Month: August 2008

“… put our thinking gaps on …”

Nouns, Self-negation

I saw this in an email message a few days ago.

Problem:
The noun is incorrect.

Explanation:
The complete sentence was “We all need to put our thinking gaps on and come up with some thoughts on how we can bend the curve.”

The message writer was asking readers to think of ideas that could change the shape of a trend line.

The correct noun to follow “thinking” is “caps” — spelled C-A-P-S — not “gaps” — spelled G-A-P-S.

The message writer created a self-negation with his error with just one letter in just one word, given that a “thinking gap” (with a “g”) is effectively the opposite of a “thinking cap” (with a “c”).

For fun, I searched Google for each of the following combinations (with the quotation marks) and got about the indicated numbers of matches:

  • “thinking caps on” — 128,000 matches
  • “thinking gaps on” — 4 matches

This tells me that Web authors have very rarely made the mistake that the email message writer made.

Solution:
“… put our thinking caps on …”

“… a unique opportunity for my colleagues and I …”

Hypercorrection, Pronouns

I saw this in a letter from my state senator.

Problem:
The pronoun is incorrect.

Explanation:
The complete sentence was “The good news is that the ongoing Sunset Review of the Texas Department of Insurance is providing a unique opportunity for my colleagues and I to consider the role of the private insurance market in making health care available to Texans.” in a letter from Senator Rodney Ellis.

The correct pronoun for a “for” — F-O-R — phrase is “me”, not “I”.

For example, it is correct to say or write “a unique opportunity for me”.

Therefore, it is correct to say or write “a unique opportunity for my colleagues and me”.

The senator’s use of the pronoun “I” in “for my colleagues and I” is an example of hypercorrection.

The senator used “for my colleagues and I” as a substitute for “for my colleagues and me” because he erroneously overgeneralized from the correct use of “my colleagues and I” as the subject of a sentence.

Solution:
“… a unique opportunity for my colleagues and me …”

“… and if you’re school is near by, …”

Apostrophes, Common English Blunders, Contractions, Mispronunciations, Possessives, Pronouns

My wife got this in an email message recently.

Problem:
The word “you’re” is incorrect here.

Explanation:
The complete sentence in the message was “Please contact me and if you’re school is near by, I may be able to deliver them to you.”

The word “you’re” — spelled Y-O-U-APOSTROPHE-R-E — is a contraction of “you are”.

Clearly, the message writer did not intend to say “… and if you are school is near by, …”; that would be nonsensical.

Instead, the writer was referring to the reader’s school, so he should have used the possessive pronoun “your” — spelled Y-O-U-R.

I believe that the common English blunder of confusing the contraction “you’re” with the possessive pronoun “your” is due to the fact that many American English speakers mistakenly pronounce these two words in the same way.

Solution:
“… and if your school is near by, …”