Monday, September 13, 2010

I assume that the conversation went something like this: "I need a cake with the words 'Best Wishes, Suzanne' and underneath that write, 'We will miss you.'"  The capitalization is random.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

I think that QUALIFY should be QUALIFIED. The down payment doesn't qualify you.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Notice that in the headline intolerance is misspelled, but in the body of the article it is spelled correctly. This is from KARK Channel 4's website.

A student found this one at a store in Little Rock.  You will notice when you take a look that the letter R has been penciled in. How hard would it have been just to make another sign? 

Saturday, September 04, 2010

This is my first attempt at mobile blogging. (I know, I know, welcome to this century.)  This sign is from the UPS Store in Benton, Arkansas. Some commas are missing, but the most glaring mistake is the unnecessary apostrophe in the last sentence.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Mary Mimio


Thanks to Liz for this one that she found in a slide show about using the Mimio. One mistake is the improper use of it's. The writer does not mean it is. The writer should have used its. Another mistake is the use of the present tense is in the last line. The fleece was white as snow. The capitalization is inconsistent, as well.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Possessive


This is a sign that I saw at Cracker Barrel. Notice that one is singular possessive (Lady's) and one is plural possessive (Men's). I think that the plural possessive is best since the clothing is for more that one person. Whether it is singular or plural, I am sure that they should be consistent, either both plural or both singular.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

There/Their

This sign is in a Citgo station in Wynne, Arkansas. The most obvious mistake is that there should be their. Additionally, the word done seems like the employees are turkeys in the oven. Finished would be more appropriate.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Slow-Slowly

I have walked by this vending machine countless times. This machine sits in a row of other vending machines. Some of the machines have written on them, "Push in and pull out SLOWLY." The red sign has a mistake because the word SLOW should be followed by -LY. When a describing (modifying) word tells how and tells about a verb, it is an adverb. Adverbs often end with -LY.
Examples:
1. The slow car is red. (Tells what kind of car and doesn't need -LY.)
2. The red car moves slowly. (Tells how the car moves and needs -LY.)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Rare public forum is rare

Thanks, Michael, for this one. I had to read it a few times to find the redundancy. (I am tired and have a headache. Excuses, excuses.) It is nice to know that, "Such a rare public forum on ethics is rare." My guess is that this was an error created when the article was edited.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Clearance

The glare almost covers up the misspelling. It's CLEARANCE, not CLEARENCE. This was found in Family Dollar in Bryant, Arkansas. It was REALLY close to the checkout counter occupied by a clerk. Whew!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Splitting Hairs/Splitting Infinitves

Once again, I revisit the split infinitive. This headline says, "Daughter urges Okla. voters to not vote for father." The infinitive, which is to plus a verb, is to vote. There is a valid argument that there are times when avoiding a split infinitive is awkward. Writing the headline as follows makes as much sense and flows as smoothly: "Daughter urges Okla. voters not to vote for father." I can see no good reason to split this infinitive. There is security in these old rules. Cling to them. Cling to them.