It Doesn’t Add Up

Image courtesy of Tamara Stokes

Holy geometry! I never knew that making numbers was illegal. All joking aside, “math” was the accidental stand-in for “meth.” Oops.

It’s not a newsflash that one little letter makes a big difference. I’ve covered this spelling incidental before, but let’s review it for those of you who are new to my blog.

• From/Form. One word is a preposition, the other is a shape or document we fill out.
• Love/Live. The middle vowels live next to each other on the keyboard, so we are basically set up.
• Not/Nit. One word is negation, the other is the term for baby lice!

These spelling plagues stick around because spell-check doesn’t recognize them. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the tool could be programmed to check context, too, and catch the mistakes? Until that day comes, we must double-check our work and let someone else give it the good onceover, too.

Another word nerd source I’d like to share with you, a mega online bookstore: http://www.authoropolis.com/

Happy reading and writing, my friends!

Sean C. Wright is the author of the short stories Bubble Bath Twelve, Hazel Hogan and Devil Does Dallas. She is also an editor. For more information about her writing skills and how she can assist you with yours–business or consumer–visit http://www.iwrightaway.com/.

Send me your typo images! Snap pictures and email them to msseanc@aol.com. They must be real pictures and not images in online links, as those might be doctored. I’m looking for the real McCoy. Conceal the company’s identity if possible. No sweat if you can’t. I’ll hide the name before I post it. We’re not looking to embarrass, but to educate.

Missing Tails

Image courtesy of Bethany Happach

Someone spotted this typo on an event calendar. What the blue butter happened to the “s” in “pets?” Maybe the cute little Westie ate it? Pretty sure this was an accident and not an attempt to follow suit with slick urban words like “baby mama” and “baby daddy,” which are also missing their “s’s.”

Even though the above is a typo, there are words that suffer suffix issues. Let’s take a gander:

Passersby. I have often seen this written as “passerbys.” It seems awkward to put the “s” in the middle and not the end, but English teems with irregular rules, as you well know. The same rule applies to “mothers-in-law.”

Heroes and potatoes. People often leave out the last “e.” I’ve seen “heros and potatos” too many times to count. I remember how to spell those words with this little ditty. Heroes and potatoes keep you on your toes. See how those words have the same ending as “toes?”

Grammar resources I’d like to share with you today:

1. www.wordspy.com. A site that tracks new words and other things word-related.
2. www.nounplus.net. Free and accurate grammar check.
3. Have you been using these phrases wrong? (quiz)

Happy writing, my friends!

Sean C. Wright is the author of the short stories Bubble Bath Twelve, Hazel Hogan and Devil Does Dallas. She is also an editor. For more information about her writing skills and how she can assist you with yours–business or consumer–visit http://www.iwrightaway.com/.

Send me your typo images! Snap pictures and email them to msseanc@aol.com. They must be real pictures and not images in online links, as those might be doctored. I’m looking for the real McCoy. Conceal the company’s identity if possible. No sweat if you can’t. I’ll hide the name before I post it. We’re not looking to embarrass, but to educate.