“Only” is one of those words that never quite feels at home anywhere in a sentence. It is frequently misplaced, although our brains are wired in such a way that most of the time we unconsciously relocate it and interpret the sentence correctly.
“Only” can be an adjective or an adverb. As such, it should be placed immediately in front of the word it restricts. Otherwise, the sentence changes meaning.
Let’s take, for example, the title line from Gene Pitney’s 1962 hit, “Only Love Can Break a Heart.”
As it is written, the sentence says that nothing else except love can cause heartbreak. Fair enough, although maybe not exactly true.
“Have your photo’s enlarged for just $1.99!”
Those were the flashing red words on a huge drug-store marquee when I drove by last week. And as I type this in Word, it doesn’t understand the problem.
The problem is: That sentence — the word “photos” — does not need an apostrophe.
Apostrophes serve several purposes, the two most common are to show possession and contraction. (As a refresher, a contraction is a shortened form of a word or group of words where the missing letters are replaced by an apostrophe. Example: we+will=we’ll, should+not=shouldn’t.)
The word “photos” as it should be above is simply plural, not possessive. And it’s certainly not a contraction.
Example: We’ll take John’s car to the meeting.
Example: Don’t let Julia’s daughter leave before giving her a hug.
Other not-so-common uses of the apostrophe
An apostrophe is used when one or more letters or numbers have been left out of a word.
Example: I am part of the graduating class of ’90.
Example: Top o’ the mornin’ to you!
Another rule, one that looks funny and is hard to remember because it does: When a word calls for two apostrophes, simply eliminate the second one.
Example: Patrick is learning the do’s and don’ts of driving in Nashville traffic.
Which brings up the final common use of apostrophes: Use an apostrophe when creating the plural form of a letter, number, sign or word discussed as a word, not as its form of speech.
Example: He knows the do’s, now he just needs to work on the don’ts.
Example: Please remove all B’s and 9’s from this page.
If you’re just bustin’ at the seams to learn more, Grammar Girl takes the apostrophe discussion a step further in a recent post. Enjoy! We sure do.
Those of us on the awesome editorial team at Hammock love words. We also enjoy the little rules that make words work. We’re always being called names like “grammar police” and “grammar queen.”
It hurts coming from your own mother sometimes…
We’re always reading and listening to the ways people use words. Listen carefully and you’ll notice it too. For some reason lately, and more often it seems, people are using reflexive pronouns incorrectly.
“If you need more information, please call myself or Megan.”
Well, you can’t call myself, only I can call myself. It’s just that simple.
Even presidential candidates are using the words incorrectly as the Wall Street Journal pointed out just last week in an article titled Me, Myself and I.
So, here’s a quick reminder list of reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself (singular), yourselves (plural), himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.
A reflexive pronoun is used for three primary reasons:
(1) Example: Laura cut herself while slicing onions for dinner. (Laura is the subject and the what/who that was cut.)
(2) Example: I took this picture by myself.
(3) Example: The boss himself set our deadline. (A reflexive pronoun used this way is also called an “intensive pronoun.”)
Simply put in my Basic English Revisited handbook: A personal pronoun is called a “reflexive pronoun” when it reflects back on the subject or refers to it.
I, myself, already knew that.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution has published a member magazine in several different forms since July 1892. At that time, DAR had only recently started its work as a patriotic women’s organization, dedicated to its three guiding tenets of education, historic preservation and patriotism. As an internal publication, the magazine was sufficient for the membership, but generally did not reach out to communities not yet touched by the DAR.
In 2001, some 109 years after its inception, the DAR magazine underwent a radical transformation. The magazine was split into two separate publications: Daughters newsletter, which focused on NSDAR news and notices; and American Spirit, a 52-page glossy, bimonthly full-color publication.
Hammock Inc. was hired to produce American Spirit in July 2002. One of the first things Hammock’s editorial and design team did was try to define the audience and the mission for the magazine. One thing we all agreed on—American Spirit should be the kind of magazine you’d want to leave out on your coffee table. The design should rival any commercial magazine, the articles should be intriguing and informative, and the writing should be fresh and vibrant.
Since the revamped American Spirit was intended to reach out to potential new members, we had to make some assumptions there—concluding that this group would likely be younger, with careers or families or both, and were probably accustomed to brightly designed magazines with a variety of topics.
