Author: Kirk

“Blah Blah In Blah”

Common English Blunders, Prepositions

I saw a title in the format of “Blah Blah In Blah” while watching a television program last evening.

Problem:
The preposition “in” should not be capitalized.

Explanation:
Obviously, I don’t recall the “Blah” words.

What I do recall is that the preposition “in” was capitalized in the title.

This is incorrect.

The traditional rule has been that a preposition in a title should not be capitalized unless the preposition is the first or last word in the title.

Some people have refined this rule to say that it’s okay to capitalize prepositions that are five characters long or longer.

I believe that Microsoft Word and other software applications have contributed to the incorrect capitalization of prepositions in titles. Their titling rules usually capitalize each word in a title.

So I don’t recommend relying on these applications for help with proper capitalization of prepositions in titles.

Solution:
“Blah Blah in Blah”

“I’m actually going to lie them down.”

Common English Blunders, Hypercorrection, Verbs

I heard this yesterday on HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” television program.

Problem:
The verb “lie” is incorrect for this sentence.

Explanation:
The verb “lie” — when it means to be in a horizontal position — is an intransitive verb.

So one cannot “lie them down”.

“Lay” is the correct verb for this sentence.

I believe that the use of “lie” in this sentence is an example of hypercorrection. The speaker of the sentence probably knew that “lay” is used too often as an incorrect substitute for “lie”, so she chose “lie” when “lay” actually was the correct verb.

Solution:
“I’m actually going to lay them down.”

Simile vs. Metaphor

Nouns, Prepositions, Versus

Many people confuse these two words.

Problem:
These two nouns are not synonyms.

Explanation:
A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”.

The origin of the word “simile” is a Latin noun that means likeness.

A metaphor is a comparison that does not use “like” or “as”.

The origin of the word “metaphor” is a Greek verb that means to transfer.

So another way to think of a metaphor is that it acts like a symbol for something else.

Solution:
A comparison is a simile when it involve “like” or “as”; a metaphor never involves either of these prepositions.