Sun, 27 Sep 2026 06:41:05 EDT
Consider This Sentence
The following sentence occurs in BBC News on Apple News. “German prosecutors are investigating a man aged 105 over allegations that he was an accessory to multiple counts of murder at a Nazi prisoner of war camp in World War Two.”
It is more accurate to say that prosecutors investigate the allegations than it is to say that they investigate the man. The accessory is not an accessory to counts of charges of murder but rather to the murders.
You know how I feel about present participles. Investigating must go.
A man aged 105 is clumsy compared to a 105-year-old man, so I will use the latter.
World War Two sounds like the name of a video game. The Second World War is descriptive.
A few more details can be gleaned from other news sources.
My rewrite: “Prosecutors in Dortmund have launched an investigation into allegations that a 105-year-old German man was an accessory to the murder of Soviet prisoners of war when he was a prison camp guard in the Second World War.”
Sat, 26 Sep 2026 18:23:27 EDT
Pirate Versus Privateer
- Pirate
- The noun pirate originally named a raider of sailing ships. Pirates
stole the cargo of commercial trading vessels. Today, the term is more likely
to be applied to thieves of intellectual property or to the instigators of
corporate takeovers.
- Privateer
- The noun privateer names a pirate licensed by a government to raid the commercial ships of its enemies. Privateer ships retain a portion of the cargo as payment for their services.
Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:36:11 EDT
Bier Versus Beer
- Bier
- The noun bier originally named a wooden frame for carrying a load. Bier and the verb to bear ultimately derive from a Proto-Indo-European root *bher-, which means to carry. The modern sense of a framework to carry a corpse or a coffin supersedes the original sense in the middle ages.
- Beer
- The noun beer names a fermented drink made from malted grain, usually barley, hops, and water. The preferred English name for the beverage was ale until the 16th century. Ale now names a particular style of beer. The origin of beer is a matter of speculation. Beer may derive from the Latin verb bibere, which means to drink.
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:54:17 EDT
Consider This Sentence
The following sentence occurs in The Globe and Mail on Apple News. “The federal government plans to kick off Monday’s return of parliamentary sittings with the introduction of major legislation aimed at accelerating project approvals and updating Canada’s labour laws.”
“…plans to kick off Monday’s return of parliamentary sittings,” is unnecessarily verbose. The participle hurts my eyes.
“…major legislation aimed at accelerating…and updating,” is verbose. The qualification major is unnecessary. If it’s federal legislation, it’s major legislation. The two participles hurt my soul.
My rewite: “When parliament sits on Monday, the federal government will introduce legislation to accelerate project approvals and to update Canada’s labour law.”