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2 Most Common Luxury Hotel Grammar Errors

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In July I wrote an article about phrasal verbs in response to a card in my hotel room that referred to an option to “workout” (one word – improper) instead of “work out” (2 words – proper) in the comfort of your own room.

Since then I have discovered that the Hilton Garden Inn is not the only hotel to make this error.  While considering a possible stay at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore, I found this sentence:

“For those who choose to workout in the privacy of their spacious guestroom, we offer YogaAwayTM.”

The Hyatt’s advertising team made the exact same error as the Hilton’s.  Coincidence?

Hotel Helter Skelter

Here’s a strange thing:  Just for fun, I Googled “Hyatt workout” and discovered that the Hyatt is not consistent across its websites.  The Sarasota Hyatt Regency offers:

“If you choose to work out in the privacy of your own hotel room or suite at Hyatt Regency Sarasota, we offer YogaAway™.”

Sarasota got it right!

I wonder who is responsible for this mismatched spelling?  Why is Hyatt messaging not consistent between Baltimore and Sarasota?  I’ve always thought the draw of a hotel chain is the reassurance that you will get the same consistent service no matter where in the world you go.  The discrepancies on the Hyatt’s websites make me think perhaps their other amenities are not consistent either.

More then [sic] words… marriott hotel grammar errors

In the meantime, I have ventured on to yet another institution of hospitality:  a Marriott resort in Palm Desert, California.  Marriott evidently cares about energy conservation and therefore put out the following request:

“In an effort to conserve water and energy, would you please consider using your towel more then once.”

I don’t know about you, but my grammar checker even caught this one!  The correct statement would have been:

“In an effort to conserve water and energy, would you please consider using your towel more than once.”

There are some other grammatical issues with this sentence, but I’ll let them be for now.  Do you see the other issue here?  If you do, please share in the comments.

I recall seeing a similar message in another hotel … I’m not sure which one, but I believe the word “than” was properly used or I probably would have blogged about it.

Wouldn’t it be nice if hotels could all get their grammar as straight and smooth as their bed sheets?

Judging a book by its blunders?

And by the way, even though this Marriott is a resort-level establishment, a level “6” which is pretty high in the Marriott pecking order, the round piece on the top of my bathroom sink drain was detached when I got to the room, and there was a stray peanut hiding under my very expensive flat screen TV.  Maybe grammar blunders really are an indication of deeper quality and performance issues?

What do you think?  Have you found a hotel grammar blunder of late?  What would you suggest to these institutions that would keep them consistent and grammatically correct?  And how much do you judge a service provider based on the consistency and correctness of its message?

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, Grammar Tips, Grammar Tips | 5 Comments »

Thanksgiving, Variety and the 6 Human Needs

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Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie AND whipped cream. The essential elements to the perfect Thanksgiving meal. We all know that one of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner is the sheer variety of the spread.Thanksgiving Variety and 6 Human Needs

This Thanksgiving I found myself thankful for the variety that is present in my life—and for a richness that extends beyond the Thanksgiving table.

Variety is identified by Anthony Robbins as one of the Six Human Needs. I have been aware for a long time that variety is important to me—and have even found that I crave monotony from time to time to break up the variety! The need for participating in diverse activities has been at the source of my business model: I have created a job for myself where a mix of projects shows up daily.

For instance, in one single day this week, here were just a few tasks I tackled:

  1. Spent two hours on the phone with the GM (General Manager) of an international manufacturing company in China, perfecting his resume and learning about factories in China.
  2. Edited the homepage for The Wisdomkeeper Connection LLC (I pulled out my women’s spiritual training for this one!)
  3. Edited a research report on barriers to career advancement for women and people of color and how those barriers can be overcome through effective networking (yes I took women’s studies in college!).
  4. Provided material to the author of Social Networking Job Search for Dummies, Joshua Waldman, for use in a coupon book he will be distributing on his book tour.
  5. Stuffed 187 holiday letters to past clients (ah…  a repetitive task).
  6. Spoke with two new resume writers who will be joining The Essay Expert team.

