Monthly Archives: December 2014

A Year-End Question

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Which is correct: “New Year’s Eve” or “New Years Eve”? Do we need the apostrophe or should we leave it out? Or are they both correct? The answer is that we need it because we’re talking about the eve of … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Punctuation Errors | Leave a comment

A Recommended “U-Turn”

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Norm Friedman

A personalized license plate I spotted recently made me smile: MYWAY34. Apparently, this fellow feels pretty good about his uniquely independent spirit … and at least 33 other guys feel the same about theirs. And what does this have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse | Leave a comment

Eliminating Those Pesky “Ofs”

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Like an annoying mosquito or gnat spoiling an ideal summer evening, the word “of” often mars an otherwise perfect sentence. In fact, those erroneous “ofs” are so easy to miss, they crop up frequently in books, newspapers, and magazines––and certainly … Continue reading →

Posted in Brevity, Common Grammar Errors, Flair & Finesse | Leave a comment

Putting Two School Rules in Context

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Norm Friedman

If emancipation from two no-nos we had to heed in school will make your day, I’ll try. Let’s review. The fragment Back in fifth or seventh grade––and maybe high school––we weren’t allowed to write sentence fragments because our teachers needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone | Leave a comment