Aaron Adams’s Blowhard Blog

I’ve written what seem to be a few pedantic ravings about writing correctly. This evening, I found a very good example to reinforce my point. While watching my nightly M*A*S*H re-runs, I saw a commercial for cereal. The female voiceover said the following line, which I’ve written as I assume it’s intended:

“Women who eat breakfast, like the Special K breakfast, weigh less.”

I had to pause and think after I heard that to make sure I comprehended the message. If written (or spoken) incorrectly, the sentence could turn out like this:

“Women who eat breakfast like the Special K breakfast way less.”

These two sentences mean totally different things. It’s important to write correctly to convey the intended meaning.