Language Lady Archives - Character Ink

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

by Donna | May 13, 2019

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.

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Punctuation Puzzle – Plural Nouns and Passed-Past Confusion With Cinderella

by Donna | May 7, 2019

Welcome to another Punctuation Puzzle! Yep…a puzzle that you solve by putting in the correct punctuation and words/usage fixes–along with explanations and answers about each error! Perfect for students and teachers alike!

Today’s Puzzle is about plural nouns and past/passed confusion…..and it uses an interesting sentence from one of our Write-for-a-Month/Write On books about Cinderella. Read more….

Learn When to Use Who/Whom With Language Lady!

by Donna | Apr 25, 2019

The who/whom question is a tricky one. Out of all “pronouns” (some grammarians call who/whom pronouns; some call them subordinators; some call them…who knows…grammar is so subjective!)…anyway, out of all pronouns, who/whom is the trickiest to use correctly because it simply doesn’t sound as “wrong.” (We all know that you don’t say “Her is coming over later!”) Stick with Language Lady—and I’ll give you a tip for every usage problem you encounter (okay, maybe not every one…but I’ll sure try!)
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Punctuation Puzzle: Proper Nouns and Quotations with Pinocchio

by Donna | Mar 16, 2019

Welcome to another Punctuation Puzzle! Yep…a puzzle that you solve by putting in the correct punctuation and words/usage fixes–along with explanations and answers about each error! Perfect for students and teachers alike!

Today’s Puzzle is about Proper Nouns and Quotations… and it uses an interesting sentence from one of our Write-for-a-Month/Write On books about Pinocchio.

How to Grade the Checklist Challenge

by Donna | Jan 13, 2019

The Checklist Challenge (CC), a challenging checklist of editing tasks, is included in ninety percent of the assignments in all one hundred of my books. It is taught extensively in the first couple lessons in each first semester Meaningful Composition book for grades 4 through 9 (and books 2 and 3 have lessons scattered throughout them). There are even downloads teaching nothing but how to complete this amazing editing tool (I really love the CC!).

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Fix Those Christmas Grammar and Usage Errors!

by Donna | Dec 18, 2018

Merry Christmas from Language Lady and Character Ink Press! It is the time of good cheer, festivities, magical moments with children, celebrating the Nativity–AND grammar errors galore! Usage errors are to be expected since many of the things we are writing this time of year are things we only write once a year. It’s hard to remember grammar and usage protocols that we use daily, much less ones that we only use yearly. I hope this post will clear many of your Christmas grammar issues up!

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