Grammar on the Porch #7

Is it just me or do high school English classes slide further and further away with every year? Thank goodness we have "Grammar on the Porch". Good old Grammar loves to visit The Letterbug from time to time for a nice cup of tea and a natter about the English language. She knows you know - really she does. But just in case...

Image kindly supplied by Toni Grote - visit http://www.artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/ to see more of her beautiful artwork.

'Me' vs. 'I'?

Good afternoon dears, it's lovely to see you again. Today I'm going to tell you about me...

I...

Me...

Here is the point: Do you ever stumble when it comes to writing (or talking) about yourself in a way that is grammatically correct? Let's set the record straight on the use of "me" versus "I" once and for all.

As a child I was often scolded for referring to "Me and Mummy", or "Me and Billy". My mother would remind me, "It is 'Mummy and I', not 'Me and Mummy' dear." So successful was my mother at teaching me this, that I came to believe that "I" was almost always a better option than "me" if ever I was unsure.

The truth is that each of these delightful little pronouns has their rightful place in the English language. Let Grammar show you...

INCORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to Grandpa and I.

CORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to Grandpa and me.

How do you check whether your sentence is correct? EASY!

Simply remove the other person or people in the sentence and read it again. The answer should be clear.

Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to [remove "Grandpa and"] I.

INCORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to I.

CORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to me.

And there you have it dears, another of life's grammatical stumbling blocks cleared up in a matter of minutes. Now speaking of strawberry conserve, does anyone else have a hankering for a lovely Devonshire tea.

Scones anyone?

The Letterbug and The Butterfly Ball

Yesterday I fulfilled a childhood dream. It sounds like a grand statement, but as grand as it sounds, it is absolutely true!

Nothing filled my preschool heart with joy more than catching the following clip every now and then in between Sesame Street and Playschool on ABC television. For anyone who was a young whipper snapper back in the late 70's and early 80's, I hope you enjoy reliving the magic of The Butterfly Ball!!

There are so many parts of this clip that I loved as a child (and still love now). The frogs shiny black eyes, the badger (dressed as a stork) marching with dead-straight stilt legs, and the fireflies dancing at the very end are just a few highlights for me.

I know it's drawing a long bow, but I figured I could get away with posting The Butterfly Ball here - me being The Letterbug and all. I think I've just found my Letterbug theme song...

Did you love The Butterfly Ball too? What is your favourite part? Leave a comment below and tell me all about it. Excuse me, I've got to go and watch it again - man that frog could sing!!

Jen x

PS: All you need is love and understanding, ring the bell and let the people know!

BUG BITS - White Soda

As the chilly weather takes over Melbourne it is hard to imagine we will ever have a need for swimwear again. But with only five weeks until the shortest day of the year, I'm confident we'll be charging headlong towards another scorching Australian summer before we know it.

Two people who are already totally prepared for summer 2011 are the gorgeous Romi and Danielle from White Soda. I recently wrote White Soda's latest press release for these two lovely ladies. The release features White Soda's latest fresh and colourful children's swimwear collection for summer 2011. I couldn't help but be inspired by the gorgeous designs and wonderfully enticing product names that capture the essence of long hot summer days.

Here's a snippety-snip :

To learn more about the super stylish swimwear available from White Soda, click here.

It is so important to think ahead when it comes to PR. Don't wait for the weather to start warming up before thinking about your summer campaign! Don't wait for tinsel and holly to be on display before you start work on your Christmas campaign!

Working six months ahead means you can be sending the right information to the right people at the right time to give you and your business the best chance of success.

Need help writing your next press release/bio/media kit? Send me an email and let's get started!

Jen x

Dot's Giggle Spot #9

Okay, so I wasn't going to publish this post until tomorrow but I just can't wait! It isn't as much to do with writing as it is to do with acknowledging and celebrating all of the Mums out there who will celebrate Mothers Day this coming Sunday.

Sure we may be required to eat cold, over buttered toast and drink strange coffee brews early this Sunday morning, but if we're really lucky we might also receive something like this:

by iamacrazyturtle

Nothing beats the home made gifts you receive from your kids, but this just takes it to a whole new level of wonderful. The Hatchlings are a bit young to get rappin' just yet - maybe next year!

