A Spoonful of Grammar is thrilled to be back! Since we've been APART for nearly two months, it feels appropriate to review the many meanings of APART in this short, sweet return spoonful. Definition #1: away from or separated by a distance Erin feared living too far apart from her family. Definition #2: at a distance or off to the side Aaron stood 6-feet apart from the kids who were clustered together. Definition #3: shattered An airplane was purposely blown apart in the movie My Spy. Definition #4: (with from) except Everyone complied with the rules, apart from Mr. Mills. Definition #5: (with from) indistinguishable The Thompson twins were extremely hard to tell apart. You may be wondering, "Are APART and A PART interchangeable?" The short answer is NO! A PART is comprised of two words and most commonly refers to part of a whole. Here's a good rule of thumb: if you can use the word PART, you can usually substitute A PART. My parting wish is that you and your families remain happy and safe during this challenging time. Sincerely, Laura Fineberg Cooper
4 Comments
OXYMORONS consist of two contrasting words that when put together, create meaning beyond the literal definitions of each word. In fact, the word itself is an oxymoron, with oxy meaning sharp and moron meaning foolish! Let's examine five of these opposing pairs, and I'll happily provide my interpretation. CLEARLY CONFUSED: clear = understandable; confused = perplexed This implies obviously confused. DEAFENING SILENCE: deafening = booming; silence = quiet, calm ---This implies uncomfortable silence and recalls the saying, "Silence speaks louder than words." SMALL CROWD: small = little, few; crowd = a whole bunch of people This implies a smaller than expected crowd or a small gathering of people. OPEN SECRET: open = not shut, direct; secret = confidential This implies a secret everyone seems to know, which sadly, is not a secret anymore. RANDOM ORDER: random = arbitrary; order = systematic This implies a random sort, like a lottery. While being picked can lead to riches, THE HUNGER GAMES books and movies illustrate the dystopian dark side of being picked. Think of the myriad of plot possibilities for your creative story! Try to drum up more oxymorons your own. Or if you like, you can find a larger list of oxymorons on Your Dictionary.com. I hope you enjoyed this intriguing Spoonful of Grammar. I wish you all a safe and enjoyable week ahead. Sincerely, Laura Fineberg Cooper This rhetorical device deserves an award for using every vowel except one. Even though it's so challenging to spell, its meaning is fairly easy to remember: turning sounds into words. Now it's time for a few examples!
I'm sure you get the idea by now. Can you think of more onomatopoeia words yourself? This is a particularly fun exercise for young children. And a helpful little exercise for adult writers too! I wish you all a great, healthy week ahead. I'll be back next Sunday with another Spoonful of Grammar. Sincerely, Laura Fineberg Cooper A well-chosen VERB can convey a wealth of description, making them the perfect addition to your descriptive writing toolbox. Are you battling with word count, as with picture books or college essays? Or is your writing style without extra fluff? If so, join me in celebrating the descriptive power of VERBS. Consider this simple sentence: Maria walked to the store. What do we know about that walk? Maria arrived. Period. Now let's substitute four jazzier VERBS. How has our belief about Maria's trip to the store changed? Maria skipped to the store. Maria is happy, youthful, and carefree. This trip to the store is a treat for her. Maria trudged to the store. Going to the store is a chore for Maria. Shoulders slumped, it's a struggle for Maria to place one foot in front of the other. Maria marched to the store. Maria is a woman on a mission, walking with great purpose and precision. She did not stop and smell the roses on the way. Maria limped to the store. Oh no, poor Maria. This trip can't be easy at all. She must really need something at that store: crutches, medicine, or cat food perhaps. A thesaurus has forever been my faithful writing partner. Just make sure you understand the nuances between each given synonym. If in doubt, check your dictionary. Fortunately, we now have online sources to augment the physical standards: Dictionary.com/Thesaurus.com is my current go-to source. So go ahead and find some powerful VERBS to spice up your writing! I hope you enjoyed this spoonful. Happy writing! I'll return with a new post next Sunday. Be well, Laura Fineberg Cooper A Spoonful of Grammar With HYPERBOLES, don't believe everything you hear or read. This descriptive writing technique means using outrageous exaggeration to drive home a point or entertain readers. The more absurd HYPERBOLES are, the more likely they are to draw a laugh - or at the very least, an eye roll or grin. Stay tuned for four examples plus a quote from the ultimate example of HYBERBOLE. (P.S. This image is a very big, or should I say very tall, hint!!) This book has ten million pages! Do I have to finish it by tomorrow? I'll be completely gray by the time you finish eating. (That sentence isn't quite the exaggeration it would have been prior to the COVID-19 quarantine.) That spider was bigger than a cat! It had longer fangs, too! The music was so loud, it blasted eardrums all the way from Connecticut to the Canadian border. For the ultimate example of HYPERBOLE in writing, look no further than the enduring Tall Tales about Paul Bunyan and his blue ox named Babe. This quote hails from a 9/23/16 NY Times article (In an Era of Hyperbole, Paul Bunyan is as Tall as Ever) by Dan Barry: "Bunyan existed in a world so cold that spoken words froze in the air. He was at least six ax handles tall, and spoke with such force that limbs fell from trees when he called his men to dinner. He once sneezed so hard from a pinch of snuff that he cleared all the timber for 11 miles. And he was so thorough a logger that he turned the Dakotas into prairies." I hope this post encouraged you to give HYBERBOLE a chance in your own writing! I'll be back next Sunday with a brand new Spoonful of Grammar. Sincerely and best wishes for your continued health and safety, Laura Fineberg Cooper |
Welcome to
|