Originally, American Spirit’s editorial lineup called for articles on women’s health and financial affairs. The more we talked with members, the more we felt readers could, and should, go elsewhere for that information, to magazines that exist to focus on those topics. American Spirit should focus instead on the National Society’s core concerns: history—especially women in history—genealogy, education, patriotism and preservation.
More than focusing on the details of long-ago battles, the magazine strives to tell the American story through the women and men who lived this history. Beyond Revolutionary history, American Spirit shows the human side of American life from Colonial times to the present, with articles ranging from features on historic homes, collectibles and Americana to regular articles on historic travel, timeless crafts and preserving family history.
In the past few years, we have changed the editorial mix in response to reader feedback. Under the current DAR National Magazine Chair, Denise Doring VanBuren, we have increased the focus on DAR goals of education, patriotism and preservation. We have also added more articles about individual members and the DAR itself, including departments such as:
And Hammock is always searching for even more creative ways to reach the dedicated members of the DAR, and spotlight the myriad ways they enhance their communities and their country.
From Sea to Shining Sea, it’s summertime in America, and even with new mid-year series and episodes on cable, there’s only so much TV you can watch. Instead of working on your monitor tan, check out the July/August issue of Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine, which we publish for the the American Watercraft Association for some ideas on how to cure your summertime blues.
Ride visits a couple of kick-back spots, that welcome PWC. Lake Norris in East Tennessee is a deep, clean lake formed behind a TVA dam, offering not just house boats, but floating houses for visitors to rent. Just toodle up in your PWC, tie off and step into your kitchen for a snack. Or, roll out of bed and onto your craft for an early morning ride.
For the more adveturous, join a group of somersaulting, high-flying riders who gather annually in Georgia – this year at Lake Allatoona – for three days of trick riding and festivities.
For those living on the ocean, tag along on a sojurn out from Southern California to Catalina Island – just remember that the ocean can change fast!
This issue of Ride also includes a visit with the “Dean of the PWC Nation,” John Donaldson. A longtime rider, industry executive and now member of Kawasaki’s PR agency, John has forgotten more about PWC than most of us will ever learn. And he spends every day fighting the good fight to secure your riding privileges.
Also, each issue of Ride also features great places to take your PWC, new products for the water sports fan and information on PWC racing.
Summertime just isnﾕt complete without a road trip. Nothing spells freedom like driving down a winding country road on a sunny afternoon with your windows rolled down, your radio cranked up and a cool breeze and clear sky ahead. In the July/August issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, our resident road warrior Bill Hudgins reveals that early Americans, too, shared this fascination with the open road. Our story, ﾒAmericaﾕs Main Street: The Historic National Road,ﾓ explores the history behind the nationﾕs first federally funded Interstate highway and explains how its construction paved the way for the America that we know today.
We hit the road to Indianapolis in our Spirited Adventures feature for a stop at Conner Prairie, a living history museum where interpreters make it their mission to transport visitors back to Indiana pioneer life, circa 1836. If youﾕre hankering for historical travel with dose of authenticity, youﾕll want to visit. We also check out a series of upcoming cross-country events celebrating the 250th birthday of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Frenchman who endeared himself to early Americans during the Revolution by helping them secure their independence.
On an adventure of another kind, we track advances in online genealogy, which allow you to trace your roots from the comfort of your computerﾑwithout traveling to out-of-the-way courthouses and digging through musty stacks of documents. Discover how these sites make it easy to research your lineage and connect with long-lost relatives without ever leaving home.
Wherever the road takes you this summerﾑwhether it be one of the beaches along our nationﾕs coasts, a historic hideaway or a spot for family funﾑhappy travels!
Here at Hammock the typical business day is anything but typical, especially around deadline time. As a small business ourselves, we felt some kinship when compared to the hectic days of the small-business owners we shadowed for our ﾒDay in the Life of a Small-Business Ownerﾓ feature in the June/July 2007 issue of MyBusiness. The sheer energy and dedication exhibited by Caroline Geishecker and Mike Mitternight as they rise before the sun and work well into the night in order to ensure that their businesses run smoothly is exhausting even to read about.
But even long days at a tireless pace wonﾕt eliminate bumps in the small-business road. Issues like health care and tax relief can throw even the most committed entrepreneur for a loop. We asked five small-business owners how they confront the burdens of business ownership in the ﾒHandle the Headachesﾓ featureﾑbecause we believe there’s no better avenue for advice than real people dealing with real challenges.
