Happy Mother's Day! Or Happy Mothers' Day?

The history of the holiday known as Mother's Day is an interesting one. It was founded by a single lady who wanted to honor her mother. Anna Jarvis arranged two ceremonies in 1908 to honor mothers and initiate the holiday. 

Soon thereafter, the holiday was catching on and Mother's Day services were held in 45 states, as well as Canada and Mexico. For four years, Jarvis continued to advocate for a national holiday to honor mothers until she founded her own association in which white carnations were the icon and the terms "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day" were branded. 

President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1914 calling for the observance of the holiday (and other countries followed suit). Once the holiday became official, however, Mrs. Jarvis was unhappy with all of the hoopla. Evidently, she had planned for it to be a simple day in which a mother would receive a single white carnation and a handwritten letter. The gifts, parades, restaurant meals, parties, large bouquets etc. Jarvis actually wrote letters of protests and even tried to sue those celebrating the holiday in a manner in which she disagreed--stating that she had made the holiday herself. 

What does this history lesson have to do with English? Well, it turns out, in addition to feeling strongly about how the day was to be celebrated, Jarvis also felt strongly about the punctuation of the name of the holiday. She stated that it should be Mother's Day--one mother possessing one day. It should be a day to honor one mother at a time, not a mass holiday, as in Mothers' Day (in which the day belongs to many mothers). 

Nowadays, of course, we see the holiday punctuated both ways, though more often than not, it is the way Jarvis intended it to be--however, I dare say that the one carnation and hand-written letter policy are not still followed, judging by the crowds in restaurants today!

1. Mother's Day---one mother--we write the word mother, and seeing that it doesn't end in an s, we place the apostrophe then s Mother's

2. Mothers' Day--many mothers--we write the word mothers, and seeing that it does end in an s, we place the apostrophe on the outside of the s+

+Note that some handbooks say in this instance, we should still use an apostrophe s: Mothers's Day, though rarely. Others say that if the addition of the possessive makes another sibilant, then use s's. In our programs we teach the following:

1. Write the word you want to show possession to without considering the possessive part: Donna (or McDonalds)

2. Ask yourself if it ends in an s. If it doesn't, add apostrophe s (Donna's desk). If the word does end in an s already, just place an apostrophe on the outside (McDonalds' fries).

"Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Last night was the 238th anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride & today is the 238th anniversary of Lexington & Concord and the "Shot Heard Round the World.

So read some classic poetry by Longfellow today!

