November 2011 - Judy Gregory Writer

Troublesome agreement with collective nouns

Last week, my 6-year-old son brought home a short reader from the Flying Start to Literacy series It was an excellent book about Driver Ants, which left us both very thankful that we don't have Driver Ants in Australia It even included a Glossary But the definition of 'habitat' got me all tied up about the difficulties of creating agreement when using collective nounsThe book says: 'Habitat: the place in which a group of animals live and find food' I'd much prefer to write 'a group of animals...

More on saying what you mean (and salt and fluid for heart disease)

I've learned something today that adds complexity to my recent post about the advice for a type of heart disease: that the treatment is 'fluid and salt reduction' It turns out that, in some types of heart disease, fluid reduction is exactly what's needed because the disease is all about an excess of fluid So maybe the advice I heard really did mean fluid reduction and salt reduction!For a non-medical person like me (or for anyone who isn't an expert in the field being discussed), it's being...

Saying what you mean

Sometimes, it's remarkably difficult to say what you mean And the consequences can be very realThis morning I heard some advice for a particular type of heart disease: the recommended treatment is 'fluid and salt reduction'Logic tells me that the suggestion is to increase fluid and decrease salt, but is that actually what the recommendation says It could just as easily be interpreted as the reduction of fluid and the reduction of saltI'm beginning to notice that writers (and speakers) get into...

I’ve found an electronic dictionary

For some time, I've wanted an electronic dictionary - preferably something that would sit on my netbook I'm often asked word definition or word use questions that I'd like to be able to checkWhile I don't yet have a good dictionary on my netbook, I have found something that's almost as good I've bought an Electronic Dictionary Bookmark - an ultra-thin, flexible, plastic bookmark that holds the Collins Dictionary I love it! Now the trick is to remember to carry it with me at all timesI found it...