Yes, I have a LOT of variety in my work. As far as I’m concerned, the more different types of projects I can work on the better.  While this inclination makes it hard to target a niche market, it seems to work for me.

Variety is a close sibling to richness, and I appreciate that my life is rich as well as varied. Spending time with family over the holidays was a wonderful way to learn about where I came from and to enjoy the next generation for who they are (and are becoming). I am thankful that I can take my work with me so that I never have to worry about missing business-related messages as I celebrate the holidays.Flowers and sun

With computer and cell phone in tow, I can go almost anywhere any time—and never run out of vacation days! This capability opens up many opportunities for a rich and fulfilling life, whether it’s attending workshops, spending time with family, or just exploring a new locale.

In January I will be traveling to New York for a week to support my mom who is having elective surgery. That trip will add to the variety and richness in my life, as well as meet four more of the 6 Human Needs: Significance, Connection/Love, Growth and Contribution.

Who could ask for anything more?

——–

I’d love to hear how you generate variety and richness in your life. What are you creating as the New Year approaches?  Please share below!

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein | 2 Comments »

How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers

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Your Resume:  Humans vs. Computers

When I give webinars on writing resumes, one of the topics I cover is how to make your resume visually appealing.  I often get this question:

Why would I want to spend so much time and money making my resume pretty if it’s just going to confuse the computers?

My answer is that yes, the computers are important, and that you ALSO need to have a resume that’s designed to be read by human beings.  We all know that you are most likely to find your job through networking or the “hidden job market.” When you send materials to someone in your network or to a decision-maker in the hidden job market, you want to include a professional-looking resume.  And when it’s time for an interview, it’s also advisable to have a nicely formatted resume to hand across the table.

For those of you who are hoping to get those interviews by applying online, the question still remains: How can I write a resume that makes it past the computers?  In other words:  How can I raise my odds above 2%?

Keep reading.

There are two issues with submitting online resumes.  One is the format of the resume; the second is the keywords it contains.

Formatting for Robots:

ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software is not the smartest software in the world.  It gets confused by bullets, non-traditional headings, graphs, tables, and text boxes.  So you need to have a version of your resume that is stripped down and organized just for the computers. We call this your “text-based” resume.

Your text-based resume should follow these guidelines:

  1. Create it in (or copy it into) a text editor such as Notepad, SimpleText or TextEdit.
  2. Use easily understandable headings like “Summary of Qualifications,” “Professional Experience” and “Education.”
  3. Don’t get fancy or creative with your headings, and don’t put two categories together in one section.  Do NOT, for instance, use the heading “Education & Certifications” or “Skills & Interests.”
  4. Use dashes or asterisks instead of bullets.
  5. List your address in standard “tombstone” style, one line on top of the next.
  6. Put spaces between sections.

Here’s what your text-based resume might look like (beautiful, isn’t it?):

 

Robots Beat Robots

Now, you’ve done your best to create a resume the computers will understand.  But how will you know if it really worked?

The best way to find out what a computer understands and what it doesn’t is to use a computer program that tells you.  Thankfully, there is a service where you can put your resume into a box on your computer screen, and the program will tell you what information is recognized and not recognized by the ATS software.

Here’s where you can find out about it:

How will you know what keywords to use in your resume?

Just because the computers can read your resume doesn’t mean you will have the right keywords to make it past their screening systems. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the keywords that truly make a difference with computer scanners are the ones you have on your resume that not everyone else includes.  Preptel’s service (called “Resumeter™”) will tell you what those unique words are so that you can add them to your resume.  All you have to do is paste a job description onto the page, and you will get a list of the keywords you MUST include in your resume for it to be viable.

