CONTENTS FEATURE: What 'celebrate' and 'tribute' really mean GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: What 'celebrate,' 'tribute' and similar words really mean      Secondary meanings and connotations of words sometimes become so prevalent through popular use that they overshadow the original meaning.      Consider, for example, the verb "celebrate." A headline in a Jan. 2 edition of a newspaper story about the death of former President Gerald Ford proclaimed, "Nation celebrates Ford's life." An official of Ford Motor Co. announced a celebration of quite a different character in 2001 by declaring, "The all-new Thunderbird celebrates Ford's heritage of innovation." A headline published less than seven months ago read, "Gerald Ford celebrates 93rd birthday." Meanwhile, Catholics speak of "celebrating Mass" in church.      One of those announcements concerned a Gerald Ford festivity, another described a Presidential memorial commemoration, while another referred to the symbolic role of an inanimate object (a Ford Thunderbird). And yet another is a solemn religious ritual, the common name for the Eucharistic liturgy of the Catholic Church.      Can each of those be a "celebration"? Indeed. The earliest use of the transitive verb "celebrate," dating to the 15th century, was in connection with performance of a religious or other solemn reading. It was regarded as a way of marking or honoring an occasion by refraining from routine activities. More recently, it took on the connotation of holding up for public notice (as in "her paintings celebrate childhood") or observing a notable occasion with festivities (as in "a New Year's Day celebration").      Another word seen frequently in articles following Gerald Ford's death was the noun "tribute." A newspaper headline stated, "Bush pays tribute to Ford."      But what precisely is a tribute? Many journalists and politicians might be surprised to learn that the word traditionally refers to monetary payment and coercion rather than to testimonials. The initial definition of the noun "tribute" in Webster's New World College Dictionary is "a regular payment of money made by one ruler or nation to another as acknowledgment of subjugation or for protection from invasion."      A tribute also can be a tax levied for that purpose, including obligatory payment by a vassal to an overlord under feudalism. A "tribute" additionally can refer to bribery or any forced payment. The sense of a testimonial statement does not appear until the dictionary's fourth and last definition: "something given, done or said, as a gift, testimonial, etc., that shows gratitude, respect, honor or praise."      Even so, "tribute" is most commonly used in reference to statements of praise.      Organizations or individuals are sometimes said to "pay homage" to others. What precisely is homage? It's derived from the French word "hommen," meaning "man" or "vassal." Homage originally referred to a feudal ceremony in which one subservient person acknowledges that he is the vassal of a feudal lord. In modern use, it refers to showing reverence or honor.      Writers have numerous other useful transitive verbs at their disposal to convey respect. acclaim: to applaud or praise. aggrandize: to enhance the power, stature or reputation of someone through high praise. commemorate: to perpetuate the memory of someone or something by means of ceremony or observation (as in "commemorate an anniversary"); also, to serve as a memorial (as in "an inscription to commemorate a historic site"). decorate: refers not only to use of ornamental materials, but also to awarding a designation of honor (as in "a firefighter decorated for bravery"). Recall that Memorial Day originated in the United States as Decoration Day in remembrance of people who died in military service. eulogize: to speak or write in high praise of someone. Although the noun eulogy is most commonly used in connection with funerals, it can refer properly to any written or spoken commendations or high praise for anyone, deceased or living. exalt: can mean to raise the rank or power or an individual, or to praise, glorify or honor someone. extol: to praise lavishly or glorify. glorify: to bestow honor or praise—or to create the impression that a person or condition is more glorious than in actuality (as in, "she glorified his reckless stunts"). hail: can refer to an enthusiastic greeting, and also to the act of acclaiming an individual. hallow: can mean either to make or designate something for holy use, or to revere or respect greatly (synonymous with "venerate"). honor: to regard or treat someone with honor or respect, or to confer honor on someone. immortalize: although this transitive verb means to make immortal, it also means to make exempt from oblivion or to confer perpetual fame upon someone. laud: to praise or extol. lionize: to regard or treat someone as a celebrity or person of importance. memorialize: to commemorate or dedicate a memorial, such as a monument or holiday, in remembrance of a person or event. panegyrize: to express eulogistic, formal or elaborate praise in speech or writing. revere: to show deferential honor, or to regard someone as worthy of great honor or respect. salute: in addition to referring to greetings or giving a sign of respect, "salute" can mean to honor a person or entity through a ceremony or simply to express commendation of someone. solemnize: to observe or honor formally or with solemnity, such as a wedding ceremony or religious rites. venerate: to regard with reverential respect, or to honor with a ritual act of devotion.      When looking to recognize the achievements of someone, you have many precisely defined words from which to choose. Careful writers should consider that cause for celebration. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions 1. Misty T. wrote:      "Could you tell me what the plural of 'apprentice' is?" The grammar coach replies:      Although formation of some plurals can be tricky, it's straightforward for "apprentice"—simply add an "s" (as in "six apprentices were chosen for the program"). It is not subject to the rule for certain Latin words ending in "us," such as stimulus (stimuli in plural) or alumnus (alumni in plural).      A more complete discussion about plurals appeared in the November 2002 edition of the EditPros newsletter. 2. Alexandra R. wrote:      "I was looking at the usage distinctions for the various forms of 'wake' ('waken,' 'awake,' 'awaken'). Is there a usage distinction for the active versus passive voice construction? For example, you could say, 'I have woken him up,' but would you say, 'I have been woken up,' 'I have been wakened/awakened' or 'I have been awaked'? (This seems wrong, but without the active/passive distinction, it's fair game, if 'awake' and 'awaken' are interchangeable.)      