Pardon my editorial proofreading, but...

Pardon my editorial proofreading, but... (or should that be ...my editorial proofreading and but.

One of the signatures in this forum includes the following -

"My plans to live forever are going along, so far, so good."

Is this a tongue twister, a mind bender or some other form mental torture?

For me it's definitely (not definately) an eye catcher.

Every time I glance at it, it catches my proofreader's eye and I have trouble reading it as intended.

It also drives me to want to make a comment, so as a form of release here goes (nothing personal) -

Should it read - "My plans, to live forever, are going along. So far, so good."

or "My plan's to live forever. It's going along, so far, so good."

or "My plan is to live forever, which is going along, so far - so good."

or "My plan is to live forever. So far, so good.

or My plans are to live forever. So far, so good.

My editor and proofreader always told me I was pretty good with knowing how many commas to use. My problem was knowing where to put them.

Only occassionally did I have a problem with singular/plural.

Don't you just love American English?

 

You need to read "Eats Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss....or is that "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" ?

Seriously, if you make a posting like that, you WILL enjoy this book I keep a copy in my office here for people just like you hehe

 

If you haven't already - ignore my post.

I was just goofing around, with on-line time on my hands.

Rock on,

 

My take would be:- "My plans to live forever, are so far so good." But hey, my English Prof, and later my editor always cringed when I submitted transcripts, and I get the documents returned with more red comments, than type.

 

How about:

My plans to live forever, are so far so good however my plans for world domination and healthy icecream are so far not progressing at all...

 

Lynne thinks that the worst grammatical sin of them all is "Probably mixing “it’s” with “its”.

It's not. It's using "your" when it should be "you're."

 

at all...?

What's the rest of that run-on sentence.

When will it reach a comma?

 

It's not "yore." It's "y'all's." Plural possessive of y'all as in - "Y'all should know that."

 

I can't remember exactly, he said so much, to so many and so little, to so few.

 

My favorite is -

"It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." -Sir Winston Churchill

 

I thought I had something to add here, but my wit went away when I woke up this morning.

 

Right Halo, Churchill was one of politics most pragmatic leaders; no other politician has ever led a nation as well. He is probable rolling over in his grave seeing the tom foolery that is going on today. He called Stalin a buffoon; love to hear what he would have to say about Bush!!!

A few of his great quote’s:-

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”

“I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”


Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

Got that right. He was so pragmatic that he changed parties in mid-career. Or was that at the end of his first career?

Won't comment on the rest. Politics is probably the second oldest profession, although, IMHO, its never been very professional.

 

One of my favourite Churchill quotes:

 

Along with the classic:

For many years I thought that whole thing was made up!

 

In writing, I was taught that in writing, brevity is next to Godliness. Most students ignore this, as they are usually writing to meet a word quota, but less IS more.

I'd have written: My plan is to live forever. So far so good.

Churchill was a good writer, and a good speaker. He knew that short words, where appropriate, are more powerful than long words. Same holds true for sentences, paragraphs, and entire essays. Trim the fat and it tastes better.

 

Actually, the Plural of y'all is y'ins (you-ins) It is beleived to have derived from the bastardization of young ones into younguns, then further butchered by the south to be come y'ins. Since they tend to show up in greater gaggles than adults, y'ins became the plural of y'all, which is generally used to indicate a small group of adults.

OK, I need to stop now, my tounge is sore from sitting in my cheek

 

So where does redundancy fall??

LOL

Calltaker

 

LOL. If falls in lack of editing, and being very tired. I just noticed that, and was headed back to change it when I saw that you'd already immortalized it.

I'd been thinking of starting "In writing class I learned", then thought to change it to simply "In writing, brevity...", and ended up with both. Oh well....

Oxycodone doesn't improve my grammar.

 

I think you will find, in most Southern dictionaries, that the plural of y'all is y'all.

And the plural possessive of y'all is y'all's.

Where a Yankee would say - All of this belongs to all of you.

A Southerner would say - All this is y'all's.

That's my story and I'm stick'in to it, y'all.

 

Speaking of proofreading, my boss and I were discusisng some minutes I took at a recent Board meeting, as to whether it should be 'Enquire' or 'Inquire'. I thought, as I have always used 'enquire' that maybe it was a Brit thing, so I looked it up in my Oxford Dictionary, and also his American Dictionary, and it has both words in both. So is there an official usage of each, or a subtle difference ...kinda like "effect' and "affect" ?