Example:  One of my clients was applying for a job with INTUIT.  When I put his resume and job description into the Resumeter™, the resume was rated as “Weak.” I discovered that he needed to have certain keywords in his resume, including the phrase “QuickBooks, Quicken.”  We added a line about how eager he was to market QuickBooks, Quicken and other INTUIT software through compelling graphic design.  His Resumeter™ grade changed from “Weak” to “Strong.”

Without using Preptel, this client wouldn’t have stood a chance.  As you know, the online job search market is highly competitive and statistics are not encouraging.  You can change your odds of making it past the ATS systems with just a few clicks and adjustments.

Please do yourself a favor and try out this service, Preptel’s Resumeter™, for 7 days for free.  It is normally $25/month after that but with the link provided here it is only $19.99/month.

I have no doubt that you have great experience that qualifies you for many positions. If the computer can’t understand and rank it properly, it won’t help you a bit. Please check out Preptel and let me know what difference it makes!

 

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, Job Search, Resume Tips | No Comments »

The Morality of Using College Essay Consultants

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I’m inspired today to address a sticky topic:  the moral issues around getting help with your personal statement/essays for college or MBA admissions.

Let me start by saying that The Essay Expert’s college essay consultants and MBA admissions consultants do NOT write essays for college and business school applicants.  When I get calls requesting that service (and I do get those calls), I have no problem turning down the business.

What Do We Do?personal statement writing

What do we do at The Essay Expert?  We coach.  We explore ideas.  We help applicants see what is unique about them and their life experiences.  We draw connections.  We suggest directions to take, layers to add, and ways to best impress an admissions committee.  Sure, we also might suggest a few grammatical or organizational corrections.  But in the end, the essay is ALWAYS the client’s essay, NOT ours.

Still, there are people who are troubled by the concept of what we do.  Here’s a comment I received after posting a request for a college essay coach:

“… I find this topic/”profession” very troublesome. It’s a slippery slope from coaching a young person about choosing a topic and format and helping them focus to, in effect, writing it for them or do such extensive edits that it’s no longer the student’s PERSONAL essay. Yes, I’m sure there are essay consultants that put on the brakes, and this one could be one of them, but a position description that is so blatant about the role (“…take a drab college application essay and turn it into gold!”) … gives me pause. I’m not naive – far from it – but of all the pieces in the college application package subject to “help”, the essay should be the most sacrosanct.”

The concerns expressed here are my concerns as well, and my promise is that The Essay Expert does not go down that slippery slope.  Yes, I promise to turn the drab into gold, but by asking key questions of the applicant – not by writing the essay.

The NYT and The WSJ Chime In

Not long after receiving the above comment, I also came across a New York Times article, Crafting an Application Essay That ‘Pops’, which related the results of a conference attended by nearly 5,000 admissions officers and counselors.  The group, which included professors, admissions officers, and other college administrators, offered nine pieces of practical advice for writing personal statements.  I was happy, and frankly relieved, to see “Have an editor. All panelists advised having a close, trusted editor and an objective, outside reader.”

Soon after, an article came out in The Wall Street Journal with a similar message to M.B.A. applicants:  In Looking for an Edge:  MBA applicants are turning to pricey consultants to help them navigate the daunting admissions process , The WSJ reports that 20% of admitted students say they used an M.B.A. admissions advisor in the application process.  Furthermore, the article relates, “As the consulting industry has grown, some business schools have become more accepting of it.” In fact, the managing director of M.B.A. admissions and financial aid at Harvard Business School uses admissions consultants as a resource “to ‘get some field intelligence’ about how prospective students view the school and its admissions process.”

The Difference We Make

It is unquestionable that having a talented editor can give applicants an edge.  And not everyone has a family member, guidance counselor or close friend who can serve as an editor or consultant.  That’s where The Essay Expert comes in.  Indeed, what we offer that a friend or relative cannot, is an objective eye and the perspective of someone who has read dozens, if not hundreds, of essays.  We will make sure your essay does not sound like anyone else’s.