Which of the forms would work in the following sentence, and which would be preferred? 'Mary later recalled that she was ______ three times in the night by the baby's cries.'      Can you recommend a reference that covers this? It's amazing how little this is covered in any of the standard style/usage/grammar guides I can think of. I appreciate your help. Thank you." The grammar coach replies:      The verbs "wake," "waken," "awake" and "awaken" all can be used either transitively or intransitively, and all can be used in active or passive constructions. Among those, the verbs "wake" and "awake" have multiple past and past participle forms that while correct, may sound awkward. All four of Alexandra's passive-voice examples ("I have been woken," "I have been wakened," "I have been awakened" and "I have been awaked") are grammatically correct. Some sound more peculiar than others, however. Because the verbs "waken" and "awaken" are regular in construction, they may be preferable under circumstances such as these.      The American Heritage Book of English Usage contains a detailed and illuminating discussion about the distinctions among the verbs "wake," "waken," "awake" and "awaken." It says:      "The pairs 'wake, waken' and 'awake, awaken' have formed a bewildering array since the Middle English period. All four words have similar meanings, though there are some differences in use. Only 'wake' is used in the sense 'to be awake,' as in expressions like 'waking (not wakening) and sleeping' and 'every waking hour.' 'Wake' is also more common than 'waken' when used together with 'up,' and 'awake' and 'awaken' never occur in this context: 'She woke up' (rarely 'wakened up'; never 'awakened up' or 'awoke up').      "Some writers have suggested that 'waken' should be used only transitively (as in 'The alarm wakened him') and 'awaken' only intransitively (as in 'He awakened at dawn'), but there is ample literary precedent for usages such as 'he wakened early' and 'they did not awaken her.' In figurative senses 'awake' and 'awaken' are more prevalent: 'With the governor's defeat the party awoke to the strength of the opposition to its position on abortion. The scent of the azaleas awakened my memory of his unexpected appearance that afternoon years ago.'"      The American Heritage Book of English Usage also discusses 'woke' and 'waked.' It says:      "Regional American dialects vary in the way that certain verbs form their principal parts. Northern dialects seem to favor forms that change the internal vowel in the verb—hence 'dove' for the past tense of 'dive' and 'woke' for 'wake': 'They woke up with a start.' Southern dialects, on the other hand, tend to prefer forms that add '-ed' to form the past tense and the past participle of these same verbs: 'The children dived into the swimming hole. The baby waked up early.'      The inflected forms of the verb awake are "awoke" or "awaked," and (has/have/was/were) "awaked" or "awoken."      The verb awaken has just one past tense form: "awakened."      The inflected forms of the verb wake are "woke" or "waked, and (has/have/was/were) "waked" or "woken."      The verb waken has only a simple past tense form: "wakened."      We at EditPros believe that Alexandra's question about usage relates more to whether the verb is used transitively or intransitively, rather than whether it's used in active or passive voice. We were unable to find any definitive guidelines for active and passive constructions.      The verb "awaken" offers a good resolution for all of the examples that Alexandra posed. They include: I have awakened him. I have been awakened. Mary later recalled that she was awakened three times in the night by the baby's cries.      Without breaking any rules, you also could write: Mary later recalled that she was waked three times in the night by the baby's cries. Mary later recalled that she was wakened three times in the night by the baby's cries. Mary later recalled that she was woken three times in the night by the baby's cries.      In the absence of a definitive rule, the careful writer must rely on judgment to avoid awkward-sounding constructions. To our ears, "awakened" sounds more natural than either of the past participle forms of "wake"—"waked" or "woken."      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500      Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros services? If you do, EditPros may reward you with a "finder's fee" of up to $500.      EditPros, established in 1993, performs writing, editing, proofreading and publication management services for newsletters, brochures, Web sites, annual reports, research studies, business proposals and other informational and marketing materials. Our office is in Davis, Calif., between Sacramento and San Francisco.      Our clients include educational institutions, private corporations, health-care organizations, trade associations, scientific research institutions, Web site developers and government agencies. We have worked with some of them for more than 10 years.      If you recommend our services to a friend or business colleague, and that introduction leads to an assignment for EditPros, we will award you a "finder's fee" equaling 10 percent of the amount we earn on the first assignment for the new client, up to a maximum finder's fee of $500. Naturally, the finder's fee is applicable only to clients for which we have not worked previously.      This offer will remain in effect until further notice. YOUR TURN: Ask the "grammar coach" or subscribe      We invite you to submit your questions to the "grammar coach," and we welcome you to subscribe to this monthly newsletter—which we'll send to your e-mail address at no charge. We respond to all "grammar coach" questions personally, but delays may occur because we must place top priority on assignments from our clients. We appreciate your patience and your interest.      You also can change your e-mail subscription address. For an address change, please indicate your existing AND your new e-mail address. Thank you. OUR PRIVACY POLICY for e-mail newsletter subscribers:      We do not use any commercial e-mail lists or automated mass-mailing programs, and we do not allow access to the list by anyone else for any reason. Our subscriber list is maintained by hand, and it is not for sale. We are protective of confidentiality because many of our readers are also clients of ours. Any accompanying advertising is placed by Yahoo.com in exchange for our use of the e-mail server to distribute this newsletter.