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"I've never had a doll before made after me. It's very cool and really exciting. The eyes are different colors as well. They really paid attention to detail that way." – Kate Bosworth, who has one blue eye and one hazel eye, on having a Lois Lane doll fashioned in her likeness

In the first sentence, Kate has misplaced the modifier "before." This adverb describes when something happened. There are two actions in this sentence: "had a doll" and "made after me." Since "before" follows "had a doll," it seems to express that Kate has never owned a doll. Kate is attempting to explain that she has never had a doll made in her likeness, so the modifier should be placed after the shorter phrase "made after me" ("I've never had a doll made after me before ") or before the entire phrase "had a doll made after me" ("I've never before had a doll made after me"). Either syntax is acceptable, but the original is not.

This is what Kate should have said:

"I've never had a doll made after me before. It's very cool and really exciting. The eyes are different colors as well. They really paid attention to detail that way."

"I always have a boyfriend all the time, so I've never really got to know me and, like, have time for myself because I spend all my energy on the boyfriend." – Paris Hilton

This quote contains a redundancy, an error in verb tense, an error in pronoun choice, and a superfluous colloquialism.

Paris says that she "always" has a boyfriend "all the time." These adverbs mean the same thing, so the use of both of them in the same sentence is redundant. Remove one of the adverbs to improve the sentence.

In the clause "I've never really got to know me," the verb is "have got." Paris is expressing something that has happened in the past and may be continuing in the present; the proper tense for this action is the present perfect, which is formed by combining the present tense of "have" with the past participle of the verb. The verb "get" has two past participles: "got" and "gotten." The use of the former means "to have" in a present sense ("I've got a craving for cookies") or "must" in a future sense ("I have got to get some cookies"), and the use of the latter means "to have received, to have had" ("I have always gotten cookies from my grandmother"). Since Paris is explaining that she has never had the opportunity to know herself, the proper past participle to use in this context is "gotten."

In the same clause, Paris uses the pronoun "me" to refer back to the subject "I." When the subject and the object (or, as in this case, the object of the infinitive phrase that refers back to the subject) in a sentence are the same, a reflexive pronoun should be used. Since the subject is in the first person, the proper pronoun to use in this case is "myself."

The use of "like" in a superfluous manner in a sentence is a colloquialism. While it is acceptable in everyday conversation, it should never be used in formal speech or standard written English.

This is what Paris should have said:

"I always have a boyfriend, so I've never really gotten to know myself and have time for myself because I spend all my energy on the boyfriend."

"Unfortunately, the thing with Charlie and I – that was a court document that became public. I didn't hand it to a tabloid and say, 'Here, print this.'" – Denise Richards

This quote contains a pronoun error. Denise has used the subjective pronoun "I" as the object of a preposition.

There are two objects in the prepositional phrase "with Charlie and I": "Charlie" and "I." While it makes sense to say "the thing with Charlie," it does not make sense to say "the thing with I." The objective pronoun "me" should be used as the object of a preposition.

This is what Denise should have said:

"Unfortunately, the thing with Charlie and me – that was a court document that became public. I didn't hand it to a tabloid and say, 'Here, print this.'"

"I even travel alone. I take a week and go by myself to a hotel on a beach. Laying out in the sun is a year-round thing." – Jennifer Aniston in Harper's Bazaar

This quote contains an error in diction. In the third sentence, Jennifer has incorrectly used a form of "lay" when she should have used a form of "lie."

"To lay" means "to place" and it is a transitive verb that takes an object. "To lie" means "to recline" and it is intransitive. It is sometimes useful to replace "lay" or "lie" with its definition to determine whether the word is being used properly in a sentence.

Jennifer has used "laying" as a gerund in the intransitive sense. Replace "laying" with the gerund form of its definition to see if its use in this sentence makes sense: "Placing out in the sun is a year-round thing." This is not logical. Try replacing "laying" with the gerund form of the definition of "lie" to see if its use makes sense: "Reclining out in the sun is a year-round thing." This is logical. This replacement exercise has proved useful determining which verb to use in this sentence.

Jennifer's use of "out" is excessively wordy. The sun is obviously outside, so removing "out" from the sentence makes it more concise. 

This is what Jennifer should have said:

"I even travel alone. I take a week and go by myself to a hotel on a beach. Lying in the sun is a year-round thing."

