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ASF spelling and grammar lessons

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Sorry but this thread is a complete waste of time, the english language/grammar and spelling has gone to the dogs anyway.

Globalisation and technology have changed the way we spell and talk forever.

Time we all get over the old sckool ways and get with the times.

wats up tonite?

cya l8ter

lol
 
I think this is an excellent thread and we can all learn a great deal from it. Even Joe Blow mentioned, in an earlier post, that he'd learned something from another poster.
 
123enen said:
I understood that "were" is used for plural and "was" is used for singular.
i.e I was / We were
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Yes, 123enen, that's correct - when you are using the "active voice".
Google "active and passive voice" for details.

In your example above, you are stating a fact, "I was out last night".
In the subjunctive which is what was being used in my example and as I said in explanation, the verb (were) is denoting a hypothetical rather than an actual example, e.g. "If I were a millionaire I would buy a vineyard". The "if" at the start of the sentence gives you a good clue that it's a hypothetical situation and therefore the subjunctive "were" is used.

Sorry, it's quite difficult to explain briefly. If you Google active/passive voice, and subjunctive you will find heaps of detail.
 
Stop_the_clock said:
Sorry but this thread is a complete waste of time, the english language/grammar and spelling has gone to the dogs anyway.

Globalisation and technology have changed the way we spell and talk forever.

Time we all get over the old sckool ways and get with the times.

wats up tonite?

cya l8ter

lol
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Sorry Stop

I picked up a misspelling

Its cya l8ta
not cya l8ter

Garpal
 
Snagglepuss said:
"One choice" - In the movie version of The Lord Of The Rings Gandalf says, after becoming trapped in the Mines of Moria, "We have but one choice". However, if only one course of action is available, then you actually have no choice.
I'm sure I have many more pet peeves lurking in the recesses of my brain, I'll add them as I think of them.

- Snaggle.
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Can you remember more precisely where this line comes? I'd bet London to a brick it's not in the book, especially considering that after the Fellowship retreats from Caradhras, before they enter Moria, Gandalf says, "We have no choice but to go on." Tolkein's dialogue clunks sometimes, but a grammatical or, as in this case, a logical solecism seems unlikely and I surely wouldn't have cared to challenge him :D

Ghoti
 
ghotib said:
Can you remember more precisely where this line comes? I'd bet London to a brick it's not in the book, especially considering that after the Fellowship retreats from Caradhras, before they enter Moria, Gandalf says, "We have no choice but to go on." Tolkein's dialogue clunks sometimes, but a grammatical or, as in this case, a logical solecism seems unlikely and I surely wouldn't have cared to challenge him :D
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This line comes immediately after the party is trapped in the Mines Of Moria, after the Watcher in the Water collapses the entrance around them. It's from the movie, and doesn't appear in the book (I just checked).

Interestingly, earlier in the movie at the Council of Elrond, Elrond also says "We have but one choice. The ring must be destroyed."

And I've never heard the expression "I'd bet London to a brick ..." before. Any idea where that comes from?

Cheers, Snaggle. :)
 
Stop_the_clock said:
Sorry but this thread is a complete waste of time, the english language/grammar and spelling has gone to the dogs anyway.

Globalisation and technology have changed the way we spell and talk forever.

Time we all get over the old sckool ways and get with the times.

wats up tonite?

cya l8ter

lol
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That's Ok STC. We know that you have for others the empathy of a dead rabbit and a soul equivalent in size to a pin-head. Just don't bother reading the thread if it annoys you. Allow others to enjoy their interests while you just go and wallow in the current size of your superannuation fund.
 
Garpal Gumnut said:
Sorry Stop

I picked up a misspelling

Its cya l8ta
not cya l8ter

Garpal
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Garpal
I can see you have some trouble here from time to time.
Both spellings are text correct, although the preference is for "l8r" as it is the shortest option; latA and l8er are other choices.
AMF
 
Snagglepuss said:
And I've never heard the expression "I'd bet London to a brick ..." before. Any idea where that comes from?

Cheers, Snaggle. :)
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My wife's family has used this expression forever. They are British-Kenyan and so add: "I'd bet London to a brick and Mobasa to a melon". :)

I'd wager it has Cockney origins.
 
"bet London to a brick" is a statement about betting odds in which a person is so certain of the outcome that they are willing to bet London to win a brick.
 
Prospector said:
"bet London to a brick" is a statement about betting odds in which a person is so certain of the outcome that they are willing to bet London to win a brick.
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It also seems to be Aussie in origin from what I can find on Google. Hmmmm
 
Judd said:
That's Ok STC. We know that you have for others the empathy of a dead rabbit and a soul equivalent in size to a pin-head. Just don't bother reading the thread if it annoys you. Allow others to enjoy their interests while you just go and wallow in the current size of your superannuation fund.
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So well said, Judd.

