One Word vs. Two Words

Several words in our language can be spelled as one word or as two, depending on its meaning. Below is a list of a few such words, with sample sentences on how they are used.

Almost - all most
The plane was almost (nearly) three hours late.
We are all most pleased (all very much pleased) with the new schedule.

Already - all ready
The order had already (previously) been shipped.
The order is all ready (all prepared) to be shipped.

Altogether - all together
He is altogether (entirely) too lazy to be a success.
The papers are all together (all in a group) on your desk.

Always - all ways
She has always (at all times) done good work.
We have tried in all ways (by all methods) to keep our employees satisfied.

Anytime - any time
Come see us anytime you are in town, (one word meaning "whenever").
Did you have dealings with him at any time in the past? (Two words after a preposition such as at.)

Anyway - any way
Anyway (in any case), we can't spare him now.
If we can help in any way (by any method), please let us know.

Awhile - a while
One word as an adverb; two words as a noun.

You may have to wait awhile. (Adverb.)
You may have to wait for a while. (Noun; object of for.)

Everyday - every day
You'll soon master the everyday (ordinary or daily) routine of the job.
He has called every day (each day) this week.

Into - in to
He walked into the outer office. (Into implies entry.)
He came in to see me. (In is part of the verb phrase came in; to is part of the infinitive to see.)

Indifferent - in different
She was indifferent (not caring one way or the other) to the offer.
He like our idea, but he wanted it expressed in different (in other) words.

Maybe - may be
Maybe is an adverb; may be is a verb.

If we don't receive a letter from them today, maybe (an adverb meaning perhaps) we should call.
He may be (a verb) out of town next week.

Onto - on to
He lost control of the car and drove onto the sidewalk. (Onto implies movement toward and then over.)
Let's go on to the next problem. (On is an adverb in the verb phrase go on; to is a preposition.)

Someday - some day
Please set up a meeting with them someday next week.
Please set up a meeting with them for some day next week. (Two words when used as the object of a preposition such as for.)

Sometime - some time
The order will be shipped sometime (at some unspecified time) next week.
It took me some time (a period of time) to complete the job.

Whoever - who ever
Whoever (anyone who) is elected secretary should write that letter at once.
Who ever made such a statement? (Ever is an adverb.)


At times you'll find two words spelled as one, and the resulting one word is not a word at all, (a good example is alot). Our language has many such situations, rules, and exceptions to rules. This is why many people feel intimidated and frustrated by grammar.



Source: The Gregg Reference Manual

Fun Facts

In addition to motivational and inspiring thoughts, I'm a fan of trivia and what some call "useless knowledge." In my humble opinion, no knowledge is useless, but regardless, below is a list of some interesting fun facts. And who knows, these pieces of information might just come in handy with your writing! Anyway, they are fun little tidbits!


- All swans in England are the property of the queen or king.

- Urban birds have developed a short, fast "rap style" of singing, different from their rural counterparts.

- In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her cheating adulterous husband but she may only do so with her bare hands.

- Adding a drop of olive oil and lemon juice to an ice cube then running it over your face gives you better results than some expensive skin care products.

- You will weigh less if you weigh yourself when the moon is full.

- Honeybees never sleep.

- Every day is about 55 billionths of a second longer than the day before it.

- Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

- Earthworms have five hearts.

- Fingerprints of koalas are similar (in pattern, shape and size) to the fingerprints of humans.

- If an Amish man has a beard, he is married.

- If a native Hawaiian woman places the flower on her right ear, she is available, (the bigger the flower, the more desperate).

- Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

- Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight.

- A "lost world" exists in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of hitherto unknown animal and plant species.

- As of 2006, more than one in eight people in the United States showed signs of addiction to the internet.

Mmmm...2006 is nearly 4 years ago. I wonder how many people are currently addicted to the internet...or better yet to blogging. After searching for an answer to that, the best I could find was that it is "in the millions."

Spelling Challenge

It's Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge! Also, at the end of this post are the words that were misspelled in the Thorough Thursday Challenge.

Do you have your sticky note and pen ready? Great! Let's get started! Write down the correct spelling for this week's words, and as usual the answers are listed below.

NO PEEKING!


1. vigilent
2. souvenier
3. occurance
4. noticable
5. alledged
6. definately
7. leutenant
8. noticable
9. existance
10. hiararchy

BONUS WORD
onomatopia

Now lets see if you can add to that collection of virtual stars you have!
As you know, If you spell all 10 words correctly
you get a sparkling GOLD star! (Isn't it pretty?)



If you spell the bonus word correctly
you get the prized, very special, much coveted and very beautiful
Crystal Clear Proofing PURPLE star!


For spelling all the words, including the bonus word correctly
you get a GOLD AND a PURPLE star!
(And you ROCK!)



