The Dictionary Can Be Your Friend

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Brosville Texaco

Location: Brosville Texaco, U.S. 58 West; Danville, Va.
Picture taken: June 2007
Textual representation of image: “Fore. c/card charge. At least $.5 purchage. Maniger”

This handwritten “sign” may be the most confusing one I’ve ever seen. I believe it’s supposed to read, “For credit card charge, at least $5 purchase. Manager.”

Whew! Would a dictionary have helped this one? Maybe a little. And in retrospect, I guess my husband could’ve purchased that loaf of bread with the credit card after all. (“But your sign says 50 cents!!” >:) If only I’d known why he was storming out of the store while I was snapping a shot of the front door… =(

I don’t really have a problem with abbreviations in handwritten signs; I think it’s obvious what c/card means in this case. So what do we have? Two spelling errors — fore and maniger — and a period problem? Far too many problems for one little sign, in my opinion.

Rule: For is a preposition. Fore refers to the front part of something.

Rule: Use a period to separate dollar amounts from cents.

Rule: Use a dictionary!

Maryland Welcome Center Sign

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Maryland Welcome Center sign

Location: Maryland Welcome Center, I-95 North
Picture taken: July 2007
Textual representation of image: “Thank you for not smoking. This is a smoke free building.”

I found this one on the way to New York for our annual anniversary vacation. I guess it goes without mentioning that I only noticed it on the way out of the rest room. It’s a good thing I wasn’t smoking! ;)

Oh, and a large “sorry, once again” goes out to the lady with leg braces that I accidentally blocked as I was snapping the shot. =(

The problem with the sign is that smoke-free should be hyphenated. The words smoke and free work together as a compound adjective modifying the word building. Without the apostrophe, I suppose it means you can get the smoke building for free! Or maybe the building is giving out free smoke…

Rule: Use a hyphen to connect two compound adjectives.

Wellington Fire-Exit Sign

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Wellington Hotel sign

Location: Wellington Hotel; New York, NY
Picture taken: July 2007
Textual representation of image: “IN CASE OF FIRE USE STAIRS UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED”

Waiting for the elevator in a high-rise hotel can give you lots of free time to scrutinize the nearby signs, like this one on the 19th floor of the (most excellent!) Wellington, on Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

I really like this picture because of the reflections in the shiny sign. You can see the reversed floor number, which, incidentally, should really be 18, as there is no floor 13. (But lingering superstitious customs are really another matter entirely. . .) Oh, and if you look closely, you can see my honey’s back; I think he was fixing his shoe while I took the picture. :P

Although most, if not all, people wouldn’t have difficulty parsing the sign’s meaning, it really needs a comma following the prepositional phrase(s), “in case of fire,” especially considering the word use has different, erm, uses.

Rule: Use a comma after introductory words, phrases, or clauses.

Q Train Ad #2

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Q Train ad

Location: Q Train; New York, NY
Picture taken: July 2007
Textual representation of image: “Close your curtains and blinds on sunny days and you’ll save money for a rainy day.”

This subway advertisement is another panel of the previous ad display. While the ads proclaim great conservation tips, they sure make a mess of punctuation!

The problem here is that there are two independent clauses merged with only a conjunction (and) between them. The first part, “Close your curtains and blinds on sunny days,” could stand alone as a complete sentence, and the second part, “you’ll save money for a rainy day,” could do the same. Each of the two has a subject and its verb (and could stand alone); that’s the definition of an independent clause. However, a conjunction alone is not enough to separate two independent clauses.

Rule: Two independent clauses can be separated with a period and a capital letter; a semicolon; a comma and a conjunction (and, or, but, for, nor, so, or yet); or a semicolon, a transitional expression (like however), and a comma.

Q Train Ad #1

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Q Train ad

Location: Q Train; New York, NY
Picture taken: July 2007
Textual representation of image: “Teach your kids about conservation at our fun kids site. They log on, you save money. www.conEd.com/kids”

Most places, people would look at you a little odd if you excused yourself to say you wanted to take a picture of the subway ad just over their heads. But, I suppose, I was so much less strange than Phil, the homeless guy with his shirt on inside-out who made his candy-sales spiel sound like the gospel, that the natives just nodded and continued staring into that blank space ahead.

There are two grammatical problems with this ad. First, the second kids is in desperate need of a final apostrophe, since it is a possessive — an adjective modifying site. Also, the final sentence contains a comma splice, or two independent clauses separated with a comma.

Rule: Use a final apostrophe with an adjective ending in s.

