3 Appositive Errors

3 Appositive Errors 3 Appositive Errors 3 Appositive Errors By Mark Nichol Confusion often arises as to how or whether to punctuate appositive phrases, which are descriptions that identify someone or something named in the same sentence. Here are three statements with punctuation problems that illustrate the peril of improper punctuation, with explanations and suggested revisions. 1. â€Å"The fog arrived unannounced ‘on little cat feet,’ as the American poet, Carl Sandburg, put it.† Framing Carl Sandburg’s name with commas implies that he is the American poet the only one. The accurate revision is â€Å"The fog arrived unannounced ‘on little cat feet,’ as the American poet Carl Sandburg put it.† (In this case, the, preceding the epithet, is optional and American is included only because the source sentence is from a book published in the United Kingdom, where Sandburg’s name is not as well known as it is in the United States.) 2. â€Å"But he had another particular passion, and that was water, ‘especially dramatically moving water,’ writes his biographer Robert Jones.† It’s quite possible for a famous personage to have more than one biographer, but in this context, only one, the source of the quote, is referred to, so his name should be set off in apposition to the epithet biographer: â€Å"But he had another particular passion, and that was water, ‘especially dramatically moving water,’ writes his biographer, Robert Jones.† (In other contexts, â€Å"writes biographer Robert Jones† which from its lack of commas denotes that more than one biographer exists might be correct.) 3. â€Å"Here’s what the CEO of World Wide Widgets John Smith said to his employees in a blog post.† The identification of the subject of this sentence is incorrectly ordered. Four solutions present themselves: â€Å"Here’s what World Wide Widgets CEO John Smith said to his employees in a blog post† is journalistic style, in which the simple affiliation-title-name syntax erases the need for punctuation, but formal writing favors a more relaxed arrangement. â€Å"Here’s what John Smith, World Wide Widgets’s CEO, said to his employees in a blog post† helpfully sets the subject’s affiliation and title off from his name, but it’s better yet to reverse the order to title, then affiliation; either that combination or the name can come first (â€Å"Here’s what the CEO of World Wide Widgets, John Smith, said to his employees in a blog post† or â€Å"Here’s what John Smith, the CEO of World Wide Widgets, said to his employees in a blog post†; in the latter example, the is optional). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial Expressions15 Types of DocumentsAffect vs. Effect

Lucky Expressions

Lucky Expressions Lucky Expressions Lucky Expressions By Maeve Maddox Reader Emma requests a post on the expression lucked out: The †¦ times Ive heard people using [lucked out] to mean youre out of luck as opposed to expressing good luck or fortune is bordering on ridiculous. The expression to luck out is an American coinage dating from 1954. It means to succeed through luck. Specifically, according to the OED, it is to succeed in a difficult, testing, or dangerous situation. For example: He really lucked out on that exam; every question he had studied for was on it. The expression to be out of luck means to be unfortunate. For example: Youre out of luck: the last train has left the station. Two other uses of luck as a verb are: to luck into: to acquire by good fortune, without effort on ones part. Example: He lucked into a sweet deal on that car. to luck upon: to meet with, to find. Example: He lucked upon some old clothes he had wanted to give away†¦ The noun luck entered English in the 15th century from a Dutch word meaning happiness or good fortune. Its related to German Glà ¼ck, fortune, good luck. The multiplicity of expressions with the word luck, incorporate associations with Chance and Fortune in the sense of the powers that arrange the uncertain fates of human beings. One can have good luck, bad luck, or ill luck. My father used the expression If he didnt have bad luck, hed have no luck at all. People say that its good luck to find a four-leaf clover, but bad luck to break a mirror. Some people are said to have good luck, meaning that they are generally fortunate, while some are said to have no luck, meaning that they are generally unfortunate. Here are just a few more of the many expressions that employ the noun luck: Good luck! said to someone setting off to some uncertain undertaking like an exam or an audition. Better luck next time! said to someone who has failed to achieve some goal. Just my luck! said by someone who has missed out on something desired. To be down on ones luck to be in straitened circumstances, for example, jobless. Luck of the Irish a contradictory expression that can mean either bad luck, or extraordinary good luck, depending on the context. The Best of British luck usually meant ironically, the way Americans might say Good luck with that. The sense is go ahead and try, but youre probably not going to succeed. Trust to luck undertake a difficult task with insufficient preparation, hoping that all will go well. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:Time Words: Era, Epoch, and Eon7 Proofreading Steps