Tag Archives: grammar

A Blog Post Was Made By Me

Posted on April 19, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I didn’t make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday.  Saturday morning has never been considered too late to do such a thing.  That is, I have never considered it so.  Passive voice is sort of slimy, isn’t it?  I hate it when politicians use it.  However, Mohawk Valley Girl tries to stay off politics (talking about yourself in the third person is quite acceptable, although some find it pretentious) (you know who you are) (and dammit, I used passive voice again!)

Where was I?  Sometimes I get all bogged down in parenthetical comments.  Regular readers may have noticed.  Anyways, I am going to make a silly blog post and then get on with my day.  We’ll call that first paragraph a little half-baked philosophy about grammar.  But just to continue the point:  passive voice is not inherently slimy.  In an English textbook, an example might read, “The ball was kicked by the child.”  I call that awkward but not slimy.  “The ball was kicked,” now, that’s a little slimy.  Who kicked the ball? I’m thinking the little turd that said the sentence that way, because the ball went somewhere to was not supposed to go.

I think they’re cool.

I wanted to throw in a picture just then, because I was afraid others might not find the preceding paragraph as interesting as I did.  Of course I do not have a picture of a ball in my Media Library, nor one of an English Grammar textbook.  Then I saw these typewriters and was reminded of the line by Truman Capote that I often quote, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”  I say, it is at least closer to writing than what I did last night (unless you count the letter to my sister I worked on while I waited for my fish fry at the Elks).

In any case I am over 300 words.  Perfectly respectable for a Lame Post Friday post, according to my rules by me.  Will I have any Mohawk Valley Adventures today?  Will I even manage a Saturday Running Commentary?  Or even manage to go running?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my day.

 

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A Whiningly Late Tired Tuesday Post

Posted on July 3, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am taking Tuesday as a Blogger’s Sick Day.  I got home from work last night, managed to do a couple chores, then succumbed to a bad head.  I don’t know what else to call it.  It is more light-headedness than pain, and a neurologist once told me it was a form of migraine.  Oh dear, and here I am whining about it.  Anyways, I felt unable to do anything much so went to bed early.  This morning (Wednesday, early), I am feeling equally as bad with an upset stomach for good measure.  I am sipping tea instead of my usual coffee.  It is quite tasty and may settle my stomach (to add an un-whiny comment).

Pretend there is tea in the mug.

I like to add an illustration when possible.  I am not drinking out of that mug currently, but it is the first one I came to in my Media Library.  In fact, it is kind of what my stomach feels like now.  Maybe not that bad, luckily.  I certainly must go to work today and Friday.  If I do not, my employer will not pay me for July 4th. It is a good policy, really, or a lot of people who had not foresightedly asked for those days off might be tempted to call in.

And here’s an interesting grammar point.  My Chromebook does not like the word “foresightedly.”  I do not see why I cannot make an adverb by adding “-ly” to any handy adjective.  Some writers eschew adverbs and rail dementedly at their use in any and all situations (you see what I did there?).  I personally need all the help I can get and will avail myself  of any words I like, even if I have to make them up.

Look, at that, a whole paragraph about my psycho grammar, not whining about my stomach or head.  On that note, I thank you for tuning in, and sign off with hopes for a more productive Wednesday.

 

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Lame About Me

Posted on May 13, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I got up this morning, having slept in till the for me late hour of six, with two thoughts vying for supremacy in my foggy head:  “Coffee first,  then run,” and “Run first, then coffee.”  Coffee won.  Hello, and welcome to another Late Lame Post Friday post.

I delayed making this post until I had a few sips of that magic elixir that renders almost any morning less hideous.  Thus I indulge in a little hyperbole. Is that an oxymoron?  Since hyperbole is exaggeration for effect, can you, in fact, have only a little hyperbole?   Points to ponder.

One problem with a personal blog: I tend to start all my paragraphs with “I.”  Because it is All About Me (ooh, that just gave me my title).  I have to watch that.

By now I think it is quite clear I have nothing whatever to say and am only rattling on in hopes of reaching 200 words before I run out of coffee.  I’ll throw in a picture to pep things up.

Who, us? Be silly?

This was taken at the H.A.L.O. Hoedown, a fundraiser for the cat rescue group, Helping Animals Live Organization.  It was some years ago and never became an annual thing, much to my disappointment, because I had a blast.

Yes, that is my late beloved husband Steve in the picture.  I’ll never be over being sad that he is gone, but I can smile at all the memories.  On that melancholy note (sorry about that; I know this is billed as a “totally fun blog”), I see I am over 250 words.  Score!  Thank you for tuning in.

 

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Friday’s Post

Posted on February 25, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is an especially late Lame Post Friday post. In fact, I almost skipped it entirely.  I am sitting at my parents’ kitchen table with my Tablet, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  It is, in fact, not my stylus but a stylus pen from my parents’ church.  I saw it on the table and appropriated it.

