posted
There's already been a lot of discussion about the misuse of apostrophes in forming plurals. But recently I've noticed another problem stemming from apostrophe abuse, and I think it needs to be addressed for the sake of the English language. Okay, it's really just for the sake of my own sanity.
In English, the past tense is generally formed by adding -ed to the end of a word. Thus, it is I walked to the store yesterday. The past tense is never formed by adding 'd. Never. That's right; there are no exceptions. Thus, you don't say The president veto'd the bill; you say The president vetoed the bill.
Please, please, please, for the love of all that is holy, stop doing the 'd thing. We'll all be a lot happier. I'll be happier because it won't drive me nuts, and you'll be happier because I won't flip out and kill you.
posted
Sorry. It just seemed natural. After I posted it I realized it looked wrong, but I didn't think it was that big a deal. And besides, the rules of grammar are constantly changing. Maybe this is for the best.
Posts: 3056 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Jehovoid, this thread was not intended to criticize you. I've seen plenty of people do it, and after Diosmel's thread, I felt like starting my own little language rant. Don't take it personally.
Ronnie: What if you like to pretend that the English language uses capital letters for the first word in a sentence and for proper nouns?
Posts: 100 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
The spelling and grammar of your last post was impeccable, right up until the "type'd" and "thoughted" part. Thank you for almost making my day.
Posts: 100 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
ed: what if i like to pretend it doesn't? i feel that it places too much unearned value on certain words when none is deserving. except my name, of course. my name is plenty deserving.
Posts: 1658 | Registered: Sep 2003
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(Pronunciation note: a y is usually an "uh" sound, though sometimes it's an "ee" sound, a w is an "ooh," a ch is like the ch in German, an f is a v, and dd is the like the "th" in "the." The accent is typically placed on the penultimate syllable.)
Ydych chi wedi dyweddio? (UD-uhch chee we-dee duh-we-THEE-o) Are you engaged?
Ddim eto, ond mae ffrind arbennig gyda fi. (Thim E-to, ond my frind ar-BEN-ig GUH-da vee) Not yet, but I have a special friend.
Ble mae car Dafydd? (Blay my car DAV-ith) Where's David's car?
Mae car Dafydd yn yr afon. Stori drist iawn! (My car DAV-ith un ur AV-on. STOR-y drist yown) David's car is in the river. A very sad story!
Beth wyt ti'n mynd i neud yfory? (Beth weet teen mind ee nade uh-VOR-y) What are you going to do tomorrow?
Rydw i'n mynd i bregethu yn yr eglwys—tan a brwmstan! (RUHD-ween mind ee bre-GETH-ee un ur EG-lweez—tan ah BROOM-stan) I'm going to preach in the church—fire and brimstone!
posted
I've noticed a continuing inability to use lie and lay correctly. If you have any questions at all about this, please let me email you my lecture # 117 on The Correct Use of 'Lie' and 'Lay' in Standard English. Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Actually, the error is almost always that lay is used instead of lie. Almost no one has a problem with lay, but most people have problems with lie.Posts: 100 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I have an exception. (And I don't care if you don't accept it. ) If I typed the following piece of code:
code:
grep 'mt$' /usr/dict/words
I might explain myself by saying "I grep'd through the dictionary looking for words ending in 'mt'." I wouldn't want to have to use "grepped" or "greped" to describe my actions, as the first doesn't preserve the literalism required in computer languages, and the second one looks like it should be pronounced as "greeped". Same with "tar" or "gzip" or any number of other handy tools.
Now I admit that what I speak is not exactly English. Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jan 1999
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posted
The word that has a few different functions in English. One of its uses is to serve as a regular pronoun: "that" helped him figure it out (whatever "that" is). Another use is as a relative pronoun, meaning that it introduces a relative clause (a clause that relates to something else). When it's working as a relative pronoun, we can often drop it entirely:
quote:I know you're right.
quote:I know that you're right.
They both work, but it sounds a little more formal when that is included.
In my opinion, when you have two different thats next to each other, it's better to keep the relative pronoun in. Otherwise, readers may see the regular that as a relative that, which may cause brief confusion (though readers are generally very good at figuring it out). If you don't like using two thats, you might want to change the second one to something else like it.Posts: 100 | Registered: Apr 2003
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The Jargon File has no specific listing of the past tense of the verb "to grep," but it does use the past participle "grepping." By extension, I think we can conclude that it is, at least, not improper to write "grepped."
Them's a mightee nice parcel pf handy phrases, like - why I bet youse could hang jest aboot anywheres -
So, the next time I have a burning desire to know the correct way to form a grammatically perfect sentence, may I please e-mail you? You are truly amazing.
How do you do with slang American by the way? Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Ok, I know as a senior in high school, I should have figured this out by now, but what is the difference between then and than? Also, are all of my commas proper in this post? I don't think they are, but I really have no idea what you use commas for, other than to make really long sentences.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
Why Chief! I was even being half-way serious! Just a little sarcasm thrown in. For seasoning. But, yes, if you wish, you may e-mail me. Does that mean I may, or may not, e-mail you with my grammar questions or should I just post them here for all to discover the depths of my ignorance. Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
You can blame me for seeing sarcasm where it wasn't intended; I alerted him to your post. Sorry.
I'm sure Jon Boy would love it if you emailed him with questions. There are few things he likes better than answering language questions. You can email me too, for that matter, but I don't see the point, since I'd just ask him if I didn't know the answer. Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
My husband keeps telling me boughten and dranken are not real words. I'm sure I've posted on this subject before. I'd like to thank Ed 'n Ch for the info. 'd is short for Would, id'n it? The last sentence I kept thinking all the 'lls should be 'ds. Was that on purpose?
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Shan, just remember that one of my other usernames is Sarcasm. If someone's sarcastic to me (even if they're halfway serious), I respond with sarcasm. It just means that I like you.
Pooka, which 'lls are you talking about?
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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