Cindy McCain’s convention speech was loaded with sloppy language. Her very first sentence came out poorly. “Before I begin,” she said, ” I would like to introduce you for the seven reasons that John and I are so happy as a family.”

Eek! We introduce an audience to people, not for them.

Cindy made a couple of grammatical mistakes when describing our country. “From its very birth,” she said, “our party has been grounded in the notion of service, community, self-reliance, and it’s all tempered by a uniquely American faith…”

I count three notions — service, community and self-reliance — requiring the plural notions, not notion. (Better yet, she could’ve said the nation is “grounded in service, community and self-reliance.” As a result, the pronoun “it’s” (”it’s all tempered”) doesn’t work.

Cindy also said, “A helping hand and friendly support has always been our way.” The problem? She used two subjects, hand and support, which require a plural verb. She should’ve said, “A helping hand and friendly support have always been our way.” (Or, a bit more poetic, “Friendly support and a helping hand have always been our way.”) It doesn’t matter if each subject is singular. As long as they are linked by the conjunction and, you need a plural verb. (The conjunction or has a different rule. In that case, the verb is determined by the subject closest to the verb.)

Cindy also made a number of poor word choices in her RNC speech. For example, she said, “It is not only our natural instinct to rally to them, to lift them up with our prayers and come to their aid, it is also our duty to our country.” According to Merriam-Webster, an instinct is “a natural or inherent aptitute, impulse or capacity.” With natural embedded in the meaning, the phrase “natural instinct” is redundant.

See if you can catch another case of unnecessary verbiage: “Nothing has made me happier or more fulfilled in my life than being a mother.” The culprit? In my life. There is no need to specify — unless she believes she’s been reincarnated and has led multiple lives.

Grammar Guard also takes issue with this statement: “Our country was born amidst the struggle for freedom.” The word “admist” is painfully antiquated, points out lexicographer Bryan A. Garner in his book “Garner’s Modern American Usage.” He writes, “Often the word in or among serves better.” In this case, Cindy could’ve said, “Our country was born in the struggle for freedom.” Or, “Our country was born during the struggle for freedom.” Among wouldn’t work as well because it’s used to describe three or more things — as opposed to between, which is used for two things. Between the speech writer and the editor, Cindy’s speech endured many edits. She should’ve passed it among other advisers and editors.

Our suggestion for Cindy: Spend a little less time on the self tanner and a little more time with the Grammar Guard.