• Read an example of the correct use of "lay" and "lie" at Celebrity Grammar.

"Kids like him, and I think that’s a good mix of Rob and I because we used to work together, and then maybe him because he’s new and people like him. It’s just you want a good mix, and I thought that was a funny mix if you do it – and he was into it. He was excited." – David Spade, on Benchwarmers co-star Jon Heder

This quote contains an error in pronoun choice, a pronoun omission, and awkward syntax.

In the phrase "a good mix of Rob and I," the object of the preposition "of" is "Rob and I." The pronoun "I" is in the subjective case. The object of a preposition should always be in the objective case. Change "I" to "me" to correct this error.

The first sentence is awkward and does not effectively convey meaning. David is describing a mix of three people and their attributes. He says "Kids like him" and refers to this quality as a thing ("that's"), then combines the quality with a pair of people. It would be more logical to structure the sentence such that the mix is described as being of three people. Change "that's" to "he's" and "mix of" to "mix with."

The end of the first sentence is awkward because David gives two reasons, but they are not in parallel structure. The inclusion of the words "then maybe him" throws the sentence off balance. Remove them to improve the syntax of the sentence.

The clause "It’s just you want a good mix" is awkward because it is missing a pronoun. Add "that" after "just" and notice the change in the flow of the words: "It’s just that you want a good mix."

The second sentence contains awkward syntax that could be improved by changing the verb tense sequence and switching the person of the pronouns. In the clause "I thought that was a funny mix if you do it," David is describing a cause ("if you do it") and an effect ("that was a funny mix"). The cause is in the present tense but the effect is in the past tense. This is not logical. Since David is describing a hypothetical situation, it would be most effective to employ the future unreal conditional tense: change "that was a funny mix" to "that would be a funny mix" and change "if you do it" to "if you did it." Since David is speaking about what he and his co-workers wanted, change "you" to "we" to further improve the sentence.

This is what David should have said:

"Kids like him, and I think he’s a good mix with Rob and me because we used to work together and because he’s new and people like him. It’s just that we wanted a good mix, and I thought that would be a funny mix if we did it – and he was into it. He was excited."

"While we celebrate the joy of the birth of our daughter, we recognize that two million babies born every year in the developing world die on the first day of their lives. These mothers and children can be saved, but only if governments around the world make it a priority." – Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, in a statement issued by Getty Images

Getty Images is a media conglomerate that made a deal with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to license photographs of Shiloh for the purpose of raising funds for charity. The company issued a press release on the couple's behalf, and it appears as though Angelina and Brad have made an error in diction through a faulty reference. Before we examine this error, we should note that it is common for public relations agents to take the sentiments of their clients and fashion their words into language suitable for publication. As such, it is possible that neither Angelina nor Brad made the error. It may in fact be an error on the part of the professional writers who crafted the statement for the couple and the company. Getty Images has issued a formal correction. Let's look at what went wrong:

In the first sentence, Brad and Angelina recognize "two million babies born every year." In the second sentence, they refer back to the babies as "these mothers and children." This syntax implies that the babies are not only children, but mothers as well. The error can be corrected in two ways.

Getty Images has chosen to maintain the use of the pronoun "these" and remove "mothers and" from the subject. "These children" now refers back to "two million babies born every year" and establishes a logical reference.

Another option would be to change the meaning of the second sentence by removing the pronoun "these." The sentence would begin, "Mothers and children can be saved." This removes the reference but also imparts logic to the sentence (the plight of mothers who lose their children is compelling, so it makes sense that Angelina and Brad would want to save them as well).

This is what Getty Images has Angelina and Brad stating now:

"While we celebrate the joy of the birth of our daughter, we recognize that two million babies born every year in the developing world die on the first day of their lives. These children can be saved, but only if governments around the world make it a priority."

“This [movie] is acceptable for the younger audience and for people that are older than me. I think it was hard for me to find that kind of film, so it was nice that I found it.” Lindsay Lohan, on Just My Luck

The clause "for people that are older than me" contains two errors in pronoun case. First, Lindsay has used "that" to refer to "people." Since "people" are people, she should use "who." The second error is that Lindsay has used the objective "me" when she should have used the nominative "I."