It is especially difficult to find a reliable advisor for M.B.A. admissions, where very specialized knowledge of business schools and their admissions processes is key to choosing the right essay focus and application strategy. In fact, one of our recent clients had enrolled several business school graduate friends to review his essays, yet still required ten hours of our consultant’s time to retool just two of his essay sets.

Lingering Questions

I understand there is still an issue present.  What about people who don’t know someone who can help, and who also can’t afford to hire someone? I am concerned about that point myself, and do provide assistance to a limited number of clients for a reduced fee or some type of trade.  I don’t believe I have been contacted by anyone thus far whom I turned away solely due to lack of ability to pay.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this topic. Admissions officers seem to have accepted that many applicants use paid consultants to assist them with the admissions process. Does this fact allay any of the concerns you might have had?

I believe The Essay Expert provides an extremely valuable service and that we do not cross the ethical line that would have students presenting an essay that is not theirs. And we do help students transform pedantic or blah essays into stories that capture the hearts and minds of the admissions committee.

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, College Admissions, College Admissions Essay, Grad School Admissons | 5 Comments »

The Gift of a Wedding Roast

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This weekend I went to Massachusetts for the wedding of a dear friend of mine.  It was the only wedding ceremony I’ve ever been to where I laughed until I cried for part of it, and simply cried for the rest.  I was deeply moved by the love between this couple, and by the sentiments of their close friends and family who were given an opportunity to share during the ceremony.

Between traveling and spending time with friends, I did not have much of an opportunity to craft a blog article.  I did, however, write something very important:  a rhyming wedding toast/roast.  I thought I would share it with you, if nothing else as an example of how to tell a story in a short space.  As you read, pay attention to what details are shared, what is left to the imagination, and how connections are drawn between earlier and later couplets.

I acknowledge my father, who is no longer with us in body, but who inspired me by his example to write poems such as these.  Here’s the toast/roast, a bit about what transpired from sharing it, and a few things you might learn from my experience.

 

Wedding Toast/Roast – September 25, 2011

 

At DNE Camp, a story began

Of Leslie (our bride) and Gary (our man).

They met at a table across from each other,

(Leslie freed up from her duties as mother)

And gazed, and gazed, and gazed some more.

Then brought their flirtations onTO the dance floor.

 

They danced, and they talked…  for hours they flirted…

This bond that they had just could not be averted.

But no matter how well she and Gary were matched,

Leslie preferred to stay unattached.

This line gave the couple a fairly fine start:

“You CAN have my body but NEVER my heart.”

 

But Gary was sure there was still more to gain.

They rendezvoused once on a Turnpike in Maine

And yes, since that meeting 15 years ago,

A lot has transpired…  as many here know.

There were moves, there were moods, there were protests and OH

There were bondings with dogs – the world’s cutest, you know.

 

A year’s separation, and a new job for Gary,

All served to bring forth the real chance they would marry.

An engagement took shape, and a life more entwined.

It seems that for union this pair was designed.

And I hear Bucket’s heart shouting “Never say never!”

‘Cause Gary’s sure got it…  forever.

[Note:  "Bucket" is Gary's nickname for Leslie; capitalized letters indicate emphasis]

Unexpected Results

I read this poem to a crowd of 125 wedding guests, and had a lot of people ask me about what I do for a living.  One long-time acquaintance asked me if I wrote the poem myself, surprised to find out that I was a writer!  I had the opportunity to share about my resume writing, jokingly telling one of the wedding guests that I write rhyming resumes.

I let people know about my more creative resumes, including one that was nominated for a TORI Award in the Best Creative Resume Category.  One wedding guest asked for my card, telling me she was interested in hiring me to help both her and her husband with their resumes.  Another guest has a daughter applying to college, and was thrilled to meet an “Essay Expert” who offers help with personal statements for college!

