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.
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Latest Posts : Grammar
“I am home.” Does “home” function here as a noun or an adverb?
A Japanese friend asked me why some signs say 30 minute parking and not 30 minuteS parking, which he expected would be the case.
I was at a loss. I couldn’t come up with any other examples of this, either. What is this phenomenon called? Any rationale for why we do it this way?
Thanks!
At some vague point in the past few years, someone, somewhere decreed that when writing about an individual and his/her vocation, it would henceforth be necessary to affix “the” before the vocation. For example, “The blues guitarist, BB King.” Or “The mystery writer Clive Cussler.” How come and for what possible purpose? It’s been common parlance forever to simply say “Architect Frank Lloyd Wright,” or “Writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau.” Faster, cleaner and much more listenable -- the creeping “The” is especially jarring when read aloud. Checked the NY Times and AP Stylebooks for it and there’s no mention. Anyone?
I have often come across cases where the rule that you only put ‘an’ in front of a word starting with a vowel seems to have been violated, as e. g. in:
“What’s needed is (a) conclusive research and (b) an holistic approach to changing the nation’s dietary habits”.
I have also seen “an historic event”. Can someone enlighten me as to what’s happening here?
I believe this phrase is commonly used by people who are Notary Publics, but for the life of me, I can not figure out what exactly goes in the blanks - of course with the exception of the date. Given under _______ hand ____ and seal ______ this _____ day of _______.
I wrote this sentence talking about a website: “This is neither the beginning nor the end of something.”
I wanted to say that I wasn’t trying to start something new, it was just something temporary before I started the real thing.
Someone told me “something” is grammatically incorrect and that I should have used “anything” but in my opinion it implies a change in the whole meaning of the sentence.
I’d like to hear some other opinions about it.
Is the word “rum” like the word “Deer”? You never say “deers” for the plural--what about rum. Is it both singular and plural in that form? You can never say “rums” can you?
Is it appropriate to say, “If it were possible for tides to cause earthquakes, scientific evidence would have been found long ago.” or is “If it had been possible for tides to cause earthquakes, scientific evidence would have been found long ago.” more appropriate?
On my way to work every morning I happen to pass a particular billboard expounding the services of a mortgage maid (or whatever the technical term happens to be... loan officer possibly?) On this billboard is a sad attempt at wit wherein the LO has her son standing next to her profile wearing what is presumably his Karate uniform.
Above them both, a caption reads “‘My mom is a black belt at mortgage!’”
My contention, beyond the obvious missing s from mortgage, is that “in” should replace “at”, so that it instead reads, “My mom is a black belt in mortgages!”
I realize if we somehow verbed the word mortgage (and yes, I realize verb itself isn’t a verb), we could use at in a classically technical sense. Consider “I am proficient at mortgaging” as an example. However, the idea of the classification “black belt” makes this null and void as far as I see it. Since we’re speaking of a particular class within an imagined range of expertise at a subject, then “in” becomes the default modifier regardless of a verb or noun ending.
To put it more concisely, since “black belt” is a particular class of status to the relative noun, then there is really no way to use “at” as the correct preposition.
Do I get the black belt IN grammar or am I clearly far too obsessed with this particular imagined injustice to be a well-developed individual.
Thank you in advance,
-Q
For example: “a couple of things” vs “a couple things”
I know “a couple of things” is grammatically correct, but I also often hear couple used without the “of”, and by educated people.
Now I’m confused. Isn’t “couple things” wrong?
