Grammar-O

Grammar-O Wednesdays
with Ocieanna

Happy Wednesday, grammarians! Ready to test your mad grammar skills?

Each week I (Ocieanna) post a few sentences with grammar, punctuation, spelling, or other writing misdemeanors. Your job is to find the infraction and set it right. If you possess the courage, you’re welcome to post your corrections in the comments, or you may simply keep your grammar to yourself. Then next week, I’ll post the answers.

Have fun!

This week’s new batch:

1) Goals, dreams, ideas, plans—the New Year stirs a desire in me to think about the coming months.

2) With a sense of optimism, I look up Biblical passages which encourage me that The Lord will guide my steps.

3) Then I love to write down these goals I now treasure as pointing to future happiness and accomplishments which perhaps I’ve dreamed about for many years but have real hope that this will be the year to get them done or perhaps just get the first step done and that will be enough.

4) Perhaps these New Year goals will never be accomplished. What may get in the way is un-foreseen obstacles.

5) But I still relish the time of dreaming knowing that what-ever may happen, the Lord’s sovereign hand always guides and leads me.

6) This year and every year.


(Remember, the point is to hunt out the blatantly illegal, not matters of preference or opinion.)

Good luck and have fun!


Here are the corrected ones from last time:

1) With Christmas in ten-short days, I’ve been thinking about how they celebrated Christ’s birth in year’s past.
Correct: With Christmas in ten short days, I’ve been thinking about how they celebrated Christ’s birth in years past.

2) During World War 2, on the homefront, they had very little with which to create a fancy festivity.
Correct: During World War II, ladies on the homefront had very little with which to create a fancy festivity.

3) While their men—on ships, in the battle fields, or far-away barracks—feasted on the best the military had to offer, which wasn’t much.
Correct: Their men—on ships, in the battlefields, or in far-away barracks—feasted on the best the military had to offer, which wasn’t much.

4) The folks at home used their ration tickets to buy a bit of sugar and meat, some even created makeshift turkey’s out of sausage!
Correct: The folks at home used their ration tickets to buy a bit of sugar and meat; some even created makeshift turkeys out of sausage!

5) Like the men who served in World War 2, we still have many brave soldiers who will be away from their families’ this Christmas.
Correct: Like the men who served in World War II, many brave soldiers will be away from their families this Christmas.


Well, how’d you do? Do you think you fixed all the sentences?

*Disclaimer: I’m by no means perfect at this. I use The Chicago Manual of Style and Webster’s Dictionary as my sources. The sentences to correct are fictitious.