Month: September 2008

“Put a notation in the document.”

Nouns

I heard this during a conference call.

Problem:
The speaker used one noun where another noun would be preferable.

Explanation:
The person who said “Put a notation in the document.” was asking another conference-call attendee to record something in a document that we were reviewing during the call.

However, the noun “note” is preferable in this context to the noun “notation” for a few reasons:

  1. Most dictionaries define the noun “notation” primarily as the method or process of noting.
  2. Use of the noun “notation” as a substitute for the noun “note” adds nothing to what is defined for the noun “note”.
  3. “Notation” is an eight-letter, three-syllable noun, whereas “note” is a simpler, four-letter, one-syllable noun.

The conference-call speaker who said “notation” where “note” would be preferable probably was trying to sound more educated, but this is an example of someone sacrificing clarity and simplicity for appearance.

Solution:
“Put a note in the document.”

“Happy birthday Kirk!”

Commas

I saw this today.

Problem:
A comma is missing.

Explanation:
Expressions of happy-birthday wishes are usually abbreviations of a longer sentence along the lines of “Have a happy birthday, Kirk!”, with a comma immediately after the word “birthday” to indicate the pause in speech.

Even though the imperative sentence is abbreviated to drop the “Have a” part of the sentence, the comma should persist.

And, even if one does not appreciate the abbreviation, it should still be clear that a comma is required because of the pause between “Happy birthday” and the person’s name.

Solution:
“Happy birthday, Kirk!”

“Natures Family”

Apostrophes, Nouns, Possessives

I saw this on a bottle of body wash.

Problem:
A possessive apostrophe is missing.

Explanation:
The noun “nature” is rarely pluralized, given its dominant definitions.

One definition for which pluralization makes sense is the fundamental disposition or temperament of a person.

However, that particular definition would be inconsistent with body wash.

Instead, the “Natures Family” brand alludes to the botanical elements in the body wash.

Given that no trademark symbol appeared adjacent to the “Natures Family” brand, which would have implied that the lack of punctuation was intentional, I have to conclude that the omission of a possessive apostrophe was an error.

Solution:
“Nature’s Family”