Nouns

“Dutties”

Misspellings, Nouns

My wife saw this on a sign in a high-school attendance office.

Problem:
The noun is misspelled.

Explanation:
The sign directed the student assistants in the office to pay attention to their responsibilities.

You might have to say this aloud a few times to get it.

The sign writer meant “Duties” when she wrote “Dutties” instead.

I believe that the writer saw nothing wrong with the misspelling, given that “Dutties” was in a one-inch font on the sign.

What’s sad is that this appeared on an official sign in a high school. Either nobody saw the misspelled word, or nobody had the nerve to tell someone in the attendance office about it.

Solution:
“Duties”

“Determinate” vs. “Determinant”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Mispronunciations, Nouns, Verbs, Versus

I sometimes hear these two words used interchangeably.

Problem:
These two words are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The primary definition of the word “determinate” as a verb is to make certain of. The primary definition of the word “determinate” as an adjective is having defined limits.

The primary definition of the word “determinant” as a noun is a determining agent. The primary definition of the word “determinant” as an adjective is having the power of deciding.

I believe that these words most often are used interchangeably because of sloppy pronunciation.

Solution:
When using each of these words as an adjective, think having defined limits for “determinate” and having the power of deciding for ” determinant”.

“BECOME A BARBER STYLIST IN 9-MONTHS”

Adjectives, Hyphens, Nouns

I saw this in a television commercial yesterday for Trend Barber College.

Problem:
The hyphen is in the wrong place.

Explanation:
The number “9” alone is used as an adjective to modify the noun “months” (which does not modify anything else), so no hyphen should exist between these two.

The speaker in the commercial did not use “barber” to modify “stylist”; instead, he used “barber” and “stylist” together as a single word to identify the profession.

So a hyphen between these two words would be warranted.

Solution:
“BECOME A BARBER-STYLIST IN 9 MONTHS”