 

The Gift of Creative Expression

I wrote this wedding poem because I love my friend Gary and had a TON of fun writing and reading it.  Not once did it cross my mind that the poem would lead to business.  Yet that’s exactly what it did.  The experience reminds me that by being yourself, by giving, and by sharing who you are with others, you can obtain unexpected results.

Whether you are a business person or a job seeker, keep putting yourself out there and giving your gifts.  If you have a story to tell, tell it.  You never know who might be listening.

–

I invite you to share any wedding toasts or roasts you have written you are particularly proud of…  or to share an experience of getting an unexpected result just by being/sharing yourself.

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, Writing Tips | 2 Comments »

Have you done things because you *should* even though you didn’t *want* to? How did it go?

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This week I watched the film “Temple Grandin,” a true story about a brilliant – and socially outcast – autistic girl.  Temple’s mother forced her to go to college, despite Temple’s desire to work on a ranch instead.  In this case, the mother’s insistence turned out to be best thing that could have happened to Temple.  She went on to get a Masters Degree and to become a professor of Autism and Animal Science at Colorado University.

This movie was timely because I had just been interviewed for an article, published in Forbes, entitled Students Unhappy With College Options Weigh Transfer vs. Gap Year.  A “gap year” is a year off between high school and college, and students who choose to take this year off fall into two categories.  Some are up to great things in the world – training for the Olympics, trekking in Nepal, studying marine life on the barrier reef.  These students have a passion that they want to pursue and college takes second seat to these dreams.

The other category would have preferred to go straight to college, but they do not get admitted to a school they want to attend.  Should they go to their “safety” school or spend a year doing something else, hoping they will have better luck next year?

 

What if my child wants to take a year off?

If you’re the parent of a student considering a gap year, and if you strongly believe she should go to a safety school rather than take a year off, see if you can get her to come to that decision herself.  As I stated in the Forbes article, I believe that forcing a teenager to go to a school she thinks she’ll hate can be a recipe for disaster.  I believe Temple Grandin was the exception rather than the rule.

 

Life’s Unpredictability

Many students who do attend schools that were not on the top of their list end up having a great time (as attested to by Carolyn Mulligan, College Admissions Consultant). I believe most of these students came to the decision themselves to attend a less than perfect school. I have experienced this type of phenomenon myself; when I first started my business, I thought I would hate marketing.  Guess what?  It’s my favorite part of my job!

On the flip side, sometimes you think you will love something only to find out it was not the right fit after all.  This happened to me as well: I thought I’d like being a lawyer, and discovered it was not the perfect fit I had imagined.

Do your research!

For high school seniors, before jumping in to what looks like an undesirable situation, and before saying a definite no, visit the school.  Speak to students.  Sit in on classes. Maybe even stay overnight and eat breakfast in the cafeteria or dining hall.  If at all possible, find out what it’s like to be there.  Then make your decision.

If you do decide to take a year off, make it a valuable year.  Learn something you wouldn’t have learned in college.  Gain life experience.  Become more of the person you want to be.  If you can do any of those things, in my opinion, you will not only be a better college candidate the following year, but you will be a more fulfilled human being.

Have you ever accepted an offer for a job or school admission that you thought you would love and ended up hating?  Or discovered you didn’t fit as well as you thought you would in a job or a school?  What’s your advice for students facing these decisions?

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Posted in College Admissions | No Comments »

Would You Follow You? Top 10 Ways to Be a LEADER

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Spurred in part by an exercise I did at an ActionCOACH business planning workday, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a leader.  My commitment is to be a great one, and I’m getting clear that in order to be successful, there are certain traits that I must possess.

