# Writers, Editors, Nit-Pickers, Lend Me Your Beefs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 27, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115 "2006-03-27T17:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/1 "2006-03-27T17:39:11Z")
I need to write an editing test ASAP (interviewing a guy Weds. afternoon). I’m thinking of a couple of paragraphs, sprinkled, of course, with deliberate mistakes (and perhaps a couple of things that aren’t really mistakes, but look like they are – I haven’t entirely decided how evil to get with this). So far, I’ve come up with: [ul] [li]Accommodate, embarrass – these are my two main words whose spelling I’m never confident about – are there other good ones?[/li][li]A singular/plural noun/verb agreement error[/li][li]Its vs. it’s[/li][li]A verb tense error[/li][li]Screwy punctuation (semicolons or something; comma outside quotes?)[/li][li]Sentence-ending preposition (see above 😉 )[/li][li]Sentence fragment[/li][/ul] What else do I need? Should I throw in “hopefully”? I personally don’t have a huge problem with it in informal writing, since there really is no one-word substititution for it. All suggestions welcome – Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/2 "2006-03-27T17:54:30Z")
Yes, but you shouldn’t penalize someone for not correcting a sentence with a preposition at the end. Leaving it in may be a sign they know what they’re talking about. Hopefully, they won’t lose the job because they use a disputed usage. Also, sentence fragments can be very effective writing. Or not. It depends on the usage, so make sure it’s one that doesn’t work otherwise. If I was you, I’d consider giving examples where the subjunctive mood is preferred. 1 on the errors should consider the proper use of numerals vs. spelled-out numbers. Something about the use of “that” and “which” that is often confusing – but again you need to show an example which isn’t ambiguous. Also, make sure the know the proper affect of using “affect” and “effect” incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/3 "2006-03-27T17:59:44Z")
You da man. _This_ is why I love the Dope. Thanks – keep 'em coming! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/4 "2006-03-27T18:00:55Z")
**RealityChuck** – are you going to come to Gettysdope, BTW? I’d love to meet you sometime – we seem to spend a lot of time in the same threads. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/5 "2006-03-27T18:22:28Z")
I would NOT include comma outside quotes - there is enough disagreement there (Amercian vs. British for one thing) to make it reasonable that someone would leave it alone. The you’re/your couple and the there/their/they’re triple are always good. And I agree about the subjunctive - have a sentence saying “If he would have done it correctly, we would have won the game.” or something like that. Sets MY teeth on edge every time. You might want to try something rather blatant, like “If he could of…” Oh, and for heaven’s sake, get the lie/lay thing in there. I cringe every time I hear someone (often otherwise quite civilized) tell his or her dog to “Lay down.” Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/6 "2006-03-27T18:22:44Z")
They’re, their and there. Your and you’re, Make him re-write an unnecessarily verbose paragraph into simple English. That’s all I can think of. Robin ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/7 "2006-03-27T18:25:53Z")
Some stylistic things that, if flagged, might give you an indication of the personality, even though they’re not necessarily right or wrong: Capitalising headlines (per the OP) or not. Plural abbreviations. Use of capitalisation in acronyms. Collective nouns and verb agreement (“The NYPD say…”). ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/8 "2006-03-27T18:29:20Z")
Compliment/complement I made that mistake when I was a very young person in my first professional job, I still cringe when I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/9 "2006-03-27T18:38:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > 1 on the errors should consider the proper use of numerals vs. spelled-out numbers. Maybe a good question, but the answer varies by style guide. In scientific editing there’s a trend toward using numerals from 1 on up. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/10 "2006-03-27T18:53:16Z")
every day/everyday who’s/whose then/than would of/could of/should of less/fewer loose/lose breathe/breath appraise/apprise stationary/stationery advice/advise conscious/conscience to/too Sprinkle apostrophes liberally throughout. judgment NOT judgement Web site NOT Web sight or cite Unique doesn’t take a modifier Free doesn’t either Oriented NOT orientated (even if it’s fun to say) Intents and purposes NOT intensive purposes A lot NOT alot A good grammar rant: [http://www.darsys.com/tomato.html](http://www.darsys.com/tomato.html) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/11 "2006-03-27T19:00:55Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > judgment NOT judgement [Both are acceptable alternatives](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=judgment). ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/12 "2006-03-27T19:23:02Z")
