificial intelligence. AI breakthroughs define so much of 2023, which is why we added lots of new AI entries just this year.

Many of you are looking up the new hallucinate. It means “to produce false information contrary to a user’s wishes, and to present it as if it’s true and factual.” AI chat bots work by picking up the words that are most similar to the text they were trained on. That’s not always the same as facts.

Hallucinate represents 2023 because this is the year that AI became widely used and its problems widely known. AI will change the way we work, learn, create, communicate, and how we think about ourselves. For a dictionary, it doesn’t get much more important than that.

And following is a list of other words that made Dictionary.com’s 2023 Word of the Year short list. They say, “These five terms represent the intersection of language with some of the year’s most significant events and trends”:

• strike

The word strike had a high-profile role in the news narrative of the year, which included several prominent and lengthy labor strikes by screenwriters, actors, auto workers, healthcare professionals, service workers, and others.

• rizz

Rizz was the year’s most durable—and, on Dictionary.com, most-searched—slang term. Popularized by streaming star Kai Cenat, it refers to attractiveness, charm, or skill in flirtation that allows one to easily attract romantic partners. It is thought to be taken from the middle part of the word charisma.

• wokeism

The evolution of woke and related terms like wokeism continues, with wokeism in particular emerging as a lightning rod and signifier of broad political opposition. We saw a massive 2,300% increase in pageviews for wokeism in 2023.

• indicted

This year’s unprecedented legal activity in the context of U.S. government and politics was reflected in multiple significant search spikes this year, including for the terms indicted (300% increase), arraignment (198% increase), and exculpatory (15% increase).

• wildfire

This year’s devastating wildfires in Maui, Canada, and in many other parts of the world were some of the latest examples of how climate change is contributing to extreme weather events and a new potency in the terms we use to refer to them.

But there’s more! For the first time ever, dictionary.com also selected a word that represents the cultural vibe of 2023…and the Vibe of the Year word is eras, which is defined this way: “periods of time in a person’s life characterized by something distinctive and noticeable, such as a particular emotional state, relationship, achievement, or interest.”

Example: I’ve lived through three separate eras just this year, but I feel like I’m finally in my lucky girl era.

Now that 2023 is firmly behind us, let’s all look forward to a happy and healthy 2024. Cheers to us!

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Good morning! I hope your enjoying this sparkly new year.

You know I love to share lists of words that surprise us—for whatever reason. Today I have a list of words that many of us are pronouncing incorrectly. Many of these words have to do with food, and many occur because English borrows words from other languages. This list comes from msn.com.

I’ve been guilty of mispronunciation, so I was quick to review these words and almost as quick to share them with you to make sure that you never have to experience the embarrassment of mispronouncing any of these words in front of a person you were hoping to impress (sorry to my father-in-law for repeatedly mispronouncing Worcestershire, Leicestershire, and Gloucestershire—I’ve finally got it down, I think).

I’ve covered mispronounced words before, but there are some new ones on this list for you to peruse. (Remember that word from the list of words you might be using incorrectly?)

If you’re interested in learning more about how to pronounce the UK town names of Worcestershire, Leicestershire, and Gloucestershire, this article is for you: You’re Probably Pronouncing These British Towns Incorrectly | Condé Nast Traveler (cntraveler.com). Enjoy the rest of your day and your week.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Good morning, and happy holidays!

With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to find out about traditions here in the states and around the world. My mom always cooked black eyed peas on New Years Day. She said it was good luck. I recently found out that it is considered lucky because round food resembles coins and money. Who knew?!

Here in the U.S., we celebrate with a party on New Year’s Eve. We also have a tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. But probably our biggest celebration takes place in Times Square in New York, where a giant ball is dropped at the stroke of midnight. That ball is 12 feet in diameter and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds! The first New Year’s Eve ball drop took place in 1907.

We often exchange kisses when the clock strikes midnight. That tradition, however, started in Germany. Before electricity, Germans celebrated New Year’s Eve with a big bonfire, which is when the kiss originated. When Germans immigrated to the U.S. in the 1800s, they brought the New Year’s kiss with them. Thank you!

In Chili, they go to mass on New Year’s Eve, but not to a church; they go to cemeteries. This tradition includes deceased family members in the New Year’s celebrations.

In Columbia, some folks walk around the block with an empty suitcase in the hopes that the new year will be filled with travel and adventure.

In Denmark, New Year’s Eve is celebrated by throwing old plates and glasses against the doors of their friend’s and family’s homes to banish bad spirits. To bring good luck, they also “leap into January” at midnight by standing on chairs and jumping off of them.

In Estonia, they try to eat seven, nine, or 12 times throughout the day because these numbers are considered lucky. And the more they eat, the more plentiful food will be during the next year.

In Ecuador, people parade around their city with scarecrows that look like politicians and cultural icons.

In Greece, on New Year’s Eve, they hang an onion on their front door. It is a symbol of rebirth in the new year. On New Year’s Day, some parents wake their children by tapping them on the head with the onion.

In Italy it is considered lucky to wear red underwear on 12/31, as red is associated with fertility.