Here are my top ten:leader

  1. Deliver clear, consistent communication. Of course there are no guarantees that everyone will understand the communication the way you meant it. At least if you’re clear and consistent, you minimize the possibility of misinterpretation or gaps in the lines of command.
  2. Learn from your mistakes and miscommunications. If you keep making the same mistakes, you are not being a leader. You are just being insane. Learning from your mistakes requires a willingness to self-evaluate, and a commitment to the utmost integrity.
  3. Be charismatic. What this means is to be present in the moment.  Show up as who you are and not the way you think you should be. Charisma also requires a sense of humor!
  4. Be unstoppable. Obstacles and challenges are bound to arise.  If you stop to carefully examine the obstacle you will not get past it.  Keep looking toward your goals, and obstacles will have nothing on you.
  5. Have vision. Know why you are doing what you are doing, and have it be about something or someone other than you (or money).  Vision will help you be unstoppable and inspiring.
  6. Be inspiring. Ask yourself, “Would you follow you?” If the answer is no, “Stop, drop and roll” and get yourself back in alignment.  Get yourself to “Yes.” Take action! And be the inspiring leader you know you truly are.
  7. Support the people around you. The measure of a great leader is the success of the people he or she leads. If the people around you are learning and growing, you’re doing something right.
  8. Be willing to change direction. Stubbornly charging toward a particular goal in a particular way is a recipe for disaster.  Flexibility will allow for unexpected expansion and miraculous results. Keep looking for the next way to grow.
  9. Be committed. Dabblers and dilettantes will not get very far in leading anyone.  Leaders can be counted on to be 100% in the game and to ride out the ups and downs.
  10. Know that it’s a game, and play full-out. Play a BIG game.  That way if you win, you win, and if you lose, you win.

 

Looking at my list, I notice there are places where I’m right on, and others where there is a gap between where I am and where I want to be.  This is good news!  I get to learn and grow and always strive to more fully embody the qualities of a leader.

What do you see for yourself in this list? Please share in the comments below.

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein | 14 Comments »

The Ladders’ Signature Program: Are guaranteed job offers a scam?

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The end of June 2011 brought a lot of hype in the blogging world about TheLadders’ new “Signature” Program. Have you heard of it? Signature promises that “selected participants who actively engage in all components of the Signature program are guaranteed a job offer or their money back.” The price tag?  $2,495. The claim of success? 90%.

[I’m taking the existence of this program, and the price tag, on faith since TheLadders’ website is seemingly impenetrable without a username and password – see www.theladders.com]

The Ladders Home Page

Criticism of the Signature program abounds. Forbes’ Susan Adams points out what might be the obvious in her article, The Ladders Guarantees a Job Offer or Your Money Back: TheLadders self-selects the people who may enroll in the program. They don’t guarantee a job to just anyone! And, as it turns out, 75% of the people accepted into the program are already employed and looking to move up the ladder or make a lateral move into a larger company. These folks are much better positioned to succeed in their job search than the unemployed. The 90% success rate doesn’t sound quite so impressive anymore, does it?

Furthermore, explains Ms. Adams, if you read the fine print you find out that participants are required to “apply to 6 well-fitted positions per month.” Hmmm…  who determines what constitutes a “well-fitted” position?  What if there are not 6 positions the candidate wants to apply to? It seems the $2,495 fee will then be forfeited. For additional criticism of this aspect of the program, see  A Six Figure Job Guaranteed or your Money Back in the bnet.com blog (authored by Kimberly Weisul).Moving up the Corporate Ladder

And what if a participant applies to 6 jobs in order to comply with the program, even though they are not jobs she wants to accept because of location, company culture or some other factor? What if she gets an offer from one of them? She has then paid $2,495 to get a worthless job offer.

The Signature program reminds me of a “deal” offered by Match.com in my internet dating days. Match, as I remember, offered 6 additional free months if I did not meet someone I liked within 6 months. The catch? I had to contact 6 people each month for 6 months to remain eligible for the offer. Eek. There just weren’t that many guys who appealed to me enough to make the effort. I contacted an average of 2 guys a month for 6 months, didn’t make a love connection, and cancelled my service.

