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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 346 responses total. |
carl
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response 50 of 346:
| 
Mar 24 22:47 UTC 1995 |
re 44: Sound effects affect my hearing.
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zook
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response 51 of 346:
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Mar 25 00:49 UTC 1995 |
(noun) effect = aftermath
affect = perceived emotional state
(verb) effect = to cause to happen
affect = to impact (have an impact on), to pretend
Another difficult pair:
To lie (lay, have lain) = to be resting on
To lay (laid, have laid) = to set (something) down on
Which brings up another pair
To sit = To put one's bottom onto a chair (or similar device)
To set = To place something into position
ie. To sit = To set one's bottom onto a chair.
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otterwmn
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response 52 of 346:
|
Mar 25 03:24 UTC 1995 |
Common and distressing: layed off instead of laid off
payed off " " paid off.
ref #44: I always remember "special Effects".
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nephi
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response 53 of 346:
|
Mar 25 05:18 UTC 1995 |
Neat. Thanks, otterwmn. Also remember this pair.
I hung my clothes.
I hanged my wife.
8*)
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srw
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response 54 of 346:
|
Mar 25 07:32 UTC 1995 |
Back to #41 and apostrophes, Gina.
To be correct, you should write "Dr. Seuss's name."
You should not use the xxxx' form unless xxxx is a plural.
I have a lot of personal experience with this particular one.
I even entered it in an pet peeve item several agora's ago.
Steve Weiss's desk. The Weisses' house.
The purpose for this orthography is to avoid putting another syllable
on the end. In "Dr. Seuss's name" you don't want to avoid adding that syllable.
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nephi
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response 55 of 346:
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Mar 25 07:47 UTC 1995 |
(Should this be linked to the language conference?)
|
zook
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response 56 of 346:
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Mar 26 00:32 UTC 1995 |
Actually, I thought there was an exception with proper nouns ending in "s".
So, either Dr. Seuss' or Dr. Seuss's should be correct. Or, the Cincinnati
Reds' player (as opposed to the Cincinnati Reds's player).
|
davel
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response 57 of 346:
|
Mar 26 02:25 UTC 1995 |
Nope. But it's been so badly abused that it sometimes gets taught that
way.
BTW, the _Oxford Companion to the English Language_ lists the use of
"'s" to indicate the plural as follows (this is the last in a list;
the rest are all more respectable):
5. In the non-standard ('illiterate') use often called in BrE the
_greengrocer's apostrophe_, as in _apple's 55p per lb_ and
_We sell the original shepherds pie's_ (notice in a shop
window, Canterbury, England).
(How interesting that it's "shepherds" rather than either "shepherd's"
or "shepherds'"!)
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srw
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response 58 of 346:
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Mar 26 18:41 UTC 1995 |
Bret, in your Cincinnati Reds example, "Reds" is a plural form.
You wouldn't say "The Reds is taking the field". but rather,
"The Reds are taking the field." therefore, I would argue that
The Cincinnati Reds' player is correct.
The key to deciding is number. If it is not plural, then s' is wrong.
It also helps to think how you would want to pronounce it.
I can't imagine anyone pronouncing Reds's with the two syllables it
would require (at least with a straight face). Otoh, with
Dr Seuss's (and Steve Weiss's) I can't imagine it being pronounced
without the extra 's . It makes sense to me, anyway.
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rcurl
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response 59 of 346:
|
Mar 27 06:45 UTC 1995 |
I am linking this item to language.
|
zook
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response 60 of 346:
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Mar 27 14:28 UTC 1995 |
Hmm... Looks like I need to review my old class notes. (But, honest, teach,
I grammer good! I ain't never made no mistake at this. What, doesn't you
believe I?)
|
popcorn
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response 61 of 346:
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Mar 27 16:15 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
|
popcorn
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response 62 of 346:
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Mar 27 18:45 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
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kami
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response 63 of 346:
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Mar 27 20:56 UTC 1995 |
utilize. how does it really differ from "use"?
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nephi
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response 64 of 346:
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Mar 27 21:52 UTC 1995 |
Although its specific denotation may be the same, its connotation is
different. Hard to describe the difference, though.
|
davel
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response 65 of 346:
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Mar 28 03:09 UTC 1995 |
Valerie, there are a *bunch* of pet peeves (of mine, I mean) that I'd group
with that one. "Alright" (presumably by analogy with "already"); "already"
(when "all ready" is meant); others that refuse to come to mind now when
I need them.
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srw
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response 66 of 346:
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Mar 28 03:47 UTC 1995 |
There are a lot of words like utilize which are grand words but express
no grander a concept than common words. Word choice is an important
part of writing well, but it is not really a grammar question.
Usage of a non-word like "alright" and usage of a word improperly,
as in the manner "already" is so often used, are bad grammar.
|
rcurl
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response 67 of 346:
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Mar 28 06:28 UTC 1995 |
I "outlaw" the use of "utilize", "actually" (and "actual", as in
"actual data"), "basically", and dangling modifiers (e.g., "Crawling
in the water, I observed an alligator." ;->), in the senior
laboratory course I teach, for written and oral reports. I do this with
some humor attached, saying that *sometime* the students will have to
improve their language, or adopt a company's convention, so let's try
some of that here. It gives them *fits*, as (basically.. ;->), they
speak and write in sophomore jargon, (you know.. ;->).
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nephi
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response 68 of 346:
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Mar 28 06:33 UTC 1995 |
I'm guessing that you don't have a big problem with run-on sentences.
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rcurl
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response 69 of 346:
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Mar 28 07:26 UTC 1995 |
Those, too. Never touch them.
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philoman
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response 70 of 346:
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Mar 28 09:40 UTC 1995 |
<sigh>
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carl
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response 71 of 346:
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Mar 28 11:18 UTC 1995 |
"a non-word like 'alright?'"
_Webster's New Collegiate_ lists it defined as "ALL RIGHT." I'm
sure that the use of caps means that it's a synonym.
I use the word quite often.
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danr
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response 72 of 346:
|
Mar 28 12:01 UTC 1995 |
Three cheers to rcurl for insisting that his engineerers-to-be write well.
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danr
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response 73 of 346:
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Mar 28 12:02 UTC 1995 |
Now if only I could spell! :) s/engineerers/engineers/
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omni
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response 74 of 346:
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Mar 28 13:05 UTC 1995 |
I have always had a BIG problem with those people who insist on using
the term "I'm like". For example, "I was talking with Roger the other
day and he was like, "I don't dig that music" and I was like, yeah I
know what you mean"
To me, this is laziness and to a greater extent simplemindedness. I
wish that some people would use the correct grammar when quoting someone.
No wonder there aren't any decent writers.
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