When a Noun Becomes a Verb: The New American Presidency

Arguably the most difficult, but perhaps the most powerful, lesson I teach is the lesson about clarifying a sentence. To clarify a single sentence, we list the actions it mentions, and we try to turn more of them into verbs. But why? How does a change differ from He changed x?

A vivid example of that difference appears in the American presidency today. President-Elect Barack Obama promised "change"--as a noun. Many Americans voted for "change" as a noun.

But when an action lives in a noun, each hearer of that noun supplies (or fails to supply) the doer of the change and the entities that are changed.

A few Americans assumed that Mr. Obama would change what they expected. Like presidents-elect before him, he would change the executive branch to a panel of his political supporters.

But Mr. Obama is changing something deeper. Already, in his political appointments, he is changing the way a president "runs" the executive branch. He is changing the presidency from an executive branch that answers "How can I implement my politics smoothly?" to an executive branch that answers "How can we best benefit America and the world?"

Change as a noun becomes change as a verb. Let's watch Mr. Obama and his very diverse team change the world.

Mr. Obama's Speech: A More Perfect Union

On March 18, 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama made a speech that is already a piece of rhetorical history. I urge you to read it. You can access it, in video and in print, at

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-th_n_92077.html

The audio-and-video of the speech is available at the American Rhetoric Society
americanrhetoric.com. It will be remembered by the ages.

Against Plagiarism

Plagiarism is passing off someone else's ideas or materials as your own, or failing to credit their owner properly.  Can you identify plagiarism in words and pictures?  To find out, take a ten-minute online quiz designed by  Ted Frick at Indiana University in Bloomington:

http://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/plagiarism/index2.html

Zotero

Do you write research papers with more than three references? If so, you probably use or need software that manages your bibliography (or, as we call it in APA style, your reference list).

There is a free software package called Zotero. To quote the Zotero.org web page,

"Zotero (zoh TAIR oh) is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself. Zotero requires Firefox 2.0 or 3.0, Netscape Navigator 9.0, or Flock 0.9.1 for Windows, Mac, or Linux."

It might be worth trying.

If It's Removable, Put It Between Commas

A bank official replied to a prospective client, and with the reply enclosed an annual report.  Unfortunately, the official wrote this sentence:

I am enclosing an annual report that shows we are debt-free.

The dependent clause "that shows we are debt-free" is not separated by a comma.  That lack of separation implies that the clause is essential to describe which annual report is being sent. Are there others? Those reports may tell a different financial story!

Conclusion: if the descriptive word(s) are removable (redundant), then use a comma or a pair of commas to set them apart from the sentence.  To imply the bank's integrity, the bank official could have written this sentence:

I am enclosing an annual report, which shows we are debt-free.

Personally, I would have gone on to make the sentence even more precise:

I am enclosing our latest annual report, which shows that we are debt-free.

Unnecessary Colons

A colon announces that something--a series, a restatement, or an explanatory equivalent--will follow and end the sentence. However, do not use a colon when the final word itself implies that something will follow.

Wrong - The Valeria Line is carried in: department stores, men's stores, and on Valeria's own Web site.

Right - The Valeria line is carried in department stores, men's stores, and on Valeria's own Web site.

Wrong - The two files were: created separately, named differently, but backed up on the same hard disk.

Right - The two files were created separately, named differently, but backed up on the same hard disk.

Singulars and Plurals

We all know that when a subject (noun or pronoun) is singular, its verb sometimes takes a special ending.  For example, Dave watches football games.  

When the subject is plural, its verb must match or "agree with" it.  For example, Dave's friends watch football games. 

If writers break this agreement rule, they are judged unskilled.  

But sometimes it isn't clear whether the subject noun is singular or plural.  In one such exception, the subject is called a collective noun.  Take "family."  It looks singular.  But if the writer means the family as separate individuals, the correct verb may not end in -s:  The family watch different TV programs in each of their three living rooms.

Other collective nouns are "team," "staff," and "herd."  

In the world of subject-verb agreement, another exception is those plural-looking words that express a singular concept:

The last 12 months has been particularly ugly.

Hear how Yahoo! Groups has changed the lives of others.

The woods is the last place they would go.

 

Finally, there are the idiomatic pronouns that seem plural in meaning but are used as singulars:   Everybody is waiting.   Everyone is at home.  

