The One Ring Forums: Off Topic: The Pollantir: Which grammar/spelling/punctuation error do you make most on the forum?

The One Ring Forums: Off Topic: The Pollantir:
Which grammar/spelling/punctuation error do you make most on the forum?

Poll: Which grammar/spelling/punctuation error do you make most on the forum?
Your/You're	0 / 0%
Its/It's	6 / 9%
There/Their/They're	3 / 5%
Affect/Effect	2 / 3%
Fewer/less	2 / 3%
Too much punctuation (.,/!?)	7 / 11%
Not enough punctuation (,,/!?)	6 / 9%
General apostrophe usage (1990's, her's ...)	1 / 2%
Just poor grammar/spelling/punctuation in general	2 / 3%
Other (please specify)	8 / 12%
Option C	2 / 3%
Grammer mesteaks? Im purfect.	9 / 14%
I'll edit my post until no typos remain.	16 / 25%
64 total votes

DanielLB
Immortal

Nov 26 2013, 8:38pm

Views: 1575

Which grammar/spelling/punctuation error do you make most on the forum?

I find that I *continually* have to edit my posts because I've misused there, their and they're. I know full well the difference, but I will always type "there" without thinking, making me edit the post and changing it. Normally it's not until I've hit "Post Message" until I realise the mistake I've made. And even then there will be one that I miss. I don't tend to make the other mistakes (as often, that is.) Though I do use these a lot: !!!.

I think it is down to the informality and relaxed atmosphere of the forum. I don't type a post like I would an email (unless to friends), an essay or a report. I think it's easy to make these mistakes since you're not thinking about it as much.

And linked to this, which grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes irritate you most? I'm not particularly bothered about errors (it's only human!), but I annoy myself that I have to always edit there, their and they're.

(Checks post for no mistakes. Look's good to me!) Wink

(This post was edited by DanielLB on Nov 26 2013, 8:42pm)

FaramirAndEowynMorningStar
Rohan

Nov 26 2013, 8:47pm

Views: 900

Sometimes I type comments on my phone and spell things wrong

or forget to add things in. Or, of course, add in too many punctuation marks. Wink

..The Lord of Silver Fountains
.....The King of Carven Stone
..The King Under the Mountain
.......Shall come into his own

..And the bells will ring in gladness
......At the Mountain King's return
..But all shall fail in sadness
....And the lake will shine and burn

elaen32
Gondor

Nov 26 2013, 8:56pm

Views: 921

Hate to break this to you, Daniel....

But you have put in an unnecessary apostrophe in the "Looks" of "Looks ok to me"! Tongue

That's one of my petty annoyances- apostrophes in the wrong place. The other is people writing "I could OF done this etc..." instead of " I could HAVE done this" or "I could've done this"!

I think my own errors are usually those of typing letters round the wrong way. Thtas relaly annoying! Aaagh- it autocorrected the word annoying! Mad

Is there a Tolkien topic that you have wanted to look into more deeply and write about your thoughts on it? If so, we'd like to hear from you for the next TORn Amateur Symposium- coming in November. Happy writing!

Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator

Nov 26 2013, 9:11pm

Views: 905

Seeing as we're talking about grammar, spelling etc...

Can someone clarify the use of 'whit/wit' on TORN? I often see 'wit' when it should be 'whit' ("I don't give one whit for reviewers' opinions") but I wonder if it's correct in US English to drop the 'h'?

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron�s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.

Ataahua's stories

Brethil
Half-elven

Nov 26 2013, 9:21pm

Views: 896

I voted 'Other' Daniel

as in my sometimes fabulous Freudian typos, which usually change the entire complexion of my post. Thing is, I can proofread 'til the cows come home and I just DON'T see it. I think because I am 'presuming' what I meant, I don't see the typo.

(Elaen, you tend to be my official Typo Spotter. You've caught quite a few of my real *bloomers*) Smile

The second TORn Amateur Symposium is running right now, in the Reading Room. Come have a look and maybe stay to chat!

Brethil
Half-elven

Nov 26 2013, 9:22pm

Views: 893

I think it should be 'whit'

In Reply To

as far as I know.

The second TORn Amateur Symposium is running right now, in the Reading Room. Come have a look and maybe stay to chat!

