The reason I love grammar

[NobbyNobbs]

Reminds of the puzzle my father used to throw at us on car journeys.

Can you create a sentence that contains legitimately, the word 'and' five times in succession?

Blinding! Thank you.

Ah, yes, but can you do it with buffalo?

 

[DeVega]

The nearest I can come is when (years ago) I used to go for lunch with a group of friends from work at a cafe, coincidentally named 'Buffalo Bill's.' At the end of the meal we'd say to my friend, Bill... "Can you get the Buffalo Bill bill, Bill?"

Yeah, not quite as impressive - but we thought it was funny & it irritated the hell out of poor Bill!

 

[billyb1012]

What an utterly delightful thread! Although, being named Bill, the last post rather grated on me ...

As far as the sentence-ending preposition, I'm reminded of an old, politically incorrect joke: A young black (African-American?) [excellent example of when the "big dog" belongs in the cage] man, one of the first of his race to attend the Ivy League, is walking across the campus of Princeton University, hopelessly lost. He spots an upperclassman and asks, "excuse me, can you tell me where the library's at?" [another example]

The haughty upperclassman (white, of course, and very snobby, too) looks down his patrician nose and replies condescedingly, "young man, at Princeton, we do not end
sentences with prepositions."

Whereupon the young black student replied: "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me where the library is at, *********"

 

[billyb1012]

hmmm, I've been rule-8'ed. Think of a common word for waste disposal...

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

hmmm, I've been rule-8'ed. Think of a common word for waste disposal...

I'm pretty sure it's rule 10 now...

And I didn't say I agreed with the big dog/little dog rule, I just quoted it. Overall, I'm with the "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" author that the punctuation should go where it makes sense and aids the overall comprehension of the sentence. And if it doesn't, rewrite, recast, or refocus the sentence(s).

 

[wahrheit]

And what about the interwebs rule, "Thou shalt not use Comic Sans"?

 

[billyb1012]

OK, rule 10, sheesh, rules rules rules. But I like Ms. Truss' rule about using it where it makes the most sense. Common sense is in desperately short supply in today's language. First, it was the verbification of nouns (see? I'm guilty of it, too). Then it was the (and this is primarily an American English issue) age of the acronym. We love to shorten everything except our penises. Now, we are actually beginning to accept the more common internet abbreviations as words in their own right.

I know you can't stop evolution biologically, but perhaps socially, we could slow it down a bit?

 

[brodski]

This ending a sentence with a preposition thing is way beyond about over with.

It's also one of the most prevalent myths about the "rules" of English grammar.
It may be considered inelegant to end a sentence with preposition, but one would have a hard time finding any historical or linguistic basis to claim that it is incorrect to do so.
I guess it's just one of those things we are going to have to live with.

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

And what about the interwebs rule, "Thou shalt not use Comic Sans"?

Oh, is that one of the ones printed on stone that some bearded guy got from a burning bush? I don't follow those rules. If the developers didn't want us to use it, they wouldn't have given us that choice. Next you'll be fussing over my choice of colors...

 

[wahrheit]

Next you'll be fussing over my choice of colors...

Psychic you are.

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/imagehosting/4514473f4ef7d7b7d.gif Psychic you are.

Is there enough evidence that I should try the MDC?

 

[wahrheit]

Is there enough evidence that I should try the MDC?

I firmly believe in your psychic powers. Really! But I'm afraid Randi will laugh his arse off the moment you call Yoda and me to the witness stand.

 

[LibraryLady]

Hey! Stop discussing your psycho psychic powers on my nice grammar thread.

Darn kids.

 

[Macoy]

Hey! Stop discussing your psycho psychic powers on my nice grammar thread.

Darn kids.

It's almost as if they wanted you to think that that's that they were going to do.

 

[Macoy]

Not enough thats.

It's almost as if they wanted you to think that that's that that they were going to do.

Sorry.

 

[brodski]

Darn kids.

I think using sticking plasters to repair them is the more accepted, and acceptable, method.

 

[Hokulele]

Hey! Stop discussing your psycho psychic powers on my nice grammar thread.

Darn kids.

LibraryLady, she puts the GR! in grammar.

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

I firmly believe in your psychic powers. Really! But I'm afraid Randi will laugh his arse off the moment you call Yoda and me to the witness stand.

Yes, well, since I can't reliably predict anything, including what I had for dinner last night, I doubt I'll apply. I just predict stuff, and when it happens, I can say, "See I knew!" I can't figure out how to make money off something so inconsistent...

Sorry LibraryLady, I'll quit talking about my (inconsistent=lack of) psychic powers now, before you sic Nick on me.

 

[Blue Mountain]

The comma inside/outside the quotes is one of those national quirks. The Americans put it inside, the British put it outside. The British also spell color wrong.

Reminds me of the line, "I prefer the 'u' in 'honour' because it's so often missing these days."

 

[my_wan]

Grammar is something I need to take the time to fill the gaps in my knowledge. In spite of scoring a 96 percentile in verbal skills, I had to look up what a "preposition" is. My intuition has served me well but gaps in my knowledge is often a problem.

Please continue LibraryLady, and thanks for the link flimflam_machine.