This clause features an ellipsis, which is the omission of one or more words that are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence. However, the missing words must be kept in mind when determining the proper grammatical structure of the sentence.

When the conjunction "than" is used in an elliptical clause, the nominative case (I, he, she, we, they) must be used because the missing word is a verb that requires a subject. The sentence "He is taller than I." features an ellipsis, and the word that is missing is "am": "He is taller than I [am]." You would not say, "He is taller than me am." Keep the missing word in mind when using an elliptical construction.

This is what Lindsay should have said:

“This [movie] is acceptable for the younger audience and for people that are older than I. I think it was hard for me to find that kind of film, so it was nice that I found it.”

"There was one moment where I really genuinely thought I was going to drown. I got caught on a wire and the safety people had been sent around the corner because they were in the shot and so they couldn't see me. The camera people couldn't see me and there was about maybe two inches of breathing room." – Josh Lucas, on filming Poseidon

This quote contains two errors: a poor choice of subordinating conjunction and an error in subject/verb agreement.

In the first sentence, the subordinating conjunction "where" (which introduces the adverb clause "I really genuinely thought I was going to drown") modifies "one moment." Since "one moment" refers to a point in time, not a place, the correct word to use is "when."

In the last sentence, the subject is "two inches," which is plural, and the verb is "was," which is singular. To correct the sentence, change the verb to the plural.

This is what Josh should have said:

"There was one moment when I really genuinely thought I was going to drown. I got caught on a wire and the safety people had been sent around the corner because they were in the shot and so they couldn't see me. The camera people couldn't see me and there were about maybe two inches of breathing room."

"The only things I’ve tried to change is the perfunctory stuff. I mean, maybe it’s just that I’m old enough now to know you can’t change somebody and you shouldn’t try." – Sarah Jessica Parker, on remaking men

The first sentence contains an error in subject/verb agreement. The subject is "things," which is plural, and the verb is "is," which is singular. Sarah complicated the matter by using the uncountable noun "stuff" as the predicate nominative in this sentence; "stuff" is always singular and it, too, does not match the number of the subject.

The sentence could be corrected in many ways. One would be to change the verb to the plural "are" and replace "stuff" with a countable noun (such as "ones": "The only things I've tried to change are the perfunctory ones.") Another would be to change the subject to the singular "thing" ("The only thing I've tried to change is the perfunctory stuff.") Perhaps the best way would be to restructure the sentence to avoid the linking verb syntax altogether.

This is what Sarah should have said:

"I’ve tried to change only the perfunctory stuff. I mean, maybe it’s just that I’m old enough now to know you can’t change somebody and you shouldn’t try."

"Me being involved and being an actor, not really a comedian — but I'm doing comedic stuff — I think it just makes it feel a little different. I'm not a TV personality." – Jessica Alba, on hosting the MTV Movie Awards

The first sentence contains an error in pronoun usage and awkward syntax.

In this quote "being" is a gerund. The pronoun that precedes a gerund should always be possessive. Jessica should have said, "My being involved and being an actor."

The construction of the first sentence is awkward. It begins with a compound gerund phrase "My being involved and being an actor" and continues with "I think it just makes it feel a little different." The first "it" in this clause is the direct object of the verb "think" and refers back to "being involved and being an actor." However, this pronoun is unnecessary. The syntax could be changed to create a clearer sentence. One option would be to remove the first "it" so that the sentence reads, "My being involved and being an actor, not really a comedian — but I'm doing comedic stuff — I think just makes it feel a little different." Alternatively, the entire sentence could be restructured to impart more clarity:

"I think my being involved, and being an actor, not really a comedian — but I'm doing comedic stuff — just makes it feel a little different. I'm not a TV personality."

"When I was starting off in Chicago, I wanted to be considered the best Chicago producer. Then when I was the best Chicago producer, I wanted to get to the Jermaine Dupri level. Now I've gotten to that level, but there's always other frontiers – you know, the Quincy Jones level." – Kanye West, in Blender

This quote contains an error in subject/verb agreement. In the clause "but there's always other frontiers," the subject is "frontiers," which is plural. The verb, the contracted form of "is," is singular. Kanye should have used the plural form of the present tense of "to be" in this sentence.