DanielLB
Immortal

Nov 26 2013, 9:32pm

Views: 884

That was deliberate ;-) /

(I think I'm guilty of "could of" vs "could have" as well!)

Kalimac
Bree

Nov 26 2013, 10:34pm

Views: 876

I'm really bad for spelling mistakes

but I'm pretty aware of that, so I tend to spend a lot of time editing my posts. Sometimes they still slip through though.
Great poll by the way.

demnation
Rohan

Nov 26 2013, 10:41pm

Views: 882

What a great idea for a thread!

I struggle with not putting enough punctuation marks; the poor semicolon goes almost entirely unused by me. And though I fancy myself a pretty good speller, I notice I tend to leave letters off the ends of my words sometime. (talking is so much easier....)

Mr Baggins began as a comic tale among conventional and inconsistent Grimm's fairy-tale dwarves, and got drawn into the edge of it � so that even Sauron the terrible peeped over the edge.- JRR Tolkien, Letter 19

Escapist
Gondor

Nov 26 2013, 10:48pm

Views: 889

I do not win

neither the spelling bee nor the grammar bee.

I choose "Option C": I do not take nearly enough time to do any editing at all whatsoever (unless I am weasel-wording ... watch for it!)

Consider all of my writing samples here to be "samples of written dialogue" if you like - or simply consider it "wrong" because it often is.

I may be totally wrong on this to some minds, but I really see a difference in levels of formality between blogging and writing a term paper or thesis, for example.

Eowyn of Penns Woods
Valinor

Nov 27 2013, 12:17am

Views: 855

Yeppers! //

**********************************

NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011

Werde Spinner
Rohan

Nov 27 2013, 12:39am

Views: 870

Grammar Nazi? raises guilty hand

I try not to go around correcting people's grammar, and I rarely ever do it when I'm talking to somebody. However, if I'm reading the paper or some other written work that should have been edited, polished, and proofread many times, I will gleefully point out the errors. There's little excuse for those, I think. I'm much less picky about informal situations, like this forum. I realize that so many people post in a hurry or do not even have English as their first language, and so it doesn't bother me here at all. *coughs* Okay, it doesn't bother me much. Evil

I have to say, I'm not perfect either. It's mostly because I rely so much on knowing exactly what I'm typing (and relying on my fingers not to betray me and type the wrong thing while my mind zips ahead to the next sentence) that I never bother to proofread unless I've written a really long post. And, even then, my mind will supply what it wants to see half the time, not what's actually there.

However, if I have to pick the grammar/spelling/punctuation violation that annoys me the most, I'd have to say the abuse of capital letters. I don't mind the CAPSLOCK when it's used for emphasis. What I really mind is when something *should* be capitalized and it's not. Have you ever taken a look at advertising? Words are now either entirely lowercase or entirely uppercase. Now *that* just gets away with me. Mad

Confusion of contractions with possessive adjectives is also a common one...

"I had forgotten that. It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange. Elf and Dwarf in company walk in our daily fields; and folk speak with the Lady of the Wood and yet live; and the Sword comes back to war that was broken in the long ages ere the fathers of our fathers rode into the Mark! How shall a man judge what to do in such times?"

"As he ever has judged. Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house."

Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal

Nov 27 2013, 1:50am

Views: 853

I often mistype homonyms even though I know better.

They're/there/their, its/it's, two/to/too. I do know the difference, but sometimes my fingers don't.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Na Vedui
Rohan

Nov 27 2013, 1:57am

Views: 852

Spelling and grammar ...

... I can usually manage, with a few exceptions, but typing is another matter entirely! I do tend to proofread my posts, but don't always spot all the random howlers, especially when I'm tired.

Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea

Nov 27 2013, 5:27am

Views: 845

I'm the typo queen

according to the friend I keep up with on Skype Chat.

I tend to make those Freudian mistakes too. I caught a few typos in my TAS piece (sorry WS, I know it was supposed to be polished Wink

) and I read that thing over so many times I thought I had it memorized. I flip letters around, use the wrong homonym, edit but for get to take out the old words.

Sometimes I wish this was just a conversation live with people. That's how fast my thoughts come and then go out into cyberspace. If I was talking, no one would see my typos! Sly

Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Starling
Half-elven

Nov 27 2013, 7:14am

Views: 859

May I share?

