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

chad

Member Since

July 18, 2004

Total number of comments

14

Total number of votes received

17

Bio

Latest Comments

Tsunami

  • January 10, 2005, 5:42pm

Pronunciation seems to be an issue.

http://www.davezilla.com/index.php?p=217

Asian Chew Mommy?

Stumbling

  • December 6, 2004, 11:08am

Things can get funny when people talk about web pages. To me, several of them could work.

I just stumbled upon the Guardian Weblog's Report.

I just stumbled across the Guardian Weblog's Report.

I just stumbled into the Guardian Weblog's Report.

Stumbling

  • December 4, 2004, 12:45pm

I'd say they could all be correct if used in the proper manner.

I stumbled upon a new book at the library.

I stumbled across the cost section in my presentation to the council.

I stumbled on a loose floorboard.

I stumbled into the room.

I stumbled in the bathroom.

I stumbled onto the grass.

begin from page 10

  • October 24, 2004, 12:17am

They all appear acceptable to me. English is flexible.

@ mark

  • October 24, 2004, 12:12am

I believe its more official title is the 'Commercial At', but according to Wikipedia, the others are also acceptable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_at

“Ten Items or Less (Fewer?)”

  • September 27, 2004, 4:26pm

I work at a grocery store and recently noticed the express lane sign because of this entry. It reads "Fewer Than 10 Items." I suppose some people know the difference.

“Ten Items or Less (Fewer?)”

  • September 23, 2004, 11:32pm

Your thinking is reasonable. Hyperdictionary states that 'fewer' is for countable items, and 'less' is for comparing adjectives (less healthy). But it also mentions less is "nonstandard in some uses but often idiomatic with measure phrases". An idiom is "an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up." So basically it's just a bad expression that is going to be nearly impossible to destroy.

When I did some bookkeeping work this summer, I often heard less in a phrase like 'thirty-three dollars net income less five dollars tax'. This appears to be a correct usage. Could the 'x items of less' usage have evolved from this older sounding phrasing?

Plurals

  • September 9, 2004, 11:31pm

If you were to say "selling your parent's home", I would assume you meant one parent. Therefore "parents' home" seems more correct in that situation.

Footnote references and punctuations

  • September 9, 2004, 11:29pm

Definately after. It's an additional piece of information, but not part of the sentence.

Plurals with Clarification

  • August 17, 2004, 9:59pm

The 'my brother' part is an appositive, a description set apart from the sentence in commas. I would have to say the correct form would be

Bryan's, my brother, car...

Could be wrong here, but I would probably just reword the sentence for clarity as Rom does.