Reilly said Moreno outlined four things that needed corrected before the petition could be approved.It should be "needed to be corrected" or "needed correcting." I just hate that mistake. It's made far too often in spoken and written English these days. Please try to avoid it.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Your verb needs corrected
The following sentence, taken from a paper which shall remain nameless, is just wrong. W-R-O-N-G:
Read my students' blogs
I'm teaching a class called "Blogging for Journalists" over winter break. It's only four weeks, but I think that's enough time to start a blog and get the idea of how to post.
The students' blogs are interesting. We've got lots of cool topics, from banned books to basketball. Check out the links on the right of this page.
One thing I'm trying to emphasize in this course is that blogging is about more than opinions. It's about research and facts and good, clear writing. Some of the students have a lot of journalism classes under their belts, and it show. Others are a little raw. I think they're all enjoying it. It'll be fun to see how the blogs progress in the next three weeks.
The students' blogs are interesting. We've got lots of cool topics, from banned books to basketball. Check out the links on the right of this page.
One thing I'm trying to emphasize in this course is that blogging is about more than opinions. It's about research and facts and good, clear writing. Some of the students have a lot of journalism classes under their belts, and it show. Others are a little raw. I think they're all enjoying it. It'll be fun to see how the blogs progress in the next three weeks.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Did you take an English class?
Saw an interesting ad for Red Rocks Community College today. The ad was on a bus stop near my gym. Next to a photo of a smiling, seemingly intelligent young man was the following sentence:
What's wrong with this sentence? Some folks call it a comma splice. I call it a run-on sentence. What you've got is two sentences that both can stand alone, separated by a comma. But you can't use a comma that way. It's incorrect comma usage, for goodness sake! You need to put a period between the sentences. You could use a semicolon, if you're so inclined. Or, you could add the word "and" after the comma.
Don't get me wrong. Red Rocks is a great school. It's just that the people in the marketing department need to get in touch with those in the English department the next time they write an advertisement. This is yet another reason why it's imperative for advertising students to take writing and editing classes seriously.
I started at Red Rocks, now I'm at a four-year college.The man supposedly saying this needs to take an English class. That is, if any English professors still teach grammar and punctuation, which I highly doubt.
What's wrong with this sentence? Some folks call it a comma splice. I call it a run-on sentence. What you've got is two sentences that both can stand alone, separated by a comma. But you can't use a comma that way. It's incorrect comma usage, for goodness sake! You need to put a period between the sentences. You could use a semicolon, if you're so inclined. Or, you could add the word "and" after the comma.
Don't get me wrong. Red Rocks is a great school. It's just that the people in the marketing department need to get in touch with those in the English department the next time they write an advertisement. This is yet another reason why it's imperative for advertising students to take writing and editing classes seriously.
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