Jim Baumann
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Grammar Moses: You talk funny. No YOU talk funny.Feb 18, 2023 12:00 am - It's not every day I get an avalanche of mail from readers of this column. But then it's not every day I get my dander up and essentially call something stupid. Last Sun...
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Grammar Moses: Is there an Illinois dialect, and is it worth protecting?Feb 11, 2023 12:00 am - Do you speak Illinoisan? More to the point, do you speak Chicagoan? Heck, I could just as easily ask whether you speak North Sidese or South Sidese. Perhaps it's the 59 ...
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Grammar Moses: Why 'monosemy' can mean only one thingFeb 04, 2023 12:00 am - One of the great things about English is its malleability. A sentence can take on a different meaning when you apply emphasis in different places. The same word can hol...
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Grammar Moses: Did your mama raise you right?Jan 28, 2023 12:00 am - Several questions arose while my wife and I were driving to a place that would surely serve us Italian bread: Does bread raise or does it rise? Does the baker raise the ...
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Grammar Moses: 'Redundancy' argument worth repeatingJan 21, 2023 12:00 am - In last week's column I fielded a letter from a reader who feels headlines are often unfair to trains or, presumably, the engineers who operate them. That's understandab...
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Grammar Moses: Repeat after me ... Don't be redundantJan 16, 2023 12:00 am - As I've written before, repetition can be used quite effectively in writing, especially if you're crafting a song. You want the refrain to really tie the tune together. ...
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Grammar Moses: 1 in 2 of you reading this has better things to doJan 07, 2023 12:00 am - Lucy DelMonico sent me a printed ad that reads: "1 in 2 US adults have diabetes or prediabetes." "Is this correct or should it be '1 in 2 adults has diabetes'?" she aske...
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Grammar Moses: Resolving to write better with no negative effectsDec 31, 2022 12:00 am - By Jim Baumann jbaumann@dailyherald.com Today is a time for reflection and rejuvenation and of shame and penance for whatever high-jinks you got up to last night. I won'...
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Grammar Moses: Have a dope ChristmasDec 24, 2022 12:00 am - Merry Christmas, if that's your gig. My gift to you today is some help in facilitating conversation with the young people in your life. If you're like most of us and cel...
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Grammar Moses: Making a spectacle of 'irrespective'Dec 17, 2022 12:00 am - Tom Peterson read our story about a former Buffalo Grove middle school teacher charged with sexual assault who removed his ankle bracelet and is in the wind. At the end ...