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Author Topic: Words and Grammar and Stuff  (Read 126184 times)

¡Keith!

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #650 on: April 22, 2010, 09:12:58 AM »
My thinking is it should be analog.

digital>analog.

pixote

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #651 on: April 22, 2010, 11:06:34 AM »
Similarly, if I put something in parentheses at the end of the sentence, the fullstop goes outside the parentheses, not inside. Only if I put the whole sentence in parentheses, do I put the fullstop inside. I've no idea how correct this is, but it seems more logical to me, and I prefer how it looks.

This part is very correct (I think).

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Emiliana

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #652 on: May 19, 2010, 10:59:51 AM »
"She had come all the way from New York. More important, she was working with the police on this matter."


Can somebody please, please tell me that it should be "More importantLY"?

(Surely this can't have anything to do with the fact that the book is set around 1900? Sloppy editing? Wouldn't surprise me, it's a very trashy novel  :))

pixote

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #653 on: May 19, 2010, 11:59:28 AM »
"She had come all the way from New York. More important, she was working with the police on this matter."


Can somebody please, please tell me that it should be "More importantLY"?

(Surely this can't have anything to do with the fact that the book is set around 1900? Sloppy editing? Wouldn't surprise me, it's a very trashy novel  :))

Yeah, it hurts my ears without the "ly" ... though I suppose a case could be made for "More important [than that]..." with the bracketed words being implied...?  Nah.

Actually, if the comma was a colon instead, I'd be okay with it.

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Emiliana

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #654 on: May 19, 2010, 05:05:47 PM »
Thank you pix. I had a simlar thought at the time and asked myself whether I was supposed to understand that "[But what was] more important, she...." was implied.

Hadn't thought about the colon thing - I guess it would work grammatically, but I would still find it grating...

chardy999

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #655 on: May 20, 2010, 04:10:10 AM »
Seeing she is doing something, a description of how she is doing it should be an adverb. The colon is barely passable as the 'list' contains only one item thereafter.

Horrid sentence in any case.
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¡Keith!

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #656 on: May 21, 2010, 09:22:44 AM »
seems halfalogue is a word.

alexarch

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #657 on: May 22, 2010, 10:26:49 AM »
Speaking of adverbs/adjective confusion, I've always struggled with:

#1: How are you?

#2: Well.

v.

#2: Good.

#1 is not literally asking how #2 is doing something. #1 is asking about #2's state of being. The response, in my mind, calls for an adjective not an adverb. Good, not well.

But according too everybody well is correct.

oneaprilday

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #658 on: May 22, 2010, 11:47:10 AM »
Speaking of adverbs/adjective confusion, I've always struggled with:

#1: How are you?

#2: Well.

v.

#2: Good.

#1 is not literally asking how #2 is doing something. #1 is asking about #2's state of being. The response, in my mind, calls for an adjective not an adverb. Good, not well.

But according too everybody well is correct.
Yes, I agree. The response should definitely be in adjective form. And "well" can be an adjective: 1. In a satisfactory condition; right or proper: eg. All is well. 2. Not ailing, infirm, or diseased; healthy. 

But my question is this: do people who answer "well," mean the adjective form of it? Or are they translating my question, "how are you?" to "how are you doing?"

On a related note, I find it really annoying when someone asks me the question first and I say "good," and then in response to my query, he or she says, "well." Pfft. Thanks, yes, you speak correctly, I'm an idiot.

Personally, I think we should all use "good."  I guess, literally, "good" doesn't make much sense - what are we saying, we're in a state of moral uprightness? But lots of casual exchanges/queries don't make literal sense, eg. "What's up?" "How's it going?" etc. I think the "well" advocates need to get over it and embrace a language shift.

mañana

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #659 on: May 22, 2010, 12:09:55 PM »
Personally, I think we should all use "good."  I guess, literally, "good" doesn't make much sense - what are we saying, we're in a state of moral uprightness? But lots of casual exchanges/queries don't make literal sense, eg. "What's up?" "How's it going?" etc. I think the "well" advocates need to get over it and embrace a language shift.
Good said.
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