It's not completely on the topic, but on a message board I mostly lurk around on, someone has collected up many of the gems, which are now known as the 'lexicon'. Here are some of my favourites:

for all intensive purposes
beautiful sequence dress
trickle treating
hypernated
fang tango
income tacks
Ironstein
heart populations
dire rear
balling my eyes out

All of this confirms my belief that the average New Zealander can't write too well...
My pet hates:
'could of'
'devine'
'definately'
Random apostrophes, especially in plurals. Potatoe's, carrot's, onion's. Crazy

My most pet hate is the overuse of exclamation marks!!! They are everywhere!!!! Watch out, DanielLB!!!!!!!!

Question marks???? One question - why do you need four question marks???? Is it to make it look super duper important????

And of course I never make a mistake.

(This post was edited by Starling on Nov 27 2013, 7:17am)

Kim
Valinor

Nov 27 2013, 7:25am

Views: 836

That's a pretty entertaining list

Thanks for sharing. I mean, "Thanks for sharing!!!!!!"

Sly

Starling
Half-elven

Nov 27 2013, 7:37am

Views: 842

I forgot one:

'Wallah'!

Kim
Valinor

Nov 27 2013, 7:40am

Views: 832

I've never seen that before

What does it mean????????

Tongue

zarabia
Tol Eressea

Nov 27 2013, 7:43am

Views: 840

Oops!!!! I must drive you nuts, huh??? :D

Sorry, I admit to commiting this sin on a regular basis. Blush

"The question isn't where, Constable, but when." - Inspector Spacetime

Starling
Half-elven

Nov 27 2013, 7:53am

Views: 833

Here's a clue

It's meant to be French. I wish there was a smiley on this site to indicate, "I am crying with laughter."

Starling
Half-elven

Nov 27 2013, 7:57am

Views: 831

Ewe

could never drive me nut's. Laugh

You are as beautiful as a *sequence dress*. Heart

(And as clever as Ironstein.)
And really, for all intensive purposes, it's only a few bits of punctuation!!! Right?????

Anyway, I shouldn't savage tarde the thread.

zarabia
Tol Eressea

Nov 27 2013, 8:26am

Views: 841

I'm very insecure about my punctuation.

I know the rules, but I sometimes second guess myself until I don't know what's what. The fact that many punctuation rules are - like the Pirates' Code - more of a guideline doesn't help. Tongue

I even had a professor tell me that, though she really enjoyed my paper, she found my punctuation "funky." Blush

So if you sometimes see way too many commas and semi-colons in my posts, or way too few, please forgive me; it's just me having a break-down. Laugh

However, if I make a mistake with an apostrophe, it's usually just carelessness.

I try to check my spelling before posting, but I'm sometimes in a hurry. I usually spell tricky words without too many problems, but then make unbelievably stupid mistakes with simple words. When I use my phone to post, I don't worry too much. My phone tries so hard to "help" that it's a miracle that I don't throw my phone across the room. I'm not going to sweat a few typos. Crazy

I really don't judge too harshly when others make mistakes. For one thing, I'm more of a descriptivist than a prescriptivist. For another, I know that most people here are very smart, and any mistake they make is likely what my dad calls "a mere oversight." Smile

That said, I am bothered by the use of the word less with countable things when they should use fewer. Mad

And yes, I know I use far too many icons. Laugh

"The question isn't where, Constable, but when." - Inspector Spacetime

zarabia
Tol Eressea

Nov 27 2013, 8:29am

Views: 819

Your two kind :D //

"The question isn't where, Constable, but when." - Inspector Spacetime

DanielLB
Immortal

Nov 27 2013, 8:42am

Views: 828

What a funny list!!!!!!!?????!!!!!?????????

Yes, whenever I respond to you now Starling, it is just going to be too irresistible not to use all those exclamation and question marks. Wink

"Definately" is one I've always struggled with as well. My fingers don't like typing that word properly at all.

DanielLB
Immortal

Nov 27 2013, 8:44am

Views: 320

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

For some reason, I'll type its' as well. Which makes no sense at all!

Starling
Half-elven

Nov 27 2013, 8:51am

Views: 345

I knew it

I mentioned my hatred of exclamation mark excess during a meeting at work once. Now a guy I work with always puts extra exclamation marks in emails, just for me.

