Newsletter and Grammar Coach

The English language derives much of its depth and texture from the variegation and abundance of similar but distinct words that let us color our conversation and writing with precise shades and tones of meaning and implications. The language affords us choices not only among synonyms (words of similar meaning), but also among antonyms (words that have sharply opposing meanings). We continually enhance the language with new words and new applied meanings for existing terms. Yet those additions seem to be accompanied by a corresponding loss of recall and skillful use of antonyms.

Instead of thoughtfully choosing antonyms, business people and writers today are more apt to simply toss the mundane adverb “not” into their sentences as the default means to negate words or concepts. “Not” is an adverb that can be paired with a verb to express either negation, denial, refusal or prohibition. But simply plugging in the adverb "not" may fail to adequately or accurately express intended meaning.

Consider the newspaper article sentence that said, “The signs are not very positive for the congressman.” The meaning of that arid statement is hazy. Was the writer trying to indicate that support for the congressman does exist, but it’s not as strong as possible — it’s “positive” but not “very positive”? Is the congressman in reality encountering opposition? Or merely indifference? If not “very positive,” then what precisely are the signs?

A radio network newscaster declared, “the address was found to not exist.” A more lucid substitute would be: “Authorities learned that the address was nonexistent.”

The often-used “to not” or “not to” construction is not only awkward but also potentially confusing, because it seems to beg for accompaniment by a “but instead” correlative clause contradicting the first part of the thought. The sentence “Hector would prefer not to discuss that now” suggests that the problem is not necessarily Hector’s aversion to discussing the matter, but instead his preference for participating in another activity — perhaps “He would prefer not to discuss that now, but rather to ride your electric scooter.” The real intended meaning, of course, is “He prefers to postpone discussion of that matter.”

An anchor on another network newscast said, “Two doctors have been accused of not reporting the pregnancy of an 11-year-old girl.” No. They were accused of failure to report the pregnancy; or accused of concealing the pregnancy. Even if the news writer had been unable to think of an antonym for the verb “report,” looking up a key word such as “secret” or “hide” or “protect” in the index of a thesaurus would have led to numerous word choices. Many dictionaries and thesauri do include listings of antonyms.

A public service announcement awkwardly urged parents to “Talk to your kids about not smoking.” A more literate pronouncement would be “advise your kids against smoking” or “teach your kids why they shouldn’t smoke.”

An insurance commercial implored, “You can’t afford not to have this coverage.” Can’t afford not? Third-graders learn to express themselves more skillfully than that to avoid a double negative. An improved approach would be “You can’t afford to lack this coverage,” in which “have” was replaced by its antonym, “lack,” eliminating the need for the clumsy “not to” expression. We would have entirely rephrased the sentence to read “This coverage is essential for your financial security.”

A company announcement about closure of a warehouse said it had “opted not to renew its lease.” There’s another ugly pairing — “opted not.” The intended meaning: the company “declined to extend” the lease or “allowed the lease agreement to expire.”

A newspaper article reported that “suppliers of a major herbicide have decided not to sell their product to members of a local collective.” If the suppliers’ decision did not involve selling their product, what did it involve then? Because no antonyms for the verb “sell” (buy, give, donate) convey the intended meaning, correcting the sentence involves making changes in word choice and construction. One approach: “suppliers have withdrawn their offer to sell.”

People often express opposition using the contraction of “do not,” as in “Thelma and Louise don’t want to go to that conference in Boise.” The verb “want” expresses desire or preference. Saying they “don’t want” to go, however, can express not only opposition, but also indifference: The conference wasn’t on their “wish list,” but hey, as long as the company is paying for it, why not? Declaring that they resist or refuse to attend the conference is more explicit.

Likewise, a radio station’s promotion of a “concert you won’t want to miss” is a timid endorsement. It infers that you may, indeed, want to avoid some concerts, but you’ll be less inclined to find this show as objectionable.

In one common phrase the use of “not” is intentional, and pretentious as well. “Differences in their brains are not unlike different computer operating systems,” declared a scientific report. Not unlike? Rather than the labored double negative, a direct statement — “brains are similar to” — would more clearly and succinctly express the intended thought.

Deliberate use of the “not” construction is found in sneering intellectual understatements, such as one published in an art review article that stated, “Collectors would not be particularly attracted to this piece.” A less evasive writer might have stated, “this piece is unlikely to interest collectors” or “collectors probably will overlook this piece.”

The word “overlook” brings to mind a couple of words that are their own antonyms. Organizations speak of creating “oversight committees” to supervise activities, but the word “oversight” has two humorously contrasting meanings: watchful care and unintentional omission. An oversight is the result of failure to take notice or ignorance of a significant event. Oversight committees, in that case, probably should be restricted to unimportant activities.