Paul Revere's Ride

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

---

Listen my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year.He said to his friend, "If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light,-- One if by land, and two if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country folk to be up and to arm." Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore, Just as the moon rose over the bay, Where swinging wide at her moorings lay The Somerset, British man-of-war; A phantom ship, with each mast and spar Across the moon like a prison bar, And a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide. Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street Wanders and watches, with eager ears, Till in the silence around him he hears The muster of men at the barrack door, The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet, And the measured tread of the grenadiers, Marching down to their boats on the shore. Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church, By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread, To the belfry chamber overhead, And startled the pigeons from their perch On the sombre rafters, that round him made Masses and moving shapes of shade,-- By the trembling ladder, steep and tall, To the highest window in the wall, Where he paused to listen and look down A moment on the roofs of the town And the moonlight flowing over all. Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead, In their night encampment on the hill, Wrapped in silence so deep and still That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread, The watchful night-wind, as it went Creeping along from tent to tent, And seeming to whisper, "All is well!" A moment only he feels the spell Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread Of the lonely belfry and the dead; For suddenly all his thoughts are bent On a shadowy something far away, Where the river widens to meet the bay,-- A line of black that bends and floats On the rising tide like a bridge of boats. Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride, Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere. Now he patted his horse's side, Now he gazed at the landscape far and near, Then, impetuous, stamped the earth, And turned and tightened his saddle girth; But mostly he watched with eager search The belfry tower of the Old North Church, As it rose above the graves on the hill, Lonely and spectral and sombre and still. And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height A glimmer, and then a gleam of light! He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight A second lamp in the belfry burns. A hurry of hoofs in a village street, A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet; That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light, The fate of a nation was riding that night; And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight, Kindled the land into flame with its heat. He has left the village and mounted the steep, And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep, Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides; And under the alders that skirt its edge, Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge, Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides. It was twelve by the village clock When he crossed the bridge into Medford town. He heard the crowing of the cock, And the barking of the farmer's dog, And felt the damp of the river fog, That rises after the sun goes down. It was one by the village clock, When he galloped into Lexington. He saw the gilded weathercock Swim in the moonlight as he passed, And the meeting-house windows, black and bare, Gaze at him with a spectral glare, As if they already stood aghast At the bloody work they would look upon. It was two by the village clock, When he came to the bridge in Concord town. He heard the bleating of the flock, And the twitter of birds among the trees, And felt the breath of the morning breeze Blowing over the meadow brown. And one was safe and asleep in his bed Who at the bridge would be first to fall, Who that day would be lying dead, Pierced by a British musket ball. You know the rest. In the books you have read How the British Regulars fired and fled,--- How the farmers gave them ball for ball, >From behind each fence and farmyard wall, Chasing the redcoats down the lane, Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load. So through the night rode Paul Revere; And so through the night went his cry of alarm To every Middlesex village and farm,--- A cry of defiance, and not of fear, A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, And a word that shall echo for evermore! For, borne on the night-wind of the Past, Through all our history, to the last, In the hour of darkness and peril and need, The people will waken and listen to hear The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

March Holidays

 



I am adding a new little feature to LL 365--the holidays for that month capitalized and punctated properly (well, relatively so!). Many holidays come and people wonder, "Do you cap Day in Thanksgiving Day?" "Do you show possession to Fool in April Fools Day?" etc. etc.

So...for the next few weeks...a list of holidays punctuated and capitalized as correctly as I found! Note that different style guides (i.e. Associated Press vs. Modern Language Association, etc.) choose to punctuate and capitalize lesser known (National Kool-Aid Day!) or newer things (i.e. email vs. e-mail) differently. In those cases, it is truly a style preference rather than a hard and fast rule. So....Happy April...I mean, happy April! :) And definitely, Happy Easter!


All Fool’s Day/April Fools Day

Daylight Savings Time

Palm Sunday

Passover

Good Friday

Easter

Easter Monday

Happy Presidents Day or Happy Presidents' Day!

Happy Presidents' Day. Or is that Presidents Day? Or Presidents' Day?

Well....it depends on which expert you ask! Here is the run down:

1. It is NOT President's Day
      a. President's denotes one President...and this holiday honors Washington and Lincoln both...as well as all presidents
     b. President's Day says that it is the day that belongs to one President (singular)
     c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (President) then if the word does NOT end in s, put apostrophe s (President's Day)

2. Some say it is Presidents' Day
     a. The Gregg Reference Manual (my favorite handbook) cites it as such
     b. This denotes many presidents all owning one day (or at least Lincoln and Washington)
     c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (Presidents) then if the word ends in s, put an apostrophe on the outside of the s
     d. This is the correct way to show possession of one thing to more than one "owner"---or any noun that ends in an s (glass' smudges).


3. Some say it is Presidents Day
     a. The Associated Press Stylebook cites is as such
     b. This method does not denote possession, but rather uses the word President as an adjective (actually a "proper adjective" in that it is an adjective made from a proper noun--some of the time--we will not even get into whether it is (President) or isn't (president) in this post!)
   c. This is like saying that, that is a Grisham book (as opposed to a book that Grisham owns--Grisham's book), and it is certainly  not incorrect

P.S. Capitalize president when referring to a certain president or the holiday in question!