W Train Ad

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

W Train ad

Location: W Train; New York, NY
Picture taken: July 2007
Textual representation of image: CHANGE IS: WISHING FOR A LONGER FLIGHT”

We found this Delta ad on the subway on the way back to our hotel from the Met, I believe. Yes, that was after the torrential thunderstorm in which we ran from awning to awning and ended up finally on the train totally drenched.

The problem with this ad is the unnecessary colon. (We won’t even mention the capital letters and lack of a period here; advertising is, after all, a different beast. . .) Colons are generally used to signal an upcoming list or a definition, something to which the writer really wants to bring attention, yes, but not in all cases.

Rule: Colons should follow an independent clause, i.e. a group of words that has both a subject and its verb, and can stand alone.

A Sesame-Seeded Backside?

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Burger King sign

Location: Burger King on Piney Forest Road; Danville, Va.
Picture taken: July 2007
Textual representation of image: “ITS BACK WESTERN WHOPPER”

Whose back? I’m envisioning a large flame-broiled burger on a sesame seed bun wearing a western shirt, bolero, and sombrero.

I know from experience that these make-your-own billboards contain apostrophes (sorry, Ry-Ry…), so maybe someone lost it?! The its/it’s error is a very common one, so probably not. Its is the possessive case of the pronoun it, while it’s is a contraction which stands for it is, which is what the sign really means. One use of the apostrophe is to show where something is missing; in this case, it’s the i of is. :P

We won’t even get into the rest of the missing punctuation in this sign, but at least it’s easily changed!

Rule: Use it’s in place of it is, and use its as an adjective form of the pronoun it.

Frank’s Restaurant Menu

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Frank's Restaurant take-out menu

Location: Frank’s Italian Restaurant; Danville, Va.
Picture taken: August 2007

Frank’s is definitely one of our favorite restaurants in town, especially since they moved into their new location on Memorial. Good atmosphere, good food, and (usually) good service add up to a place we go back to again and again. (I recommend the grilled chicken salad with their house dressing!)

When I saw their take-out menus on our last visit, I told the ladies at the register I hoped they got a refund on them. “Frank’ Italian Family Restaurant”?! Where’s the s?!

This is one of those so-called careless mistakes (that’s what my math teachers always called them on my papers, at least) that just makes you shake your head. I’ve overlooked similarly crucial errors before myself. Once you check something over and over, it’s hard not to gloss over everything instead of focusing.

Rule: Everyone needs a good proofreader! (It’s a good thing I’ve got Mr. Hawke!)

Child-Safety-Seat Sign

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

VA child safety seat law sign

Location: City Courthouse; Danville, Va.
Picture taken: August 2007

Virginia has once again changed the safety-seat laws for children, as this sign proclaims. The problem with the sign is in rule number 3: “Children can not ride unrestrained in the rear cargo area of a vehicle.”

Now, the can not/cannot distinction is not the easiest one to make, but it’s not impossible, either. Think about this: You’re asking your mom for permission to go to the mall. She says, “You cannot go to the mall.” This means you’re not going (unless you slip out the window without her knowing, which I definitely would not suggest. ;) ) However, if your mom says, “You can not go to the mall,” she’s giving you the option: You can not go, or you can go.

Given this distinction, with these signs, the state of Virginia is giving us the option of disallowing our kids from hanging out in the cargo areas of our vehicles outside their car seats. The red not emphasizes this even more, unfortunately. I certainly don’t think that’s what the state intended.

Rule: Use two words (can not) when giving an option. Use one word (cannot) when giving a command.

Courthouse Directory Sign

Posted on January 26, 2008 by admin

Danville courthouse directory sign

Location: City Courthouse; Danville, Va.
Picture taken: August 2007

As I was reading all the signs in the juvenile courthouse waiting area (i.e. I was totally bored!), I had to break out my camera phone several times! (You can see it in the reflection, if you look closely. ;) )

One of my finds was this courthouse building directory, which I assume is identical to the other directories throughout the building, is missing a crucial apostrophe to denote possession.

There are four items on this sign that need an apostrophe, and it is present in three of the four cases: Magistrate’s, General District Clerk’s, and Circuit Court Clerk’s. However, in the case of Juvenile & Domestic Clerks, the apostrophe is missing. Very inconsistent, to say the least.

The word clerk, a noun, is being used as an adjective in these cases. Whose office? The clerk’s office. That’s where the apostrophe comes in (or should!)

Rule: To make a noun that does not end in s possessive, add an apostrophe and an s.

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Author Archives: admin

The Dictionary Can Be Your Friend

Maryland Welcome Center Sign

Wellington Fire-Exit Sign

Q Train Ad #2

Q Train Ad #1

W Train Ad

A Sesame-Seeded Backside?

Frank’s Restaurant Menu

Child-Safety-Seat Sign

Courthouse Directory Sign