The
Wednesday, February 14
The modesty survey is available
The
Saturday, February 10
How depressing!
Ha ha! Listen to what my fortune cookie said:"Your One True Love will knock on your door in precisely 2 months, 8 days, and 14 hours; unfortunately, you will be out."
Isn't it lovely to know that God, not luck, is in control!
(still, it's pretty funny!) :)
Wednesday, February 7
Using the best words for His glory 2
Okay, I realize that you have probably assumed (or maybe hoped!) that I had forgotten all about my acclaimed grammar/usage series, which I started in this previous post.
But alas, I have not forgotten! Here is the second installment of the series. Aren't you excited? Aren't you? anybody?? Well, either way, I am an English teacher, and this is what English teachers do. :) Get ready to learn something. ;-D
Today's lesson is about the difference between compare to and compare with. The following quoted paragraph is taken directly from Theodore Bernstein's bookThe Careful Writer.
"The choice of to or with to follow compare is not a matter of indifference. When the purpose is to liken two things or to put them in the same category, use to. When the purpose is to place one thing side by side with another, to examine their differences or their similarities, use with. The choice of the preposition was erroneous in each of the following examples: 'The economy can be compared with [to] a runner who is coasting to get his second wind for another sprint'; 'Compared to [with] the $4,900,000,000 the Administration has proposed for foreign aid, the cost of the overseas reactor program will be small.' Since compare to is most often involved in figurative constructions, whereas compare with is the more literal, everyday phrase, the uses calling for with far outnumber those calling for to."
I had to look this up this evening while I was writing comments on papers I was grading. On one paper, I was trying to tell a student that he had not followed the example given on the assignment sheet, and I was trying to tell him to compare them. I thought, I'm the English teacher. Is it compare to or compare with? Hmm. I'd better look that one up, lest I be embarrassed.
I was happy to learn the difference, but I would be even happier if the majority of the students' papers could be compared to the assignment sheet instead of compared with it! :-D LOL
Here's the bottom line: if you saying that the two compared items are similar, use compare to. But usually, when we are comparing in order to point out differences, we should say compare with.
But alas, I have not forgotten! Here is the second installment of the series. Aren't you excited? Aren't you? anybody?? Well, either way, I am an English teacher, and this is what English teachers do. :) Get ready to learn something. ;-D
Today's lesson is about the difference between compare to and compare with. The following quoted paragraph is taken directly from Theodore Bernstein's book
"The choice of to or with to follow compare is not a matter of indifference. When the purpose is to liken two things or to put them in the same category, use to. When the purpose is to place one thing side by side with another, to examine their differences or their similarities, use with. The choice of the preposition was erroneous in each of the following examples: 'The economy can be compared with [to] a runner who is coasting to get his second wind for another sprint'; 'Compared to [with] the $4,900,000,000 the Administration has proposed for foreign aid, the cost of the overseas reactor program will be small.' Since compare to is most often involved in figurative constructions, whereas compare with is the more literal, everyday phrase, the uses calling for with far outnumber those calling for to."
I had to look this up this evening while I was writing comments on papers I was grading. On one paper, I was trying to tell a student that he had not followed the example given on the assignment sheet, and I was trying to tell him to compare them. I thought, I'm the English teacher. Is it compare to or compare with? Hmm. I'd better look that one up, lest I be embarrassed.
I was happy to learn the difference, but I would be even happier if the majority of the students' papers could be compared to the assignment sheet instead of compared with it! :-D LOL
Here's the bottom line: if you saying that the two compared items are similar, use compare to. But usually, when we are comparing in order to point out differences, we should say compare with.
Saturday, February 3
Super Bowl Sunday (and dip)
Some of our friends are coming over to see the game, and it should be a fun time. We got a football cake, and I also thought I would share the recipe for my favorite dip that I made for our game-watching enjoyment. It is so incredibly easy:
Ingredients:
~1 jar salsa con queso (we use Tostitos brand)
~1 can chili (we prefer the mild kind, because the dip ends up spicy anyway)
~If you prefer it less spicy and more cheesy, you can also mix in some Velveeta or some Cheez Whiz.
(Whenever guys are around, they tend to like the heat kicked way up. I don't mind if they add a bunch of jalapeno sauce to their own individual bowls, but keep it out of mine! I am not in a macho contest! Personally, I like it best just with the chili and the salsa con queso.)
Mix it all up and heat. Serve with chips. We like Tostitos Scoops.
The dip ends up kind of funny looking, but believe me you won't care because it is really good! I have made this super-simple dip for years, (basically any time we have a large group of people over) and we always run out. It just couldn't be better or easier, in my opinion. It is hard to stop eating it!