Every person is different.  All people are different. 

I have this many pencils.  

In language, custom trumps logic. 

Health Care, Health-care, or Healthcare?

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003) says that health care is two words when used as a noun.  It is hyphenated when used as an adjective (as in health-care providers). 

In U.S. English, hyphenating a multiple-word adjective is standard practice unless the dictionary rules otherwise. 

However, many U.S. writers, including corporate writers, have started using healthcare as one word.  For example, one of my early clients was the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council.  Another (now functioning under another name) was called Healthcare Compare. 

U.S. dictionaries are compiled by lexicographers who survey how we write and speak in both public and private discourse.  As a result,  in the next edition (2013), Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary may well list healthcare.  To write the adjective healthcare now is, perhaps, to be ahead of your time. To write the phrase health-care providers is safe.

Business Writing and Proofreading

"Today, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts ® specialize in deluxe hotels with meeting facilities and special services for the business traveler, operates in hotels in major and secondary cities, airport locations, and leading resort areas throughout the world."

That "sentence" should make its writer blush.  But it is typical of the errors that creep into electronic text today.   Someone changes one part of a sentence and fails to reengineer the entire sentence correctly.  

In order to catch those errors before they tarnish the corporate image, firms are offering my workshops to their writers.  And we are nearly all writers because e-mail is the lifeblood of business. 

Grammar & Proofreading

or 

The Impeccable Page

taught by Rosemary Camilleri     CSeminar@uic.edu

The Noun Assumes; the Verb Explains

The following sentence puzzled me:

"The investment account should have been [cashed in] second, given a long-term tax rate versus the traditional income tax liability."

That sentence advises a retiree when to draw from her investment account.  But that advice gets an "explanation" that fails to explain.  The "given that..." phrase assumes that every reader instantly knows which is greater: "long-term tax rate" or "traditional income tax liability."    

If the noun "tax" became a verb, the new sentence would explain the writer's rationale:

The investment account should have been cashed in second, because the U.S. government taxes long-term investment gains at a lower rate than it taxes other income. 

Simple English on the Web

There are many educational websites that instruct users in correct English.  The simplest, most user-friendly site I know is the updated one at

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

All too many English websites are written in the wordy, pompously humorous style that has afflicted us (English educators) for generations.  The OWL site cuts through the clever rhetoric and goes right to the essentials.  It includes a section for learners of English as a foreign language.  It even covers the social aspects of academic writing, including e-mail etiquette for professors and students. 

The Whodunit Rule?

People who sign up for my writing classes often expect English Composition. But my classes (except those with Grammar in their titles) present principles that come from modern linguistic research. One such principle (the DAD Rule) will remain in my repertoire, but with a slight tweak that arises from a 2008 study at the University of Chicago.

If you have taken my class titled The Clear Sentence, you know that humans best understand sentences (out of context) when the sentences present a Doer before its Action, and then, if applicable, a Done-To. (I replace "Assessments were done" with "Dr. Jones assessed the patient.") However, a study will soon appear in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences and suggest that, while people preferred Doers first, most of them chose the Done-To next, and then the Action.  They chose this information order to arrange situations whether they believed their arrangement would affect the final presentation order or not. 

The researchers, a team that involves veteran psycholinguist Susan Goldin-Meadow, wanted to see whether the word order in the participant's native language governed the participant's preference for arranging concepts. So their study included participants from English and Chinese, languages that arrange words usually in SVO or subject, verb, and object order.  But the study also included native speakers of Turkish, which follows an SOV order.  

I have long taught this principle of sentence clarity as the DAD Rule: Doer, Action, Done-To. What stands the test of research is this principle: 

When you seek clarity within a sentence, name the Doer in the grammatical subject.  And do so often.   

Perhaps I should call it the Whodunit Rule.  

Taking Minutes of Meetings - distance learning

Rosemary Camilleri offers a distance-learning course (coaching style) in Taking Minutes of Meetings.

You tell me what kind of meeting you wish to record. I tailor a short manual to your needs, and we use telephone and Internet to interact. I share tips and techniques with you, answer your questions, and go over your draft minutes with you until your first two meetings are successfully recorded.

Minute taking is a skill in high demand. It is not taught at U. S. schools and colleges. I've been doing it for decades, and I will share my skills with you.