This is what Kanye should have said:

"When I was starting off in Chicago, I wanted to be considered the best Chicago producer. Then when I was the best Chicago producer, I wanted to get to the Jermaine Dupri level. Now I've gotten to that level, but there are always other frontiers. You know, the Quincy Jones level."

"Stepping into those shoes, there's tons of pressure. This was Brandon's first taste of the movie industry, and he was so sweet." – Kate Bosworth in ELLE, about her Superman Returns co-star, Brandon Routh

This quote contains two errors: an error in subject/verb agreement and a dangling participle.

The subject of the first sentence is "tons." This creates two problems. First, the subject is plural but the verb, the contracted form of "is," is singular. However, the second problem overrides the first because "tons" should not be the subject of this sentence.

As the subject, "tons" is modified by the participial phrase "stepping into those shoes." This does not make sense. Who stepped into those shoes? "Tons of pressure" cannot step into shoes. Brandon stepped into those shoes, so Brandon (or a pronoun representing Brandon) must be the subject of this sentence.

This type of error is called a dangling participle. "Stepping into those shoes" does not clearly and correctly modify anything in the sentence. It simply "dangles" from one end of the sentence, not doing anything productive. To correct this error, restructure the sentence and introduce a subject that the participial phrase can modify. To improve the entire quote, move the proper noun ("Brandon") to the first sentence and use a pronoun in the second sentence.

This is what Kate should have said:

"Stepping into those shoes, Brandon was under tons of pressure. This was his first taste of the movie industry, and he was so sweet."

"I sing to myself and my sister looks at me weird." – Dakota Fanning in BOP

This quote contains an error in modifier form. Dakota used an adjective to modify a verb, and only adverbs can modify verbs.

"Weird" is an adjective used, in this sentence, to describe how Dakota's sister looks at her. Since "looks" is a verb, Dakota should have used an adverb to modify this action. Change "weird" to "weirdly."

"I sing to myself and my sister looks at me weirdly."

Note that the verb "look" can function either as an action verb, as in this sentence, or as a linking verb. A linking verb can connect a subject with an adjective, as in the following sentence:

"When I sing to myself, I look weird to my sister."

"It's not always you have the opportunity to go through a break-up and then shoot a movie called The Break-Up. I just find it luck – good luck – because you're able to exorcise something quicker." – Jennifer Aniston in Entertainment Weekly

This quote contains multiple errors. Jennifer begins her statement with awkward syntax, uses a noun incorrectly, and then chooses an adjective to modify a verb.

The statement "It's not always you have the opportunity" is awkward in its construction. Words can be rearranged and replaced to create syntax that is more elegant and gramatically correct than in the original version. Two suggestions are "You do not always have an opportunity" and "It is rare to get an opportunity."

The statement "I just find it luck – good luck" is also awkward because "luck" is a noun and it appears to be modifying "it." One could argue that Jennifer has implied that "luck" is part of an infinitive phrase "to be luck" and has colloquially omitted the "to be." However, this statement could be changed so that it makes more sense. A better choice of words would be "I just think it is luck – good luck." This construction is simpler and more logical than the syntax of the original statement.

There is a modifier error in the clause "because you're able to exorcise something quicker." "Quicker" is an adjective that is modifying the verb "exorcise." Only an adverb can modify a verb. Correct this error by replacing "quicker" with "more quickly."

This is what Jennifer should have said:

"It is rare to get an opportunity to go through a break-up and then shoot a movie called The Break-Up. I just think it is luck – good luck – because you're able to exorcise something more quickly."

"For now, it's just nice for me to get back down to where I feel more comfortable with me." – Janet Jackson, on her recent weight loss

This quote contains an error in pronoun choice. In the adverb clause "where I feel more comfortable with me," Janet uses the pronoun "me" to refer back to the subject "I." When the subject and the object (or, as in this case, the object of the prepositional phrase that refers back to the subject) in a sentence are the same, a reflexive pronoun should be used. Since the subject is in the first person, the proper pronoun to use in this case is "myself."

This is what Janet should have said:

"For now, it's just nice for me to get back down to where I feel more comfortable with myself."

"I shot the movie last November. It's different than anything I've ever done." – Jesse McCartney, about his new movie, Keith, in Teen

The second sentence contains an error in diction. The proper word to use after "different" is "from."

