Now, this is really interesting.

I’m listening to NPR this morning.  It’s a report on something to do with medical research.  Even in my half-asleep state, I’m startled by the following:

“Ms. Smith was 38, in great health and had just given birth to a brand new baby boy.”

Now, I’m thinking, how many extra words can one cram into a simple sentence?

It could have been:  “. . . and had just given birth to a boy,” or “a son.”

“Brand new”?  Does that add anything to the information we’re receiving?  (Pretty much every baby is “brand new,” no?)

What about “baby”?  One hopes that, when Ms. Smith gave birth to a boy, it was to a “baby.”

As usual, I’m wondering, “does anyone edit these stories before the things are aired?”  Obviously not.

Yet, when I went to the “Morning Edition” page for today’s show, and read the story, here’s what it said:

“Ms. Smith was 38, in great health and had just given birth to a baby boy.”

So, we learn, the editing apparently comes after the story is aired.  So, they edit it twice?  Or, does NPR edit these things only after the stories are aired?

I’m still wondering though:  Why did they leave in the word “baby”?

Baby steps, eh?

Today, I have a short comment on subject-verb agreement when it comes to quantities.

I offer some examples of correct usage:

“Twelve years is a long time.”  Here, we are talking about a length of time as a collective unit.  We are actually saying “Twelve years is a long period of time.”  We use the singular verb.

But:  “Forty years pass in the blink of an eye.”  Here, we are speaking of more than one individual units, years.  Hence, we use the plural verb.

Similarly, “Three bottles of Southern Comfort is enough for the party.”

But, “Three cans of Dr. Pepper are missing.”

And, “Five copies of Crime and Punishment is plenty for the new library.”

But, “Six copies of To the Lighthouse are being shipped today.”