At first I truly was eager for this class, but as the first weeks have passed it is turning to anxiety. It turns out I do not know as much as I thought I did and there is such an abundance to try and keep straight, I'm woefully confused. However, I have finally figured out why my friend always corrects me when I text, "I'm anxious to see you," when he will be flying in from California. I am definitely not fearful or worried, but rather excited to see him after much time has passed.
I have always had to stop and think whether I wanted to use the word farther or further. Now I remember farther is for how far I have to go, or to drive, to further my education.
I also had no clue there was a difference between tortuous and torturous. As the weeks go by, I find the tortuous complexities of grammar a rather torturous endeavor I have inflicted upon myself by taking this class. Okay, I am exaggerating; however, I realize I know a lot less than I thought I already knew.
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The mistake for this week comes from this evenings KSL Face book status update. I realize it is supposed to be short and snappy, even alarming, to catch interest with the least amount of words possible, but leaving out important parts of verb structure just too irritating for me.
Now: Wildlife officers looking for cougar in area of 1600 Foothill Drive in Salt Lake City. Police going to houses to warn residents.
How about a nice are (or two), a and the to make things sound complete.
Now: Wildlife officers are looking for a cougar in the area of 1600 Foothill Drive in Salt Lake City. Police are going to houses to warn residents.
I always see headlines that make me wonder who wrote them. In other news, I live right by Foothill and 1600 South and I didn't hear about this, yikes!
ReplyDeleteThey likely just took the headline straight from the website. Journalists leave out "little" verbs for the sake of formatting a headline on a newspaper. I think it's going to be a rough go to change that mindset as everything changes to a digital format.
ReplyDeleteHeadlines are crazy! When I took media writing, I was taught, among other things, to use commas instead of the word "and." I, too, have received a nice reality check! I feel like I have so much to learn!
ReplyDeleteYour catch of the error in the KSL status made me realize how texting and social media often make us abbreviate our writing to mimic very how we would speak in very informal conversation. However, when you omit the are's as frequently as that post did you soon realize that it tries to shorten speech even further than what would be considered the limits of casual talk.
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