This is what Jesse should have said:

"I shot the movie last November. It's different from anything I've ever done."

"There's a point in the day where I think, 'There's no point in me sitting here with the two of you, so just do it yourself.'" – American Idol judge Simon Cowell, answering the question, "Do [Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson] ever gang up on you?" in OK! Weekly

There are three errors in this quote: a poor choice of subordinating conjunction, an incorrect pronoun, and an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement.

The subordinating conjunction "where" (which introduces the adverb clause that begins with "I think") modifies "a point in the day." Since "a point in the day" describes a moment in time, not a place, the correct word to use is "when."

"Sitting" is a gerund. When a pronoun is used before a gerund, it should be possessive (my), not objective (me.)

The pronoun "yourself" refers back to "the two of you." Since the antecedent is plural, the pronoun should be plural. Change "yourself" to "yourselves" to correct this error.

Simon should have said this:

"There's a point in the day when I think, 'There's no point in my sitting here with the two of you, so just do it yourselves.'"

"As an old woman with long gray hair, I hope that I've got open arms, an open heart, and an enormous amount of wisdom to share." – 38-year-old blonde Nicole Kidman, in Ladies' Home Journal

This quote contains two errors in diction that relate to tense.

The phrase "as an old woman with long gray hair" modifies the subject "I." At this time, Nicole is not an old woman with gray hair. She is a young woman with blonde hair. She is expressing how she might be in the future, so the introductory phrase should convey that this state will occur in the future. To correct this part of the sentence, change the introductory phrase to "when I am a woman with long gray hair."

The word "got" functions as two different tenses of the verb "to get." It can be used in the simple past tense ("I went to the store and got some milk.") It is also one of the two past participles of this verb. The other past participle, "gotten," is the more standard of the two and functions as most past participles do: to indicate an action that has taken place in the past and may be continuing in the present ("I have always gotten good grades.") The use of "got" as a past participle is informal and should not be used in standard written English or in formal speech.

When used colloquially as a past participle, "got" has two meanings: "have" in a sense referring to the present ("I used to have brown hair, but now I've got red hair") and "must" when used with an infinitive ("I have got to do well on this test.") This latter usage imparts a future sense to the action; however, no sense of necessity exists in the context of this quote. Since Nicole is speaking about a future condition, she should use the future tense. Change the verb to "will have."

Nicole should have said this:

"When I am an old woman with long gray hair, I hope that I will have open arms, an open heart, and an enormous amount of wisdom to share."

"I'm staying true to me. If it's not broke, don't fix it." – American Idol contestant Taylor Hicks on his refusal to dye his gray hair, in In Touch Weekly

This quote contains two errors: one in pronoun choice and another in diction.

In the first sentence, Taylor uses the pronoun "me" to refer back to the subject "I." When the subject and the object (or, as in this case, the object of the prepositional phrase that refers back to the subject) in a sentence are the same, a reflexive pronoun should be used. Since the subject is in the first person, the proper pronoun to use in this case is "myself."

In the second sentence, the word "broke" is used as an adjective to modify "it." "Broke" is the past tense of the verb "to break." The past tense of a verb cannot be used as an adjective. The past participle of "to break" is "broken." Participles can function as adjectives.

From his syntax, it appears that Taylor misused the cliché "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." However, since he did not actually use the cliché, the sentence should be corrected. Change "broke" to "broken" to correct the sentence.

In colloquial speech, "broke" is often used as an adjective meaning "having no money." This is an informal term and should never be used in standard written English.

Taylor should have said this:

"I'm staying true to myself. If it's not broken, don't fix it."

Coincidentally, former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson recently made the same error in diction when she said, "Why fix something that isn't broke?" when she really meant, "Why fix something that isn't broken?"

"There's only two people in the world you should lie to: the police and your girlfriend." – Jack Nicholson in In Touch Weekly

This sentence contains an error in subject-verb agreement and an error in diction.

The subject in this sentence is "two people," which is plural. The verb (the contraction form of "is") is singular. Change the number of the verb to plural ("are") to correct this error in agreement.

Jack refers to two people in this quote. However, while "your girlfriend" is a person, "the police" is not a person. "The police" is a group of people. "Police" is a special kind of collective noun, like "people" and "cattle," that is always plural.

