goofy
Joined: July 24, 2006 (email not validated)
Number of comments posted: 234
Number of votes received: 232
No user description provided.
Recent Comments
on: intend on doing?
It's common in speech and speechlike writing, according to M...
on: “He gave it to Michelle and I”
Now Margaret's curse is fall'n upon our heads, When she exc...
on: “Anglish”
Yes, if you're going to discuss etymology, then yes, knowing...
on: He was sat
Brus, however past participles might behave in Latin is irre...
on: “Anglish”
“Yu can't say that belcose is beclysan, influence'd by Frenc...
on: “Anglish”
Yes, the Norman influence respelled a lot of words. "gilt" b...
on: “Anglish”
AnWulf, The Wiktionary entry gives no references for its et...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
Thanks, porsche, you said it better than I could. I'll add t...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
“No, the company know how their company name and product sho...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
"What you're essentially saying it, just because Americans u...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
Frank35, when it comes to language, we determine what is "ri...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
Understanding other Indo-European languages give us an idea ...
on: “Anglish”
I've read Lieberman's Word Origins And How We Know Them, and...
on: “Anglish”
"English is still a Germanic tongue, but many of it's upper-...
on: “Anglish”
The idea that a word has a "true root" seems silly to me. "f...
on: “Anglish”
"My whole thought above was about Academia not acknowledging...
on: “Anglish”
Ængelfolc posted this a while ago: * allegiance (from O.E...
on: “Anglish”
I'm pretty sure it's the etymology. Clark is saying the etym...
on: “Anglish”
"Further, The Clark Concise A-S Dict. has: -clýsan v. be-c. ...
on: “Anglish”
"Most of it is likely right but it would be nuts to say that...
on: “Anglish”
If you believe that "close" is the result of a respelling by...
on: “Anglish”
No, I'm wrong. Many spelling conventions were introduced by ...
on: “Anglish”
"We all know that Old English into Middle English was, after...
on: “Anglish”
Gallitrot: AnWulf thinks the change from "clȳsan" to "close...
on: “Anglish”
It's certainly fine to speculate when the etymology is unkno...
on: “Anglish”
No, I am not agreeing with AnWulf. There are well-understood...
on: “Anglish”
The point is that it's not complete chaos where any guess is...
on: “Anglish”
It's possible there is "custy" from OE cystig. There certain...
on: “Anglish”
weorcwryðe = work worthy ...bryce = breach unhydig = un+he...
on: “Anglish”
No, I'm not kidding. I'm talking about historical linguistic...
on: “Anglish”
AnWulf, This isn't just about spelling, it's about spelling ...
on: “Anglish”
AnWulf, that etymology of "close" is not wrong. Here is what...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
Hairy Scot, DA Wood said that English does not exist in a va...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
I have studied linguistics. Not once have I read of linguist...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
The idea that we should consider how things work in other la...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
DA Wood, both "everybody" and "everyone" are syntactically s...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
The idea that singular "they" is incorrect is based on the m...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
English grammar was not taught until the 1800s, I think. So ...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
There is a "long-standing custom" to use "they" as a common-...
on: “Anglish”
AnWulf: according to the OED, clýsan is a borrowing from Lat...
on: repetitive vs. repetitious
I think they mean the same thing. The OED says of "repetitiv...
on: From which part of England do people pronounce the vowel “u” in a similar way to the French “u”?
People in Yorkshire pronounce the vowel of "luck" with /ʊ/, ...
on: “Much More Ready”
I can't let the claim that language is not always changing p...
on: “Much More Ready”
Math and physics are irrelevant *to grammar.* Language is no...
on: “Much More Ready”
I'm not in high school. I'd like to see a usage book aimed a...
on: “Much More Ready”
I'm not familiar with any English usage books that prescribe...
on: Pronouncing “gala”
I don't think one can argue that a word should be pronounced...
on: From which part of England do people pronounce the vowel “u” in a similar way to the French “u”?
Scottish English has a central vowel /ʉ/ for the GOOSE and F...
on: “Much More Ready”
Logic is really irrelevant, since language does not behave l...
on: “Much More Ready”
I don't see the problem with this quote, since it is not tal...
on: “Much More Ready”
Accidence: chance, unforeseen or unexpected eventuality, mis...
on: “Much More Ready”
1910 Times 13 Apr. 14/3 While they did not find that tee...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
D.A. Wood, I agree with you, but it's not really relevant to...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
That's why you can't judge one Webster's publication on the ...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
D.A. Wood: Merriam-Webster is a company, and they publish Me...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
Does the etymology really matter?? Tsk tsk......
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
OK, I see. But "tip" isn't the backronym, "to insure promptn...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
My point is don't blame every variant spelling or Americanis...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
But that doesn't mean "skeptic" was a spelling reform propos...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
I don't know why "scepticism" is flagged but I don't think i...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
Remember that MWDEU is not the same publication as Webster's...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
If you have other references, link to them. Merriam-Webster'...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
No, it's not a backronym either. The OED says its from thiev...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
No, it's not a backronym either. The OED says its from thiev...
on: Use of “their” as a genderless singular?
The use of "they" originally had nothing to do with politica...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
"A Student's Introduction to English Grammar" by Huddleston ...
on: LEGOs — Is the Plural form of LEGO incorrect?
"tip" is not an acronym. ...
on: -age words
How far will this practice be taken? It's already been taken...
on: Nother
Anwulf: the "nother" from OE "nōhwæðer" isn't the same word ...
on: Nother
I have never seen any evidence that English or any language ...
on: Nother
Hairy Scot: It seems that if some changes are detrimental, s...
on: tailorable
It's in the OED: "Suitable for tailoring; able to be altered...
on: Nother
If it's good enough for Luke Skywalker......
on: He was sat
Standard English: what it isn't http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/...
on: He was sat
Students don't pick up their teacher's accent. It's possible...
on: He was sat
Complaints about "improper" English seem to ignore register....
on: He was sat
Hold on... I didn't say "encourage". I simply hold the appar...
on: He was sat
If it is a common part of British English, then I don't see ...
on: “Literally” in spoken conversation
Have a look at the MWDEU entry, it says it much better than ...
on: He was sat
It's a common British regionalism....
on: Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
Actually I meant to write "Caesar's murder"...
on: Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
Apostrophe-s is used for things other than possession. Ca...
on: “My writing books” or “Me writing books”?
porsche, I agree that "writing books" functions as a noun. B...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
According to The American Heritage Book of English Usage, it...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
I am not the same Goofy as the Goofy who posted those two li...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
Perfect Pedant: Which evidence are you referring to? The ev...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
willy wonka: I don't think you'll find any English usage boo...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
The MWDEU discusses the subjunctive in detail in the entry I...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
I'm wrong; MWDEU does say something about it, although it's ...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
Well to be honest I'm not convinced that the difference is o...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
As I've already said, "informal" does not mean "incorrect"....
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
I am interested in correct usage, but I find it more useful ...
on: gifting vs. giving a gift
David Teague: The verb "gift" is not a backformation from "g...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
MWDEU is a dictionary of standard English, from both NA and ...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
Perfect Pendant "Unfortunately Merriam-Webster tends to ref...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
No, I was sincerely interested in what how you interpret the...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
Perfect Pedant It seems to me that "if I was" can only lead...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
If I was the Prime Minister, I would change the law. If I w...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
Neither "idiolect" nor "counterfactual" are neologisms. They...
December 30, 2012, 9:19pm • 0 vote
on: intend on doing?
Actually, MWDEU doesn't say it's common, it says "sometimes"...