As I was finalizing a manuscript I edited for a nonfiction author, I hired a proofreader to give it a final check. (I knew I’d read it too many times myself.) What she found humbled me. I thought I had a good handle on which words are customarily two words versus one (backyard—not back yard—comes to mind) but several surprised me.

My proofreader corrected these (verified on dictionary.com). Look familiar?

• rooflines (not roof lines)
• safe-deposit box (not safe deposit box)
• old-timers (not old timers)
• carsick (not car sick)
• safekeeping (not safe keeping)
• autopilot (not auto pilot)
• pocketknife (not pocket-knife)

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a non-profit organization that inspires a culture of kindness in schools, homes, and communities. It encourages acts of kindness by providing resources to people who are both benevolent and beneficent.

This week’s Word Tripper clarifies the difference between these similar words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Source: http://wordinfo.info/unit/293/page:2

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”

My attention was recently drawn to an article in Ragan Report (great resource for communicators) that puts the “Top 25 Grammar and Language Mistakes” in your face.

This handful of grammar glitches stood out for me. I’m eager to point them out because they’re extremely important to good writing. I encourage you to take them to heart.

• Using could of, would of, should of. These are all 100 percent wrong, born of our sloppy speaking styles—could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. What you want to write is could have, would have, should have. We all coulda, woulda, shoulda become better at grammar.
• Using me and somebody. I tell my children that it’s common courtesy to put the other person first. Thus, you should always say, Fred and I went to the gym together, or Suzie and I saw that movie.
• Using that instead of who (and vice versa). If you’re writing about people, always use who. If a company president says, employees that are affected by layoffs will be greatly missed, no one is likely to believe him because he’s treating them as objects by using the word that.
• Using they when referring to a business. Starbucks said they would give everyone a free latte today. Although this might sound right, the correct sentence is: Starbucks said it would give everyone a free latte today. And if that grates on your ears, then rewrite the sentence to avoid the problem: Starbucks is offering everyone a free latte today.

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”

The U.S. Postal Service processes 6,050 mail pieces every second, employs more than 8 million people, and is part of a $1.3 trillion mailing industry that envelops most of the known world.

This pair, envelop and envelope, differ by just one letter and are different parts of speech with distinct meanings.

Envelop, envelope – Envelop, a transitive verb, means to completely cover, enclose, or surround someone or something. Envelope, a noun, is a flat container that covers a letter or other object, often for mailing or delivery. It also refers to a set of performance or conventionally accepted limits.

“Let me envelop you in the warm, fuzzy envelope of my love.” – Gary Michael

“She pushed the envelope of her endurance by running an extra mile.”

“Enveloped by the stacks of papers he had to grade, he felt overwhelmed.”

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”

In their classic book The Elements of Style, Strunk and White called word clutter “the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood out of words.”

You can start by eliminating extraneous phrases that clutter your writing. But which phrases can be “whacked”?

Consider taking out these extra phrases whenever you can:

• “is intended to”; “meant to”; “designed to” e.g., He gives a workshop that is designed to teach writing skills. Better: He gives a workshop that teaches writing skills.
• “it is all about”; “the fact of the matter is”; “the fact that”; “it’s important to remember that” e.g., The fact of the matter is that it’s unwise to go out carousing. Better: It’s unwise to go out carousing.
• “in regard to” e.g., Seek additional websites in regard to your industry. Better: Seek additional websites in your industry.
• “is going to” e.g., He is going to be a key contributor. Better: He will be a key contributor.
• “in order to” e.g., Add key words in order to describe the new position. Better: Add key words to describe the new position.
• “there is” and “there will be” e.g., There will be many managers attending the meeting. Better: Many managers will attend the meeting.
• “the reason why is that” e.g., A simple “because” will suffice.
• “at this time” e.g., Now!

To reinforce this exercise, take something you wrote and circle any of these extraneous phrases. Challenge yourself to rework or remove them altogether. You may choose to keep some in, but at least you’ve asked the question: “Do I really need this phrase?” (In this sentence, “really” is an extra word.)

Keep this list handy. What would you add to it?

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”

Things break down. Muscles atrophy from lack of use, cars won’t start from lack of maintenance, and houses get messy due to lack of cleaning. Sometimes life just doesn’t go the way you plan, and the entropy of everyday living can take its toll on a person’s body and mind.

Here’s help in making sure your lexicon doesn’t break down. This week’s word tripper highlights the differences between atrophy and entropy.

Atrophy, entropy – Atrophy, a noun and a verb, refers to a gradual loss or wasting away physically or psychologically. It can also refer to poor development. Entropy, a noun, is the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system. In a technical sense, it’s the gradual breakdown of energy and matter. In casual usage, entropy refers to the disintegration or disorganization of any situation.

“The teenager’s muscles started to atrophy from lying in bed too long. His room, scattered with clothes, shoes, and books, showed a degree of entropy from being neglected.”

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”

Before detecting the passive voice and addressing how to change it to active, consider why you should care.

Active verbs will improve your writing (most of the time) because

• active verbs declare who or what is (or should be) performing the action; you avoid confusion, guesswork, or dodging responsibility
• active verbs make your writing flow smoothly; readers will easily get the ideas you want to convey
• sentences constructed in the active voice usually require fewer words; you want to aim to write concisely!

 

How to Identify Passive

As a reader, if you can’t identify the doer of the action—the subject—the sentence has likely been constructed in the passive voice. Even when the subject is clear, two clues help you identify passive use: (1) the word “by” and (2) variations of the verb “to be.”

Consider these sentences:
Passive—“The juicy watermelon was eaten by the boy.”
Active—“The boy chomped into the watermelon’s juicy belly.”
Passive—“Employees are seen by their managers as responsive and enthusiastic.”
Active—“Managers see their employees as responsive and enthusiastic.”

In addition, passive verbs can foster weasel-like communication. They may be used to hide who’s responsible for an action, thus evading accountability rather than declaring it. For example, if a contract states “the rules for the homeowners will be enforced” but doesn’t note who will enforce those rules, what’s the result? Ambiguity. Confusion. Inaction.

 

How to Identify Active

The pattern for an active sentence is typically “subject + verb + direct object.” The direct object is the recipient of the action—that is, what or whom the verb affects.

Example: The employees (subject) implement (verb) the new strategy (object).

Who’s doing the action of implementing the new strategy? The employees. Thus, it’s clear the employees are accountable for the action.

 

Your Turn

Notice the passive construction in the following sentence and rewrite it, making sure to use an active verb. (Hint: You’ll need to make up a subject.)

Passive: This policy is being implemented in an effort to streamline our process.
Active: ___________________________________

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”