Here is a question:  why does autocorrect not recognize plural possessive?  I learned it in seventh grade (I learned all grammar and punctuation in seventh grade and suffered for the next five years when they made me study it again):  when a plural ends in s, to make it a possessive, just add the apostrophe.  Hence, parents’, not parents’s.  But autocorrect wants to make it parent’s. What the hell, autocorrect, does everybody only have one parent?

Also, regarding the parenthetical comment in the preceding paragraph:  I did not really learn that much in seventh grade English.  My teacher was kind of a superior old twit.  I realized years later that I read so much I absorbed the rules by osmosis.  Miss Twit just verbalized what I didn’t know I already knew.  But I do remember hearing the apostrophe rule from her, so credit where credit is due.

This nonsense has gotten me over 200 words.  Woohoo!  Now I have to go make myself useful elsewhere.

 

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Lame Post IN the Morning ON Saturday

Posted on April 9, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tell you, it is a whole different perspective. I am sitting in the chair instead of on the couch, pecking at the Tablet with a stylus pen I was lucky enough to find (I have mislaid both actual styluses and all the other stylus pens), sipping tea, and hoping nobody minds that I did not post on Thursday. I was actually hoping nobody would notice but felt compelled to mention it, being me. Even I could not hope my readers would not notice.something I actually mentioned.

Tea does not have as much caffeine as coffee, by the way. A friend read me the amounts from a drug studies book many years ago. An acquaintance (she passed for a friend at the time) once said, “Oh, no. You can do only one or two dunks of the tea bag, that’s all!” How scientific: one or two dunks. An example of people thinking they know things for no particular reason.

I seem to be getting bogged down, but since this is my Late Lame Post Friday Post, I will continue to sludge through.

The first paragraph raised two questions in my mind. The first: why does one sit in a chair but on a couch? One can sit on a chair, but that usually refers to one of the wooden variety. I occupy a nice cushy living room chair (see what I did there?). “In” seems appropriate. However, couches are nice and cushy, too. Why do I not sit in a couch? Right now I do not because my husband, Steve, is there, sound asleep, by the way.

One might argue that Steven should be IN bed. Ooh, this one makes sense: you sit ON a bed, usually on top of the covers and try not to mess them up. You sleep IN a bed, nicely snuggled under the covers.

That was a delightful discussion, for me anyways. I will just mention my second question: what is the proper plural of styluses? My autocorrect wanted to change it to “stylized.” As usual in these disagreements, I prevailed.

I have finished my tea. Perhaps I should get on with my Saturday.

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I’m Blaming My Sinuses

Posted on August 2, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is just a quick post to apologize for not making a post yesterday or today. No excuses, no explanations. But I feel bad about it. Do I feel bad enough to type in more than just a paragraph right now? We shall see.

Here’s a thing: I feel inclined to say I feel badly, but I distinctly remember learning in school (junior high? Elementary? My memory is not that distinct) that “feel badly” is incorrect; the correct expression is “feel bad,” because of the kind of verb “feel” is. Intransitive? Again, the memory is not distinct.

I am feeling bad(ly) in other ways too. This cooler weather makes my body think it is fall, and my sinuses are giving me hell. I don’t see how that can happen. Just because it cools off shouldn’t effect the pollen count, should it? Is this reverse placebo effect?

I may be crazy. The other day a guy said, “Normal is relative,” to which I responded, “Not my relative.” I stole that line from my sister Diane. It is a good one.

So I guess I’ll call this a Blogger’s Sick Day and drive on. It has not been a bad day, it has not been a bad weekend. I look forward to the week ahead. We shall see what kinds of blog posts I can come up with.

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I Like a Semi-Colon on Lame Post Friday

Posted on April 7, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh crap, it is almost 10:30 at night and I have not yet made my Friday Lame Post.  Can I make it before midnight?  A more practical question is, why am I up so far past my bedtime?  Well, I just got back from A Bad Year for Tomatoes at Ilion Little Theatre.  I think I can write a quick post while I sip a glass of wine with my husband.  What, you thought I wasn’t going to have a glass of wine on a Friday?  I don’t think anybody thought that.

Normally when I have someplace to go on a Friday, I try to make my blog post first. I did not do so today, because I was working on Spring Into Murder, the murder mystery we are putting on for Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion on April 28.  Earlier today I saw a flier about said murder mystery, so I was all psyched up to get what I have typed into the computer so I can get it out to the cast and we can start rehearsals.  I’m getting there!  Oh, you think I should have had it completed, typed in, polished, and have started rehearsals already?  That would have been nice.  But this is me we’re talking about.

Oh dear, two paragraphs into the blog post and I’ve got the type-it-in-backspace-it-out disease.  Part of me is saying, “You’re over 200 words; that’s plenty for Lame Post Friday!”  Yes, the voices in my head use semi-colons when they talk.  The voices in my head are all about grammar and punctuation.  If anybody would like to comment below, pointing out any errors I may have made today, go right ahead.  I will only laugh, because I have forgotten more grammar than most folks ever knew.  The rest I willfully ignore as it suits my purpose (insert evil laugh here).

