Jim Baumann
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Grammar Moses: Writing reflexively on 'I' versus 'me' confusionNov 06, 2016 6:00 am - My work is not done, folks. It's clear that not all of the billion or so English speakers in the world have caught on to this column — or had not done so by the time I f...
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Grammar Moses: Why 'they' is not a singular pronounOct 30, 2016 7:11 am - Brian Cleary of Wheaton wrote last month to gab about the issue of personal pronouns. And, really, what better subject matter for chewing the fat with your friends these...
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Grammar Moses: A lecture about lecternsOct 23, 2016 7:00 am - My fellow Americans, I stand before you today to tell you that one stands on a podium and behind a lectern to deliver a speech. On this, I am a traditionalist. You might...
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Grammar Moses: I'm not lying — finally a primer on 'lay' and 'lie'Oct 16, 2016 7:00 am - Tom Muellman of West Chicago asked that I tackle a subject I've been reluctant to, given its complexity. But because my sister, Jenny, asked me to do the same, and she'l...
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Grammar Moses: Insidious oxymorons and other casualties of writingOct 09, 2016 7:30 am - I was listening to a business report the other day when someone used the term "negative growth." I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy. I love a happy or inspiring story mor...
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Grammar Moses: My je ne sais quoi is wearing thinOct 02, 2016 7:00 am - One of these days there will be a massive pileup on Algonquin Road, and you'll have this column to blame. Allow me to explain. For months now — it seems like years — I'v...
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Grammar Moses: Statistics gone wildSep 25, 2016 7:30 am - It was Mark Twain who popularized the phrase: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." "Popularized," I write, because he didn't coin it. But m...
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Alzheimer's walk in Busse Woods laden with emotion for family, caregiversSep 24, 2016 1:00 am - Bob Obregon of Palatine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the tender age of 56. For 10 years his wife, Theresa, cared for him. Every day. His family has particip...
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Grammar Moses: There is a lot of 'on' on readers' mindsSep 11, 2016 7:00 am - Jim Connelly of Algonquin recently sounded off on a combination of words he finds troublesome. "Your recent column on the subject of too many words brought to mind the a...
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Grammar Moses: Tackling portmanteaus, eliminating extraneous wordsSep 04, 2016 7:30 am - Portmanteau words are those that are created from blending other words - both in sound and meaning. "Smog," for instance, is a mashup of smoke and fog. While I assume mo...