I’ve been on my company phones lately for the first time is roughly 10 years and am learning a few things. Gmail kept flagging the word “setup” and I realized I’d been using it incorrectly. I’m kind of a nut about getting words correct (their, there, they’re - further, farther, etc.).
For our purposes “set up” as in, “Thanks Sally, I’ll get the inspection set up,” is two words.
From Grammarist.com Set Up – What’s the Difference? Setup is one word when it is a noun (e.g., “it was a setup!”) or an adjective (e.g., “follow the setup instructions”).It is two words—set up—when it functions as a verb (e.g., “I’m going to set up the computer”).
I use Grammarly’s browser plug-in. My report software is browser-based, so having Grammarly checking my narratives is a big help, especially when I’m writing custom ones.
Both you and @ruecker have encouraged Grammarly, and it is good advice. I recently signed up and started running narratives through it. It is a great proofing editor, so I second the endorsement.
Most of my issues are typos and punctuation. But occasionally, it will catch some crazy word salad I have managed to string together while thinking it was a good sentence.
Lol. Yeah, it really does work. When I write a few paragraphs for whatever reason, and then run it through Grammarly, it is night and day the “fixed” version compared to my original. It reads easier, and is typically shorter. The most amazing thing I have noticed is how many extra, unneeded words we unknowingly add when writing.
When I moved to the US my wife wanted me to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I asked her what language it is written in. Yeesh. I had no idea what was going on in that book.
You should try Joel Harris Chadler staring Uncle Remus.
Here is an excerpt.
"He come mighty nigh it, honey, sho’s you born–Brer Fox did. One day atter Brer Rabbit fool 'im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk en got ‘im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w’at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot ‘er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be. En he didn’t hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin’ down de road–lippity-clippity, clippity -lippity–dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit come prancin’ 'long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz 'stonished. De Tar Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.
I am curious if my generation is the last of the old Southerners who can decipher this.
For a narrative or technical “statement,” yes, that is common for me as well. But the next time you write a longer email or personal message to someone, run it through. You will likely find you add extra words too.
Good grief!! I am not qualified to decipher that. lol.
A good friend of mine here in FL is a bonafide southerner in his 70’s. He has me in stitches most of the time. I keep telling him I want to compile a book of all his sayings and expressions. It’s an art form! Love it.
It is a good tale and worth the interpretation if you can find it. The cartoon has been removed from the USA due to some racial sensitivity issues. But it does have some great life lessons.
I catch myself with singular/plural verbs: One of the windows is… (not are).
Another for me is the verb splitting the prepositional phrase, or whatever the end phrase is called: “If the light switch still is not working” should be “If the light switch is still not working”.
I asked her what language it is written in. Yeesh. I had no idea what was going on in that book.