To correct this error, replace "the police" with a singular noun ("a policeman") or restructure the sentence to remove the reference to two people:

"The only people in the world you should lie to are the police and your girlfriend."

"Being pregnant, it would have been much easier for me to stay married because of fear of the unknown." – Denise Richards, in People

This quote contains a dangling participle. The participial phrase "being pregnant" functions as an adjective to modify the subject "it." However, "it" cannot be pregnant; only a woman can be pregnant. One way to fix the sentence is to change the subject of the sentence and introduce a transitive verb to take the object "it."

The use of "for me" in this sentence is awkward. Denise should have said this:

"Being pregnant, I would have found it much easier to stay married because of fear of the unknown."

"He was completely sweet and making sure I was comfortable." – Michelle Monaghan, in People, on kissing Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: III

This sentence contains an error in parallelism. It is awkward because Michelle used an adjective modified by an adverb ("completely sweet") to describe "he" at the beginning of the sentence and a participial phrase ("making sure I was comfortable") to describe "he" at the end of the sentence. This sentence can be corrected in several ways.

The easiest way to fix the sentence is to change the participle to a verb so that the subject performs two actions:

"He was completely sweet and made sure I was comfortable."

It would also be acceptable to change the participial phrase to an adjective modified by an adverb:

"He was completely sweet and very comforting."

"Why fix something that isn't broke? Someone has to represent the average girl. Not everyone is a size 2." – former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson, on why she didn't feel she needed to lose weight for her role in Dreamgirls

This quote contains an error in diction. Jennifer used "broke" when she should have said "broken."

In the first sentence, the phrase "that isn't broke" is used as an adjective to modify "something." "Broke" is the past tense of the verb "to break." The past tense of a verb cannot be used as an adjective. The past participle of "to break" is "broken." Participles can function as adjectives. In order to correct this sentence, change "broke" to "broken."

In colloquial speech, "broke" is often used as an adjective meaning "having no money." This is an informal term and should never be used in standard written English.

Jennifer should have said:

"Why fix something that isn't broken? Someone has to represent the average girl. Not everyone is a size 2."

"I was not the kind of artist that had my mommy hold my hand and my daddy managing my career." – Christina Aguilera in GQ

This sentence contains two errors: an error in pronoun choice and an error in parallelism.

The pronoun "that" refers to "kind of artist." An artist is a person, so the correct proun to use in this sentence is "who."

Christina uses two different types of verbal phrases: an infinitive phrase and a participial phrase. The structure of the sentence is not parallel.

The infinitive phrase "hold my hand" functions as an adjective modifying the noun "mommy." Christina has left out the preposition "to" that is generally included with an infinitive. While this is commonly seen in colloquial speech, it should be avoided in formal writing.

The participial phrase "managing my career" functions as an adjective modifying the noun "daddy."

To correct the sentence, use two infinitive phrases or two participial phrases. Either choice will make the sentence parallel in structure.

Christina should have said:

"I was not the kind of artist who had my mommy to hold my hand and my daddy to manage my career."

or

"I was not the kind of artist who had my mommy holding my hand and my daddy managing my career."

"I was the most overprotected kid in upstate New York. I don't know what she was afraid of. Me and my sister were isolated – we were forced to be best friends." – Jimmy Fallon, when asked, "What does your mom worry about?" in People

This quote contains two errors: an error in pronoun usage and an error in syntax.

In the clause "Me and my sister were isolated," the subject is "me and my sister." The pronoun "me" is objective. You would not say "Me was isolated." The clause requires a subjective pronoun. Change the subject to "my sister and I."

Jimmy ends the second sentence with the preposition "of." While it is generally acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition in colloquial speech, it is nonetheless grammatically incorrect. The sentence can be reworded to avoid this incorrect syntax. Consider using something like, "I don't know why she was so afraid."

Jimmy should have said this:

"I was the most overprotected kid in upstate New York. I don't know why she was so afraid. My sister and I were isolated – we were forced to be best friends."

"I can't tell you how many times I've walked off stage to see producers sitting there in tears, whether it be happiness or frustration." – Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel in OK! Weekly

This quote contains two errors: an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement and a faulty comparison.

