Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Grammar Nerds, Unite!

The folks at the Capitol Book & News, in Montgomery, AL, have a lot of time on their hands, it seems. And they've also got a controversy on their hands...

"At dispute: the phrase "national bestselling author," frequently seen in publishers' advertising blurbs. But is it correct, grammatically, or should it be "nationally bestselling author?" Frazer and Thomas spent the better part of the day arguing over this, neither willing to concede anything.

"One believes that "nationally" is correct, since an adverb is required to modify the adjective "bestselling." The other thinks that "bestselling author" is a compound noun, and should in fact be modified by the adjective "national.""

What do you think? If you want to weigh in, you can do so here.--David E

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