And don't even get me started on my hatred of teacher jargon. Or shall we *unpack* that and *talk to it* as well, while we *drill down* into the *texture* of it?

I start 'hypernating' at the very thought of it, and I will *proberly* end up having 'heart populations'. Laugh

Werde Spinner
Rohan

Nov 27 2013, 4:41pm

Views: 310

Oh, don't worry about the icons!

The smiley faces are very helpful in getting the tone of a sentence across. Without the facial expressions and posture that we interpret in face-to-face conversation, online communication can get misinterpreted rather easily. Jokes can be seen as insults, and so forth. That's why emoticons are so helpful.

I use 'em a lot, too... Putting ' Laugh

' is probably better than putting 'ahahahahaha', which might make me look like an evil overlord (evil overlady?) putting my latest nefarious scheme into action... Tongue

Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator

Nov 27 2013, 5:48pm

Views: 307

"Our reporter is across this story."

TVNZ started this about six months ago and it drives me up the wall. What happened to, "Our reporter has more details"?

Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator

Nov 27 2013, 5:50pm

Views: 300

"Incidences."

It's either 'incidents' or 'instances', not an unholy merging of the two! It's become increasingly common over the last year, unfortunately.

FaramirAndEowynMorningStar
Rohan

Nov 27 2013, 7:15pm

Views: 292

You know, she's got a point there

I mean, I use icons all the time - usually to express my feelings on a particular subject or having a sly expression when I'm talking about Faramir and Thorin... Smile

the mere thought brings a grin to my face! Sly

Na Vedui
Rohan

Nov 27 2013, 7:58pm

Views: 285

Fang tango

First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still.

Kim
Valinor

Nov 27 2013, 8:50pm

Views: 283

Yeah, me too

Part of my job is to audit other people's work, and I can spot spelling and grammar errors at ten paces. And when I post here, I'll hit Preview Post multiple times to make sure everything is correct. However, I did pick the "It's/Its" option in the poll as that always seems to trip me up. Smile

Kim
Valinor

Nov 27 2013, 8:56pm

Views: 318

I got nuthin'

"Wallah" is meant to be French? I'm afraid I'm going to need you to spell this one out for me. Sly

Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator

Nov 27 2013, 9:13pm

Views: 288

'Voila.' :D

My mother was big with 'wallah'. Mind you, she was terrible (or superb, maybe) with malapropisms - she once told me that a young man was "very illegible", and once described a person's handwriting as "eligible".

elaen32
Gondor

Nov 27 2013, 9:59pm

Views: 293

Snap!

Another person who gets wound up by "could of" and random apostrophes. Great minds think alike!
I love your list too Starling. One spelling issue I see a lot at work is "persciption" instead of "prescription". If I had �10 for every time I see a request for a "repeat persciption" I would be very wealthy indeed!

Eowyn of Penns Woods
Valinor

Nov 27 2013, 11:27pm

Views: 283

I would be happier if our U.S. newscasters and morning show hosts

would stop using some form of "We're back after these messages" or "We're back after this commercial break". No, you're NOT back! You WILL be back! *rageflail*

The big network people started it, and now they all seem to think it's okay. *sob*

**********************************

NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011

Na Vedui
Rohan

Nov 28 2013, 12:20am

Views: 277

These things seem to be catching, like germs

One that bugs me is when railway train announcers say "arriving into" London Paddington or wherever, instead of "arriving at" or "arriving in" (either of which would be normal English usage). They seemed to begin doing this a few years ago, goodness knows why.
And don't get me started on corporate/political clich�s and jargon. Grrrrr!

Elizabeth
Half-elven

Nov 28 2013, 12:51am

Views: 262

Agreed.//

Rembrethil
Tol Eressea

Nov 28 2013, 12:53am

Views: 258

*Laughs my head off*

I totally heard an evil cackle when reading 'ahahahahahaha'.

I agree about the emoticons. Sometimes, without them, I fall into a strange mode of expression when I want to make a jest. I go to extreme lengths to make it painfully clear that it is a joke, not an insult. It doesn't always work, so I prefer emoticons.

Call me Rem. Rembrethil is a lot to type!!