I will stand up and fight for the preservation of our language and really hate the current trend towards extending text messaging into ordinary communications. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has read books just for the beauty and elegance of the language. Words help us to communicate with empathy and clarity.
 
bet london to a brick
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"bet a motsa to a molehill"? whatever -

The Readers Digest (Reader's Digest? Readers' Digest?) used to have a page "towards more picturesque speech" - and I personally think that all that subjunctive stuff sounds ok. (as long as it's manageable for students learning English - like , just a couple of exceptions to the rule to learn . eg "be that as it may", "were I you". )


like
"be that as it may, were I you, I'd stick with the Australian dictionary rather than modernise to the American dictionary"

versus the (hypothetical) trend ....

"whether that is or isn't so, if I was you, I'd stick with the Australian dictionary rather than modernise to the American dictionary"

btw all languages have their quirks - cantonese "I'm sorry" , = "Doi m'jer" , translates literally as "next (to you I should be) dead" - I mean , that's pretty sorry - and in it's own way , pretty picturesque :eek:
 
Recent reports on the wireless in connection with the little girl "Pumpkin" state that "Police are investigating a suspected murder case." I believe it should be "Police are investigating a case of suspected murder."
 
Judd said:
Recent reports on the wireless in connection with the little girl "Pumpkin" state that "Police are investigating a suspected murder case." I believe it should be "Police are investigating a case of suspected murder."
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Well, given they waited four freaking days to open the car boot, knowing the mum was missing, I dont think they have done either! She may have been alive all the time they were waiting for the warrant.

I know, :topic but give me a window and I will jump through it!
 
The following is from Crikey.com, reporting on something written by a contributor. What is wrong with it?



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9. What's a pseudo-ersatz?
Jeff Sparrow writes:

There’s something weird happening when John Howard accuses Kevin Rudd of holding a "pseudo-American, pseudo-ersatz" campaign launch .
 
Julia said:
There’s something weird happening when John Howard accuses Kevin Rudd of holding a "pseudo-American, pseudo-ersatz" campaign launch .
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I'm guessing that you're saying that pseudo and ersatz are similar in meaning, in same way that it is probably frowned on to double up. The likes of "sham-imitation" is "arguably-contestable" etc:confused:
or "bogus-phoney" etc or "false fake" etc .

but just a guess .

Ersatz is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement. Although it is used as an adjective in English, Ersatz can function in German only as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile (spare parts) or Ersatzspieler (substitute player). While the English term often implies that the substitution is of unsatisfactory or inferior quality, this connotation does not necessarily exist in the German context. For example, "Ersatzbutter" or "Butter-Ersatz" could be used as a generic term for margarine as a substitute for butter
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2020hindsight said:
btw all languages have their quirks - cantonese "I'm sorry" , = "Doi m'jer" , translates literally as "next (to you I should be) dead" - I mean , that's pretty sorry - and in it's own way , pretty picturesque
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Mind you, Aussies have some picturesque expressions ... eg "your blood's worth bottling" ;)

I lived in HK for a few years, and started to get adventurous translating into Cantonese. So I learnt the translated version of that phrase. So time came to pay someone the ultimate Aussie compliment - the superlative version of the expression "thanks", and I said this to him in Cantonese - his smile was replaced by a strange quizzical expression, and he said , in challenging fashion ....
"what!!? you want to kill me and put my blood in a bottle??"

so I stuck to a simple "thanks" after that ;)
sometimes picturesque language misses something in the translation. :2twocents

PS The many choices of English words for any meaning surely have more subtlety of meaning than a language like say Espiranto yes? Although Espiranto has noble origins.

btw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto
Esperanto (the word) means "one who hopes" ;)
Esperanto (help·info) is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. The name derives from Doktoro Esperanto, the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof first published the Unua Libro in 1887. The word itself means 'one who hopes'. Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding.

Although no country has adopted the language officially, it has enjoyed continuous usage by a community estimated at between 100,000 and 2 million speakers. By some estimates, there are about a thousand native speakers.[2]

Today, Esperanto is employed in world travel, correspondence, cultural exchange, conventions, literature, language instruction, television (Internacia Televido) and radio broadcasting.[citation needed] Some state education systems offer elective courses in Esperanto[citation needed], and in one university instruction is in the language (see Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino). There is evidence that learning Esperanto is a useful preparation for later language learning (see Propaedeutic value of Esperanto for more details).
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And even in German there are far far fewer words in their dictionary than we have in English. Less subtlety of meaning available you would think (?). But Germans still love their language - love their poetry etc. :2twocents My guess is that Espiranto would be no different. (?)
 
2020hindsight said:
I'm guessing that you're saying that pseudo and ersatz are similar in meaning, in same way that it is probably frowned on to double up. The likes of "sham-imitation" is "arguably-contestable" etc:confused:
or "bogus-phoney" etc or "false fake" etc .

but just a guess .
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Exactly right, 2020. Thanks for picking it up. Tautology.
 
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