AS PROMISED
Last week, I stated that I would post the corrections for the most recent entry.
Compare your corrections with what is posted below to learn whether or not you were correct.
The corrections delineated here refer to the post immediately below.
EXAMPLE 1
“A bevy of swans gather along Middle Side Road near Concession 6 in Amherstburg on Thursday as the local warming trend continued. Friday’s high temperature was near 4 C. The Environment Canada forecast calls for periods of drizzle Saturday and Sunday with highs near 12C.”
CORRECTION
“Bevy” is singular and as the subject of the verb “gather” it demands a singular verb.
“A bevy of swans gathers along Middle Side Road near Concession 6 in Amherstburg on Thursday as the local warming trend continued. Friday’s high temperature was near 4 C. The Environment Canada forecast calls for periods of drizzle Saturday and Sunday with highs near 12C.”
EXAMPLE 2
“When it came to convincing people to loan him money, Sgt. Robert Mugridge would shed tears, cite problems with addicted relatives, and sometimes asked while in uniform having arrived in his police cruiser.”
CORRECTION
“Loan” is a noun and cannot be used as a verb.
“When it came to convincing people to lend him money, Sgt. Robert Mugridge would shed tears, cite problems with addicted relatives, and sometimes asked while in uniform having arrived in his police cruiser.”
EXAMPLE 3
“Mugridge, who pleaded guilty to 50 counts of discreditable conduct dating back to 2010. He will be losing his job for his actions.”
CORRECTION
The first group of words is not a complete thought because there is no verb for the subject, “Mugridge”.
There are two possible corrections:
join the two groups making one complete sentence;
rewrite the first sentence so that it is a complete thought.
“Mugridge, who pleaded guilty to 50 counts of discreditable conduct dating back to 2010, will be losing his job for his actions.”
“Mugridge pleaded guilty to 50 counts of discreditable conduct dating back to 2010. He will be losing his job for his actions.”
EXAMPLE 4
“There was often a veil of secrecy around the loans with a common request that the person giving him the money not tell his wife.”
CORRECTION
To make better sense, there should be a comma after “loans”.
“There was often a veil of secrecy around the loans, with a common request that the person giving him the money not tell his wife.”
EXAMPLE 5
“Number of EI recipients drop in December as metro Windsor leads way for rest of Canada”
CORRECTION
“Number” is a collective singular noun which requires a singular verb.
“Number” should be preceded by the definite article “the”.
“The number of EI recipients drops in December as metro Windsor leads way for rest of Canada”
EXAMPLE 6
“Hoskins is ‘using incorrect statistics, so whomever gave him those statistics was incorrect,’ Musyj said.”
CORRECTION
“Whomever” is the objective case and is the incorrect word in this case; the subjective case is needed.
“Hoskins is ‘using incorrect statistics, so whoever gave him those statistics was incorrect,’ Musyj said.”
EXAMPLE 7
“Hoskins is ‘using incorrect statistics, so whomever gave him those statistics was incorrect,’ Musyj said.“
‘I take being Canadian very seriously and do value some of the characteristics which make this country quite unique.’ ”
CORRECTION
“Unique” means one of a kind and cannot have a modifier attached to it.
“Hoskins is ‘using incorrect statistics, so whoever gave him those statistics was incorrect,’ Musyj said.”
“I take being Canadian very seriously and do value some of the characteristics which make this country unique.”
EXAMPLE 8
“In my opinion, neither Kevin O’Leary nor Kellie Leitch are fit to carry the luggage of several other leadership candidates.”
CORRECTION
“Neither/nor” demands a singular verb because there is a choice of “one” or “another”, not two beings.
“In my opinion, neither Kevin O’Leary nor Kellie Leitch is fit to carry the luggage of several other leadership candidates.”
EXAMPLE 9
“Farmer Larry Verbeke and three generations of his family have lived off of 50 acres of Leamington farmland since 1912.”
CORRECTION
“Off” is a preposition and “of” is a preposition. These two prepositions cannot be used together; the second preposition “of” is completely redundant.
“Farmer Larry Verbeke and three generations of his family have lived off 50 acres of Leamington farmland since 1912.”