Happy Mothers Day everyone!!

Jen x

Grammar on the Porch #6

Is it just me or do high school English classes slide further and further away with every year? Thank goodness we have "Grammar on the Porch". Good old Grammar loves to visit The Letterbug from time to time for a nice cup of tea and a natter about the English language. She knows you know - really she does. But just in case...

Image kindly supplied by Toni Grote - visit http://www.artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/ to see more of her beautiful artwork.

Good afternoon dears. Grammar is so pleased to back on the porch with you today! There is always so much for us to chat about when I visit, isn't it lovely? And chatting (i.e. the spoken word) is exactly the topic that Grammar wants to cover today. Then when we're done, there's jam roly-poly and more Earl Grey for everyone!

Although this may not technically be a Grammar issue, I have noticed a few words being used in all the wrong places during conversation recently. And the mis-use of these words is becoming more and more common.

Don't fall into the trap! Let Grammar set the record straight for you today.

Why does it matter?

Well, it seems that our verbal language swiftly flows into informal written communications (emails, social media etc.)

So?

So, Grammar wants you to avoid looking like anything less than the bright little sparks that you all are...

Irregardless vs Regardless/Irrespective

This word alone was Grammar's motivation for bringing up today's topic.

Ladies and Gents, 'irregardless' isn't really a word!

The word many folks are searching for could be either 'regardless' or 'irrespective'.

Regardless adj. - heedless. --adv. - in spite of everything.

Irrespective of prep. - without taking account of.

If you're an old eavesdropper like me, you'll be surprised how often you hear people say 'irregardless' in conversation. You'll see!

Typical vs Atypical

Grammar recently attended a workshop that explored the typical behaviour of Poker players around the world. (Useful information to have when you want to conker the local Elderly Citizens Bridge Club!)

Sadly, the presenter continually used the word 'atypical' in all the places where 'typical' ought to have been used. Grammar didn't learn half of what she could have learned, had she not been distracted by the whole typical/atypical matter.

Ladies and Gents, 'atypical' means the opposite to 'typical'!

Typical adj. true to type, characteristic.

Atypical adj. not typical.

Let's make it our mission to eradicate these two linguistic blunders from conversations everywhere! And while we're at it shall we lobby for an additional public holiday to celebrate the indescribable deliciousness of jam roly-poly?

I vote YES - seconds anyone?

Dot's Giggle Spot #8

I don't know where Dot gets her material, really I don't. Almost every church around the place seems to have a sign like this. You know the ones, they are updated periodically with messages about church functions, quotes from the bible, etc. etc.

The following exemplifies the power of writing succinctly:

[source]

I dont know about you, but I can hear the tone of voice that goes with this message instantly.

Another great giggle, thanks Dot!

Jen x

BUG BITS - Modern Little Munchkins

Newsletters! Newsletters! Newsletters!

Confession One: I don't have enough time in the day to swing past all of my favourite websites and blogs, even though I'd dearly love to. It makes me sad, but until an extra 3 hours are added to the usual 24 each day it is something I just have to live with.

For me, the next best thing is for my favourite sites to email a newsletter that lets me know what I'm missing out on. If I suddenly turn a sickly shade of green from envy I click immediately on the website link. (I'm the baby of the family - I hate missing out on anything!) Even if I don't turn green, I'm still happy to be kept in the loop during my website absence. Reading newsletters is easy!

Confession Two: The Letterbug also loves writing newsletters. Short, punchy prose that gets straight to the point, what's not to like?

This week was no exception, as I completed the first newsletter for gorgeous Louisa at Modern Little Munchkins. With winter at our doorstep, the brief was to showcase winter fashion from new labels at Modern Little Munchkins, and write up Louisa's two feature products for the April newsletter.

Here's a snippet:

To find out more about Modern Little Munchkins and their hip and wonderful range of organic and eco-friendly products for kids, click here.

Newsletters - a valuable element to consider in your marketing strategy.

To enquire about The Letterbug's newsletter service (or any other copywriting service), email hello (at) theletterbug (dot) com (dot) au.

Jen x