Proper proofreading for acceptance

[dynisebasore]

Hello all,

I am trying to get the proverbial foot in the door here at Constant Content. I am a native English speaker and also attended a real American university as an English literature major. My stumbling block: I moved to Italy a couple years ago and now speak almost exclusively in Italian, but write almost exclusively in English. I just reread an article that I had mistakenly thought I had properly proofread. In addition to a glaring apostrophe error which made me pull a Homer Simpson I had two sentences which would have worked beautifully in their syntax in Italian, BUT, in English, not so much.

Word catches my diphthong changes...substituting the Italian "uo" where an English "ou" should be...but my syntax actually appears to be changing somewhat. In addition to reading aloud are there any other proofreading tips anyone can offer? I do realize that my situation is a little unusual and if anyone happens to have tips specific to my situation it would be helpful. I have noticed that when there is complete silence: no radio, no TV, no humans, I seem to have less of an issue. Unfortunately, I live with three members of the aforementioned species in a crowded portion of the city so complete silence is a rare treat.

Thank you for any feedback you can offer...and yes, I found syntax errors I had to change in this post.

[Ed]

Hi Dynise,

You have a set of problems that some people would find enviable - living in Italy and working in two languages!

The following tips may help you proofread your articles:
http://www.constant-content.com/forum/v ... =4&t=14407

Thanks,
Ed

[Lysis]

This is the coolest Italian chick on the planet. HI DYNISE!

I've converted another writer buddy to CC. Hehe.

[dynisebasore]

@Ed,

Enviable in many instances, true. But when I mix languages or forget words in English it is a bit frustrating.

Thank you for the link, I hadn't thought about printing out a hard copy and that may help immensely.

@Lysis

You did convert me, Jen. One more experience with an Elance buyer wanting copyright infringing content and not understanding why I wouldn't do it kind of put me over the edge. She had read the food blog and liked the style and wanted me to do the same voice for her boutique website...but essentially steal product names from designers and use unpaid for photos. CC seems to attract more scrupulous buyers from what you have said.

[dynisebasore]

Ed,

I proofed again after letting it sit for a few days...and consuming three coffees. I look forward to a response, even if it is to tell me that I have made another error. I must admit that when you pointed out the apostrophe error I felt like a dunce.

Thank you for your patience,

Dynise

PS I get spam in both languages as well.

[Ed]

You weren't the only one who made that mistake.

For anyone else who's reading -

"Farmer's market" indicates the market for one farmer. (Not the best choice.)

"Farmers' market" indicates the market is a market for more than one farmer.

However, "farmers market" seems to be the most universally accepted form of the word, "farmers" being an adjective in the phrase.

You can find an extended explanation here:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/gr ... ophes.aspx

I'm not completely convinced by the argument for why the plural apostrophe is dropped, but the article does help to differentiate the two usages.

Thanks,
Ed