grammar

[dolique]

Okay, so clearly I know that capitalization is cliche and grammar is going that way too, but can we just get a few things straight?

+++

AMOUNT of cereal, NUMBER of bowls of cereal: if it comes in separate, countable units, use number. Otherwise, yes, fine, you can use amount.

Along the same lines, my friend Abby drinks LESS coffee than I do, but I

Comments

[chickenfeet2003]

you may not actually be able to find all your cats at one time, but in theory, at least, you can count them!-

This may not actually be true for quantum cats

I'm going to LIE down, not lay

You may, of course, use the perfectly acceptable reflexive form. "Now I lay me down to rest" is perfectly sound.

so I really know how to conjugate bear!

I trust you enjoy your conjugational rights (or even rites)

[ressie_noldo]

This may not actually be true for quantum cats

Or for any set of cats without a one-one correspondence to the set of natural numbers?

[dolique]

hello, you! i have no actual response to your ridiculous mathiness other than an an amused ..., but i am very glad to see you popping up. i have the feeling that we have had similarly difficult freshman years, academically speaking; is yours over yet? i have one last final, on the 21st, and then i will happily shake this cantabrigian dust off my feet for the summer.

[ressie_noldo]

& hello! (I fear that there is somewhat more maths where that came from, but I shall spare you.) This is probably a sound assumption; sadly, I'm nowhere near being done, since I have about four more weeks of term to slog through before finals (curse you quarter system), and I'm here over the summer in any case. Still. Will survive & all that -- how have you been in general?

[polutrope]

Oh, chérie, you are ridiculous and I love you for it, as you well know.

I mean, these are all things that need to be said, but still. Awesome examples.

(Also fero has one r)

[dolique]

yes it does! *facepalm* have corrected.

not in compounds tho, which is maybe what i was thinking of? ...idk, i am just a wee first-year college student, with porridge for brains at this pt. :(

object pronouns

[dclaudekatz]

Does it annoy you when (otherwise seemingly educated) people say things like, "Talk to Samantha and I"? It seems to be a case of overcompensation. The natural impulse is to misuse the word "me" as a subject pronoun, because one usually does use "me" when it isn't the beginning of a clause. So children, for example, say things like, "Samantha and me are going to the park." Then their parents or teachers correct them, "Samantha and I," and the children grow up to think that it should always be "Samantha and I" no matter where it occurs in the sentence. Anyhow it really grates my ears to hear people use "I" as an object pronoun.

[dragojustine]

Also?

The tragic event happened in your past, long before you passed me in the street.

And!

You did not want to accept the award, because no one except you was nominated.

These things make me want to KILL KILL KILL.

(Hi! I have no idea who you are, but you friended me. Feel free to say hi anytime)

[dolique]

those things are equally aggravating, i agree, and i love yr example sentences!

and haha, yeah, i did friend you! iirc, you commented on a story of synecdochic's, whom i also read, and i have a habit of adding friendsoffriends who look interesting. sorry for the radio silence: i've been a bit silent of late, as the date of this entry reflects.

anyway, hi, i'm katie. :D just finished up my freshman year in college, having a bit of a lazy summer; when not kicking back at the computer, interests include poetry, classical singing & rowing (the doing of the above, that is, although i also like reading/watching them). also i read a fucktonne of fic (and tend to drop in british spellings, tho i'm a new yorker born & bred). nice to meet you!

[builtofsorrow]

UM. ALL I HAVE FOR THIS POST IS FLAILY ARMS.

Why, WHY have we not been introduced before?!

(Okay, actually, I have been reading this page of entries from the top down and my flail has been increasing by the word. But then I got to this one, and it is RIDICULOUS how flaily I became. I think the man sitting near me is concerned.)

(Also, you should read this, which induced similar flail in me a few weeks back.)