Here's an interesting article about finding your voice, a topic I mentioned briefly yesterday. Enjoy!
And I also recommend The Inigo Montoya Guide to Commonly Misused Words, although I have one small beef with it. While explaining the proper use of the word "hopefully," the writer offers this wrong example, followed by a "smart" example:
- Wrong: Hopefully, the weather will be good.
- Smart: It is hoped that the weather cooperates.
It is hoped by Angie that no one would use a sentence like that.
Here are eight better options:
"I hope that the weather cooperates."
"We are hopeful that the weather will cooperate."
"Wouldn't it be nice to have pleasant weather?"
"Let's pray for good weather."
"Let's hope for cooperative weather."
"Bring on the good weather!"
"Rain, rain, go away."
"Me likey good weather."
Are you wondering why you shouldn't say, "Hopefully, the weather will be good"? Because "hopefully" is an adverb, which means it describes the manner of an action. Someone must be doing something in a hopeful manner for you to use the word "hopefully." For example: "She smiled hopefully at the diamond ring." In the weather example, who is hopeful? The weather? No. You are. So just make sure you show up in the sentence.
And by the way, everyone uses this incorrectly, so don't feel bad. Take note that I didn't say "feel badly," which is also incorrect. But you don't have to feel bad about that either.
