Timeline for What's wrong with these sentences? [duplicate]
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
26 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 29, 2018 at 20:00 | history | edited | tchrist♦ |
edited tags
|
|
| Aug 7, 2015 at 9:15 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| Aug 7, 2015 at 9:37 | |||||
| Jun 7, 2014 at 17:32 | history | closed | RegDwigнt | Duplicate of What is the difference between "lay" and "lie"? | |
| Jun 10, 2013 at 16:12 | history | edited | RegDwigнt | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
deleted 129 characters in body; edited tags
|
| Jan 4, 2013 at 4:03 | comment | added | Joe Z. | I believe "unique" can be comparative, if it's conflated with the word "special" as tends to be the case. | |
| Sep 26, 2012 at 9:01 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/#!/StackEnglish/status/250882740130574336 | ||
| Sep 20, 2012 at 19:34 | vote | accept | SaultDon | ||
| Sep 20, 2012 at 9:57 | comment | added | user21497 | I'd advise the OP to dismiss the notion that anyone operates with perfect grammar. Were the OP's grammar not good enough, he'd know it by now: "What are you talking about Mr Ungrammatical?" would be on all his interlocutors' lips. What can be learned, if the presenters are good, is how to think fruitfully about how to use the language and how the language is actually used, where to go for good examples of how to use the language in ways that'll help one accomplish one's communication goals, and what's worth worrying about in one's own field. If they're bad, they'll make the OP feel bad. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 4:42 | comment | added | Chris | If you have the need to pretend that after attending the grammar webminar you'll be a pro, the people collecting the registration are counting on that thought to get paid. No matter how much you'd actually get out of the webminar, It's in my blood to reject someone plying for money whilst they try to make you feel dumb. Their grammar might be perfect, in stark contrast to their etiquette. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 2:09 | comment | added | user21497 | @FumbleFingers: Agree that the purpose of ELU isn't "to help poor high school English teachers inculcate strict rules of grammar into their charges." Communication, however, is inherently difficult, especially in writing (few nonverbal clues & no body language, tone, stress, etc). The point to inculcate should be something like Say what you mean & mean what you say. To do that, one must understand language better than most native speakers understand their native language. What do I want my expression to accomplish? is always a good question to ask oneself. Does it work? is another. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:40 | answer | added | user21497 | timeline score: 20 | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:38 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | I think (1) is just silly. (2) duplicate, (3) another duplicate, (4) another duplicate, (5) yet another duplicate | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:31 | comment | added | user21497 | @bib: We are in the middle of the "me" generation: There are no standards but mine and anything else is hurtful and offensive because it implies that I'm not always right. Extreme egalitarianism is like all other fundamentalist ideologies. "Better dead than Red" anyone? | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:27 | answer | added | rrampage | timeline score: 1 | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:26 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @bib: Whatever floats your boat. I don't think the purpose of ELU is to help poor high school English teachers inculcate strict rules of grammar into their charges. Even if I'm the only one who thinks this question doesn't belong here, I shall continue to hold that opinion. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:15 | comment | added | bib | And cheers to @tchrist for taking the trouble. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 1:14 | comment | added | bib | @FumbleFingers Pity the poor high school English teacher. (Lucky me, I had third grade and never got to these delightful distinctions.) | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 0:31 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @bib: There are many aspects of language usage where "correct" is a misplaced concept. I could just about stand to be picked up on it if I said I felt badly about using three prepositions in a row there, but I think life's too short to be worrying about people using grading adverbs with non-gradable adjectives (very unique). And quite frankly I'm bored to tears with lay/lie quibbles. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 0:18 | comment | added | bib | @FumbleFingers I thought we were (collectively) the Esteemed Knights and Ladies of Nit-Picky? If we fail to take up the cudgel (halberd?) in a stalwart defense of the Realm, who shall? | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 0:16 | comment | added | J.R. | Yes, to echo what everyone else is saying, they are using subtle nuances of language to infuse almost unnoticable "errors" into sentences that would sound natural to most speakers. No reason to be worried – it's mostly a marketing ploy. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 0:08 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | I think (1) is uber-pedantry, and do not believe the average speaker makes or apprehends the distinction. The rest are nit-picky points that would probably all have been closed as General Reference or Not Constructive if asked about in isolation. | |
| Sep 20, 2012 at 0:02 | review | Close votes | |||
| Sep 26, 2012 at 3:01 | |||||
| Sep 19, 2012 at 23:39 | answer | added | tchrist♦ | timeline score: 3 | |
| Sep 19, 2012 at 23:30 | comment | added | Henry | Some people think lay is either transitive or past. These people tend to lie down when they go to bed. | |
| Sep 19, 2012 at 23:28 | comment | added | Henry | Some people think unique is true or false and so cannot be intensified. | |
| Sep 19, 2012 at 23:10 | history | asked | SaultDon | CC BY-SA 3.0 |