Last December I was snowed in when I stayed with my grand dogs in Baltimore, just in time for the first big snowstorm of that snowy winter. This year I was "hotted" in when I went back to Baltimore again in July to dog sit. These experiences have given new meaning to the term "dog days."
Now, I am just trudging through August, sweating and reading one last novel before the more serious business of September and beyond. So, what better time to think about grammar?
I only thought of that when I got one of my favorite email newsletters from ProofreadNOW.com this week. I don't know who works there, but they are wonderful wordsmiths. This week's newsletter has the "Weekly Grammar Tip" which takes on capitalization. Did you know that "cold war" is not capitalized but "Cultural Revolution" is? I'm going to print out this handy list of phrases and put it up next to my computer for future reference.
To get back to the dog days of summer, Proofread.NOW's newsletter has a great photo of a border collie (not capitalized) atop a list of dog breeds and their capitalization rules. The "Weekly Challenge" (a quiz about definitions) uses dog days as its theme, testing readers on words such as "bandog," "dogtooth" and "canicular."
If you want to subscribe to this very helpful, and humorous, newsletter, just visit its website.
Besides ProofreadNOW's weekly grammar lessons, there are many grammar books I have enjoyed over the years. But the one I consult the most often (and read cover to cover at least once a year) is Patricia T. O'Conner's Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English.
It's the plain English part I really like about this little book. Despite having majored in English, I have a problem remembering all those pesky grammar rules. That's because I'm more of an impressionistic writer, rather than a technical one, I guess. I like the ideas, not the details...a trait that has gotten me into trouble more than once.
How are you handling the dog days of summer? And, by the way, who/what are your favorite grammar muses?
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