Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Username

whitneygallienNO

Member Since

October 5, 2005

Total number of comments

6

Total number of votes received

346

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Latest Comments

Computer mouses or computer mice?

  • October 11, 2005, 10:35am

As brilliant as you think you are, I'm a tech writer who works with computer and software companies. Believe me, these companies use the phrase "mouse devices" to avoid the sticky plural argument.

Computer mouses or computer mice?

  • October 6, 2005, 9:17am

Computer mouses or computer mice?

  • October 5, 2005, 1:28pm

Ahem. That should be "manually-operated user-select equipMENT." Sorry!

Computer mouses or computer mice?

  • October 5, 2005, 1:27pm

This is a tough one, because there really is no official ruling on this usage yet. Computer companies usually avoid this problem by using the phrase "mouse devices" instead. I would advise the same strategy if you mention the equipment in a formal paper, article, etc.

Since neither "mouses" nor "mice" is the official plural of "computer mouse," using either one is acceptable. Technically, since "mouse" is an acronym for "manually-operated user-select equipemtn," it sound probably be pluralized as "mouses." But since hardly anyone is aware of the word's etymology, and because it sounds less awkward, most people pluralize it as "mice."

Complete Sentence

  • October 5, 2005, 9:09am

With your reasoning, answering the question "Who won?" or "Who is the winner?" with "I." would imply "I did." or "I am." Therefore "I." is the shortest sentence.

No, because "I" is simply a subject with no predicate. What David says is correct; in commands, there is an IMPLIED subject. If I told someone to run, I wouldn't necessarily say, "You run." I would just say, "Run," and the "you" (the subject) would be implicit. A subject can be implied in a command (mandate); a predicate cannot be implied.

Where does the period go?

  • October 5, 2005, 9:03am

Inside the quotes. It doesn't matter that "hunker down and protect turf" is not, in itself, a complete sentence. American usage dictates that commas and periods ALWAYS go WITHIN closing quotation marks, except when a a parenthetical reference or citation immediately follows the quotation.

For the record, colons and semicolons go outside closing quotes; placement dashes, question marks, and exclamation points depends on whether or not the punctuation applies to the quotation itself (inside) or to the sentence as a whole (outside).