Comments on: Even McDonald’s Needs an Editor

By: Scott Alvord

Scott Alvord — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 03:11:46 +0000

In reply to Robby Strait. I sound like Miss Kite? Oh my. I need to start lowering my voice more when I type.

By: Scott Alvord

Scott Alvord — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 03:10:42 +0000

In reply to Will Renner. Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Congratulations Will. You earn a lifetime supply of (drum roll please) Instant Water! Just put the contents of this message into any cup, add water, and poof! Instant Water!

By: Robby Strait

Robby Strait — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 01:20:26 +0000

That is a good explanation, Will R. You sound like my elementary english teacher, Miss Kite. I don’t remember many of her grammar rules but I can certainly tell that it reads wrong. Scott, your smart phone story rings a lot of recognizable bells in my head. My eyesight is not what it used to be. Those words are just too small to read sometimes.

By: Will Renner

Will Renner — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 01:15:07 +0000

That was a fun read, Scott. Thank you. I'm shocked that McD's hasn't fixed their mission statement since at least 2012. Like you, I do not think it is a little-known grammatical feature. They used the word center when it clearly should have been centers. The singular word would only apply if there was one or more subjects in the sentence. My English teacher would have said to hear the answer in your head, combine the multiple subjects into a single word, "they" and use it in the sentence. "They center." However, there are not multiple subjects. There is only the single subject of "global strategy," so my English teacher would say to replace it with the word "it" to get "it centers." Good catch!