In a book!?

From "The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction."

In "Identity Club" by Richard Burgin

"... a junior executive at his agency who hadslowly introduced him to the club."

This is just a typo. The editors must have overlooked the missing space between the two words. Still, I was surprised to see it in a book, because mistakes there are rare. Usually, copy-editing is extensive before putting something in print so permanently.

Sexual Tense-ion

Timesdelphic.com - April 20, 2009

The D-Spot: 100 years of sex and then some

http://media.www.timesdelphic.com/media/storage/paper1086/news/2009/04/20/RelaysFeatures/The-DSpot.100.Years.Of.Sex.And.Then.Some-3717672.shtml

1933 - Dr. Robert Dickinson came out with "Human Sex Anatomy," the first modern book by a sexologist to contain illustrations of sex positions.

1938 - The New York Board of Censors bans all movies mentioning pregnancy, venereal disease, birth control, abortion, illegitimacy, prostitution, miscegenation (interracial relationships) and divorce.

This article is in a timeline format. Every blurb is written in the present tense, except for this one about 1933. The verb should be "comes out" instead of "came out" in order to have a consistent tense throughout the whole article. Plus, "came out" is not a very interesting or descriptive verb. "Writes" would be much better. The 1938 blurb is shown here to illustrate the tense of the rest of the article.

Poor Writing

DesMoinesRegister.com - April 26, 2009

He was never supposed to walk or talk

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090426/NEWS14/904260332

"We had an older son, so we knew how that was supposed to go, so there was obviously something wrong," Gary said.

So began the process of determining the problem - countless visits to neurologists and doctors across the state.

The writer should not have begun the this sentence with the word "so." The source uses the word "so" twice in his quote directly above. You can't change a quote to make it sound better, but the writer just added to the problem by repeating the same word. Plus, "so began the process" doesn't have a subject doing the beginning. The reader can't be sure who is doing the action. Instead, it should read, "Tyler's parents began the process..." That is, assuming that this is who the sentence is referring to.

Switcharoo

Timesdelphic.com - April 20, 2009

Organic food grows in popularity

http://media.www.timesdelphic.com/media/storage/paper1086/news/2009/04/20/RelaysFeatures/Organic.Food.Grows.In.Popularity-3717667.shtml

The USDA seems to back up Stych's claim. Although the department certifies organic foods, it has found no evidence to suggest that organic food is safer to eat or that it contains more nutrition than conventional food. In short, an organic apple is just as nutritious as a conventional apple.

This is not a grammar or usage mistake, but it just doesn't make enough sense as it could. The writer is saying that organic food has not be found to be healthier than regular food. So, the last sentence should read: "A conventional apple is just as nutritious as an organic apple." Otherwise, it sounds like the nutrition of the organic apple has been doubted, instead of the other way around.

Repeat

Des MoinesRegister.com - April 27, 2009

Outside Des Moines: Marriage license applications & protest petitions

In rural counties, however, few if any licenses were issued.

In many rural counties few, if any, licenses were issued. 

This is just a simple issue of poor proofreading, not catching a repeat sentence. What's even worse is that these two sentences were right next to each other. The first ended a paragraph, and the next was a paragraph on its own. Plus, the two sentences are punctuated differently. The second sentence is the correct one. 

Tricky "Or"

The Des Moines Register - April 14, 2009

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090414/BUSINESS/904140397/1001/NEWS

 

Confidence in retirement accounts falls

"But only 41 percent of workers report they or their spouse have that type of plan."

This is a tiny error, one that must people would not even notice. This is the way people talk, but it is still incorrect. The verb "have" should be "has," because when "or" is used, the verb has to agree with the noun closest to the verb. That noun is "spouse." Their spouse has that type of plan, not their spouse have that type of plan.

Not wrong- just confusing

The Times-Delphic - April 9, 2009

http://media.www.timesdelphic.com/media/storage/paper1086/news/2009/04/09/News/Author.Mutel.Argues.For.Protection.Of.Iowa.Nature-3703070.shtml

 "told audience members at her lecture on Tuesday about the vast importance of Iowan nature and why it should be saved."

"Iowan" is an adjective that describes things relating or concerning Iowa. So the phrase "Iowan nature" is technically correct. But because the word "Iowan" is more commonly used to describe the residents of Iowa, this phrase sounds like it means the nature of Iowans, or the nature of Iowa's residents. This is an example of one of those times when the writer or editor needs to look past correctness and think about what other meanings people could read into the words.

That's a lot of food!

I found this sign in an elevator this weekend. It's an ad for Johnny's Italian Steakhouse. I had just eaten there, so I knew the sign was false.

No matter how diverse a restaurant's menu is, it can never be unlimited. Do they offer every food served on the planet? Do they have enough food to serve an infinite number of people? Definitely not. This is not a grammar error, but it is definitely a mistake in the usage of words. They probably meant large, diverse, or even special order. But they failed to understand that unlimited means "without limits."

Us do better - Objective vs. Subjective

In the brochure of sessions for the Upper Midwest Honors Conference

"Us student-centered groups work hard to...."

Since the "us" is referring to the subject of the sentence, "student-centered groups," it should instead be "we," the subjective pronoun. "Us" should only be used as an object. Come on Honors students, do better!

They Did What? - Misplaced Modifier

In a lecture by Steven Dacey on the "Secular Conscience" at the Upper Midwest Honors Conference  

"... the genocide in Darfur, in which white evangelicals have taken a leading role."

I don't remember the whole sentence, but the gist of it was that white evangelicals were fighting to stop the genocide in Darfur. The way he said it, however, made it sound like they were leading the genocide, not stopping it. One needs to be careful where one places modifying phrases, in order to avoid confusion.