When including state political and legislative news inside MyBusiness became one of NFIBﾕs strategic goals, we worked together to make it happen with the June/July issue. For the first time, this issue featured 51 versions, one for each state (and don’t forget Washington, D.C.). Just another (long) day at the office!
Almost as easy to use as just hopping in the car and going, personal watercraft are perfect for family recreation and impromptu weekend getaways. Today’s four-stroke engined PWC are far cleaner and quieter than earlier models, and easily carry two or three riders, as well as gear.
The May/June issue of Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine, which we publish for the the American Watercraft Association visits a Hawaiian enthusiast who combines his lifelong love of fishing with his passion for Yamaha watercraft–with startling results. Speaking of things that live in the water, we also meet a dolphin whose tail was injured by disease but, thanks to Bridgestone, now has a prosthetic tail and can swim and leap for joy.
We also travel far from the ocean to Americaﾕs Heartland, to see where Kawasaki builds its Jet Skis, in Lincoln, Neb. While winter snows swirl outside in the prairie wind, employees inside are crafting years of warm-weather fun. As a bonus, we peek inside Kawasakiﾕs new musclecraft, the 250-hp Ultra 250.
PWC have a serious side as well as their fun-loving personality. None other than the United States Marines use them to provide safety during offshore maneuvers. We go aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif. (one goes aboard a Marine base, just as one goes aboard a ship) to see Marines being trained to operate PWC in the surf in case their comrades need a lift.
Each issue of Ride also features great places to take your PWC, new products for the water sports fan and information on PWC racing.
An invisible enemy stalks battlefields and follows a number of warriors home after war’s end. At varying levels, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts an unknown but substantial number of veterans, as well as active duty troops. This issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, which we publish for the Marine Corps League, examines how PTSD has long remained shadowy and difficult to diagnose because its sufferers did not want to be perceived as “weak” or unfit for duty. The condition is emerging from the shadows as the Marine Corps and the other services work to change the cultures that have encouraged silence. At the same time, the Veterans Administration confronts a rapidly growing challenge to identify, diagnose and treat growing numbers of troops seeking help for psychological aftereffects of battle.
On a lighter note, Marine Corps chow has improved mightily since the days of WWII C-rations. While far from Mom’s kitchen, mess halls and field food services strive to sling more than hash and SOS for hungry Marines. Some Marine Corps League members also recall how they used USMC initiative and, um, reconnaissance skills to rustle up some unexpected treats.
Also in this issue, Semper Fi salutes the contributions of Women Marines, whose roles have expanded from mainly clerical and administrative to equal partners with their male comrades. We celebrate the life and career of one Woman Marine who is still involved with the Corpsﾑin her 90s!
Here at Hammock, you’ll find lots of shoe junkies. From spikey black stiletto boots to jeweled flip-flops, we love to experiment with different styles. What you see on someone’s feet tells you a lot about who they are. So to learn more about the lives of colonists for our May/June issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, our resident shoe connoisseur, Shannon McRae, followed the path of footwear in early America and found revealing tidbits about colonists, their sense of style and the influence of shoes on early American movements and customs.
Our Visions of America series takes readers on a journey of another kindﾑa pictorial walk through the history of Americaﾕs quintessential emblem of freedom, the Liberty Bell. From the bellﾕs beginnings as a symbol of the Quaker vision of freedom to its evolution into a universal icon, we explore its surprising past, as well as the mystery behind what the bell sounded like, where its legendary crack came from and what became of a replica bell the DAR helped cast years ago.
Another image revered by most Americans is the U.S. Capitol. Ironically, the designer behind this famous structure was a man who dabbled in many fields, but lived in obscurity. We delve into little-known life of William Thornton, a self-educated savant who gained respect among his contemporaries for his scientific, medical and architectural contributions, but whose legacy has largely been forgotten.
We also turn the spotlight on another group of Americans relegated to history’s shadowsﾑentrepreneurial women known as ﾒshe-merchantsﾓ who owned importing businesses. In an era when men dominated trade, these progressive women overcame hardship and limited legal rights to expand their empires. Maybe youﾕve never heard the names of ﾒMargaret Hardenbroekﾓ or ﾒElizabeth Murrayﾓ before, but after hearing their stories, youﾕll never forget them.