Jump to content

14 Day Rule


mark99

Featured Posts

A big part of this topic could possibly be moved to a dedicated topic (still to be created) about the right use of the English language and the proper grammar that go's with it.

 

Peter.

 

Oooohhhhh!!!! A playpen for Athy and me! (With occasional visits from the Boilerman).

 

Seriously, though, we could do with a 'Pedants' Corner', if only to relieve the angst and itchy fingers I experience on reading some of the posts on here. There was one on a site I used to frequent (The Motley Fool) and it could be very entertaining.

Edited by Mac of Cygnet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Oooohhhhh!!!! A playpen for Athy and me! (With occasional visits from the Boilerman).

 

Seriously, though, we could do with a 'Pedants' Corner', if only to relieve the angst and itchy fingers I experience on reading some of the posts on here. There was one on a site I used to frequent (The Motley Fool) and it could be very entertaining.

 

 

Ah yes, was it there we had a most entertainingly long thread about the various places the landlord put the apostrophe on the various signs he erected advertising his pub the "Pigs' Nose Inn"?

 

 

 

(Edit to remove duplicate quote.)

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

If you couldn't stay in the parish for more than 14 days, you must of had to move (at least) to the 'next Parish', the more important question is can you do :

 

Parish A to Parish B, to Parish A to Parish B to ...................

'Must have had to move'. not 'must of had to move' - or is this another Americanism?

 

If we really are being picky, I believe that the plural of manifesto is manifestos, not manifestoes.

 

My daughter is an apostrophe vigilante, awarding points to her junior school class when they spot offending signage. I'm sure that 'potatoe's' or 'potato's' must feature in the gold star list quite often, judging by the number of times I see these mis-spellings.

Edited by homer2911
Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Must have had to move'. not 'must of had to move' - or is this another Americanism?

 

If we really are being picky, I believe that the plural of manifesto is manifestos, not manifestoes.

 

My daughter is an apostrophe vigilante, awarding points to her junior school class when they spot offending signage. I'm sure that 'potatoe's' or 'potato's' must feature in the gold star list quite often, judging by the number of times I see these mis-spellings.

 

 

Both known as the 'grocer's apostrophe'. They do it deliberately so people can moan about their illiterate chalkboard signage. Didn't you know?!

 

Mind you, I think the sign I saw a few years ago advertising "Sparrow grass" was taking the principle a bit far!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both known as the 'grocer's apostrophe'. They do it deliberately so people can moan about their illiterate chalkboard signage. Didn't you know?!

 

Mind you, I think the sign I saw a few years ago advertising "Sparrow grass" was taking the principle a bit far!

My favourite was a board outside a pub advertising "Tapa's".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both known as the 'grocer's apostrophe'. They do it deliberately so people can moan about their illiterate chalkboard signage. Didn't you know?!

No, I thought it was the greengrocer's/ greengrocers' apostrophe.

I though agenda was already plural.

According to the Oxford dic, was, yes, is, no. In modern English it's considered to be singular, with plural "agendas". Regarding manifesto, various internet sources allow both plurals, -os or -oes.

Edited by Athy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Both known as the 'grocer's apostrophe'. They do it deliberately so people can moan about their illiterate chalkboard signage. Didn't you know?!

 

Mind you, I think the sign I saw a few years ago advertising "Sparrow grass" was taking the principle a bit far!

 

A colloquial term for asparagus. We always called it that when I was a kid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, I thought it was the greengrocer's/ greengrocers' apostrophe.According to the Oxford dic, was, yes, is, no. In modern English it's considered to be singular, with plural "agendas". Regarding manifesto, various internet sources allow both plurals, -os or -oes.

I tend to use 'agendum' - single item of business; 'agenda' - the collection of such items, or the document listing them; 'agendas' - the collection of said documents.

 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to use 'agendum' - single item of business; 'agenda' - the collection of such items, or the document listing them; 'agendas' - the collection of said documents.

 

Dave

I thought I was traditional till I met you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to use 'agendum' - single item of business; 'agenda' - the collection of such items, or the document listing them; 'agendas' - the collection of said documents.

 

Dave

 

And you would be correct.

 

Whilst we are on the subject;

 

Referendum - A single ballot upon which a single question is asked.

Referendums - A series of at least two ballots, where a single question is asked on each occasion.

Referenda - A single ballot upon which at least two questions are asked

Referendas - A series of at least two ballots, including at least one ballot upon which at least 2 questions are asked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

And you would be correct.

 

Whilst we are on the subject;

 

Referendum - A single ballot upon which a single question is asked.

Referendums - A series of at least two ballots, where a single question is asked on each occasion.

Referenda - A single ballot upon which at least two questions are asked

Referendas - A series of at least two ballots, including at least one ballot upon which at least 2 questions are asked.

 

So are data plural, or it is singular?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

And you would be correct.

 

Whilst we are on the subject;

 

Referendum - A single ballot upon which a single question is asked.

Referendums - A series of at least two ballots, where a single question is asked on each occasion.

Referenda - A single ballot upon which at least two questions are asked

Referendas - A series of at least two ballots, including at least one ballot upon which at least 2 questions are asked.

 

Meanwhile, back in the real world....... :)

In Scotland, porridge (or porage) are plural. But that's not important right now.

 

So what's the singular, then? Or is it like sheep?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And what about medium? Are happy mediums ones who write for the media or just contact the departed by the medium of séances? And are media moguls really rich or just medium rich? And can media be singular? (Answer - yes) And what is its plural?

 

And as for data, the OED says

 

In Latin, data is the plural of datum and, historically and in specialized scientific fields , it is also treated as a plural in English, taking a plural verb, as in the data were collected and classified . In modern non-scientific use, however , despite the complaints of traditionalists, it is often not treated as a plural. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which cannot normally have a plural and which takes a singular verb. Sentences such as data was (as well as data were ) collected over a number of years are now widely accepted in standard English.

Edited by Mac of Cygnet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.