So there you have it! More subjectivity in our English language. Happy Presidents' Day! And Happy Presidents Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Some tips for punctuation and capitalization of this loving holiday:


1. In a greeting (such as a card), cap all three words: Happy Valentine's Day.


2. Show possession to the singular proper noun Valentine--the day belongs to him: Valentine's Day.


3. Cap Day in the holiday because it is part of the holiday's name (as opposed to day in Christmas day in which Christmas is the name of the holiday, not day): Valentine's Day.

4. You can just call it Valentine when appropriate, but remember that Valentine is a singular proper noun, so in other contexts, do not plural it before showing possession:

a. I'm making Valentine's cupcakes.
b. I got a Valentine card.




5. If you are calling cards Valentines, keep the following in mind:

a. Still cap it--any time a proper noun element is used, it retains its capitalization: I got a Valentine this morning. (In this case, it is sometimes called a proper adjective--an adjective that is a proper noun in its non-descriptive states.)

b. Just plural it with an s (not an apostrophe s): I got some Valentines at school today.




 
Most of all, enjoy your Valentine's Day! :)

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

 The third Monday in January is the day we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday--Martin Luther King Jr. Day. With every multi-word proper noun, there are potential errors for capitalizing and punctuating.

This is the case with today's holiday as well, especially since it has some words that are three words or fewer (potentially indicating we should not cap them, depending on where they fall within the proper noun). It has an abbreviation (Jr.), which makes for a potential difficulty with the period (or not) and even a comma (since many incorrectly think it should be written Martin Luther King, Jr {with a comma}).

So how about a little capitalization, proper noun, punctuation lesson to start the week off right? According to the Associated Press Style Book and the Chicago Manual of Style, this holiday should be written as follows (my notes below that):

Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

1. Proper nouns, including holidays, should be capitalized.

2. A proper noun containing two or more words should follow these capitalization rules:
         a. Capitalize the first and last word regardless of those words' lengths: Fourth of July, Training for Triumph, Ode to Joy
         b. Capitalize any internal words of a proper noun that are four letter or longer: World Book Encyclopedia
         c. Capitalize any internal words of a proper noun that are three words or fewer if they are not one of the following:
               i. Prepositions: Ode to Joy (NOT cap the prep to)
               ii. Articles/Noun Markers: "For the Beauty of the Earth"
        d. Capitalize any internal words of a proper noun that are three words or fewer if they are important to the title, regardless of the part of speech:
              i. "This Is My Father's World" (Is=linking verb important to title; My=pronoun important to title)
              ii. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jr. is important to title)


3. Capitalize Day in this holiday because it is part of the official title of the holiday (whereas Christmas day is not since day is not really the holiday's name).

4. Write Jr. with a capital J, lower case r., period following it--and no comma anywhere. As one of my handbooks tells it: Names do not contain commas!

5. Also note that the official holiday does not have Rev. or Dr. as part of it, though those are titles given to him. Neither one is given in the holiday (just like General or President is not used in George Washington's Birthday). (That holiday is also called Presidents' Day.)

6. Lastly, note that this holiday is also called Martin Luther King Day (with no Jr.).

Now you know how to write and punctuate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Hope it's a good one!

Day 123: Independence Day/July 4th

The capitalization of this holiday isn't the grammar/writing issue. It's the spelling!

Of course, like any other holiday, both words are capitalized:

Independence Day

Or if written with the informal name: July 4th.

Spelling independence is a little more of an issue.

You may find long lists of rules for ent/ence vs ant/ance if you begin a study on this--many of which are so confusing and detailed (emphasis on the fourth syllable from the right, use ent!! okay..that's stretching it...) that an average person cannot decipher them much less memorize them.

When rules are too detailed and confusing, a writer is better off memorizing spellings or using spell check.

I will leave you with two simple rules for ent/ence that I think are actually helpful:

1. Use ent/ence (not ant/ance) if the root you are adding it to ends with c or g:
    diligence, innocent

    This rule actually makes sense because if you used ant/ance, the c would then say kuh (innocant--innokant) and the g would then say juh (diligant--dili-gant).