And cancelling services is what a lot of people might start doing around The Ladders. Snarky career blogger Nick Corcodilos refers to The Ladders as a “beleaguered organization” in his article, TheLadders: A lipstick pig’s death rattle? He suggests that if TheLadders CEO’s Marc Cenedella’s claims are correct, and he has 4.5 million subscribers at $35/month, then those 4.5 million are not getting the results promised by their subscription. Why else would TheLadders need to dangle a pricey “guaranteed” job offer carrot in front of these subscribers?

Another suspicious promise of Signature is their claim that the program will reduce the amount of time necessary to spend on a job search from 30 to 4 hours per week. Silly me! Here I was thinking that job searching was a full-time job. It takes time to make connections and work networks, and a Manpower study recently found that 41% of successful jobhunters got their jobs through networking. Does TheLadders claim that significant networking is now unnecessary in the job search process?! I am wary of any program that encourages job searchers to stop engaging in this essential and necessarily time-consuming aspect of their search.

What do you think of this grand offer by TheLadders? Would you front the dough if you were chosen as a qualified candidate? Or would you prefer to get a great resume and cover letters and find your job the old fashioned way?

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, Job Search, Networking | 2 Comments »

If it was me, Mr. President, I’d Get a Grammar Lesson.

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I have been thinking for some time that I would like to write a blog on the subjunctive.  One of my blog followers, an astute man named Gabe, was kind enough to give me fodder for bringing this topic to the top of my list.

For the second time in The Essay Expert’s blogging history, I turn to President Obama’s grammar bloopers.  The first was his incorrect use of “tenant” when he meant “tenet” in his speech following the Tucson shootings (The President Makes Grammatical Errors Too!). This week I’m pointing to Obama’s statement about the texting transgressions of Congressman Weiner.

Obama’s Grammatical ErrorPresident Obama's Grammatical Errors

Said the President, according to many news sources, “If it was me, I’d resign.”

I won’t spend a lot of time explaining that a more proper structure of this sentence would have been, “If it were me, I’d resign.”  Put simply, this is a conditional statement, speaking about an event that is not sure to happen and that did not definitively happen.  Any time you see the word “if” in a sentence, watch out for the subjunctive.  The correct verb form is most likely “were.” A good explanation of the subjunctive can be found on EnglishClub.com.

I also won’t spend a lot of time harping on the fact that the President used the incorrect form of the pronoun “me.” The truly correct phrasing would have been, “If it were I, I would resign.” Note that “I” is a subject pronoun.  But who really talks like that?

Meet The Press:  To Quote or Not to Quote?

What interests me most is the way the press handled the situation.  You might remember that when the President said “tenant” instead of “tenet” in his Tucson shooting speech, the transcription of his speech corrected his error.  In the Weiner situation the press went to bat for Obama again — but not universally.  I’ve created a snapshot of press coverage of the issue below.

[Challenge to reader:  How many double entendres can you find in the body of this article? If you find one, report it in the comments!]

The New York Times

Michael Barbaro of The New York Times covered up (or worked around) the President’s grammatical errors as follows in his article, Obama Suggests Weiner Should Resign:

President Obama told NBC News that if he were in Representative Anthony D. Weiner’s position, “I would resign,” according to a senior network executive.

Fox

In contrast, Fox quoted Obama word for word in their article, Obama Says He Would Resign in Weiner’s Position:

“I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,” Obama told Ann Curry in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday on NBC’s “Today.”

How many times do you think that one got tweeted?

Youtube/Hollyscoop.com

Hollyscoop.com, in the midst of making references to porn star names, fixed the subjunctive issue on its youtube video report, but did not touch the improper pronoun:

Now the President is saying, “I can tell you that if it were me I’d resign…”

Maybe these folks need a grammar lesson too.

Pundit Press

Pundit Press left the error waving in the wind, both in the title and body of its article:

Title:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “If it was me, I would resign.”

