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GOT A
GRAMMAR QUESTION?
GRAMMAR HOTLINE
(850)474-2129
RADIO GRAMMAR
It's GrammarTime with Mamie Hixon on
WRNE Radio 980 AM
Mondays at 6:30 a.m.
(Grammar for Students and Professionals)
NEWSPAPER GRAMMAR
Read the bi-weekly language column in
the Independent Voice newspaper:
GrammarWatch
by Mamie Hixon, the Grammar Guru
(Advice on English language use)
PUNCTUATING with PURPOSE
There is one difference between us.
There is one difference between us;
we have different religious beliefs.
There is one difference between us:
our religious beliefs.
There is one difference between us
-
our religious beliefs.
Don't Trust
Your Spell Checker
By Mamie Webb Hixon, Writing Lab
Director
Don't trust your spell checker. A
spell checker recognizes misspellings only when the spelling given does not
exist in American English. Standard spellings such as incontinence
(for inconvenience),
mines (for mine),
curse (for course),
and enemas (for
enemies) are
not detected by a spell checker because these words do in fact exist. Don't
depend on your spell checker to find these and other mistakes with homonyms,
for instance; for, as its name suggests, a spell checker checks spelling.
You'll have to proofread and find your own mistakes.
SPELL CHECKER
I
have a spell checker; / It came with my PC.
It plainly marks four
my revue /
Mistakes I cannot sea.
I've run this poem threw
it / I'm sure your
pleased too no;
Its letter perfect
in it's weigh. /
My checker tolled me
sew.
Pennye Harper
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The following sentences were taken from actual
business documents and college papers. And, yes, each writer used a
spell checker.
With friends like these, who needs enemas?
The affects of
Alzheimer's disease. . . .
The committee has enclose it's
minutes for your revue.
He is a cereal killer.
I identified the purse as mines.
This change is the result of operating instructions from our
headquarters; we are sorry for any incontinence
this
new operation may have caused you.
This policy is for ten-year professors
only.
Over the curse of
my college career. . . .
UWF has a guess speaker
for commencement.
Over two hundred extinguished
guests are invited to the
program.
Other curses with
intensive writing expectations are. . . .
YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
E-mail or e-mail?
Both spellings are correct.
Email and email
are also correct.
The
10 Most Common Errors in Speech and Writing 1.
just between you and I
2. in regards to/with regards to
3. irregardless
4. This is her/him.
5. real good
6. There's several reasons.
7. The university will celebrate
it's anniversary.
8. had went, had came, had did
9. alot
10. a interesting experience |