Rembrethil
Tol Eressea

Nov 28 2013, 1:10am

Views: 266

Oh....yes....

When I see a typo in print, I just want to scream, 'Where was your editor?!' I see them in my church's bulletins and I had entertained the idea of becoming a proof-reader, but then realised I do not have the time.

Whenever a scrap of writing is pushed in front of me, I naturally lapse into 'editor-mode'. Sometimes I just have to bite my tongue and say nothing.

Sometimes the mistakes are funny. People seem to fear commas in these days, and that leads to humorous mis-readings. Don't even ask the last time I saw a semicolon.

Call me Rem. Rembrethil is a lot to type!!

Meneldor
Valinor

Nov 28 2013, 4:21am

Views: 282

I was snerking over "dire rear" all day.

In Reply To

dire rear

Then I had a chimichanga for dinner. Frown

TMI?

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.

(This post was edited by Meneldor on Nov 28 2013, 4:22am)

zarabia
Tol Eressea

Nov 28 2013, 6:19am

Views: 251

I agree

They're very helpful. I wish some people would use them more often. I just find that I get carried away sometimes. Tongue

(resisting urge to add blush-face and screwy mouth) Laugh

D'oh!

"The question isn't where, Constable, but when." - Inspector Spacetime

Finding Frodo
Tol Eressea

Nov 29 2013, 6:26am

Views: 240

I chose "too much punctuation"

Spelling and punctuation come pretty easily for me. It's not that I never make mistakes, but I proofread as I go along and usually do fine. On the other hand, I could be accused of overusing exclamation points!!

Where's Frodo?

sador
Half-elven

Nov 29 2013, 8:04am

Views: 237

I think it's Arabic.

Possibly coming from the French voila, though, as Ataahua suggested (there is no 'v' consonant in many Semitic languages).

sherlock
Gondor

Nov 29 2013, 12:31pm

Views: 229

I make mistakes

all the time & they're usually in the subject line. Blush

It's stuff I know but I don't always pick the right word in my rush to get my ideas down.

Arannir
Valinor

Nov 29 2013, 12:58pm

Views: 230

Coming from Germany...

... I tend to do way too many commas in English.

Especially in front of "that", "who" or "which".

�All good stories deserve embellishment."

Praise is subjective. And so is criticism.

"I am afraid it is only too likely to be true what you say about the critics and the public. I am dreading the publication for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot at."

Kim
Valinor

Nov 30 2013, 3:39am

Views: 206

Ah, ok

makes sense, I can hear it now, I've just never seen it spelled out phonetically like that.

sauget.diblosio
Tol Eressea

Nov 30 2013, 6:43am

Views: 210

Most of my mistakes are just random--

mispelling here, punctuation there, sometimes a grammatical flub. But i always have to stop and think how to spell words like surprise or realise-- i always want to spell them with a Z. Happens every time.

Starling
Half-elven

Nov 30 2013, 7:54am

Views: 200

I get very cross with spell check,

when it wants to change my s's to z's in words like realise.

elaen32
Gondor

Nov 30 2013, 4:49pm

Views: 400

Me too!

My Office spell check is set to UK English, but on my gmail account it defaults to US English, so is always trying to correct my spelling. Mad

Mind you, American spelling is so much easier than British for many words for example, we use "manoeuvre" whereas Americans use "maneuver". Crazy

What do you use in NZ, Starling? American or British? Or is there another variant down under?

Misto
Lorien

Nov 30 2013, 6:44pm

Views: 397

Erratic punctuation

I can try to excuse myself with not being a native speaker, but the truth is: my punctuation is just as erratic in my mother tongue. There, the rules changed why I was in primary school - not cool, and I never really got as grasp of the proper (new) rules. I keep joking that I simply write a sentence and then scatter commas randomly over it.
Also, I'm quite a typo-queen.

Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator

Nov 30 2013, 7:03pm

Views: 406

It's UK English in NZ,

but I think Australian English is influenced by or follows US English. Can any Aussie TORNadoes comment?

acheron
Gondor

Dec 1 2013, 2:20pm

Views: 398

Random misspellings

I don't usually mix up similar words -- there/they're/their, etc. -- but I have trouble spelling some words. ("relevant" comes to mind -- a lot of times I will write "relevent". Also "necessary".) Usually the browser spell-check notifies me and I fix it, but sometimes I miss. Smile

Sometimes my grammar is not, let's say, hyper-correct, but that's usually on purpose. (Or so I will claim.)