Body:

Obama did not call for the resignation of Anthony Weiner, but did say, ”I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign.”

CNN

Finally, CNN’s article by Ashley Killough maintains picture perfect grammatical integrity in its headline, Obama On Weiner:  ‘I Would Resign’, but exposes Obama’s actual wording in the text:

(CNN) — President Barack Obama told NBC’s Ann Curry in an interview to air on Tuesday’s “Today,” that if he were in Rep. Anthony Weiner’s shoes, he would leave Congress.

 

“I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,” Obama said.

 

Grammatically correct or not, Obama’s opinion surely had an impact.  Weiner has stepped down, probably due to the uncovering of his lies more than anything else.

If you were a reporter, how would you have handled Obama’s grammatical error?  And why did Clinton survive his sex scandal, whereas Weiner was trampled?  The Christian Science Monitor has shed some light on this question in its article, Why Democrats turned on Anthony Weiner, but not Bill Clinton.

I suppose we can all be comforted that no one (even The Essay Expert) will push for politicians to step down due to grammatical transgressions.

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, Grammar Tips, Grammar Tips, Grammar Tips, Writing Tips | 7 Comments »

3 Grammatical Errors and Funnies from DollarsandSense Coupon Flyer!

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Magazines and flyers are constant sources of grammatical errors and other interesting blog material for The Essay Expert.  This week I’m writing just a few examples of what I found in the ads populating a recent Madison’s DollarsandSense coupon flyer.  These examples are good reminders to pay attention to your writing!

1.  Ad for ChoreCare (www.ChoreCareMadison.com)

Original text:  “All jobs & work is customized to meet your needs.”

Commentary:  Jobs & work are two things and the verb should therefore be plural.

Correction:  All jobs & work are customized to meet your needs.

This error is very common and I find myself making it more often than I’d like to admit.  A few days ago, I wrote, regarding the improvement to one of my client’s resumes:  The other bullets show his success on both the artistic and strategic side of marketing.

I quickly caught my error and changed “side” to “sides,” since I was talking about two sides – plural!

What makes this one slippery is that in speech, we often do not distinguish between the singular and plural in situations such as the ones above.  I see this as another example of purist vs. progressive language (see Top 10 Obsolete Grammar Rules – by Steven Sawyer).

Whether you are a purist or a progressive on this one, I encourage you to pay attention and make a choice, rather than make a blind potential error.  Please share if you find yourself challenged by this issue!

2.  Ad for Mother Nature’s Diaper Service, Inc.


Original text:  “Reserve a Pre-birth Delivery Date Today!”

(click for full size ad)

Commentary:  Is this line an intentional joke?  It seems the writers might be unaware that they have made a pun on “Delivery Date.” How can there be a pre-birth delivery [of a baby]?  OH…  a *diaper* delivery.  I get it.

Is it just me, or does pre-birth remind you of afterbirth (the placenta and fetal membranes that are normally expelled from the uterus after the birth of the baby) — now that’s something I don’t want delivered to my door!  I just don’t like the phrase “Pre-birth Delivery” at all, even if it was intended to be clever, which I’m not convinced it was.

My suggested correction:  Reserve a Diaper Delivery Date Today!

Now that’s cute, and it plays well on the word “Delivery” without being downright perplexing.

3.  Ad for Sierra Concepts, LLC Basement Waterproofing Specialists

Original text:  “$50 OFF Crack Injections”

Commentary:  I realize “crack injection” is a trade term, but really!  Am I the only one who immediately calls up an image of desolate streets and needles and crazed looking drug addicts?

My suggested correction:  $50 OFF Basement Crack Repair.

Boring, maybe.  But it gets the point across safely.

 

What are your favorite examples of incorrect or funny ads?  Please share them here!

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Posted in Articles by Brenda Bernstein, Grammar Tips, Grammar Tips, Professional Writing, Writing Tips | 3 Comments »

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