Free grammar lessons!

[devonin]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Didn't we establish that an acronym was only an acronym if you pronounced it as its own word? (AWOL, RADAR etc) whereas if you read out the letters (RSVP) it was an abbreviation?

The word acronym was coined in 1943 by Bell Laboratories[1] for abbreviations pronounced as words, such as NATO,AIDS and Laser. Of the names, acronym is the most frequently used and known; it is widely used to describe any abbreviation formed from initial letters.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Others differentiate between the two terms, restricting acronym to pronounceable words formed from components (letters, usually initial, or syllables) of the constituent words, and using initialism or alphabetism[8][5] for abbreviations pronounced as the names of the individual letters

(Those references are pretty much all various dictionaries describing that usage.)

[Squeek]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Oh, that old thing.

You know I really don't care either way but if you want to make the correction you now have mod access to do so.

[Ice wolf]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

I have added some things that you might want to consider putting in the first post.

EDIT: Yes, I now know that Squeek will not update the first post. I have made a few changes to this post anyway.



(The changes I made in this section are bold.)

Colon
Colons are easy. Use a colon before a list. The list may contain one item. For an example, you could write, "I'll tell you what I hate most: morons." Or, better yet, "There are only two kinds of people in the world: those that understand binary, and those that don't." Make sure that there are two spaces after a colon, there is never a verb right before a colon, and that the items listed after the colon are set off by commas.

We also use colons for time (8:45) and other stuff, but that's irrelevant, really. I read someplace that the best way to test for colon usage is to insert the word "namely" where you'd want to put the colon. It almost always works.





(I made changes to the "alot" section and the "could care less" section. Again, the changes are bold. The "alot" section could probably be put into better words. I also added the "anyways" section.)

"Alot." Yeah, this is wrong. The site says,

If you can't remember the rule, just remind yourself that just as you wouldn't write 'alittle' you shouldn't write 'alot.'

The correct way of writing "alot" is "a lot"; however, you should avoid using it altogether.

In its place, use "many", "few", or a number for countable nouns or verbs.

There are too many rats. There are too few rats. There are five rats.

Use "much" and "little" for uncountable nouns or verbs.

We dance much. We dance little.

"Could care less." Boy do I hate to see this. It makes me want to pull you aside and mention to you that you're really telling the person, "I care some, maybe even a lot." What you MEANT to say was, "I couldn't care less." This means that you care so little, that it is impossible for you to not care more than you do now.

"Anyways." The proper form of "anyways" is "anyway." "Anyway," at the beginning of a sentence, indicates that the speaker has resumed a previous topic. "As I was saying," could be substituted for the "anyway" that begins a sentence. At the end of a sentence, it means "in any case." Even though "anyway" is more proper than "anyways," it should not be used in formal English writing.

Mike and Kelly were not at the party, but we had fun anyway.

"Any way" is the same as "a way." (Do not get that confused with "away," which means, but not literally, "far" or "far from.)

Is there any way to fly? Is there a way to fly?







(These next two sections are additions to Same sound, different meaning?)

Altogether / All together

Altogether - Altogether means "completely or entirely."
You should avoid using "a lot" altogether.

All together - All together basically means "together".
We're in this all together. We're all in this together. All of us are in this together.

Can / May / Should (How did you forget to add these?)

Can - Can indicates ABILITY to do something.
I can stay up till midnight.

May - May indicates PERMISSION to do something.
I may leave whenever I want.

Should - Should is synonymous with MUST or OUGHT.
I should not steal from the cookie jar.

If one of these words is used to form a question that a person answers positively to, they do not have to do the command asked.

e. g. "Can you move over?" asks if you have the ability to move over. You might answer "yes," but not move over. This is the correct thing to do. One could then ask "Will you move over?" You might answer "yes," but not move over. Again, this is the correct thing to do. One could then say "Should you move over?" You might answer "yes," but not move over. Once again, this is correct. One could then say "Move over." If you were not lying, you would move over.



These might have been mentioned before, but I did not take the time to look through 29 pages.

[rzr]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Didn't we establish that an acronym was only an acronym if you pronounced it as its own word? (AWOL, RADAR etc) whereas if you read out the letters (RSVP) it was an abbreviation?



(Those references are pretty much all various dictionaries describing that usage.)

I have added some things that you might want to consider putting in the first post. The additions are bold.

