And it just occurred to me that the late comedian george carlin created some great comedy ab. Grammar help and tips through articles and features writers write. Weird al yankovic turns robin thickes blurred lines into a rant about proper grammar. To promote the release of his 14th album, mandatory fun, al is releasing eight videos over eight days. Grammar help and tips through articles and features. Perhaps jumping off from the hashtagged twitterspeak titles of blurred lines, weird als parody focuses on educating the youth about. The name was, of course, invented and first used by people with poor syntax, spelling or punctuation as a snarky way to snip back at those who corrected their errors. Al performed one more minute on the 33020 episode of the tonight show with jimmy fallon at home, in. Weird al yankovic turns robin thickes blurred lines into. Whether youre creating perfect professional documents, spectacular school papers, or effective personal letters, youll find this handbook indispensable.
Grammar and spelling are the basic tools used by writers. No one writing handbook or grammar guide should suffice for careful writers, and though jane strauss the blue book of grammar and punctuation is less comprehensive than some other resources, its largeformat workbook approach provides a readerfriendly introduction to the intricacies of proper prose straus was still a college student when she began her career as a. But seriously, this is a great track that begins, got a box full of letters, i think you might like to readbut theyre all addressed to me. Word crimes is a song by american musician weird al yankovic from his fourteenth studio album, mandatory fun 2014. The first and final track are both about letter writing. Music video by weird al yankovic performing word crimes. Learn english with woodward english english grammar rules, learn english. Thats not to say that the sat and act are the authority on proper grammar, but hey, this is what folks are told is collegeready grammar.
Word crimes according to weird al the write practice. By all means, enjoy weird al yankovics word crimes video for the umpteenth time. Weird al doesnt just parody famous artists, he also provides valuable grammatical insights that can help your content strategy. An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes paperback by jane straus goodreads author. Word crimes by weird al yankovic, a ditty about grammar. In the phrase a dogs life, the dog is it, so its life can seem logical. Weird al yankovics 2014 album, mandatory fun, showcases his knowledge of grammar with the song word crimes, a parody of the controversial hit blurred lines. While grammar nerds are psyched about weird als new word crimes video, many linguists are shaking their heads and feeling a little hopeless about what the public enthusiasm about it represents. San diego, this word is correctly spelled as weird not wierd even though the correct spelling may look weird to some people. Dancing punctuation marks yankovics ability to fluidly rhyme. Weird al has a grammar lesson to teach you to the tune of blurred lines. If you are going to writer, youd better get a handle on good grammar and spelling. Posted on december 17, 2014 december 17, 2014 categories grammar tags editing, english, english literature, grammar, literature, weird alyankovic, word crimes, writing, wrods leave a comment on weird al yankovic word crimes dont write words with numbers. Weird al yankovic turns robin thickes blurred lines into a rant about proper.
Weird als new video teaches grammar using robin thickes. Weird al yankovic turns blurred lines from sexist garbage to. This person seems to think that it is proper grammar to say, give this book to who needs it. Popular english usage books meet your next favorite book. Word crimes, of course, are grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Plus get the print and digital editions of the magazine. For example, the associated press ap stylebook is a guide specific for news media and journalists while the chicago manual of style cms is used by many book publishers and writers. Weird al yankovic educates the world on word crimes with this hilarious song. All the grammar, punctuation, and usage rules and examples on the website plus dozens of quizzes with answers. Popular grammar books meet your next favorite book.
He did a spoof of robin thickes raunchy and controversial song blurred lines. Word crimes from weird al yankovic s album mandatory fun, itunes, amazon. Weird al yankovic word crimes lyrics genius lyrics. A dictionary of modern english usage by henry watson fowler, garners modern american usage by bryan a. Neca will be selling weird al yankovic chia pets starting in june but you can preorder now. The video for weird al yankovics new track word crimes breaks down all the worst grammar offenses known to man. Weird als new video teaches grammar using robin thickes wired. He took the singers hit song blurred lines and turned it into word crimes, an entertaining and honestly, quite educational ode to proper grammar.