Howie chose to use the subjunctive mood in the clause "whether it be." This is perfectly acceptable, but it can make an analysis of the sentence structure a bit challenging. Let's start by looking at the pronoun and its antecedent.

The pronoun "it" refers back to the antecedent "tears." The antecedent is plural, so the pronoun and its verb must be plural as well. Change the pronoun from "it" to "they." The subjunctive form of "to be" is "be" for both the singular and the plural, so the verb is fine as it is. The clause should therefore be "whether they be."

The use of "whether they be" establishes a comparison, usually of one thing (the antecedent) to two or more other things (the predicates) or between two or more modifiers of the antecedent (predicates as well).

Here is an example of this structure using nouns as the antecedent and the predicates:

I love all animals, whether they be dogs or cats.

The antecedent is "animals." The predicates are "dogs" and "cats." To test the logic of the sentence, compare the antecedent with the predicates.

animals are dogs

animals are cats

Both of these statements make sense. The sentence is correct.

Here is an example using a noun as the antecedent and two modifiers (adjectives) as the predicates:

I like all dogs, whether they be big or small.

The antecedent is "dogs" and the predicates are "big" and "small." Test the logic of the sentence:

dogs are big

dogs are small

Both statements are logical, so the sentence is correct.

Here is an example using prepositional phrases as the predicates:

I like all dogs, whether they be from the pound or from a breeder.

The antecedent is "dogs" and the predicates are "from the pound" and "from the breeder." Test the logic of the sentence:

dogs are from the pound

dogs are from a breeder

These statements both make sense. The sentence is correct.

Now consider the participial phrase in Howie's statement:

"sitting there in tears, whether they be happiness or devastation"

The antecedent is "tears" and the predicates are "happiness" and "devastation." Test the logic of the phrase by comparing the antecedent with the predicates:

tears are happiness

tears are devastation

These statements do not make sense. This phrase is incorrect. To correct this participial phrase, try using prepositional phrases as the predicates.

"sitting there in tears, whether they be of happiness or of devastation"

Test the logic of the participial phrase:

tears are of happiness

tears are of devastation

Both statements make sense. The participial phrase is correct.

Howie should have said:

"I can't tell you how many times I've walked off stage to see producers sitting there in tears, whether they be of happiness or of frustration."

"I saw it and covered my eyes. I don't want to see me doing that!" – Adam Brody in ELLE Girl, about watching himself in a romantic scene with Meg Ryan in In the Land of Women

This quote contains an error in pronoun usage. When the receiver of the action is the same as the subject of the verb, a reflexive pronoun should be used.

In the second sentence, the subject is "I" and the object of the infinitive "to see" is "me." Since "I" and "me" both refer to Adam, the speaker, the proper pronoun to use as the object of the infinitive is "myself."

Adam should have said this:

"I saw it and covered my eyes. I don't want to see myself doing that!"

"I would prefer a day off more than some diamonds. That's just the honest-to-God truth." – Beyonce Knowles in Teen People

This quote contains an error in diction. One prefers something to something else. The definition of "prefer" is "to like someone or something better than another." The word contains a connotation of "more than," making its use redundant.

Beyonce should have said either of these statements:

"I would prefer a day off to some diamonds. That's just the honest-to-God truth."

or

"I would like a day off more than some diamonds. That's just the honest-to-God truth."

"I'm still not in that category of women whom things just kind of come easily to. But it's all good. I've finally realized that doing what makes me happy is the most important thing and all that I really owe to myself." – Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer was correct in choosing to use the pronoun "whom" because it is in the objective case and is the object of the preposition "to." However, her syntax is incorrect. Fix the sentence by moving the preposition from the end of the sentence to before its object.

Jennifer should have said:

"I'm still not in that category of women to whom things just kind of come easily. But it's all good. I've finally realized that doing what makes me happy is the most important thing and all that I really owe to myself."

“I don’t like to read about myself, but it’s not like I’m some superstar who has stuff written about them all the time.” – Mandy Moore, on her status as a celebrity

This quote contains two errors: the use of “like” as a subordinating conjunction and an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement.

“Like” is not a subordinating conjunction. In this sentence, the subordinate clause “like I’m some superstar who has stuff written about them all the time” requires a subordinating conjunction. “Like” can function as a preposition, but here it is not introducing a prepositional phrase. To correct the sentence, use a subordinating conjunction such as “as if.”