Colon
Colons are easy. Use a colon before a list. The list may contain one item. For an example, you could write, "I'll tell you what I hate most: morons." Or, better yet, "There are only two kinds of people in the world: those that understand binary, and those that don't." Make sure that there are two spaces after a colon, there is never a verb right before a colon, and that the items listed after the colon are set off by commas.

We also use colons for time (8:45) and other stuff, but that's irrelevant, really. I read someplace that the best way to test for colon usage is to insert the word "namely" where you'd want to put the colon. It almost always works.





"Alot". Yeah, this is wrong. The site says,

The correct way of writing "alot" is "a lot"; however, you should avoid using it altogether.

In its place, use "many", "few", or a number for countable nouns or verbs.

e. g. There are too many rats. There are too few rats. There are five rats.

Use "much" and "little" for uncountable nouns or verbs.

e. g. We dance much. We dance little.

(This section could probably be put into better words.)





These next two sections would be added to Same sound, different meaning?


Altogether / All together

Altogether - Altogether means "completely or entirely."
You should avoid using "a lot" altogether.

All together - All together basically means "together".
We're in this all together. We're all in this together. All of us are in this together.

Can / May / Should (How did you forget to add these?)

Can - Can indicates ABILITY to do something.
I can stay up till midnight.

May - May indicates PERMISSION to do something.
I may leave whenever I want.

Should - Should is synonymous with MUST/OUGHT.
I should not steal from the cookie jar.

If one of these words is used to form a question that a person answers positively to, they do not have to do the command asked.

e. g. "Can you move over?" asks if you have the ability to move over. You might answer "yes", but not move over. This is the correct thing to do. One could then ask "Will you move over?" You might answer "yes", but not move over. Again, this is the correct thing to do. One could then say "Should you move over?" You might answer "yes", but not move over. Once again, this is correct. One could then say "Move over." If you were not lying, you would move over.





These might have been mentioned before, but I did not take the time to look through 29 pages of posts.

I agree, both of these should be added into the OP, along with several other perfections.

Quotation Mark

I HATE THIS MARK. I honestly HATE it to death. I want the inventor of its usage to make up his mind on what to do with it. It's a horrible mark.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let me explain my hatred. Consider the following (correctly punctuated) sentence.

I told the guy that I wanted a "foot." I don't think he caught my drift.

It's so wrong! I swear! The quoted word should not have a period in it. It doesn't fit in there. The word belongs in its own quotes and deserves freedom from the sentence break. Ugh. Luckily, the British know my feelings for this and use my method of quotations. Therefore, if you want to say,

I told the guy that I wanted a "foot".

Regardless, you know that it's true. At least, according to English grammar.

[Crizo92]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Your a genius.

I lol'd at the first post after the grammar lecture.

[Xx{Midday}xX]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

I never read this before, because I thought my conventions were quite thorough in relative comparison to others.

This OP is also quite thorough. Good job, Squeek.

[lizzzzzx3m]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Good job.

[TheRapingDragon]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

I was just wondering about something. If I were to end a sentence with an abbreviated word such as "etc." would I have to add on a second period?

As in, which of the following is more accurately correct:

1. "One, two, etc."
2. "One, two, etc.."

[Ground_Breaker]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

The period serves both purposes.

[TheRapingDragon]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

That's what I thought. I mean if I was being completely correct I would just write "et al" or "etcetera" and then use the usual period at the end.

I was just curious as to if it could be correct to use the second period.

[Squeek]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Attention all idiots

The dollar sign goes in front of the number.

Not 15$. $15.

I've been seeing it way too often these days. Knock it off.

[Netjet!]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Hmm.. k.

1$

[TheRapingDragon]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Hmm.. k.

1$

Hilarity reaches new peaks here folks.

Also, Squeek - It's probably due to how people say it vocally. The phrase would be "I spent ten dollars". People naturally think that means "I spent 10$". Idiotic though I agree.

[Magewout]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

Attention all idiots

The dollar sign goes in front of the number.

Not 15$. $15.

I've been seeing it way too often these days. Knock it off.

In Euros it's the other way round though, we write 15€ instead of €15. So when a European talks about dollars he's more likely to make that particular mistake

[Squeek]

Re: Free grammar lessons!

"When writing currency amounts the location of the sign varies by currency. Many currencies, especially in Latin America and the English-speaking world, place it before the amount (e.g., £50.00). The standardized European default placement, used in absence of a national standard, is that (€) is placed before the amount."

You guys are the exception, not the rule.

In any event, the dollar sign goes in front of the value, and the cent sign goes after the value. The end.