Carpenter Document Consulting

When words can be used as both nouns and verbs, many writers assume the words are spelled the same way no matter the part of speech. While that reasoning would simplify things, that is often not the case. Many words use one spelling in noun form and another in verb form. Here are a few examples:

Checkout/Check out

• I am waiting in line to check out. (verb, two words)
• The checkout is at the front of the store. (noun, one word)

Follow-up/Follow up

• I have to see the doctor next week for a follow-up. (noun, hyphenated)
• I will call tomorrow to follow up on my job application. (verb, two words)

Kickoff/kick off

• Kickoff is set for noon. (noun, one word)
• This event kicks off the annual fundraiser. (verb, two words)

Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule. Usually, nouns are one word and verbs are two. But, there are always exceptions, such as follow-up as a noun. If you aren’t sure, check the dictionary for the part of speech you’re using. Don’t assume that the spelling is the same for the noun form and verb form … because it often is not!

Using singular pronouns in a document can be tricky. You don’t want to focus on just one gendered pronoun, such as “he,” but you also don’t want to repeatedly use that awkward “he/she’ or “he or she” construction throughout your document. So, what do you do? The easiest way to avoid gendered pronoun usage is to use plural nouns instead. Rather than writing about “the student,” write about “students.” Then, you can use the non-gender-specific pronouns “they” and “their.” You can also eliminate unnecessary gendered pronouns, such as changing “her table” to “the table.”

Of course, if you’re talking about a specific singular subject, like an author, you know what gendered pronoun to use. In cases when your subject is hypothetical or the gender is unknown, however, it’s best to stick with plural nouns and pronouns and avoid the gender issue entirely.

Even though this is a basic grammar rule, it’s amazing how often I have to edit incorrect pluralization. Remember that apostrophes are reserved for possession, not pluralization. Simply adding an “s” (or “-es” or “-”ies” in some cases) makes your noun plural. A correctly placed apostrophe makes the noun possessive.

Here are some examples:

• Baby (singular noun); babies (plural noun); baby’s or babies’ (possessive)
• House (singular noun); houses (plural noun); house’s or houses’ (possessive)
• Doctor (singular noun); doctors (plural noun); doctor’s or doctors’ (possessive)

It’s a simple rule but one that people forget more than you would think!

We’ve been doing a lot of freelance work on projects ranging from doctoral dissertations to books lately, so here are some common errors we’re seeing:

• Allowed vs. Aloud: Allowed means “permitted.” Aloud means “out loud.”
• Text speak: Avoid using abbreviated words (like “thru” instead of “through”) in formal writing.
• Precision: Including “and more” at the end of the list doesn’t add much to your writing. Practice precision by listing everything readers need to know. Don’t lead them astray with these vague phrases at the end of sentences.

Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. I have been noticing repeated homophone confusion lately, so let’s take a minute to clear up some often-confused words.

Stationary vs. Stationery

Stationary means fixed or unchanging. Stationery refers to materials used to write letters or notes.

Principal vs. Principle

As a noun, a principal is a person with authority (most often at a school). As an adjective, principal means the most important, consequential, or influential.

Principle works as a noun and refers to a comprehensive or fundamental law.

Flair vs. Flare

Flair describes a skill or instinctive ability or an attractive quality. Flare refers to a fire or blaze of light.

Happy Holidays, readers! We’ve been busy editing dissertations for a number of new clients this semester, so please excuse our absence! During our work, we noticed an ongoing problem with pronoun agreement…and it all starts with Facebook.

See, Facebook apparently can’t recognize gender because we get this notice on a friend’s birthday:

Today is “their” birthday? Unless we’re talking about one of those couples who awkwardly share a Facebook page–and a birthday–this is wrong. It’s his birthday or it’s her birthday, but not their birthday.

Pronoun disagreement problems exist in all kinds of writing. For instance, we’ll notice that a doctoral student uses the subject “the patient” but then refers to the patient using pronouns like “they” and “their.” As always, we encourage the reader to use plural subjects to avoid that awkward “his/her” or “his or her” construction that APA encourages us to eliminate.

So, take time to check your nouns with your pronouns to ensure that your numbers add up.

Sometimes, the way we speak turns into the way we write, which can have dangerous consequences. When speaking, the verb phrase “could have,” or perhaps the often-spoken contraction “could’ve” can sound like “could of.” Don’t let this wording slip into your writing, however. “Could of” is not a structure that you should not use.

Do: I could have studied more for that exam.
Don’t: I could of stayed up later to study.

Note that the same rules apply to “should have/should of” and “would have/would of.”

Thanks to another Etsy grammar find for inspiration for this blog post:

Carpenter Doc wrapped up our summer travels last week, culminating in a one-night stay in Chattanooga, Tennessee (one of my old stomping grounds) to break up the 12-hour drive from Florida. When we got to our hotel, we flipped on the local news to find a news ticker in serious need of an editor.

We couldn’t capture every error on the ticker, but we did snap photos of a few of the most glaring mistakes, which you can check out on our Facebook page.

As you can see from the pictures, the news station employee who was responsible for the ticker clearly had no regard for basic grammar rules. Has the 24-hour news cycle diminished our adherence to proper grammar, punctuation and spelling? Perhaps. Media outlets compete to break the story, so they might be more focused on getting the story out first, not getting the story out correctly. In the end, poor grammar diminishes a news organization’s credibility and indicates sloppy work.

If you watch that scrolling ticker long enough, you’ll surely find some grammatical errors as well.

Lately, we’ve been spotting misused apostrophes all over the place. If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably already seen these pictures. But, we wanted to share with our blog friends as well.

In these instances, businesses have used apostrophes to make a word plural. Remember, folks, apostrophes should never be used like this. Use them to indicate possession or to combine words like in contractions.

Although the terms “boarder” and “border” probably aren’t terms writers use every day, they are commonly confused. Here’s a quick explanation of these terms:

Boarder

A boarder is a person–either someone who boards, or receives lodging, or someone who snowboards

Border

Border is the more commonly used term meaning the outer edge or boundary.

So, a boarder might live in your house, but you cross the border when you travel from one state to another.