An Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a statement that is funnily self-contradictory.

What makes something funny? That’s a question that goes way way back, but one characteristic of humor, I think, is that it can involve a topic on lots of people’s minds. So even though I don’t do politics on this site, the quality of journalism is a common topic these days, so this comic is funny, right? Right?

This post first appeared on The Writing Rag.

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Remember the rule: use fewer when you’re counting, and less when you’re measuring. You count how many kids you have, right? Should be fewer

Of course, some things can go either way, such as time. You can count hours, for example (Since I retired, I work far fewer hours than I used to.), but you can also measure the time using units such as hours (I spent less time at work today than I usually do.).

So pay attention to what you’re writing!

This post first appeared on The Writing Rag.

Okay, forget about the comic itself (I don’t get it, and besides, this is a grammar blog, not a comic blog).

First mistake; third panel: If you’re talking about distance, use “farther,” not “further.” “Further” is for abstract things that can’t be described by distance.

Second mistake; last panel: He’s talking about the manner in which something is being done, so he needs an adverb, not an adjective. He should say “quickly.”

Third item, not a mistake, but most people get it wrong: His “I” is correct. “I” is the subject of the implied sentence “I can look it up.” People get this wrong so often that you would be ahead to supply the missing verb: “…as quickly as I can.”

I’ve heard of two grammar errors frequently attributed to grocers. One is putting unnecessary quotes around words in signs. The other is incorrect apostrophes to make plurals.

I don’t think the skunk is a grocer, but that’s the error. Maybe the cartoonist wanted to make the skunk seem lower class, no offense to grocers. Next-to-last panel:

The rule: You don’t need an apostrophe for plurals!

This post first appeared on The Writing Rag.

First, something unusual. We have a person in a thought bubble talking to the person who has the thought bubble. First time I’ve seen that.

Next, we have a writing lesson. It’s about being concise.

• “Unique” means “one of a kind.” That’s an absolute; you can’t be very one of a kind. You either are or you aren’t.
• “Individual” is also one of a kind, so “unique individual” is redundant. You don’t need both words.
• Solution: be concise. Say something like “Delray is unusual.” “Unique” all by itself would work, too.

Finally, the getting-along-with-others lesson. Both Marcy and I have a rule: Don’t correct someone’s English unless they ask. Especially if the person is your boss.

This post first appeared on The Writing Rag.