Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
Do You Have a Question?
Latest Posts : Grammar
A friend and I were discussing the most funnily named facets of grammar when I brought up the trio of hanging, dangling and squirting participles. When he inquired about the meaning of the third I realised it had escaped me. Neither of us have been able to find a definition in the following period and I suspect it may be obsolete. Can anybody set me straight in regard to the meaning and/or existance of such a term?
P.S Whilst this may be a bit off topic, any other contenders for ‘funniest part of grammar’ would be welcome too!
My friends and I were debating one day, and none of us could come up with a good answer:
What is the plural form of anonymous? Is there a plural form of anonymous?
Any help would be well appreciated.
In another language forum in which I regularly participate, the following debate ensued:
I am envious of his getting rich. I am envious of him getting rich.
American English speakers argue that the second construction (him getting rich) is impossible, given the fact that if the noun object were NOT a gerund, the construction would not make sense.
For example:
I am envious of his success. I am envious of him success.
Our BE friend argued that “him getting rich” was indeed correct because the gerund construction compliments the direct object pronoun.
Anyone care to chime in?
Consider the example: There’s a teacher that has two groups and basically he always teaches both groups the same thing. One day he asks his students, “Can you give me one example of a car that has sirens?” In one group a student answers, “A policeman’s car has sirens.” In the other group he gets this answer, “The car of a policeman has sirens.” My question is: Is there a possible difference in meaning between both answers? I think they are perfect equivalent, but my English professor says that when you use “apostrophe + S” you always establish a relationship of possession and when you use “OF” it doesn’t necessarily happen. She also says that there’s always a difference in meaning, though it’s not always a striking one. She just didn’t explain what her explanation meant, that is, she didn’t give any example using this explanation in a context. She gave some examples such as: * a woman’s scent * the scent of a woman And tried to explain this possible difference without giving a sentence (context) in which they occur. Again, my question is, is there a difference between these two structures: * The car of a policeman has sirens. * A policeman’s car has sirens. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance, Marcelo
Which one is correct? 1. Honey and milk are my favorite. or 2. Honey and milk is my favorite. My answer is number 1, but my friend said no.2 because both nouns are uncountable.
Is it “Fort Knox’s walls” or “Fort Knox’ walls”?
Data was handled... Data were handled...
I have forgotten the proper verb conjucation with “Data” vs “Datum”
I am having a dispute with a colleague about the use of the word ‘Everyday’. Can you please clarify for me if the word has been used correctly in the following example:
Everyday over 50,000 pupils miss a day of school without permission and an estimated 7.5 million school days are missed each year through truancy.
Hi All. Take a look at this if you will:
“And my tire flattened as I was riding it to work this morning. The leak was slow enough that I could limp to work by pumping it up along the way (not recommended procedure, but tolerable for very short distances.)”
Do you, or have you ever, used the expression (my/the tire flattened)?
It expresses an inchoative (bridging or transitional ) event. It focuses on the transition between “tyre is not flat” to “tyre is flat”. But would you, have you ever, or do you, use it?
Other examples:
I liked him within a minute.
The weather changed.
The car rolled down the hill.
My situation changed this morning.
Stevie is ripping his script up. (causative-inchoative)
Normally, the plural of mouse is mice when you are referring to those real rodents. However, in the case of a “mouse” used for the computer, can you still use the plural form “mice”, “computer mice” if you are referring to lots of computer mouse? “Computer mouses” i guess is not proper. What do you think?