The one that always makes me shake my clenched fist is “comprise.” Most people seem to use it incorrectly (of course that means that in 5 years or so, the definition will have shifted, but IT HASN’T YET!). So this could be a way of using it correctly and seeing if the interviewee marks it as a mistake. Correct: “The project comprises several elements.” Incorrect: “The project is comprised of several elements.” Or offer a choice between “comprised of” / “composed of” and see which the person chooses. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/13 "2006-03-27T20:09:37Z")
Irregardless\* of whatever else you include, you should _definitely_ feature the word marked with an asterisk, along with the “definately” misspelling of the **italicized** adverb. Of course, **jjimm** would correctly spell the bolded adjective “italicised” in his country, but such orthography would generally be marked as an error in the USA. Also, I’d recommend that you include an exercise which requires the applicant to demonstrate knowledge of the word _lead_ as either the chemical element that rhymes with “bed” or (when pronounced to rhyme with “feed”) the present tense of the verb whose past-tense form is _led_. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/14 "2006-03-27T20:17:13Z")
Throw in “nonplussed” to see if they are nonplussed by it. It certainly seems that people use this opposite its meaning. And “noisome” has nothing to do with sound. > [@E. Thorp](#): > > Maybe a good question, but the answer varies by style guide. In scientific editing there’s a trend toward using numerals from 1 on up. Even when the number is the first word in the sentence? ::shudder > [@RealityChuck](#): > > If I was you, I’d consider giving examples where the subjunctive mood is preferred. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/15 "2006-03-27T20:18:25Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Also, I’d recommend that you include an exercise which requires the applicant to demonstrate knowledge of the word _lead_ as either the chemical element that rhymes with “bed” or (when pronounced to rhyme with “feed”) the present tense of the verb whose past-tense form is _led_. Oh, and lie/lay/lain lay/laid/laid ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/16 "2006-03-27T21:03:00Z")
Restating as a general rule what a lot of other posters have mentioned: homonym errors. Your vs. you’re; weather vs. whether; and anything else that could get by a spell-check program but will be jarring to the reader who notices it. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/17 "2006-03-27T21:22:12Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Even when the number is the first word in the sentence? ::shudder Well, no. Standard advice, though, is to rewrite the sentence so the number isn’t the first word: \*Eighty-six percent of survey respondents were female and 14 percent were male. Among survey respondents, 86% were female and 14% were male. \* Also there are a few extra exceptions for ‘one’ (use as a personal pronoun is OK, obviously). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/18 "2006-03-27T22:06:14Z")
Possessive of the name “Jones.” And I’m going to do the quotation marks thing – since we’re in the U.S. and this is for a U.S. publication, it’s not exactly a trick question. Ditto for various British vs. American spellings. It’s tempting, since this is for a garden magazine, to spell “fuchsia” correctly and see who bites… **angelic smiley** ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/19 "2006-03-27T22:11:53Z")
I just remembered another word I heard misused by a sports commentator yesterday. She mentioned that a basketball coach “ascribes to” a certain philosophy of defense. I was moved to ask (as if she could hear me): “What does he ascribe to it?” Either you _subscribe_ to (agree with) a theory, or you _ascribe_ something (e.g. your team’s recent improvement) to (your adoption of) said theory. Use of “e.g.” in the preceding sentence reminded me of the difference between that abbreviation and _i.e._ The former stands for _exempli gratia_, which means “for example”. The latter is short for _id est_, Latin for “that is to say”. Compare: Female posters to this forum, _e.g._ **twickster** (there are many others, she’s just one example) The poster who started this thread, _i.e._ **twickster** (only one person fits the description) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115/20 "2006-03-27T22:24:09Z")
**Sternvogel** , I would have completed punctuation, post-parenthesis, on your last two sentences. But I am a perfidious Brit so perhaps this is a cultural difference. I realise also that quotation-mark punctuation is different here and there. Another thing over here is that, IIRC, in journalese, numbers are spelled out a) at the beginning of a sentence, and b) for anything up to and including ten. Might be different over the water. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-editors-nit-pickers-lend-me-your-beefs/350115.md?page=2)