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One reference book I'm using is this gem by Paul Brians.

Answers to flyer questions

The correct answers in italics.


1. What’s the correct answer to the question “Who’s calling?”
a) It’s I. b) It’s me.
2. Which is correct? A) He is taller than I. b) He is taller
than me.
3. She is a better skater than (a. he b. him).
4. a. We b. Us Christians believe in eternal life.
5. Please give this car to a) whoever b) whomever needs it.
6. But although he a) was b) were dead, yet shall he live.
7. How should you answer if greeted “Hi, how are you?” a) I’m fine.
b) I’m good (In both cases assuming that you woke up feeling
like a million dollars.)
8. Tell your brother that he (a. need b. needs) not come tomorrow.
9 Which is correct? b) Who said, “Et tu, Brute?”? b) Who said,
“Et tu, Brute?”
10. What’s wrong with this sentence? “Look at that”! he exclaimed. “Did
you see that”? In this particular sentence, the exclamation point and the
question mark shoould come inside the quotation marks.
11. How about this one? “Darling”, the wife purred, “buy me a Jaguar”. (Commas
and periods come inside quotation marks.)
12. Colons and semi-colons come a) inside b) outside quotation marks.
13. (a) With regard b) With regards) to your proposal,
please know that it has been tabled for today’s meeting.
14. The swindler got his a) just deserts b) just desserts.
15. Which is correct? a) One cannot eat his pie and have it too.
b) One cannot have his pie and eat it too.
16 Which is correct? a) To boldly go where no man has gone before…
b) To go boldly where no man has gone before…
17 Ice tea or iced tea? Stain glass or stained glass?
Teenage daughter or teenaged daughter?
18 After completing your work, do you say “I’m finished.”? Or “I’m
done.”?
19. Which is correct? a) The country is comprised of 7,000 islands.
b) The country comprises 7,000 islands.
20. Which is correct? a) I had never done business with him before.
b) I have never done business with him before.
21. Which is correct? Experts ( had, have) not thought the sound
barrier could be breached until Chuck Yeager did it.

AND, over five hundred tricky pronunciations like stabilize, tortoise, lambast, pivot, granite, martyr, vale (as in “vale of tears). Four hundred prepositions, five hundred plural forms, four dozen irregular verbs and their present, past, and past participle.

The Kids in the 3rd Xavier Estates Spelling Open Nov 11.06

"Vale" and "martyr"

It's amazing how bloopers can be made quite so easily even by people who by nature like to be accurate.

In the original post, I said "It's amazing but I recently realized that Filipinos have been praying the Hail Holy Queen for as long as I can remember but have been mispronouncing the "vale" in "To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this VALE of tears..."

All it needed was a quick check with "Hail Holy Queen" in the Internet to find out that sometimes the word is "vale," but often it's "valley." So as Pete Millan of Forzamillan.blogspot.com has pointed out, both are correct.

My mistake.


To continue with the rest of the original post:

Another word which I realized we have been mispronouncing al the while is "martyr."


martyr
2 entries found for martyr.
To select an entry, click on it.
martyr[1,noun]martyr[2,transitive verb]

Main Entry: 1mar·tyr
Pronunciation: 'mär-t&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek martyr-, martys witness
1 : a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion
2 : a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle
3 : VICTIM; especially : a great or constant sufferer - mar·tyr·i·za·tion /"mär-t&-r&-'zA-sh&n/ noun
- mar·tyr·ize /'mär-t&-"rIz/ transitive verb

Legerdemain

Go easy on those nice-looking, foreign-sounding words like "legerdemain." A columnist in the Philippine Star of November 4 used the word in a way that she probably wouldn't have had she been aware of the connotation of the word.

She used "legerdemain" to describe the "wizardry" of a pianist. It's true the word has to do with the skilful use of one's hands, but this is usually in a context implying deceit, as in a "shells" artist in a rural fiesta who manages to flick the tiny seed off any of the shells and "palm" it, making it impossible for the mark to make a correct guess.

The rule is: Try to be thoroughly familiar with a word before using it.

About ad449

It must have been in longships like this that the Germanic Jutes
landed in southeast England in A.D.449.

The local king had some problem with neighbors so he called in his allies, the Jutes, to help.

Well, the Jutes came, bringing not only fighting men but also their language which eventually became the English that we know.

The Norman conquest and other events in English history spiced the original language with French and Latin influences making it the rich and vibrant language that it is now.

Today, English-- next only to Chinese and Hindi-- is the most widely-spoken language in the world, thanks to the post-WWII American hegemony which brought the language to all corners of the world.

Note: Picture is owned by CoolPrint.

