Hi everyone:

Here we go, off into another semester. I hope you had a good break and are ready to jump in with both feet. Start strong at the beginning and you have a better chance of completing your course successfully.

Sometimes students get off o the wrong foot through the use of improper grammar. The Comma Cop, the Grammar Guru, is always on patrol and this break was no exception.

I was watching my beloved HGTV during the break and saw an episode of Property Brothers, Forever Home when one of the teenagers gave a gift to the brothers at the end of the episode. She shyly looked at Jonathan and said, “Me and her made it for you.”

Nails on a chalkboard. Here’s the deal, folks. Always think of others first and put them first (and yourself last) in a sentence. This little Miss also used a possessive pronoun (her) where she meant to use a regular, run-of-the-mill pronoun. What she should have said is, “She and I made it for you.”

Here’s the test: Separate the one sentence into two sentences and give it a try. “Me and her made it for you” would, therefore, read, “Me made it for you. Her made it for you.” Nope. Wrong. Buzzer sounds.

Here’s the right way to write the three sentences: “She made it for you. I made it for you. She and I made it for you.” Home run. Out of the ballpark.

Here’s a Just-For-Fun test: What do you call the cardboard sleeve that goes around a take-out coffee to keep you from burning your hands due to the heat of the cup? The sleeve is called a “Zack.”

What do you call something that is slightly off kilter? Cattywampus. My treadmill, for example, was put back together wrong and was cattywampus when I ran on it, causing me to become injured. (This is a true example.)

What do you call it when something stimulates you (such as a great professor whose lectures interest you greatly)? Titillation. Isn’t that a great word?

I hope you enjoyed this blog posting. Welcome back to school!

Best,

Dr. Sheri