In the meantime, I think I need to hit Publish, finish my wine, and go to bed.  I hope to see you all tomorrow on Scattered Saturday or perhaps Slacker Saturday, whatever it turns out to be.

 

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Is This Literally a Bad Post?

Posted on May 13, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

A point to ponder:  Why would you call a premeditated murder “unthinkable”?  If it was premeditated, obviously somebody put some thought into it.

Actually (now that I THINK about it), “unthinkable” is kind of a dumb word.  I mean, you can think about anything.  Try to think of something unthinkable.  You can’t, because you just THOUGHT of it!

I know, I know, it is not a word that is meant to be taken literally.  And here I am using “literally” in its actual (literal) meaning, not the way some people use it, indiscriminately for emphasis (as in, “I’m LITERALLY starving to death!”).  I realize that “unthinkable” means “I hate to even think about it” or “I would never even think of doing that!”  or words to that effect (incidentally, that is one of my favorite expressions: “words to that effect”).

Sometimes I just wish people would learn more words so they could use a word that means what they mean it to mean (if you see what I mean).

I suppose one could argue (and there is always one that will argue) (you know who you are, although you probably deny it) that the language is always evolving.  Expressions fall out of favor, phrases are coined, slang terms magically appear.  It just bothers me when they do because people are too damn lazy to find the right word so they just use any old word that’s handy.

Then again, who am I to complain about anybody’s laziness?  I am going to be lazy enough to end this post here and call it Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I hope you are not literally mad at me.  That would be unthinkable.

 

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Not Feeling Friday

Posted on April 2, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

This post is going to be quite lame, I’m afraid, but yet will probably not attain the carefree silliness of a true Friday Lame Post.  I have gone all day not feeling as if it is Friday.  I still feel that way.

Normally I have this feeling when I have to work on Saturday.  This week I do not.  I only get to sleep in till four tomorrow morning, but that is at least later than three (I can do that much math, at least).

Oh, but that brings up a pet peeve of mine.  You do not have to say “4 a.m. in the morning”  nor yet “tomorrow morning at 4 a.m.”  It is either “Four in the morning” or “4 a.m.”  You can say, “tomorrow morning at four”  or “tomorrow at 4 a.m.”  “a.m.” and “in the morning” mean THE EXACT SAME THING!  The weather people on YNN (now known as Time Warner Cable News, but I find that awkward and not a little self-serving) say it all the time (I could say “every morning in the a.m.” but I’m not sure everyone would get the sarcasm).

This being Lame Post Friday, I ought to be able to come up with some half-baked philosophy either explaining why some people feel obligated to repeat themselves, why it bothers me so much, or perhaps some new and improved outlook I could adopt so it would bother me less.   Hmmmm….. nothing is coming.  I did say I was not feeling Friday, didn’t I?

No matter.  I am over 200 words, and by my own self-imposed rules, that is enough for a post.  I hope you will all tune in tomorrow when I hope to be feeling Saturday.

 

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Lame to You and More of It!

Posted on November 14, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

For today’s Lame Friday Post, I bring you another edition of Common Expressions Revisited.  Warning!  This post may become somewhat vulgar.  If you don’t think you’ll like that, don’t read. And regular readers KNOW how I feel about the expression TMI (hate it, Hate it, HATE IT!!!).

Kiss my ass.  No, no, I’m not telling you to do that.  That’s the first expression I want to talk about it.  Think about all the people you have told, directly or remotely to kiss your ass (by remotely, I mean, “He/she/they can kiss my ass!)”   Now consider the wear and tear on your buns if everyone, or even a portion of that number availed themselves of that generous invitation.  Yikes!

Bite me.  This is sometimes said as “Bite my butt,” which I kind of prefer, as it has the charm of alliteration.  Obviously, this could be even more painful than kissing.   In the “Bite me” version, I worry that one does not specify the body part.  I feel it leaves one vulnerable.

To my last statement, some of you are no doubt saying, “Well, it goes without saying,”  and that is another common expression I take exception to.  Very few things actually go without saying.  Oh yes, there are a few things we can and do take for granted, like, for example, gravity.  But my observation is that people still say them.  In other words, “It goes without saying” is usually not the end of the sentence.  Usually it’s, “It goes without saying THAT…”  Ah yes, there is the variation that it is said in answer,  “That goes without saying.”  Well, it didn’t go without saying if I just said it, now, did it?  I’m just saying.

OK, I guess the first two examples could be considered vulgar, but I feel there an be no possible exception to the third.  On my next grammatical excursion, I may discuss the expressions “I think,” “I believe,” and “I feel.”  I hope you are all having a delightful Friday.

 

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