Don't Break Up Your Breakup

English contains many two-part verbs: they mean something special when a preposition or adverb follows. For example, We will break up that large rock.

When we turn that two-part verb into a noun (the breakup) or an adjective (the breakup process), we write it as either hyphenated or as one word. A good dictionary shows which.

Verb: It runs on. Noun: That's a run-on. Adjective: a run-on sentence

Verb: I am paid up. Noun: [not a noun] Adjective: a paid-up account

Verb: I put it on. Noun: It's a put-on, a joke. Adjective: a put-on accent

Verb: I pick it up. Noun: An 8:00 pickup Adjective: a pickup game

Verb: I'll take off. Noun: The plane's takeoff Adjective: a takeoff delay

Verb: You set it up. Noun: Directions for setup Adjective: a setup deadline

Verb: Look out! Noun: He's our lookout. Adjective: the lookout perch

Verb: Pay off the loan. Noun: Here's the payoff. Adjective: the payoff amount
Verb: I run away. Noun: He's a runaway. Adjective: runaway inflation

Pronounce English Correctly

Here's a website (or do you write Web site?) that will pronounce English words for you:

www.howjsay.com

Type in the word and click on "submit."
Wait until the word turns up in pink, and hear it pronounced by a dignified, rather British voice.

I went to howjsay.com for pronunciations of two words that trouble me: kilometer and forte.
For kilometer, the voice gave me both pronunciations: accent on -o- and accent accent on kil-.

For forte, I learned that the word has one syllable only when we use it about a sword blade. Forte is a French word, and in French it has one syllable. Nevertheless, I suppose that two syllables prevail because English speakers have been saying for-tay to distinguish forte from fort.

Taking Minutes of Meetings

Why are these people smiling? They've just completed my three-hour class called Taking Minutes of Meetings. They shared experiences of recording minutes in all types of meetings.
They learned
How to write and use an agenda
How to deal tactfully with unreasonable demands
What to write down and what to ignore
How to partner with the meeting's chair for excellent results
How to format, check, amend, and file minutes

They saw a movie of a formal meeting and followed the minutes as they watched.

Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Camilleri

Hi, Bob,

When I write an e-mail that is not a response, I begin my message with a salutation. Often that salutation is Hi plus the name of my addressee: Hi, Bob or Hi, Friends. But few writers today use the comma after Hi, even though that comma is grammatically correct.

Grammar books tell us that when we use someone's name or a group name in direct address, we should place commas around it:

Hi, Jim, how are you?
Good evening, Madam.
But, Bob, you never told me about your brother.

I am tempted to stop using the comma in salutations, just because so many people suspect that it is an error. (For the same reason, I have stopped using i.e. and replaced it with that is. So many people think erroneously that i.e. means for example.)

What do you think about commas in e-mail salutations?

Words to Avoid

Recently, I gave a grammar test to one of my classes.  The test maker included questions about using the correct pronoun in sentences such as

a. Either the editor or the reporters will correct (his, her, or their?) mistake.

and the correct verb form in

b. Either the Thompsons or their lawyer (is or are?) attending the celebration. 

Now, in both types of sentence, there are rules that govern the correct choice.  You could take the time to memorize and practice those rules.  But, really, why bother?  These difficult grammatical situations can be avoided.  

In fact, here are some of the words I avoid:

1. Lie, lay, sit, and set.  I use sit to describe a person or animal resting fleshy portions of the anatomy on a surface. For the other words and uses, I employ an appropriate synonym such as recline, place, put, and the verb seat.   

2. Affect and effect used as verbs.  Instead of Factor X affects outcome Y, I use a more precise verb, such as X improves Y or Factor X erodes the quality of Y.  Instead of Acme effects changes, I use a more precise expression, such as Acme updates its policy on such and such.  Affect as a noun means emotionality.  Effect as a noun means result.  

3. Comprise and compose.  The two words are often used synonymously.  That synonymy is criticized by certain experts and defended by others, as you will discover if you look up comprise in a good dictionary.  I say, just bypass the problem and use include or make up, or if necessary, consist of.  The U.S. is made up of 50 states.  Fifty states make up the U.S. 

As to the sentence above with doubtful pronouns, grammar gurus say it is correct to write, Either the editor or the reporters will correct their mistake.  But it is often acceptable to avoid the pronoun entirely: Either the editor or the reporters will correct the mistake.  