The antecedent in the second clause is “superstar,” which is singular. The referent pronoun is “their,” which is plural. To correct the sentence, use a singular referent pronoun.

Mandy should have said this:

“I don’t like to read about myself, but it’s not as if I’m some superstar who has stuff written about her all the time.”

"Unfortunately, I can't do it in the nude or anything to make it really exceptional, but I will try and come up with a good plan for a yoga lesson." – Gwyneth Paltrow, on the private yoga lesson she will be giving to the winner of a charity auction

This quote contains a common error in diction. While it is generally acceptable in colloquial speech, the usage of "try and" should be replaced with "try to" in writing and in formal speech.

Gwyneth should have said this:

"Unfortunately, I can't do it in the nude or anything to make it really exceptional, but I will try to come up with a good plan for a yoga lesson."

"Yes it’s a record! No it's not a Radiohead record. As you know the band are now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space so I want no crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah…this was all done with their blessing." – Thom Yorke, in a message he wrote on a Radiohead fan website

This written message contains several grammatical errors. There are errors in punctuation, an error in subject/verb agreement, a pronoun case error, and an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement.

The first two sentences begin with "yes" and "no," which are introductory words and should be followed by commas. "As you know" is an introductory clause and should be followed by a comma as well.

"Band" is a collective noun. Since the band is touring, writing, and getting to a good space as a collective unit, the subject of this sentence is singular. The verb, however, is plural. This is an example of an error in subject/verb agreement. The proper verb for this sentence is "is."

"Being" is a gerund. A pronoun that modifies a gerund must be in the possessive case. The pronoun in this sentence, "me," is in the objective case. The proper pronoun for this sentence is "my."

Since the third sentence is a compound sentence, there should be a comma between the two clauses.

This portion of the sentence is unclear: "or whatever splitting up blah blah…" It should be removed.

The antecedent of the referent pronoun "their," a plural pronoun, is "band." We have already seen that this word is singular in this sentence; therefore, this is an example of an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement.

This is what Thom should have written:

"Yes, it’s a record! No, it's not a Radiohead record. As you know, the band is now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space, so I want no crap about my being a traitor. This was all done with the band's blessing."

"If I was a man, I would be president." – Madonna, in her song “Super Pop”

A clause that begins with "if," "as if," or "as though" and expresses a hypothetical condition requires a past subjunctive verb. As a rule, the verb "to be" uses the form "were" in the past tense of the subjunctive regardless of the number of the subject.

The lyrics should be:

"If I were a man, I would be president."

"I feel really like it's absolutely imperative that myself and this delegation of women have gotten together to come down and show that we haven't forgotten, we still care about these children, we are going to continue to lobby for these children." – Reese Witherspoon, on touring the region affected by Hurricane Katrina

This quote contains two grammatical errors: the improper usage of "like" and the improper usage of "myself."

"Like" is not a subordinating conjunction. In this sentence, the subordinate clause "like it's absolutely imperative" requires a subordinating conjunction. "Like" can function as a preposition, but here it is not introducing a prepositional phrase.

"Myself" is a reflexive or emphatic pronoun. This type of pronoun cannot function as a subject. In this sentence, "myself and this delegation of women" is the subject of the subordinate clause that begins with "that." A personal pronoun in the nominative case is required.

Reese should have said:

"I feel really that it's absolutely imperative that this delegation of women and I have gotten together to come down and show that we haven't forgotten, we still care about these children, we are going to continue to lobby for these children."

"As much as I’m crying (right now), I believe with conviction that he has no worries whatsoever. Earlier, I whispered in his ear, 'Now, you go get on with your life and do whatever you want to do, because everyone would die to have you on their label.'" – Paula Abdul, about Chris Daughtry after he was cut from American Idol

This quote contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement. The antecedent, "everyone," is an indefinite singular pronoun; the referent pronoun, "their," is plural.

This is a common colloquial occurance; nonetheless, this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

To correct this sentence, use a singular referent pronoun:

Everyone would die to have you on his label.

or

Everyone would die to have you on her label.

To avoid the gender issues presented by singular possessive pronouns, consider restructuring the sentence.

People would die to have you on their label.

or 

Any label would die to have you.