ANSWERS:

1. vigilant
2. souvenir
3. occurrence
4. noticeable
5. alleged
6. definitely
7. lieutenant
8. noticeable
9. existence
10. hierarchy

BONUS WORD:
onomatopoeia


Because this week's bonus word is not all that common, I'm going to just make your day with its pronounciation and definition! Isn't that exciting? (Just play along with me, I'm having fun here...) LOL!

Onomatopoeia is a noun whose meaning is: The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. It is pronounced: ahn-ah-mat-oh-PE-ah.


So? How'd you do this week? How many of those stunning stars do you get to add to your collection? To those of you who earned stars...

Here is yesterday's Thorough Thursday post in its entirety, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

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Blogging has become a whole separate world from the internet. Blogging actually came to the surface back in 1983, when it was referred to as "Usenet." It was considered a primary medium for moderated newsgroups which provided an area for posting discussions on virtually any topic, but was moderated by individuals or small groups. It wasn't until 1994, just a few years after the world wide web was created, that blogs evolved into what is more commonly referred to as an "online diary."

Blogging, while starting out slow, has rapidly gained popularity as a tool for many individuals, organizations and corporations, as a medium to stay in touch with and provide a means of creating an information system. On the individual platform, it is a way for average citizens to have a venue to communicate, reach out and provide feedback on practically any subject humanly conceivable.

The term "blog" was derived from what most knew as "web-logs." The term “weblog” meaning a regularly updated collection of links to other sites and comments, was originally coined by Jorn Barger in 1997, though what is commonly understood as blogging began as early as 1996. In May of 1999, Peter Merholz coined the term "blog" in a posting on his personal blog site, by mischievously breaking down the word weblog to "we blog." The "we" was eventually dropped, resulting in the term we are all familiar with: blog.

In broad terms, a blog is commonly thought of as an online journal, though they can range from intimate personal diaries to more journalistic newsletters. Some blogs focus on a narrow selection of topics of interest to the author, while other blogs cover a much wider range of topics.

*******************************************************************************As always, you all deserve recognition for your efforts! We must continue the tradition of spreading the famous Crystal Clear Proofing HAPPY and award everyone with the SMILEY STAR!





And wishing you all a very

Thoroughness Challenge

Thoroughly Thursday is a weekly post consisting of a couple of paragraphs that contain spelling and/or grammatical errors, and your job is to find them. Please do not list the errors you find within the post. The same post is repeated at the end of Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

Note: Names and places will NOT be misspelled, nor will there by any changes to punctuation or capitalization. In addition, if there is a word that may have more than one accepted form or there is more than one accepted spelling, those also will not be changed. That would not be fair...the purpose of the Challenge is thoroughness, not technicalities.



This week your Challenge takes a look at the history of the blogs and blogging, and contains 9 errors.
Good Luck!



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Blogging has become a hole separate world from the internet. Blogging actually surfaced back in 1983, when it was referred to as "Usenet." It was considered a primary medium for moderated newsgroups which provided an area for posting discussions on virtually any topic, but was moderated by individuals or small groups. It wasn't until 1994, just a few years after the world wide web was created, that blogs evolved into what is more commonly referred to as an online diary.

Blogging, while starting out slow, has rapidly gained popularity as a tool for many individuals, organizations and corporations, as a medium to stay in touch with and provide a means of creating an infomation system. On the individual platform, it is a way for average citizens to have a venue to communicate, reach out and provide feedback on practicaly any subject humanly concievable.

The term blog was derived form what most knew as web-logs. The term weblog meaning a regularly updated collection of links to other sites and comments, was originally coined by Jorn Barger in 1997, though what is commonly understood as blogging began as early as 1996. In May of 1999, Peter Merholz coined the term blog in a posting on his personal blog sight, by mischieviously braking down the word weblog to we blog. The we was eventually dropped, resulting in the term we are all familar with: blog.

In broad terms, a blog is commonly thought of as an online journal, though they can range from intimate personal diaries to more journalistic newsletters. Some blogs focus on a narrow selection of topics of interest to the author, while other blogs cover a much wider range of topics.

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Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how thorough you are!

Wednesday's Weird Word

This a weekly feature where you have the opportunity to grow your vocabulary with a not-very-common and/or not-frequently-used word.


Today's Wednesday's Word is: GALIMATIAS, and its pronounciation is: gal-uh-mey-shee-uhs.

GALIMATIAS is a noun, meaning nonsense, or gibberish; confused, meaningless jargon; confused or unintelligible talk.

After several drinks, it was difficult to have an intelligent conversation with him, as most of what he was saying was galimatias.


Use galimatias in a conversation today! This one you could really have some fun with!


See you back next Wednesday for another new, weird word!




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