In Japan, Buddhist temple bells are rung 108 times at the stroke of midnight. This tradition is called Joya no Kane (除夜の鐘), and it is believed to dispel each person’s 108 evil desires and cleanse them of their sins in the past year.

In Russia, people write their wishes on a piece of paper, burn the paper with the flame from a candle, and drink the ashes in a glass of champagne.

In Spain, it is customary to eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Each grape symbolizes one month, and eating the grapes is believed to bring good luck throughout the entire year.

Whatever your tradition, I wish you a happy and healthy new year.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Good chilly morning, my friends!

Earlier this year, I shared information about the vernal equinox (around March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere) and the summer solstice (around June 20).

Today, I’m sharing information about the winter solstice—the shortest day of the year–which, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around Dec. 20.

Many countries and peoples around the world celebrate the winter solstice. I’ll start by telling you about one of the most difficult celebrations to get into: Newgrange in Ireland. One year, over 28,000 people applied for the lottery to attend this celebration and only 60 people got in! According to the Space Tourism Guide, “Newgrange is a Neolithic ancient temple constructed around 3200 BC, making it older than the pyramids in Giza (which made the list for great summer solstice experiences) or Stonehenge in England.”

And moving on to other celebrations around the world…

In Japan, the winter solstice is called Tōji. The most popular activity is called yuzuyu: it’s a bath with yuzu fruit, which is thought to have cleansing properties and to symbolize good luck.

In Iran, the winter solstice is called Yaldā (also known as Shab-e Yalda or Shabe-e Chellah in Persian). Many people celebrate Yaldā night with a small group of family and friends. They share food and drink and often read poetry with the goal to stay up past midnight to avoid misfortunes of the year’s longest night.

Dōngzhì is the name of the winter solstice celebration in China. This family celebration is associated with yin and yang philosophies. The belief is that as the sunlight begins to return to the Northern Hemisphere, the flow of positive energy in life increases.

Several Native American groups in the Southwestern U.S. observe a winter solstice celebration called Soyal. According to the Space Tourism Guide, “This 16-day ceremony includes a variety of events, and most of them mark the beginning of a new year as the sun returns to the world.”

And the solstice celebration we’re likely most familiar with here in the U.S. because of its ties to Christmas is the Scandinavian celebration of Yule. Before the rise of Christianity in Europe, people celebrated Yule–the midpoint of winter. Today some folks still celebrate Yule by gathering with friends and family and giving gifts.

Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, I wish you happiness and good fortune.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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OK, I admit that today’s Editor’s Corner is pure fluff. I heard the funniest misused idiom the other day and just have to share it with you: kitten caboodle.

This is what I’m imagining—a whole caboodle of kittens:

But what is the correct idiom, and what on earth is a caboodle?

I believe the idiom the speaker was thinking of is kit and caboodle. I did some research and wasn’t able to find a date of first usage; however, I did gather the following information.

The word caboodle refers to everything in a group—or to relate to the image above, every last kitten in the litter. It basically means that you’re not leaving anything out. Interestingly, kit means the same thing, so this idiom is redundant.

Kit has been used to refer to everything in a collection or group since the mid-1700s, and caboodle has been used to mean the same thing since the 1840s. But the idiom we know today as kit and caboodle may have originally been slightly different. According to Dictionary.com, “…caboodle is thought to be a corruption of the phrase kit and boodle.” And guess what boodle means? You’ve got it, it means the same thing as kit, which means the same thing as caboodle. They all mean “everything in a collection or group.”

That’s a lot of redundancy to work through, but that’s how idioms are born and how they grow up. So, even though the idiom we know today is kit and caboodle, the next time someone asks you how much or how many donuts (or dollars, French fries, jewelry, etc.) you want, I dare you to ask for the whole kitten caboodle. And then let me know how it goes. I love a good laugh.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Good day to you!

Although I thought it was, the word I’m about to harp on is not a new word. Lately, though, I’ve been hearing and seeing it everywhere (that’s the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon in action!), so I decided to research its common usage and its etymology.

The word is surveil: it is a verb meaning “to subject to surveillance.”

I have to admit, this word has been bothering me. I usually try not to let the evolution of English words get under my skin because we all play with language and use it to our advantage, whether that be to make a point, to get noticed, to save time, or maybe to shock. But this word has been haunting me lately. It’s everywhere—on the radio, in LinkedIn Learning lessons, in magazines, on TV shows. All of a sudden, it seems to me, people everywhere are being surveilled instead of being monitored or spied on or followed. And they are surveilling instead of monitoring or following someone.

Although it’s only recently been on my radar, it turns out, this is not a new word. It’s been in use since 1884, according to Merriam-Webster. Get with it, Donna!

Here’s the scoop: surveil is what we call a back-formation. The noun surveillance came first (dating back to 1802) and a mere 82 years later, people decided to finagle it into a verb rather than use one of the synonymous verbs we already had.