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars, and so on -- while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man, for precisely the same reasons. -- Douglas Adams

Sam20
Lorien

Dec 2 2013, 9:00pm

Views: 365

English

I make a lot of grammatical and spelling mistakes on this board and anywhere for that matter! I've no choice to Edit my messages a couple of time to improve it. English is not my first language and I learned self-taught about 2 and a half years ago reading books and watching TV. So, I kind of learned by memory and patterns recognition. Needless to say that my English is far from perfect and needs much polishing.

But it's great that people here have been understanding of that, as we are many International ringers aboard that may not master the language perfectly. But yeah, I am getting better with every message I guess! :)

(This post was edited by sam90 on Dec 2 2013, 9:04pm)

Meneldor
Valinor

Dec 2 2013, 11:28pm

Views: 374

Sam90,

your posts are much easier to read than many by native English speakers. I suspect that's because you care about being understood clearly and about getting things right.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.

arithmancer
Grey Havens

Dec 5 2013, 9:29pm

Views: 328

Typos

I generally use the right words, my spelling is pretty accurate, and so is my English grammar. My typing skills, on the other hand...not so good. So my mistakes tend to be random and the consequence of mistyping something and not noticing until it is too late.

Oiot�ri
Tol Eressea

Dec 6 2013, 3:19am

Views: 327

Luckily for the communication between my brain and my fingers, spelling errors are underlined

If that were not the case, spelling would be my main problem. This is both because of fingers not hitting the right keys in the right order, and because there are some words I can simply never get correct (like referred)

As it is, I expect the mistake that I make the most without noticing is fewer/less. Also their/there/they're, not because I don't know when each is used, but because they are all used so frequently that my fingers often just decide they know what they are doing without consulting my brain. Tongue

(Which sounds like exactly what you were describing Daniel)

As for other options, I rarely edit my posts to make sure I don't have run-on sentences... and I'm sure they are abundant.

..The land of long-forgotten name:
......no man may ever anchor near;
..No steering star his hope may aim,
......for nether Night its marches drear,
..And waters wide no sail may tame,
......with shores encircled dark and sheer.

..O! Haven where my heart would be!
......the waves beat upon thy bar
..For ever echo endlessly,
......when longing leads thy thought afar

(This post was edited by Oiot�ri on Dec 6 2013, 3:19am)

Annael
Immortal

Dec 28 2013, 5:19pm

Views: 310

the print journalists are driving me nuts lately

with their new trend of putting commas around proper names. As in: "Artist, Leonardo da Vinci, painted the Mona Lisa . . ." I see it everywhere and I just want to scream. The grad students whose papers I edit are starting to pick it up, and I explain to each one why it's wrong, but I feel like Canute trying to hold back the tide.

(NOTE: you only put commas around a name if it isn't NECESSARY to the thought. You may write "His wife, Mary, also feels that . . ." because it works to write "His wife also feels that . . ." But in the instance I gave above, "Artist painted the Mona Lisa" does not work.)

The way we imagine our lives is the way we are going to go on living our lives.

- James Hillman, Healing Fiction

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967

AriesT
Bree

Dec 28 2013, 7:17pm

Views: 300

Same here

... Furthermore, I never get the 's stuff done correctly. I always write Bilbos bad, Smaugs Ein�de, Gandalfs hat. I always forget about the '
Plus, of course, messing around with the tense (past, present, past perfect) all the time without noticing it at all.

I am Aries and this is my zodiac sign.

Bard'sBlackArrow
Lorien

Jan 13 2014, 11:28pm

Views: 307

My grammar is a constant work in progress

In Reply To

I was so viciously ripped a new one for my grammar mistakes in a fiction class, I dropped it. While the teacher and classmates were correct that you do need to know grammar basics, they were wrong in how they stated my issues. You can make a point without being super nasty about it.

Back to the board at hand, yes, I do make many mistakes. I appreciate the patience of the members.

I am very patient, as grammar is an ongoing process.

Elves?!? I don't need no stinkin' Elves. :D