{"id":3871,"date":"2026-01-21T21:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/?p=3871"},"modified":"2026-01-28T18:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:16:08","slug":"travels-with-gramar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/travels-with-gramar\/","title":{"rendered":"Travels With Grammar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Grandma Lois has been writing short stories for as long as she can remember.  She also wrote a children\u2019s book, Tom the Mouse<\/a>, a story that has been passed on through the generations of her family.  She is grandmother to six grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. She loves traveling with all of them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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I am pretty good at editing, one of the few things I think I do well.  I believe it\u2019s a gift, but it can also be a curse. When I read a book, like it or not, I read it with an editorial eye, picking out every grammatical or punctuation error or poorly worded sentence.  I sometimes even mark up the book with my corrections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get perturbed when I see poor English usage in books, magazines,  newspapers, and television news programs because these writers are supposed to be experts.  I\u2019m also pleasantly surprised when they get it right \u2013 especially when it\u2019s an inaccuracy that has gained traction. An example is the tendency for most people to use \u201cI\u201d as an object instead of \u201cme.\u201d When a newscaster says, for example, \u201cPlease join Pam and I tomorrow,\u201d I\u2019m disappointed but not surprised; however, when he says the correct \u201cPlease join Pam and me tomorrow,\u201d I\u2019m surprised and delighted. If people would just say the sentence to themselves without the other person\u2019s name, they\u2019d realize that they need to say \u201cme\u201d instead of \u201cI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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When I\u2019m asked \u201cCan I help you,\u201d I feel like answering, \u201cI don\u2019t know; are you physically capable of helping me?\u201d I should be asked instead \u201cMay I help you?\u201d meaning \u201cDo I have your permission to help you?\u201d  Then the salesperson might say \u201cIf you need me, I\u2019ll be right over there.\u201d  Again, my smart aleck mind wants to say, \u201cAnd if I don\u2019t need you, where will you be?\u201d I admit that these thoughts go a bit overboard, but I tell you to show how my obsessive editorializing mind works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A thing can\u2019t be \u201cvery unique\u201d because \u201cunique\u201d means \u201cone of a kind.\u201d  I also question \u201cvery excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really believe that people are trying to sound scholarly when they say they are \u201cfeeling badly\u201d rather than the correct \u201cfeeling bad.\u201d  The only way you can feel badly is if you\u2019re feeling an object and your fingers aren\u2019t working properly.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I don\u2019t know whether I\u2019m offended or just feel sorry for people who mispronounce words.  First, I\u2019m reminded of a friend who recently was telling me that she felt the same, stating that she becomes annoyed over the \u201cmispronounc<\/em>iation\u201d of words, not realizing that she herself was guilty of mispronouncing the word \u201cmispronunciation.\u201d  One of the most common mispronounced words is \u201cnuclear.\u201d Another is \u201cpundit,\u201d with people saying \u201cpundunt.\u201d Although a man may be prostrate when he has an examination, it\u2019s not his prostrate that\u2019s checked, it\u2019s his prostate. A point that is not relevant is a moot point \u2013 not a mute point, which I guess would be a quiet point. The word \u201czoology\u201d is pronounced \u201czo-ology\u201d; in order to be \u201czoo-ology,\u201d there would need to be four \u201co\u2019s.\u201d Speaking of \u201co\u2019s,\u201d although it\u2019s incorrect to use the letter \u201co\u201d for the number \u201czero,\u201d I think people can be forgiven for making the substitution in the interest of brevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tendency these days seems to be that the phrase \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d is non-existent.  When you thank someone, the response will usually be \u201cno problem.\u201d When I thanked my great granddaughter the other day, she replied, \u201cOf course.\u201d Instead of being annoyed that she hadn\u2019t used the obligatory \u201cyou\u2019re welcome,\u201d I thought it was kind of sweet \u2013 I don\u2019t know whether it was because it really was sweet or because my great granddaughter is sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Have you ever heard someone say that he or she is anxious to do something pleasant, e.g., \u201cI\u2019m anxious to go to Disneyland\u201d?  Because \u201canxious\u201d means \u201cfearfully awaiting,\u201d that would suggest that the person is expressing fear at the Disneyland prospect, which probably isn\u2019t so \u2013 unless perhaps scary roller coasters are involved. Actually, the person is eager: \u201dI\u2019m anxious about the upcoming weather because I\u2019m eager to go to Disneyland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to discuss placement of the word \u201conly.