Here are examples of how the noun and the verb are currently used:

• Electronic surveillance methods are increasingly being used. (noun)
• He decided to surveil his son to find out who he was sneaking out to meet in the middle of the night. (verb)

OK. So, it’s a legitimate old word. I still don’t like it. I just don’t like the sound of it, But I’m no longer indignant about it (much). I realize that language is not stagnant. And back-formation is a common way that new words come into being. To help me on my path to acceptance of the word surveil, I’ve compiled a partial list of verbs formed from nouns by back-formation:

• automate from automation
• babysit from babysitter
• burgle from burglar
• diagnose from diagnosis
• edit from editor [dbb – Uh-oh. This doesn’t help my argument.]
• injurefrom injury
• panhandlefrom panhandler
• sedatefrom sedative
• surrealfrom surrealism
• swindle from swindler
• televise from television
• vaccinate from vaccination

And here are a couple of verbs that were formed from adjectives:

• laze from lazy
• obsess from obsessive

And since none of those words irritate me, I’m going to do my best to get over my disdain toward surveil. Don’t hold your breath though. I’m not feeling amenable—I don’t think I’m going to amen on this one. 😜

• amenfrom amenable (meaning to yield)
  [dbb – I made it up and I know it’s a stretch, but it could catch on! Give it 80 years or so.]

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Greetings, folks. I was recently asked about articles (a, an, the)—how to use them, when to use them, even how to pronounce them. So I thought I’d go over the basic grammar rules. Want to come along with me on this journey? Let’s go.

There are two kinds of articles: indefinite articles (a and an) indicate that a noun refers to something unspecific or general and the definite article (the) indicates that a noun refers to something specific.

We’ll start with indefinite articles. Here are some examples:

• Would you please hand me a book? (any book)
• I would love an appetizer. (any appetizer)

When do we use a and when do we use an? Good question—one I’ve been asked a few times recently. We use a before a word that starts with a consonant sound:

• a bird
• a catapult
• a lovely day
• a unicorn

And we use an before a word that starts with a vowel sound:

• an airplane
• an energetic hummingbird
• an FBI agent

Note that it’s the sound of the following word, not the letter it begins with, that determines whether we use a or an. That’s what seems to be confusing folks. Even though FBI starts with the consonant F, we would say an FBI agent because the letter F is pronounced eff—and that’s a vowel sound. On the other hand, we would say a unicorn because unicorn starts with a hard U sound (you-nicorn).Compare that to the word umpire, which starts with a soft U sound (uhm-pire). We would use an when referring to an umpire.

If you’re still on board, let’s move on to the definite article the, whichdenotes something specific as shown in these examples:

• Would you please hand me the book about artificial intelligence? (a specific book)
• I would love one of the vegetarian appetizers. (a specific type of appetizer)

Although the is the only definite article, many of us do pronounce it differently depending on the sound of the first letter of the word that follows it. Most of us say thuh (like duh) before any word that begins with a consonant sound:

• the meeting
• the conflict
• the zoo

However, many of us say thee before any word that begins with a vowel sound:

• the elevator
• the apple
• the umbrella

That’s it. You are now a definite and indefinite article expert. It probably won’t get you a pay increase, but it might lead people to think of you as a supercilious nuisance. That’s got to count for something.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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A very good morning to you! I hesitated before sharing this information about the difference between the words shall and should because most of us rarely use shall anymore. But I like the word, even though it does have an old-timey feel to it (or maybe because it does).

I’ll start with a little information about the word shall. The first thing to remember is that shall is used to covey what you or someone else plans, intends, or expects to do. The second thing to remember (and this can be quite helpful), is that shall is often used interchangeably with the word will.

Examples

• We shall arrive at the party fashionably late to ensure that everyone notices Mick’s typically outlandish ensemble.
• All glee club meetings shall be held on campus and must be attended by a staff member.
• Shall we dance?

On the other hand, the word should is a little more familiar to us. It indicates obligation, duty, or correctness.

Examples

• We should visit Aunt Mackie this weekend—she’s been hinting that it’s been a while.
• Glee club members should all pass an audition before being allowed to join the club.
• Electric cars should be made more affordable.
• Should he call her before just showing up at her house?

Along with the fact that shall sounds stuffy to many people, I believe that our confusion between the words shall and should stems from the fact that should also functions as the past tense of shall. This usage is much more common in British English than it is in U.S. English, but we’ve all heard or read sentences similar to the following.

Examples

• If the king should die unexpectedly, his son, the prince, ascends to the throne.
• Should you be involved in an accident, you will lose your driving privileges.

And there you have it. You can now call yourself an expert on the difference between the words shall and should.

But should you? Only if you want your nerd glasses broken by one of the cool kids.

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Here I go again! Not too long ago I sent you 10 Words that Don’t Mean What You Think They Mean. Today, I have a list of words that you may be using incorrectly. This list comes from Dictionary.com.

I was unaware of the nuance of a couple of these words, and I find this kind of thing so delightful! I fully admit to being a word nerd, and I hope some of you are kind enough to travel down this nerdy path with me.

It’s OK if you are disinterested in this topic, I only hope you’re not uninterested. And I hope you have a glorious day.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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