And the word “cleave,” which means to adhere or be faithful, can also mean to split apart.

Despite that caution, antonyms have an important place in contemporary speech and writing. They may require careful thought to identify, but it’s far better to use them than not to. Change that: Using them is better than avoiding them.

Six years after publishing the first edition of his well-received instructional book on voice-over announcing techniques, respected Florida-based voice-over coach John Burr wanted to make some changes in the book’s content and organization. His highly regarded book The Voice-Over Actor’s Handbook: How to Analyze, Interpret, and Deliver Scripts, is geared to career development for voice-over acting and broadcasting.

He and his publisher could not come to agreement about changes to the book. Seeking control over the finished project, Burr turned to EditPros’ BookPrep service to help him publish the book’s second edition with improvements as he envisioned them.

As the years passed in Yolo County, California, Pamela Kerlin enjoyed spending time with her granddaughter and grandson and watching them grow up. But she always felt a tinge of sadness knowing that they didn’t have the opportunity to meet and get to know their great-grandparents and their grandfather — Pamela’s husband — all of whom died well before Pamela’s grandchildren were born.

She wanted to preserve and share those and other recollections in a way that would be memorable for her grandchildren. That is when she conceived the idea of documenting stories about them in book form. She began methodically compiling notes, which became the fabric from which she wove together her book For My Grandchildren: A Journal of Love that she produced with the help of EditPros’ BookPrep service.

She described the book as “a journal of loving memories” about her husband and her parents — the children’s great-grandparents. Pamela also included some narrative about her own life in the years before her grandchildren were born.

“My hope is that this collection of some of these life experiences will bring enjoyment to your reading and an enrichment of your knowledge of family,” she wrote in a dedication to her grandchildren.

Lawyer Britt Crennell called upon her expertise in early education in crafting a children’s book and accompanying teachers’ workbook to teach civics lessons. “Civics has been all but eliminated from elementary school, and yet, it’s so important to teach our children their duties as citizens and how they can contribute to their community,” Britt said. “With everything that has transpired since 2020, I felt a need for a funny, educational book series that introduces basic civics, empowers children, encourages civic-mindedness, and instills in the young reader a sense of pride in their country.” In the autumn of 2022 she published the first in her intended series of “StarKids in America” books through the BookPrep service.

When retired food scientist Lou Grivetti decided to create a three-book set of his lecture notes spanning his five-decade career, he wanted to do so without the constraints that academic publishers impose.

Disaster prevention and hazard mitigation expert Robert A. Olson, who was instrumental in drafting key California seismic safety bills and shepherding them through the legislative process, wanted to relate the tumultuous history of the state’s earthquake safety legislation.

Civil engineer Larry Walker sought to write and publish a book documenting the rich history of his family, members of which were in the first wave of westward immigration to California in 1850, shortly after the discovery of gold.

Nguyen Van Hanh, who had served as a senior staff member for Nguyen Van Thieu, president of the Republic of Vietnam in Saigon, wanted to publish a book about his experiences as a Vietnamese refugee who rose to become director of California’s Office of Refugee Affairs and subsequently director of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and facial plastic surgeon Matthew Zavod conceived a book to help children overcome their fear of injections, but he needed an illustrator and a means to publish the book.

EditPros’ BookPrep publication preparation service helped them and many other people across the United States attain their book publishing vision. BookPrep has enabled clients to publish autobiographies, novels, family histories, children’s books, memoirs, anthologies, teaching guides, and emotional and spiritual self-help books. Writers who have published their work using BookPrep include teachers, scholars, scientists, military pilots, a psychic, a social worker and people from other backgrounds.

As part of the BookPrep package, EditPros professionally formatted the interior pages of each book, designed the covers, and readied them for print publication. The writers were able to choose among numerous book sizes and formatting options: paperback, hardcover, and hardcover with a jacket.

Some of the authors intentionally restricted distribution of their books, making them accessible at wholesale prices only to family members and friends, an option available with BookPrep. For authors who want to make their books available commercially in both print and digital editions, EditPros formats and converts the book files into e-books for sale through Amazon (Kindle), Apple (Books), Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Kobo.

With BookPrep, authors determine retail pricing, they retain all rights to their books, and they collect 100% of sales royalties. EditPros’ BookPrep service has helped writers publish 64 books during the past nine years.

We invite you to LEARN MORE about the EditPros BookPrep service.

Aaron T. wrote:

“In a radio commercial for an insurance company, a guy playing the part of a victim of flooding says, ‘Tons of my stuff is ruined.’ That grates on my ears. I know that ‘stuff is ruined’ seems OK, but why does ‘tons of my stuff is ruined’ seem ungrammatical?”

The grammar coach replies:

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