\u201d  Many tend to put the word in the wrong place. An example would be \u201cI only have one dollar,\u201d which would suggest that the only possession I have is a dollar.  If I\u2019m talking about the amount of money I have, what should have been said is \u201cI have only one dollar.\u201d Another example would be \u201cI only delivered three packages.\u201d That suggests that delivering three packages is the only thing I did. \u201cI delivered only three packages\u201d conveys the intended meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When being trained, it seems that the number one rule taught to medical receptionists, salespeople, and wait staffs is to be sure to use the word \u201cperfect\u201d as many times as they can. \u201cWhat is your zip code?\u201d \u201c97495.\u201d \u201cPerfect.\u201d \u201cDoes your phone number end in 3977?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cPerfect.\u201d \u201cDid you get everything you needed today?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cPerfect.\u201d \u201cWould you like fries with that?\u201d \u201cNo, thank you,\u201d \u201cPerfect.\u201d Instead of being annoyed, I guess I should be thrilled to be so perfect. Oh, I forgot to mention, the pronunciation is usually \u201cPURRR-fect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about wait staffs, some people get extremely irritated to be considered guys \u2013 \u201cWhat can I get you guys?\u201d I don\u2019t mind it too much, probably because at my age it\u2019s nice to be given a name usually reserved for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband officiated basketball games. I recall that he would call flagrant fouls, meaning fouls that needn\u2019t have been committed.  That\u2019s the way I feel about the use of the words \u201cthey\/them,\u201d and \u201chim\/her.\u201d Grammar aside, in my opinion, some of the errors made are mathematically incorrect.  I read in an advice column \u201cDiscuss this with an attorney and enlist their<\/em> help.\u201d I think that \u201ctheir\u201d shouldn\u2019t refer to one attorney.  If the advice had said \u201cDiscuss this with attorneys <\/em>and enlist their<\/em> help,\u201d that would have been mathematically correct, in my opinion. When I was in school, the proper format would be \u201cDiscuss this with an attorney and enlist his or her help.\u201d In today\u2019s climate, \u201chis or her\u201d can\u2019t be used because it doesn\u2019t include the people who claim to be neither. \u201cThey\u201d has a completely different meaning, with sometimes being the preferred pronoun. There are so many pronouns floating around today that I guess writers solve the problem by using only they\/their. I have even seen examples so flagrant that people use \u201ctheir\u201d when they know whether it refers to a male or female.  I read \u201cMy son\u2019s backpack was left in their <\/em>locker.\u201d You know your son is a boy, so why not say \u201c . . . left it in his <\/em>locker\u201d?  Here\u2019s another flagrant example. A woman wrote to an advice column that her husband was dragging his feet regarding legal matters.  The response read \u201cIf your spouse refuses to make arrangements for their possessions and directives concerning their health and demise, you may not be able to change their minds.\u201d So, in addition to using \u201ctheir\u201d instead of \u201chis\u201d when talking about a husband, the columnist got so carried away with all of the \u201ctheirs\u201d that she forgot she was dealing with one husband and made \u201cminds\u201d plural. I realize that the time has come when I need to accept wrong pronoun usages, but I reserve the right to grit my teeth while doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It bothers me when I read about 2,000 troops being sent to a city, not only because it\u2019s stupid to send soldiers or National Guard personnel to cities where they\u2019re not wanted or needed, but because I don\u2019t like using the word \u201ctroop\u201d to mean one person.  My son belonged to a Boy Scout troop and my daughters belonged to Girl Scout troops. Each of them wasn\u2019t a troop. I looked up the word and the definition was \u201cA group of soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I don\u2019t feel well, I may take my temperature by using a thermometer.  Invariably, someone will ask \u201cDo you have a temperature?\u201d Of course I have a temperature. I always do. What you mean to ask is whether I have a fever. Everyone always has a temperature \u2013 well, maybe dead people don\u2019t, but come to think of it, I guess even they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

END OF PART 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming up: <\/strong>Part 2<\/a> will discuss the words like, good, whom,\u00a0lay,\u00a0<\/em>and others, and how they are used incorrectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m pretty good at editing, one of the few things I think I do well.\u00a0 I believe it\u2019s a gift, but it can also be a curse. 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