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Author | Topic: Linguistic Pet Peeves | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
crashfrog Member (Idle past 1498 days) Posts: 19762 From: Silver Spring, MD Joined: |
Yes, it's terrible grammar Why? You can do that in English - retask words just by shuffling them around in sentences. Heck, I did it just now.
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Tony650 Member (Idle past 4063 days) Posts: 450 From: Australia Joined: |
purpledawn writes: I have noticed lately the use of "an" before a vowel or vowel sound has been used incorrectly. There are some words (usually beginning with the letter "H") that I've seen used both ways and I've never been sure which is correct. For example, "I have a hypothesis" vs. "I have an hypothesis" or "It's a historical fact" vs. "It's an historical fact." Can anyone tell me which of these is correct?
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 508 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
I guess this is where I should state my question.
Which one of the following sentences is correct? Does god has free will? Does god have free will? I've always thought that "has" is the right one to use. "God" is a third person so shouldn't it be "has"? However, "have" sounds better for some reason which I can't quite put my fingers on yet. So, which one is it?
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 508 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
Tony writes:
Modern English.
"It's a historical fact" "It's an historical fact."
Old English.
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crashfrog Member (Idle past 1498 days) Posts: 19762 From: Silver Spring, MD Joined: |
Can anyone tell me which of these is correct? The only time you use "an" is to avoid glottal stops. Since there would be no glottal stops in the h-words you've chosen, a is the proper use. On the other hand, the h in "herb" is silent, so the proper use is "an herb."
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Tony650 Member (Idle past 4063 days) Posts: 450 From: Australia Joined: |
crashfrog writes: I hate comma overuse. I blame leigons of English teachers who said "don't worry about the comma rules; just put a comma where you'd naturally pause." Yeah, that's what I was always taught. To be specific, I was told that a comma "denotes a point where you would take a breath." To be honest, comma usage is one thing that still somewhat baffles me. I think I have some idea how it's used but I'm still not that clear on it. Does anyone know of a good, online source that explains this?
crashfrog writes: Why? You can do that in English - retask words just by shuffling them around in sentences. Heck, I did it just now. Hmm...that's a good question. I never gave it much thought. I suppose I assumed it was grammatically incorrect as the word "bad" isn't generally used that way. I don't think I've ever seen the dictionary show "bad" as a noun, but I guess there's a first time for everything. As I said, I'm no English major so don't take my word for anything.
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Tony650 Member (Idle past 4063 days) Posts: 450 From: Australia Joined: |
Lam writes: Does god has free will? Does god have free will? Does God have free will? And thanks for your answer regarding "a" vs. "an." How ironic that someone whose first language is not English knows it better than those for whom it is.
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Tony650 Member (Idle past 4063 days) Posts: 450 From: Australia Joined: |
crashfrog writes: On the other hand, the h in "herb" is silent, so the proper use is "an herb." That's odd because I've always said, "a herb" (fully pronouncing the "H"). I'll have to ask around and see if this is an Australian thing or if I'm just weird.
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 508 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
Tony writes:
Well, I said that it sounded better with "have" as oppose to "has". What I was asking for is why. "Has" is used to described a third person in singular form. "Have" is used for first person (both singular and plural), second person (again, both), or third person (only plural form). "God" is singular... unless we're talking about the borg.
Does God have free will?
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 508 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
Tony writes:
Ha! You should see my English and philosophy papers. I beat the living daylight out of native English speakers. Actually, one of my former English profs used to refer people to me to proof read their papers.
And thanks for your answer regarding "a" vs. "an." How ironic that someone whose first language is not English knows it better than those for whom it is.
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Tony650 Member (Idle past 4063 days) Posts: 450 From: Australia Joined: |
Oops. Sorry, I misunderstood.
I'm afraid I'm not familiar enough with the formal rules of English to say. For what it's worth, though, here is how I would break it down. As a question ("Does God have free will?"), the word is "have." As an affirmative statement ("God has free will."), the word is "has." As a negative statement ("God does not have free will."), the word is "have." I wish I could explain why this is but I'm afraid I don't really know. I only know that this is how I've always used the words. Sorry. And yes, in my experience, it's not at all uncommon to come across "non-native English speakers" who know it better than native speakers. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me any more.
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Dr Jack Member Posts: 3514 From: Immigrant in the land of Deutsch Joined: Member Rating: 9.2 |
I'm just as guilty, of course. Whenever I hear someone use a double-negative, I admonish them with, "Don't never use no double-negatives." I then point out that mine is exempt because, technically, it's a triple-negative. You've stumbled on my big pet hate in speech. Double negatives. The idea that double negatives are 'wrong' or amount to a positive is an utter invention, an ugly convention forced on language by academics with their heads far too far up their own bums. In natural English grammar a double negative, like a double positive is an affirmation or strengthening of the statement.
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arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1375 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
The replacement of "fewer" with "less." "Less" is singular. "Fewer" is plural. It isn't: "Less calories." It's: "Fewer calories." ahem. fewer is quantitative, less is not. if you can count it, you use fewer. if you cannot, you use less. so you would have fewer calories but less fat.
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arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1375 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
nowadays, h is a consonant.
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arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1375 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
has no one mentioned "your" for "you're" and vice-versa?
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