Charles the Hammer

1
Both their house and pickup truck (was were)
washed away by Hurricane Katrina.
2
His generosity and compassion (was were)
well known.
3
The logic and practicability of his proposal
(is are) clear.
4
Neither of the twins (was were) allowed to go.
5
Either the parents or I (are am) to blame.
6
Neither the skipper nor his crew (know knows).
7
Each of those who (is are) there should
register.
8
She is one of the most able officials
who (has have) ever held a government
position.
9
He is the only one among the faculty who
(speak speaks) Latin fluently
10
The best part of the meal (is are) coffee and
the small talk after the meal.
11
Coffee and the small talk after the meal
(is are) the best part of a meal.
12
It (is are) the wives who will decide.
13
In the center of the whole complex
(stand stands) the monument to the founder.
14
There (was were) cocktails, peanuts, and
canapes.
15
Happily, there (exist exists) supporters who
have sworn to help us.
16
The gang (has have) a request.
17
The gang (is are) checking in anytime now.
18
The family (is are) surnamed Co.
19
The family (is are) seated on the lawn.
20
This is one of the most popular concoctions
that (has have) ever come out of the
laboratory in years.

Bene Crucero's one for the road

1
The reason for all the disturbance and unrest
(is are) bad governance.
2
I, the party spokesman, (is am) the sole
interpreter of official party stand.
3
I, together with the whole team, (is am) going.
4
The youngest son, as well as all the members
of his family, (is are) determined to stay.
5
No one (bake bakes) cakes better than Mom.
6
One of you (has have) made the withdrawal.
7
None (is are) prettier than my little girl Teresa.
8
The agenda for today's meeting (is are)
posted on the board.
9
The media (was were) treated to a sumptuous
dinner by the President.
10
His mumps (is are) giving him discomfort.
11
Virgilio Garcillano's whereabouts (was, were) a
closely guarded secret.
12
Politics in this country (is are) often dirty.
13
For some newspaper publishers, the news
(is are) a source of great profit.
14
The mechanics of the contest (has have)
certain provisions that are not acceptable
to some parties.
15
In the debate on the population issue,
economics (is are) sometimes used to push
claims that have been soundly debunked.
16
Mathematics (is are) child's play to some
people.
17
Ten less five (is are) five.
18
Sixty minutes of brisk walking (is are) too much
for him.
19
Behind his success (stand stands) a loving
wife and wonderful kids.

Peanuts for Joel

1
In his last fight, Mike Tyson punched so
hard his blows would have (knock out,
knocked out) a horse.
2
The connoisseur (began, begun) to taste
the wine, the Cabernet Sauvignon first,
then the Chardonnay.
3
She could have (swam, swum) all the way to
Marseilles had not leg cramps stopped her.
4
Without considering his own safety, he
(dived, dove) into the cold Thames.
5
Please get from the maitre d'hotel the
(sitting, seating) arrangement.
6
Please tell our Iroquois guests to be
(sitted, seated).
7
In the Hotel Oberoi in Bali, even picture
frames have to be (hung, hanged) a certain way.
8
The posse caught up with bank robbers
and brought them back to town to be
(hung, hanged).
9
Please check if the boatswain had (drew,
drawn) the specs for the gunwale repair.
10
The gypsy mountebank (sprang, sprung) a
surprise on the carabinieri last night by
picking the lock of his pillory.
11
(Set, sit) the priceless Ming jar very gently on
the pedestal and set sit down
12
Even before the loquacious hostess had
(spoke, spoken) a word, the obsequious
party coordinator was already telling the
guests how nice the hostess is.
13
Please ask the concierge how many (sits,
seats) the party from Massachusetts will need.
14
The queue of people lining up for the U2
concert (snake, snaked) all the way to the quay.
15
Please take your (sit ,seat).
16
The protesters (hear, heard) their demands
broadcast over the radio.
17
And Jesus (weeped, wept).
18
Seeing the extent of his wounds, the gladiator
(lied down, lay down) on the blood-stained
pavement of the Collosseum to die.

Alex's special

Use the correct tense of the verb.
1
The shaman had his arm (bite) by a snake
believing this will transfer to him some of
the snake's power.
2
The farmer would have (harvest) the crop
yesterday had not the combine (break) down.
3
He is so parsimonious he cannot remember
the last time he has (give) money to the
people who have come knocking at his door.
4
He has become everyone's bete noire
that nobody wants to be (see) in his company.
5
White water river rafting has (become)
a de rigueur among Cagayan de Oro
visitors that one has not really been to CDO
if he has not (do) the river.
6
Even if Lazarus had (want) to, he could not
have (aid) the rich man because of a wide
chasm that separated them.
7
Modesty is all but (forget) in the orgy of eating
and drinking that accompanies each
bacchanalian feast.
8
Middle East moolah has (raise) the standard
living in this community of ramshackle huts.
9
The rampaging Huns (leave) in their wake
a swath of destruction.
10
The twins Romulus and Remus were (bear)
of woman but suckled by a she-wolf.
11
With daggers (draw), the two fighters lunged
at each other's throat.
12
The G.I.'s erected a cairn on Mt. Suribachi as
a memorial to all who have (fall) in Iwo Jima.
13
(Tear) away from his Auschwitz-bound
parents, the Jewish boy was taken in by a
kindly German couple.
14
Bucephalus had never been (ride), until the
strapping youth Alexander (broke) it.
15
While his brothers and sisters lead normal
lives, the poor gamete-- product of in vitro
fertilization-- has (know) only life in a
Petri dish.