That is... No, you're right. There are no words. They didn't change The Flintstones' theme song because it has the word "gay" in it...so...wtf??
And hey, little miss English:
I'm doing a little editing for a friend, and I'm curious about capitalization and pluralization of plant names. e.g. "Put three lamium an equal distance apart" Or is that Lamium? Or Lamiums?
Also, "Three lamium cuttings or young Lamium galeobdolon ‘Variegatum’ plants" OK?
How about, "Next, lay three schizanthus on the left side of each geranium and three tagetes on the right side, placing three lobelia in between the geraniums and tagetes."
I know a total of squat about gardening, which brings me to this sentence: "The process begins in mid-winter with the propagation of geraniums and lamium by softwood stem cuttings". Is "by" correct in this context?
My friend ms_interpret needs help with that. Might you comment on her entry if you know any of the answers to those little grammatical puzzles, s'il vous plait??
I tried to go to your friend's entry, but it wouldn't let me, so I'll just post what I know here and you can send her here, or cut and paste this over in her journal.
My trusty copy of The Copyeditor's Handbook says the following with regards to scientific names: "By convention, the scientific (Latin) names of plants and animals are always italicized, and the genus is capitalized, while the species and subspecies are lowercased: Esherichia coli; Ursus americanus; Heteromeles arbutifolia macrocarpa. On second reference, the genus name is usually abbreviated, and only its first letter is given: E. coli; U. americanus; H. arbutifolia."
It also says that "proper nouns and proper adjectives are always capitalized, but there are two conventions for treating words that are not indisputably proper. Down style favors the sparse use of capital letters; in up style many more nouns and adjectives are upper cased...". If your friend is writing for a publication the editor might have a preference for which style is used. If not, you can just
( ... )
Amuse yourself.prettyhDecember 26 2007, 14:03:33 UTC
Your Language Arts Grade: 100%
Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).
Re: Amuse yourself.shayne_kraftDecember 26 2007, 17:34:07 UTC
Your Language Arts Grade: 100%
Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).
Comments 5
And hey, little miss English:
I'm doing a little editing for a friend, and I'm curious about capitalization and pluralization of plant names. e.g. "Put three lamium an equal distance apart" Or is that Lamium? Or Lamiums?
Also, "Three lamium cuttings or young Lamium galeobdolon ‘Variegatum’ plants" OK?
How about, "Next, lay three schizanthus on the left side of each geranium and three tagetes on the right side, placing three lobelia in between the geraniums and tagetes."
I know a total of squat about gardening, which brings me to this sentence: "The process begins in mid-winter with the propagation of geraniums and lamium by softwood stem cuttings". Is "by" correct in this context?
My friend ms_interpret needs help with that. Might you comment on her entry if you know any of the answers to those little grammatical puzzles, s'il vous plait??
Reply
Reply
My trusty copy of The Copyeditor's Handbook says the following with regards to scientific names: "By convention, the scientific (Latin) names of plants and animals are always italicized, and the genus is capitalized, while the species and subspecies are lowercased: Esherichia coli; Ursus americanus; Heteromeles arbutifolia macrocarpa. On second reference, the genus name is usually abbreviated, and only its first letter is given: E. coli; U. americanus; H. arbutifolia."
It also says that "proper nouns and proper adjectives are always capitalized, but there are two conventions for treating words that are not indisputably proper. Down style favors the sparse use of capital letters; in up style many more nouns and adjectives are upper cased...". If your friend is writing for a publication the editor might have a preference for which style is used. If not, you can just ( ... )
Reply
Your Language Arts Grade: 100%
Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).
Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz
Reply
Your Language Arts Grade: 100%
Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).
Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz
Reply
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