As to the sentence with a compound subject and hence a doubtful verb--yes, the grammar books favor Either the Thompsons or their lawyer is attending the celebration. But there are other options: Either the Thompsons are attending the celebration, or their lawyer is.  If the celebration is old information, I prefer

The celebration will be attended by either the Thompsons or their lawyer.

The Power of Verbs

Here is how a firm explained its products:

Ecotechnology solutions and services, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the high pressure natural gas transportation industry in developing countries;
Renewable energy utilizing wood and ag waste biomass as an alternative to fossil fueled combustion for steam generation;
Renewable energy utilizing algae biomass to sequester carbon monoxide for bio diesel and bio ethanol and other fine chemical products, feedstocks; and
Carbon credit generation from the above mentioned solutions and services.

If the firm's work had been described in phrases with verbs, the difference would have grabbed readers' attention:

We solve problems and serve industry through ecotechnology: for example, we reduce emissions of greenhouse gas in developing countries as they transport natural gas under high pressure.
We save fossil fuels when we generate steam by burning renewable biomass such as the waste from wood and agricultural products.
We use renewable algae biomass to sequester carbon monoxide for companies that make cattle feed and fine chemicals such as bio diesel and bio ethanol.
From all these services, we generate carbon credits.

Quickly: Write 500 Words about X

It's that time of year: students are dreading the writing of a 25-minute essay as part of their SAT exams.  When the examiners present a statement, how do you generate two dozen intelligent sentences about it? 

I myself am a motormouth; I can talk about anything almost endlessly.  So for those of you less congenitally verbose, here are two suggestions.

First, take the given statement, and quickly generate one or two mirror-images or opposites. Writing about each one will take up multiple sentences. If the statement is, "No one accomplishes anything important without persistence," then you add "Many people accomplish important things when they do persist" and "Many people accomplish trivial things when they give up quickly."  You should also consider the opposite: whether anyone has accomplished something important quickly and easily.  

Second, come into the exam room knowing seven stories that you can tweak to illustrate most situations. Glean these stories from your experience, from history, or from fiction--those novels and plays assigned in your English class. If you want to index these seven stories, I recommend generating them around either the traditional Seven Deadly Sins or the Seven Virtues:

Stories that illustrate the effects of Pride, Envy, Hatred, Greed, Lust (careful on this one), Sloth, and Gluttony.

Stories that illustrate the effects of Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, Fortitude (persistence), Prudence and Temperance (look it up).  

These stories are easy to remember and will fill up your exam page.  

They may also make you an even more interesting person. 

Special English as Global English

Since 1959, the Voice of America (VOA) has been broadcasting in a simple version of American English called Special English. Via the Internet, you can now get transcripts of these VOA broadcasts, follow along, and learn English.

Special English may be the Global English I have been seeking: a simple, international "dialect" that is easy to understand and easy to learn. Special English broadcasts are available to hear via radio and via RealPlayer and MP3 downloads. To experience Special English, go to

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/about_our_website.cfm

These Special English broadcasts and transcripts are a free way of learning American English. Now if only the Voice of America would provide software to translate business e-mails into Special English before these e-mails are sent around the world!

Dangers of Describing: the Noun Clump

When writers describe something, they often use an adjective, and adjectives precede nouns:

It is a cold day. He is buying a bigger truck.

But English does not always identify adjectives: elsewhere, "cold" could be a noun, as in "She has a cold."
Thus a noun phrase (noun plus adjectives preceding it) could grow:

Headline: Deactivated gun ban--this headline could mean a deactivated ban on guns, or a ban on deactivated guns.

"I am selling a vegetarian mother and baby book" could mean a vegetarian mother and a baby book.

A brand new brown women’s leather handbag--What is brown here?

In clarifying these noun phrases, writers have two tools: adding hyphens and/or working backward. For example, "Deactivated gun ban" could have simply become "Deactivated-gun ban" or "Ban on deactivated guns."

The book sentence would have been clearer if it had read, "I am selling a baby book for vegetarian mothers."
or possibly "a vegetarian mother-and-baby book."

As to the handbag, why not write, "a brand-new women's handbag in brown leather"? (Or is "women's" even necessary when the noun is handbag?) Note the power of the word "leather." It carries a hint for you e-Bayers: the last word in the description will get the emphasis.