2. Use ent/ence if the root you are adding it to ends with d:
    independent

Hope this helps--and hope you had a happy July 4th!

day 121: june holidays

June is quickly getting away from us! I did not post the "official" spelling for all (two!) of the June US-nationally-recognized holidays, so here they are:

1. Flag Day
    a. No possessives to deal with!
    b. Capitalize both words as both are words in the actual holiday
    c. Bonus: Great holiday since I was born on this date! :)

2. Father's Day
   a. We went through this earlier--but remember--one father; his day: father's
   b. Cap both words!

day 119: happy father’s day

Father’s Day presents some of the same challenges in writing as Mother’s Day. Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is written with a capital letter at the beginning of each word—and is written as a day for the singular father—not plural (fathers).

The “official” take on that goes like this (according to encyclopedias as well as the Chicago Manual of Style):

“Although the name of the event is usually understood as a plural possessive (i.e. ‘day belonging to fathers’), which would under normal English punctuation guidelines be spelled ‘Fathers' Day,’ the most common spelling is ‘Father's Day,’ as if it were a singular possessive (i.e. ‘day belonging to Father’). In the United States, Dodd used the ‘Fathers' Day’ spelling on her original petition for the holiday, but the spelling ‘Father's Day’ was already used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U.S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday^, and it was still spelled the same way when its creator was commended in 2008 by the United States Congress.”

So…Happy Father’s day to my father, my children’s father—and all fathers—regardless of whether it is written in a singular or plural possessive manner!

day 116: happy anniversary or Happy Anniversary!

Today is my thirtieth wedding anniversary! Lots of well-wishes have been coming our way on FaceBook and in person--and I am in quite the celebratory mood! :)

Of course, any written words spark interesting discussions about grammar and usage (in my head at least!). And with my anniversary today and my birthday tomorrow, these greetings warrant a little "language lady" attention!

Obviously, happy, birthday, and anniversary are not proper nouns in themselves. However, when you write these as greetings, they should be capitalized.

Thus, you would capitalize

Happy Birthday!
Happy 39th Birthday! (LOL!)
Happy Anniversary!
Happy 30th Anniversary!

However, you would not capitalize these same words within a sentence when describing a birthday or anniversary: I had a happy anniversary. I enjoyed by day and had a happy birthday.

So...Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday to me! :) and Happy Flag Day (tomorrow!) to you!

day 106: may holidays

May is halfway over! And so are May's holidays! Here is a list of the holidays for May, spelled and punctuated correctly:

*Mother's Day
   1. Remember, you have one mother--the day belongs to her...
   2. Show possession of mother by writing the singular word mother--doesn't end in an s, so we put 's to show possession to it***
  3. Cap M and cap D

*Memorial Day
   1. No s or 's in this holiday
   2. Cap M and cap D


***HINT: Do not worry about whether the word you want to show possession to is singular or plural.

day 98: rhyming word dictionary

Ending our posts on National Poetry Month--((http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-83-national-poetry-month-part-i-of.html ).

No poet is equipped without his or her handy rhyming dictionary! The one I have linked below is a thorough adult version. Very impressive.

There are rhyming word dictionaries (the one we have is softcover from Scholastic--and is very thorough for a student) for children as well.

Check this one out for adults: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Rhyming-Dictionary-Including-Poets/dp/0440212057

day 97: poetry handbook

More for National Poetry Month ((http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-83-national-poetry-month-part-i-of.html ).

If you are interested in learning more about writing poetry or improving the poetry you do write, you might want to obtain the poetry handbook described below. I like trying different kinds than I normally write (which are nearly alwyas rhymed verse of fairly "normal" rhyme schemes--ABAB, AABBCC, ABCB, etc.). A handbook such as this one helps me learn about other styles--and challenges me to give them a try!

There are many handbooks out there--but the one below received rave reviews, is not too long, and is written by an award-winning poet.