 

While effect and affect have somewhat different meanings, inquire and enquire are alternate spellings of the same word. I think inquire was the original, and enquire became acceptable simply by common usage (or common mis-spelling). Any word in English seems to eventually become legitimate simply by common acceptance... democracy in action.

 

Thanks Gary...yeah, I appreciate that effect/affect have different meanings, but are so mis-used and become almost interchangeable today it seems. So, in keeping with our cultural competence policy, I'm going to continue to spell it "enquire"

 

From the Online Etymology Dictionary

inquire
c.1290, from O.Fr. enquerre, from V.L. *inquærere, from L. in- "into" + quærere "ask, seek." Respelled 14c. on L. model, but half-Latinized enquire still persists.

Are you and your boss persistant?

 

Persistant in what context? I don't think so. We just enjoy embracing each other's cultural differences

 

As for effect/affect, my editor taught me that if I wasn't sure which to use, go with effect, since affect is rarely correct.

I found that to be an effective rule. It certainly affected me.

 

Now, i'm no english major, but considering how much I read (I read a lot, and not online eaither, I have a veritable library in my house, and that doesn't count what I have in storage at my parents') I believe that you Inquire about something, but sent an Enquiry. I know... sounds foolish, but that is my impression. The I would indicate that you are doing it personally and face to face wehreas the E seems to indicate a more roundabout way of getting there (ie: snail mail, e-mail, telly, etc)

Just my $.02

Calltaker

(Of course, with my job, I deal with a lot of people who speak in an uneducated fashion, so sometimes I have to think to get the appropriate way of saying something.)

 

LOL... Affect is the personal (ie: It affected me) whereas Effect is the impersonal (ie: Side effects include...)

You can affect a particular mannerism, but it is the effect on others that counts

(Feeling a little redundant today and have to write what is already written.)

 

Enquire and inquire both have the same meaning.

Inquire is the more recent spelling (by hundreds of years) and in that way is the preferred unless, of course, one is persistant (as in continuing despite) and slow to change.

Not wanting to be politically incorrect, I won't mention that this form of persistance seems to be more of a British trait than an American one.

 

The plural of y'all is all y'all, ain't it?

All this is all y'all's.

 

No it ain't. "All this is all y'all's" is redundant.

It really isn't very difficult. Simple everyday Southern American English.

Just as you is the plural of you (except in the Bronx, where it is youse), the plural of y'all is y'all.

Nothing more, nothing less.

 

*Ahem*.....shouldn't we all just be embracing cultural diversity and enjoying that we aren't all exactly the same?

@Secretcodebreaker...what was that you were saying about "persistance"?

 

Can't remember. Here is what Calvin Coolidge said about persistance.

The Power of Persistence - Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "Press On" has solved, and always will solve, the problems of the human race.

 

no hablo inglés

doubt if very many of us do. (properly)

 

http://www.teachersparadise.com/c/product_info.php/products_id/2161

 

Hablo Ingles
Thats miraculous, just looking at the cover see what I've learned.
Just curious, do you have that traditional southern drawl?

 

Thats?

Plural of that?

My mother was born in the UK. In our house, only the Queen's English was permitted (syntax, not pronunciation). I grew up in a small town in New York. At seventeen, went to the US Coast Guard Aacdemy (class of '59), where I saw my first bowl of grits and thought they were Cream of Wheat.

The only "Southern" I know, I learned from my wife and by referring to a Southern Dictionary.

I've been told that I do not seem to have any regional accent, often in the form of the question - "Where you from?" For the past 25 years, it has been "Where y'all from?"

Anyway, I started this thread (to my lasting regret) about writing not speaking, which often can be quite different and still correct.

To paraphase the famous verse from Alice in Wonderland -

The time is past, the walrus wrote, to write of many things. Of ships, and shoes, and sealing wax, cabbages and kings.

 

Grits bring back memories of my Navy life. I enjoyed grits, while I was in the Navy, but now, I can't find myself buying it.


Hrmm, checking over my comma placement... My ellipsis, at the end of my previous sentence was okay or not okay?


By the way, I have enjoyed your website, secretcodebraker!

Have you read the book, "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson? It is a great book.

 

Excuse me but you started this thread to belittle someone, a kind friendly person as far as I know. The only other people who have been as rude are the children on here, which in fact was pointed out to them at the time. The whole point of me asking if you had an accent was a lesson in rudeness that apparently escaped you. It isn't like no one knows who your talking about. Then to follow up with all the quotes, how superior, how wrong!

 

Thats - that's - that is