Waxing Judgmental about Judgement

Waxing Judgmental about Judgement Waxing Judgmental about Judgement Waxing Judgmental about Judgement By Maeve Maddox A reader commenting on my post about the difference between discreet and discrete was shocked by the spelling judgement in my definition of discreet (â€Å"Showing discernment or judgement in the guidance of one’s own speech and action†): Maeve, where did you find that definition of discreet â€Å"Judgment† is misspelled! For that reader, spelling the word with an â€Å"e† creates a misspelling. Other readers, commenting on other posts, objected to my use of judgment without the â€Å"e†: The verb change keeps its [e] here to indicate that the [g] is soft, not hard. (That is also why judgement is the correct spelling of this word, no matter what anyone says.) and There isn’t a single instance in English that I can think of with a root word ending in â€Å"g† where â€Å"g† has the â€Å"j† sound. The final â€Å"e† is used to cue in the reader to the correct pronunciation of the soft â€Å"g† sound. Therefore, â€Å"judgment† according to the rules of English phonics would be â€Å"jud-GUH-ment†. Clearly WRONG!!So I’ll continue to engage in pointless arguments with those who quibble with my CORRECT spelling of the word. Strong feelings, these. Like â€Å"could care less† and statements like â€Å"my head literally exploded,† the â€Å"judgment vs judgement† issue evokes passion in many English speakers. The first reader was correct to fault me on spelling judgment as judgement, not because judgement is a â€Å"misspelling,† but because I write these posts in standard American English and spelling judgment with an â€Å"e† is contrary to American spelling convention. The other two readers do not indicate what standard dialect they speak. I’m guessing that they are American speakers because they resort to the argument about the â€Å"e† being necessary to the correct pronunciation of the word. British speakers would probably defend the judgement spelling simply on the grounds that it is the preferred British spelling. The suggestion that the spelling judgment would â€Å"according to the rules of English phonics† produce the rendering â€Å"jud-GUH-ment† is preposterous. The word is formed by adding a suffix to the root word: judge+ment. Unlike the â€Å"e† we use to maintain the /j/ sound in words like rage, Marge, and usage, the â€Å"e† in judge is not necessary to signal a /j/ pronunciation. The letter combination dge is a phonogram in its own right, used to represent the /j/ sound. Dropping the â€Å"e† from it is not common, but I cannot imagine that any native speaker would attempt to pronounce dg as anything but /j/. Changeable does need the â€Å"e† to soften the â€Å"g†; judgment, abridgment, and lodgment do not. Look up judgement and lodgement in the OED and you will find the the spellings judgment and lodgment dignified as alternative spellings. (Abridgement is the only spelling given for that word.) According to the OED, [Judgement] is found in spellings with -dgm- from the early 16th century, and by the late 17th century judgment had become the prevailing spelling, although judgement was still commonly found. Kersey (1702) is an unusually early example of a dictionary in which the headword form was given as judgement . During the 19th century the form judgement gained in frequency in British contexts, and is now the usual spelling in general British use, but judgment has remained the standard spelling in British legal contexts when used to refer to a judicial decision, as well as in U.S. usage. In sum, there’s no reason American speakers can’t choose to put an â€Å"e† in judgment if they wish, but there’s nothing historically, phonetically, or morally superior in doing so. And if they’re writing for publication, a U.S. editor would surely correct it. Related posts: Judgement or Judgment? The Difference Between â€Å"Discreet† and â€Å"Discrete† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect Objects30 Baseball Idioms5 Keys to Better Sentence Flow

Grammar Tips Compound Subjects

Grammar Tips Compound Subjects Grammar Tips: Compound Subjects Verb agreement gets tricky when it comes to compound subjects. Lucky for you, then, we’ve prepared this guide to help you avoid grammatical errors. Check out our advice on the different types of compound subject to find out how to use them in your writing. Subject–Verb Agreement and Compound Subjects The subject in a sentence is typically the thing or person acting. In the following, for example, the subject is â€Å"cat,† since the cat is the thing performing the action. And because there’s only one cat, we use the singular verb â€Å"is† so that the verb and subject agree: The cat is teasing the dogs. If the subject were plural, however, we would use a plural verb instead: The dogs are chasing the cat. But what about a compound subject? In simple terms, this is a subject formed when we join two things with one of the conjunctions â€Å"and,† â€Å"or,† or â€Å"nor.† But whether we use a singular or plural verb with a compound subject depends on which conjunction we use. Canine–feline harmony is a beautiful thing. Compound Subjects Formed with â€Å"And† You should almost always use a plural verb when you have formed a compound subject using â€Å"and.† For example: The dogs and the cat are running around in circles. As the sentence above shows, we even use a plural verb after a singular noun. This is because â€Å"the dogs and the cat† is treated as plural. Compound Subjects Formed with â€Å"Or† and â€Å"Nor† When you form a compound subject using â€Å"or† or â€Å"nor,† the correct verb form depends on the term closest to the verb. When this is a singular noun, we use a singular verb. For instance: Either the dogs or the cat is going to end up at the vet. But when the term closest to the verb is a plural noun, we use a plural verb: Neither the cat nor the dogs are innocent in this situation. As such, the order of the nouns in a compound subject can be important. Singular Compound Subjects There are some special cases where we treat compound subjects formed with the conjunction â€Å"and† as singular. This is usually when two things are typically seen together. For instance: Gin and tonic is my favorite drink. Fish and chips is a traditional British dish. In these cases, we use the singular verb â€Å"is† because â€Å"gin and tonic† and â€Å"fish and chips† are usually treated as a single thing (i.e., the terms are usually used together). Thus, if we used plural verbs in the sentences above, it would seem like we were discussing two separate things. Were suddenly very thirsty. Check online if you’re not sure whether a phrase is singular or plural. And don’t forget to have your work proofread so you can ensure it’s error free.