What better way to begin a Media Watch column than with headlines? Here are two recent ones that got our attention:<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cBacteria has sickened more than 100.\u201d
\n\u2022 \u201cForeclosure crisis makes taught thriller.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBacteria has sickened\u201d is incorrect because has<\/em> is singular and bacteria<\/em> is the plural of bacterium<\/em>. If the headline writer balked at \u201cbacteria have sickened\u201d or \u201cbacterium has sickened,\u201d we can sympathize, sort of\u2014but why not instead write \u201cGerm has sickened more than 100\u201d?<\/p>\n As for that second headline, who confuses taught<\/em> with taut<\/em>? This looks like the work of a distracted multitasker.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cHundreds packed the stands, looking for a chance to relish in a sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n You can revel in<\/em> a sense of community, or you can relish<\/em> a sense of community, but \u201crelish in\u201d is nonsense.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cA completely new species of rat was discovered.\u201d<\/p>\n This sentence gives adverbs a bad name. What does \u201ccompletely\u201d add, except flab?<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cHe was forbidden from giving his name.\u201d<\/p>\n Handy rule: Use to<\/em>, not from<\/em>, with forbid<\/em>: \u201cHe was forbidden to give his name.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cThe CEO receives nearly 2,000 times the compensation as an employee.\u201d<\/p>\n Where did \u201cas an employee\u201d come from? It doesn\u2019t fit. Did a prankster sneak in and write it? Make it \u201cThe CEO receives nearly 2,000 times the compensation that an employee receives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cHer rivals tried to emulate her.\u201d<\/p>\n Delete \u201ctried to\u201d and make it \u201cHer rivals emulated her.\u201d One does not \u201ctry to emulate.\u201d To emulate<\/em> means \u201cto try to be as good or successful as.\u201d So when we emulate, we\u2019re already trying. The original sentence is gibberish: Her rivals tried to try<\/em> to be as good as she was.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cStainless steel appliances await whomever inhabits the chef\u2019s kitchen next.\u201d<\/p>\n The whomever<\/em> is incorrect. The writer would argue that whomever<\/em> was required as the object of \u201cawait.\u201d But then the verb \u201cinhabits\u201d would have no subject, because whomever<\/em> is always an object. You can\u2019t have a verb without a subject, and objects can\u2019t also be subjects, so it has to be \u201cStainless steel appliances await whoever inhabits the chef\u2019s kitchen next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cHe was clutching the leash of his dog, who was also shot.\u201d The pronoun who<\/em> applies only to humans. The writer of the first sentence balked at using \u201cwhich\u201d for the dog. The writer of the second sentence decided that corporations are people. They\u2019re not, at least not grammatically. The fix is easy: \u201ca public utility that spends a lot of money in Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pop Quiz<\/strong><\/p>\n The following are sentences recently heard over the airwaves. See if you can make them better. Answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.<\/p>\n 1. \u201cNeither her mother or the police believed his denial.\u201d <\/p>\n Pop Quiz Answers<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. \u201cNeither her mother nor<\/em> the police believed his denial.\u201d What better way to begin a Media Watch column than with headlines? Here are two recent ones that got our attention: \u2022 \u201cBacteria has sickened more than 100.\u201d \u2022 \u201cForeclosure crisis makes taught thriller.\u201d \u201cBacteria has sickened\u201d is incorrect because has is singular and bacteria is the plural of bacterium. If the headline writer balked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,8,43,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-effective-writing","category-pronouns","category-subject-and-verb-agreement","category-vocabulary"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2022 \u201cThis is about political influence by a public utility who spends a lot of money in Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n2. \u201cHe is one of the men they can most afford not to lose.\u201d
\n3. \u201cI see you nodding your head no.\u201d
\n4. \u201cA cable from he himself established that.\u201d
\n5. \u201cI am one of many people that are trying to advance the art form.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n2. \u201cHe is one of the men they can least afford to lose<\/em>.\u201d
\n3. \u201cI see you shaking<\/em> your head no.\u201d
\n4. \u201cA cable from him<\/em> himself established that.\u201d (Correct grammar isn\u2019t always pretty.)
\n5. \u201cI am one of many people that are trying to advance the art form.\u201d CORRECT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"