Apostrophe and Compound Problems in Katrina-related Article

Once again, the current issue of 280 Living http://www.280living.com/ provides a number of opportunities to talk about grammar glitches. On the front page of the March 2010 edition, there is a wonderful article about a family from Metairie, LA that is beginning a new life in the Birmingham area. Even though I'm going to point out two Grammar Glitches in that article (See below.), I hope you will visit the website and read this interesting story about new opportunities arising from tragedy.

Here is one sentence that caught my Gramma Glitch eye:

Unaware of FEMA's plan for evacuees, the VanGeffen's made the decision to purchase a camper from a local dealer to setup at their home in Metairie to begin repairs.

There are two problems with this sentence, and both of these issues have been addressed before on this blog. First, it is NOT necessary to use an apostrophe to create the PLURAL of a word--even a proper name. These people are named THE VANGEFFENS. Unless you are speaking about something that belongs to them (e.g., the Vangeffens' camper or FEMA's plan), it is NOT necessary to use an apostrophe.

Second, the word SETUP is only used as a compound word when it is in the NOUN position of a sentence (e.g., The SETUP of the camper was difficult.) In this sentence, the writer uses TO to create an infinitive verb form, so SET UP should be written as two SEPARATE WORDS.

The sentence should read as follows:

Unaware of FEMA's plan for evacuees, the VanGeffens made the decision to purchase a camper from a local dealer to set up at their home in Metairie so they could begin repairs.

BONUS POINT: In order to avoid having two TO phrases so close together (TO SET UP AT THEIR HOME IN METAIRIE TO BEGIN), I changed the second TO phrase to SO THEY COULD.

If you'd like to check out the other blog entries on these subjects, please check out the following:

• "Proofreading with Your Parmesan" on March 1, 2010
• "More Incompetence with Apostrophes" on February 8, 2010
• "My Driveway is Clean...." on December 10, 2009

You can also click on "Compound Words" to see the five blog entries on that subject.

Have a great weekend!

Got Gold? Need Punctuation Pointers! III.

My final blog entry on the Roadshow ad has to do with hyphenated words. Usually, a hyphen is placed between a verb and an adverb when the two words are combined so the combination word can describe a noun. Here are some examples:

...her cashed-in winning ticket

...the decades-long recession

...the check-in time for this event

When the verb appears in the normal VERB position in the sentence and has an adverb after it, the two should NOT be hyphenated. The Roadshow ad offered a great example of this grammar glitch:

If you go to the Roadshow, you can cash-in your items for top dollar.

Whoops! No hyphen is needed here. The sentence should read as follows:

If you go to the Roadshow, you can cash in your items for top dollar.

BONUS POINT: This same rule applies with compound words that do NOT have hyphens. Look at the difference between the sentences in each pair below:

My crew will set up (verb position) the chairs and tables in the conference room.

The setup (adjective position in front of noun) chart for the conference room will be available in the morning.

You must follow up (verb position) with your doctor next week.

We do not have a followup (adjective position in front of noun) procedure in place.

For more examples of hyphen use and compound word use, click on either of these topics in the index at the right.

CHECK-IN OR CHECK IN?

I went to get my mammogram this week (hope if you need one that you got yours this month, too, or whenever it is due). While at the 119 Health Center, I noticed this card sitting on the desk:


Please check-in at the front desk.


Whoever created this card forgot that "check-in" should be used as a NOUN or an ADJECTIVE. In the VERB slot, as in the sentence above, the hyphen is omitted. This sentence should read as follows:


Please check in at the front desk.


Below are some examples of how to use "check-in" correctly:


The check-in desk (ADJECTIVE) is located in the lobby.


After check-in (NOUN), the plenary session will be in the auditorium.


While you are here in the blog, why not click on the "compound words" site in the index on the right and see the other compound word problems I've come across.


Have a great day!

Word Usage Important If You Want to Convince This Voter

Many people are bouncing e-mails around as part of the political process lately. Some of the background data is interesting and informative, but I am always skeptical of the message when the writer uses poor grammar or usage.

Jerry Teasley of Pine Mountain, Georgia, says he is a former banker and then goes on to blame the current financial crisis on decisions made by Jimmy Carter's and Bill Clinton's administrations. I will leave the decision about his opinions to you (You can read the rest of what he says by Googling his name.), but Mr. Teasley does not seem to understand when to use there and when to use their. He also does not recognize the difference between a compound noun and a verb used with an adverb.

Here is a sentence about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from his comments:

In addition, since 1989 their have been several politicians who have
received campaign donations and kick backs from these two failed
institutions.


First of all, the word their is possessive and is only used to refer to something belonging to "them."


Second, kickback is a compound word referring to money paid to someone in return for a biased decision on a public matter. To kick back
means "to relax."


If Mr. Teasley wants to persuade intelligent people to agree with him about financial matters, he should brush up on his grammar and usage before writing his opinions. His sentence should read as follows:


In addition, since 1989 there have been several politicians who have
received campaign donations and kickbacks from these two failed
institutions.

Bailout? Or Bail Out? It Depends on the Sentence.

The news is full of references to a possible bailout of the financial markets. We should know this week whether or not Congress will vote to bail out the Wall Street financial firms that are melting down on a daily basis.

Certainly, the grammar issue is not as important as the financial one, but I'm no expert on the financial issue. I will point out that bailout (one word) is a noun, or possibly an adjective, as in "This bailout will be costly." or "This bailout legislation needs revision." Bail out (two words) is the verb form (bail = verb, out = adverb that describes the verb), as in "If we bail out these firms, who will be next with a request?"

The online NEWS ALERT from The Wall Street Journal got a little hasty with the grammar this week and posted this sentence:

U.S. lawmakers said a tentative deal has been reached to bailout the troubled financial system. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said bailout deal legislation still needs to be finalized, but that "I think we're there" on a deal.

If you put "to" in front of a word, you should be using the VERB form (creating an infinitive). If you use the word to describe a noun, you should use the ADJECTIVE form (used correctly here). The sentence above should read:

U.S. lawmakers said a tentative deal has been reached to bail out the troubled financial system. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said bailout deal legislation still needs to be finalized, but that "I think we're there" on a deal.

Belk's department store had an advertisement in Sunday's The Birmingham News that used "knockout" incorrectly. Knockout (one word) is a noun and should be used as a subject or object (with "a" or "the" in front of it). In the Belk ad, which was promoting the good cause of Wacoal's "FI(GH)T for the CURE" campaign, this was the sentence:

Help KNOCKOUT breast cancer.

Because this sentence should have used the verb form, it should have read as follows:

Help KNOCK OUT breast cancer.

Right next to the ad was an article about Friday evening's Presidential debate that quoted Fox News commentator William Kristol as saying correctly,

"There was no knockout, and maybe no knockdown, but McCain was on the offensive throughout."

The above sentence was correct because both words were used in NOUN slots. To use the VERB forms correctly, Kristol would have to have said something like this:

Although McCain was on the offensive throughout the debate, he did not knock out or knock down his opponent.

Next time you are in the checkout lane at the grocery store, check out the headlines on all those magazines to see if they are correct.