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Author Archives: ljsdas@guest.arnes.si
Language Note of the Week 37
Colons cause problems. In 101 English Tips, I wrote: a) a colon “shouts out that an example or summary is about to follow.” b) “Another colon tip: when continuing to write after a colon in your sentence, it is often … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 36
Two short and simple ones this week: 1) 1970s. Not: a) 1970ies (wrong) b) 1970’s (wrong; what can a decade own?) c) in the 70s of the previous decade (too long) d) 70s (fine if the WHEN is clear. In … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 35
Four little tips this week (skip to number four if you’re in a hurry and about to write a test): 1) Changing the tried-and-true word order adds life to your prose. If you (as many students do) write “however” several … Continue reading
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Language Note of the Week 34
“Just” is a useful and slippery term. It can be an intensifier (“Just stop it!”) or a synonym for “fair-minded” (“He’s a just man, but a pain to deal with”). “Just” can often sound dismissive – as in “It was … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 33
The first sentence is crucial for setting the tone (see “Reminder” at http://www2.arnes.si/~bjason/LNW.pdf). Consider the tone set by these first sentences from real (but slightly changed) motivation letters: 1) “I would like take a chance and participate in study program … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 32
Two short ones: 1) “This is because the 13th-century Italy was unusual.” Nope. “This is because 13th-century Italy was unusual.” Drop the definite article when you use AS A NOUN PHRASE “13th-century Italy” or “19th-century France” or “x-th-century whatever.” 2) … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 31
1) You may blithely pile up adverbs when describing an action: “My sister scampered slowly, clumsily, hungrily, ridiculously towards the cookie jar.” That example is clear, fine and mean. Here, the two -ly adverbs are dissonant and mildly confusing: “Hemingway’s … Continue reading
Calls for papers for forthcoming issues of EJES
The call for papers for volume 19 is available: – Mendacity in Early Modern Literature and Culture – Modern Creatures – Poetics and Partition Please note that the deadline for proposals for all of the issues is 31 October 2013, with delivery of … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 30
Take three seconds and shorten this sentence: “What Ralph evokes in Randy is something new.” “_______ evokes in Randy __ something new.” Or: “Ralph evokes something new in Randy.” Unless you need time to think, or unless you want to … Continue reading
Language Note of the Week 29
Some sneaky adjectives look like they should be adverbs because they end in -ly. “We piled our dishes DISORDERLY” is wrong. “She passed him a cup of tea MOTHERLY” is equally wrong. There are a few solutions here: 1) opt … Continue reading