Amazon.com Review: This slender guide by Mary Oliver deserves a place on the shelves of any budding poet. In clear, accessible prose, Oliver (winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for poetry) arms the reader with an understanding of the technical aspects of poetry writing. Her lessons on sound, line (length, meter, breaks), poetic forms (and lack thereof), tone, imagery, and revision are illustrated by a handful of wonderful poems (too bad Oliver was so modest as to not include her own). What could have been a dry account is infused throughout with Oliver's passion for her subject, which she describes as "a kind of possible love affair between something like the heart (that courageous but also shy factory of emotion) and the learned skills of the conscious mind." One comes away from this volume feeling both empowered and daunted. Writing poetry is good, hard work.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Handbook-Mary-Oliver/dp/0156724006

Tomorrow--tips on getting started writing or teaching poetry.

day 92: april holidays

We will get back to our sit/set; rise/raise; lie/lay study next week. However, I am adding a new little feature to LL 365--the holidays for that month capitalized and punctated properly (well, relatively so!). Many holidays come and people wonder, "Do you cap Day in Thanksgiving Day?" "Do you show possession to Fool in April Fools Day?" etc. etc.

So...for April...a list of holidays punctuated and capitalized as correctly as I found! Note that different style guides (i.e. Associated Press vs. Modern Language Association, etc.) choose to punctuate and capitalize lesser known (National Kool-Aid Day!) or newer things (i.e. email ve e-mail) differently. In those cases, it is truly a style preference rather than a hard and fast rule. So....Happy April...I mean, happy April! :) And definitely, Happy Easter!


All Fool’s Day/April Fools Day

Daylight Savings Time

Palm Sunday

Passover

Good Friday

Easter

Easter Monday

Earth Day

Administrative Professionals Day

Arbor Day

Cancer Control Month

Alcohol Awareness Month

day 85: poetry challenge for national poetry month

I once entered a poetry contest that challenged me and others to write a poem using a given word list. I found it stimulating and actually had a lot of fun doing it. Plus, I was pretty excited with the outcome of my little poem!

So…I thought we would have a Poetry Challenge on Language Lady! Here are the rules:

1. Write at least four lines (more is okay but not necessary) of poetry (rhymed or free verse) that contains at least six of the words listed below.
2. Write your poem on the comment section of the LL blog or the comment section of the LL FB page.
3. Have fun!

Ready? Here are the words* you may choose from:

risen                            Lord                            forsaken                       bunny

spring                          obsolete                       estranged                     reticent

life                               oblivious                     arduous                        acclimate

calvary                        supercilious                 morning                       ecstatic

benevolent                bestowed                     embolden       tenacity                                               

*Note: You may use any form, tense, or plural/singular of the words. For example, you may use bunnies rather than bunny or arduously rather than arduous.

day 46: happy presidents' day or president's day or presidents day?

Tomorrow is Presidents' Day. Or is that Presidents Day? Or President's Day?

Well....it depends on which expert you ask! Here is the run down:

1. It is NOT President's Day
      a. President's denotes one President...and this holiday honors Washington and Lincoln both...as well as all presidents
     b. President's Day says that it is the day that belongs to one President (singular)
     c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (President) then if the word does NOT end in s, put apostrophe s (President's Day)

2. Some say it is Presidents' Day
     a. The Gregg Reference Manual (my favorite handbook) cites it as such
     b. This denotes many presidents all owning one day (or at least Lincoln and Washington)
     c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (Presidents) then if the word ends in s, put an apostrophe on the outside of the s
     d. This is the correct way to show possession of one thing to more than one "owner"


3. Some say it is Presidents Day
     a. The Associated Press Stylebook cites is as such
     b. This method does not denote possession, but rather uses the word President as an adjective (actually a "proper adjective" in that it is an adjective made from a proper noun--some of the time--we will not even get into whether it is (President) or isn't (president) in this post!)
   c. This is like saying that, that is a Grisham book (as opposed to a book that Grisham owns--Grisham's book), and it is certainly  not incorrect

So there you have it! More subjectivity in our English language. Happy Presidents' Day! And Happy Presidents Day!