Thursday, October 30, 2008

For your reading enjoyment

We have 10 more flubs for your reading enjoyment. There are mistakes in these sentences that were found before they made it into The Forum. Do you know what they are?

1. Services include a dental lab, x-rays and a pharmacy.

2. The blast sent a loose piece of sheetrock falling to the ground.

3. The free hotline provides immediate response to voters.

4. "At some point, our kids got left on the backburner."

5. He started sexually abusing her when she was seven years old.

6. That's what he's doing, even if it seems farfetched.

7. Their German Sheppard cross had a gaping gash on her back.

8. The West Fargo show highlights student art work.

9. NDSU is hosting the thirteenth annual Sonia Kovalesky High School Day on Sept. 26.

10. Some older boys kept calling the fourth grader "bucktooth."

1. Services include a dental lab, X-rays and a pharmacy.

2. The blast sent a loose piece of Sheetrock falling to the ground.
AP Stylebook: Sheetrock A trademark for a brand of gypsum wallboard.

3. The free hot line provides immediate response to voters.
AP Stylebook: hot line A direct telephone line between government leaders, especially the circuit linking the United States and Russia, for use in crisis situations. Lowercase. Webster's New World Dictionary: telephone line to a social service agency, as a suicide prevention center. two words

4. "At some point, our kids got left on the back burner."

5. He started sexually abusing her when she was 7 years old.
AP Stylebook: ages Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates).

6. That's what he's doing, even if it seems far-fetched.

7. Their German shepherd cross had a gaping gash on her back.

8. The West Fargo show highlights student artwork.

9. NDSU is hosting the 13th annual Sonia Kovalesky High School Day on Sept. 26.

10. Some older boys kept calling the fourth-grader "bucktooth."
AP Stylebook: grade, grader Hyphenate both the noun forms (first-grader, second-grader, 10th-grader, etc.) and the adjectival forms (a fourth-grade pupil, a 12th-grade pupil).

Thursday, October 23, 2008

And you thought I'd disappeared!

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, but I'm back! See if you you can find the flubs in these sentences that were found by copy editors before they appeared in The Forum.

1. He is accused of molesting four girls who were between the ages of 6 to 8 at the time.

2. But five-year-old Ellen is excited that she gets to be like her big brother.

3. The flood study will review various alternatives, including levies.

4. It's holdings include lumber yards in Fargo, Mayville, Pelican Rapids and Perham.

5. He wants to see action on alternative energy in the next Administration.

6. Guan is a medium-sized city of about six million near Beijing.

7. She supports Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

8. Charlie embodies the spirit of productive aging as a contributing member to today's workforce.

9. The school district will pay $44,700 a year to lease space for their high school teams.

10. Russia and some other countries in eastern Europe grow many of the same crops as North Dakota farmers.

1. He is accused of molesting four girls who were between the ages of 6 and 8 at the time.

2. But 5-year-old Ellen is excited that she gets to be like her big brother.
AP Stylebook says: ages Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates): The girl is 15 years old; the law is eight years old. When the context does not require years or years old, the figure is presumed to be years. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.

3. The flood study will review various alternatives, including levees.

4. Its holdings include lumber yards in Fargo, Mayville, Pelican Rapids and Perham.

5. He wants to see action on alternative energy in the next administration.

6. Guan is a medium-sized city of about 6 million near Beijing.
AP Stylebook says: millions, billions Use figures with million or billion in all except casual uses: I'd like to make a billion dollars. But: The nation has 1 million citizens. I need $7 billion.

7. She supports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

8. Charlie embodies the spirit of productive aging as a contributing member to today's work force.

9. The School District will pay $44,700 a year to lease space for its high school teams.

10. Russia and some other countries in Eastern Europe grow many of the same crops as North Dakota farmers.