Board "Style book" and Grammar

nickmason

I was wondering, amid all the pedantry (and the fact that the misuse of "effected" keeps bouncing to the top of threads) if we could have a light-hearted thread on those grammatical foibles - something akin to the "style book" that papers have, where they determine what rules to follow.

Number one on the list of course, is "fewer" vs "less" - which I think has been done to death. If you can count them, it's fewer, if you can't it's less.

nickmason

Typically, "Effect" is the noun - "what was the effect of that" - while "Affect" is the verb - "How where we affected by it?"

"Effect" is used as a verb when it means to bring about - so the thread " On a personal level, has the recession effected you?" actually means has the recession made you exist. Which is an interesting ethical and metaphysical question.

"Affect" is also a noun, meaning appearance.

nickmason

These days, I think this rule has been abandoned...one hears "different to" all the time, and even "different than", and also "compared to".

Does this one end up in the dustbin?

benb76

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, it would be a start if we could use your/you're and there/their/they're correctly.

nearlynew

Incorrect use of its and it's is another one.

nickmason

oh, I didn't realise this would be a deeply masochistic thread...those hurt!

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Apostrophe abuse.

An apostrophe does NOT mean "Oh look, there's an S coming."

Misuse of the word "of" instead of "have".

For example, "I would of been able to buy a cheap house if the government hadn't kept prices high just to spite me".

Misuse of the word "Ponzi" to describe any consequence of economic or population growth, not to mention, a failure to understand the subtle differences between a ponzi scheme and a pyramid scheme.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

I blame my !!!! keyboard but I really couldnt give a !!!!ing toss about !!!!!!s starting !!!! threads.



See what I mean?

LydiaJ

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Apostrophe abuse.

An apostrophe does NOT mean "Oh look, there's an S coming."

When I was at school someone in my class did a project about "Glady's Aylward".

I'd like to suggest "X and I" when it should be "X and me". That one is very easy. Just use the pronoun you would use if you were the only person mentioned.

I went to see the house.
My friend and I went to see the house.

The EA showed me round the house.
The EA showed my friend and me round the house.

Generali

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Misuse of the word "Ponzi" to describe any consequence of economic or population growth, not to mention, a failure to understand the subtle differences between a ponzi scheme and a pyramid scheme.

What is the difference? I thought they were the same, ie that old investors' gains were paid using new investors' funds rather than any genuine increase in capital value.

The only thing in the use of English that p 1 sses me off is people getting pompous about Americanisms like 'fall' (meaning autumn) or 'color'. I always spell words with the suffix -ise/-ize with -ize in the hope that it might annoy someone like that.

One of the great strengths of the English language is that there is no Academie Anglaise to stifle innovation and regional difference. There isn't a single correct version of English and that's what makes the language Great.

Davesnave

I think the grammatical skills of those contributing to this forum are generally higher than those seen on some of the other forums. e.g. Greenfingered

It is people's skills as communicators and commentators which interest me most, so frankly, the odd 'their/there' slip is of little importance, if the piece informs or entertains.

In EA details, the confusion of 'formerly' and 'formally' makes me cringe, as do 'dorma windows,' but no doubt we all have pet hates.