Grammar. Spelling and Punctuation
For some time I've used a "Brief Guide to Writing Proper"
Passed on FWIW
1. Each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.
2. Just between you and i case is important.
3. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
4. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into our language.
5. Don’t use no double negatives.
6. A writer mustn’t shift your point of view.
7. When dangling, don’t use participles.
8. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.
9. Don’t write a run-on sentence you have to punctuate it.
10. About sentence fragments.
11. In a letter themes reports articles and stuff like that we use commas to keep a string of items apart.
12. Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.
13. Its very important that you use apostrophe’s right.
14. Don’t abbrev.
15. Check to see if you have any words out.
16. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.
17. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.
18. It is important to never ever under any circumstances split an infinitive.
19. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
20. The active voice is preferred.
21. Use of the passive voice is to be avoided.
22. Eschew obfuscation.
23. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
My favourites - 19 and 23!
Passed on FWIW
1. Each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.
2. Just between you and i case is important.
3. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
4. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into our language.
5. Don’t use no double negatives.
6. A writer mustn’t shift your point of view.
7. When dangling, don’t use participles.
8. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.
9. Don’t write a run-on sentence you have to punctuate it.
10. About sentence fragments.
11. In a letter themes reports articles and stuff like that we use commas to keep a string of items apart.
12. Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.
13. Its very important that you use apostrophe’s right.
14. Don’t abbrev.
15. Check to see if you have any words out.
16. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.
17. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.
18. It is important to never ever under any circumstances split an infinitive.
19. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
20. The active voice is preferred.
21. Use of the passive voice is to be avoided.
22. Eschew obfuscation.
23. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
My favourites - 19 and 23!
OP Said:
"...intended to be read by an MP somewhere"
MPs have to make sense of all sorts of linguistic issues and varieties. The fact is that most MPs will make a meal out of anything that makes publicity or headlines - however its spellt or proffeerd.
"...intended to be read by an MP somewhere"
MPs have to make sense of all sorts of linguistic issues and varieties. The fact is that most MPs will make a meal out of anything that makes publicity or headlines - however its spellt or proffeerd.
Or is it by a MP?
And this is the best thread in the world in which to make a typographical error. I'm typing so slowly now. Proffeerd? But I do agree with your point, Rigga.
And this is the best thread in the world in which to make a typographical error. I'm typing so slowly now. Proffeerd? But I do agree with your point, Rigga.
Please, can we also have this thread in other languages, as so kindly offered by our NHS, so that those who do not speak English as their first language, can also enjoy its subtleties.
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Torque of the Devil
QED! As a student at JCSS I challenged one of the tutors when she pontificated that "If I were you" used the subjunctive tense. When I suggested to her that the subjunctive is a 'mood' not a 'tense,' she became extremely offensive. Cliterati rather than literati, methought.
When the course ended, she was left to her classroom antics whilst I went back to my flying job.
QED! As a student at JCSS I challenged one of the tutors when she pontificated that "If I were you" used the subjunctive tense. When I suggested to her that the subjunctive is a 'mood' not a 'tense,' she became extremely offensive. Cliterati rather than literati, methought.
When the course ended, she was left to her classroom antics whilst I went back to my flying job.
Or is it by a MP?
So I would have been taught a MP, as in 'a Member of Parliament'.
However, Her Deliciousness teaches Modern English to European students and advises me that phonetics are now of greater importance. Thus 'an MP' ('an Emm Pee') is the correct modern form.
She's so lovely that I could not possibly argue; however, my prep school English master, 'Puffing' Billy Cope would never have accepted 'an RAF aeroplane', he would have insisted upon 'a RAF aeroplane'.....
Meh. Innit, bruv.....
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S4G
"when I go into my local barber's and cast an eye"
When you go into your local barber's what? The mind truly boggleth.
Scribes with a greater knowledge than I of English grammar are at work here, clearly. However, I would much rather read a work that was light, witty, well-constructed & engaging.
Would-be Oxbridge Dons should flex their literary muscles elsewhere, methinks.
HB
When you go into your local barber's what? The mind truly boggleth.
Scribes with a greater knowledge than I of English grammar are at work here, clearly. However, I would much rather read a work that was light, witty, well-constructed & engaging.
Would-be Oxbridge Dons should flex their literary muscles elsewhere, methinks.
HB
More bang for your buck
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"when I go into my local barber's and cast an eye"
When you go into your local barber's what? The mind truly boggleth.
When you go into your local barber's what? The mind truly boggleth.
BEags,
Well argued. But, for the reason you first stated, it's a MP. I must also question your idea of putting the Pee into MPs. Surely our role is to take it out of them
Well argued. But, for the reason you first stated, it's a MP. I must also question your idea of putting the Pee into MPs. Surely our role is to take it out of them
Avoid imitations
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13. Its very important that you use apostrophe’s right.
13. Its very important that you use apostrophe's, right?
Commas and full stops, too. A postcard in Hartley Witney post office window once proclaimed:
"For Sale Triumph Spitfire. Present lady owner regularly serviced".
I'm sure she was.
True story.
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It's bad enough that we had umpteen pages of drivel about some Russian task force but, now we have a thread about grammar! Get a feckin life! I'll wager somwhat controversially that those poor 6 lads in their warrior didn't have the tightest grip on their grammar, we should be discussing the pointless waste of their precious lives instead of this pathetic diatribe.
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If you put a ban on humour whenever a serviceman dies, by whatever means, you may as well give in to the enemy, for life would no longer be worth living, let alone fighting for.