Punctuation Matters

I think I mentioned this topic before. Here’s another good example of how punctuation can change the meaning of a phrase.

As written in the comic, you have a compound phrase about the two things that the person is doing. The original is “downward-facing dog.” “Downward-facing” is a compound adjective describing “dog.”

So the punctuation makes the joke!

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Look at this sentence:

It’s one of just a few similar objects that scientists have found in our region of space, and, at 9.4 times the mass of our sun, is not a supermassive black hole. 

https://www.livescience.com/black-hole-spin-calculated.html

Now take out the “just.”

It’s one of a few similar objects that scientists have found in our region of space, and, at 9.4 times the mass of our sun, is not a supermassive black hole.

Tighter, more direct, isn’t it? Didn’t lose any actual content, did you?

I think the only time you should use the adverb “just” is when you are saying how recently in the past something happened. “we did it just now.” Otherwise, leave it out.

I should have a picture. They used a generic artist’s conception of a black hole from Shutterstock. Myself, I’d have preferred a picture that was somehow connected to the article.

But the sentence made it into this post because it contains a common, small error. Do you see it?

Nonetheless, it’s an interesting sentence. And an interesting article.

In a Weatherwise article on Humboldt, Stephen Vermette noted that Alexander took with him no less than 42 instruments ranging from “navigation and surveying to a microscope to observe small detail and to identify species, and instruments to measure magnetism”. His cache included two mercurial barometers, several thermometers, a rain gauge, two hygrometers to measure humidity, a cyanometer to measure the blue color of the sky, a hypsometer which determines the temperature at which water boils at different altitudes and a eudiometer to measure the volume of gases.

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/alexander-von-humboldt-scientist-extraordinaire

Okay, it’s two sentences. Gotta get them both for the vocabulary lesson. And you saw the goof, right? If you didn’t, look up “fewer” and “less” in the search box.

Oh yes; a picture from the article:

I just ran into a sentence with a similar error: He should have used “number” instead of “amount.” He’s counting, not measuring.

 After a wayward bee inspired a yearslong obsession, he painted a mural in Florida and made it his goal to paint 50,000 bees: the amount of insects that make up a healthy, thriving hive.

—but not much else. Remember, when it’s the object of a preposition (in this case “with”) we use “whom,” not “who.”

Nice little reminder, though.

Put a suffix on something new!

In this case, the suffix is “gate.” You get the idea. Back when I was a kid, and short skirts came out, everybody started saying mini this and mini that, followed by maxi this and maxi that.

When this happens, linguists say the item is productive.