Yet what makes word crimes particularly special is that it ranked 39 on the billboard hot 100, making it his fourth top 40 hit and the third artist in history to have such a designation every decade since the 1980s. Weird al renamed the song word crimes and made it into a rant about poor grammar and improper word use. English teachers, on realizing that weird al has become the arbiter for proper grammar, may figuratively not literally look for the nearest bridge. This odd tendency arises out of the fact that there is no equivalent word in english thats strictly for inanimate objects. Id like to take a minute to thank weird al and his dedication to correcting the worlds grammar. Yesterday, he released a video parodying pharrells happy, and today, hes tackling robin thicke. Weird als new video teaches grammar using robin thickes blurred lines not many artists have 14 studio albums. C 2014 rca records, a division of sony music entertainment. Weird al yankovics word crimes is english for dummies.
Weird al yankovics new album mandatory fun out now on. The grammar in their name has a broad application, meaning grammar. The weird stands up for grammar in his latest spoofing, word crimes. Yesterday, al delivered word crimes the way that weird al has completely embraced social media and our online sharing culture in his albums marketing is brilliant, but thats a post for someone else to. When you add a suffix that starts with e such as ed, er, or est to a word that ends in y, the y usually changes to an i. They will reacquaint you with precise punctuation, omniscient orthography, sagacious syntax. Enter the text that you want to check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Aan and the english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. These grammar books are perfect for all degrees of grammar nerd. Somewhere along the line, grammar nazis got more into the form than the content.
This english grammar video contains some good pieces of writing advice. Click on underlined words to get a list of proper wording alternatives, suggestions, and explanations. To distinguish between the two, think of the dog as a boy. Regarding punctuation, he comments on the use of its as a possessive instead of the correct its, and the optional use of. For example, while you wouldnt say, the book, who is 500 pages, was released in 1923, you could say, the book, whose 500 pages fly by, was released in 1923. Let weird al teach you about grammar in blurred lines. One point of confusion is the little mnemonic i before e except after c which h. Weird al yankovic has a new album out and one of his parodies is just hilarious. The only grammar book youll ever need is the ideal resource for everyone who wants to produce writing that is clear, concise, and grammatically excellent.
Nathan rabins the weird accordion to al and lily hirschs weird al seriously are both out now chia al. Its rosss game dungeon, not ross game dungeon, because that sounds sort of like what a caveman would say. I went to the main office of the district to express my gratitude for the districts interest in my book. English teachers, on realizing that weird al has become the arbiter for proper grammar, may figuratively not literally look for the nearest bridge to jump off. The song is a parody of the 20 single blurred lines by robin thicke, featuring pharrell williams and t.
Rules on punctuation 53 pages learn the rules on the proper use of periods, commas, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, quotation marks. Weird al on word crimes, his blurred lines parody vulture. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. Oconner discusses editing, writing skills and her grammar book, woe is i. I have been involved in a discussion with someone about the grammar rule always say to whom, dont ever say to who, mentioned in weird als song, word crimes. English rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. What are some of the weirdest rules of english grammar. Theres nothing like a little celebrity endorsement to help spread enthusiasm for proper english. Grammar and spelling are the basic tools for writers. If you have someone who makes your writing better, thank them. I hope im getting better at using the right words and the right punctuation, but if not, im just going to invent my own writing style and call it a day. The editors blog is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to. Things youll understand if you love reading in bed funny book humor you. Three books for the grammar lover in your life english is definitely changing, but whether its declining or evolving depends on who ahem, whom.
Learn how to develop a powerful writing style with verbbased prose, subordinated structures, the art of parallel structure, and more. To them, the rules of grammar are serious business. Anyway, weird al came out with a new album fairly recently, and my boyfriend sent me a link to his video for word crimes because, lets face it, its me were talking about. These hilarious english grammar videos are youtube gold. See more ideas about grammar, grammar humor and humor.
Theres a section that explores in seemingly infinite detail the proper usage for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. The song is from weird als new album, mandatory fun. Soon after my grammar book was released, i learned that a nearby school district purchased more than three hundred copies of my book. Bad grammar irritates me, but im not quite as pedantic or prescriptivist as the singer in that song. Grammar isnt limited to english, of course, so if youve ever dreamed of learning a new language, today is a great day to start. The book abrams, an illustrated hardcover on als life and career, and in 2015 yankovic became not only mad magazines cover boy, but the first guest editor in their 63year history. For reference, in case any of you arent as aware of weird als affinity for grammar, hes a selfdescribed grammar nazi, and this song is a clear. Among his peeves, weird al discusses the use of literally, whom, casual text speak, and apostrophes. Italics and titles learn when to italicize book titles, magazine names, album titles.