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meiapaul
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It has probably always been there, but it annoys me more now: there are some people who just don't know how to use punctuation, so I thought I would provide some basic lessons, for the benefit of all the forum users.
Most people on BTP are competent enough spellers, although there are a few notable exceptions, namely C1, keeper and a few others. While I can't list every word, I can list the errors which repeatedly occur, and correct them
The Apostrophe
The apostrophe is a superscript sign ( ' ) used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations.
Examples:
Dave's dog ate the biscuit. Possession, so an apostrophe is used.
Dave ate the biscuits. Plural, no apostrophe.
Dave hasn't got a dog. Omission of "o" from has not, apostrophe is used.
Lose
To mislay an object e.g. Don't lose your wallet
To be unsuccessful at winning e.g. France lose the match
Note the single "o"
Loose
Not tight.
Note the double "oo"
Know
Does anyone know anything
No
Hell No!
They're, Their, There
They're - They are
Their - It was their car.
There - I went there last year
Too, To
There were too many of their cars on the road, because they're not well built.
I think so too.
I went to the circus. There were clowns. There were elephants too
You're - You Are.
Your - possesive. Your car.
. (Period) To be used at the end of a complete statement. Also to be used to end a command that uses the understood you (aka the parenthesied you).
? (Question Mark) To be used at the end of an interogatory statement (aka a question). Not to be used with a definate statement.
! (Exclamation Mark) Here's the big one. This is ONLY used in two cases:
1) To display strong emotion.
2) To end an interjection (look this word up).
An ! mark and a ? mark can be used in conjuction to form a forceful question, but the practice is frowned upon in formal english.
; (Semicolon) Used to separate two separate sentences without using a conjuction; this can be very useful for sentences like this.
, (Comma) Used to separate items that come in a series, to precede a conjuction where neccessary, and to end an interjection.
: (Colon) Used to precede a list ONLY when neccessary, and to preced a statement/quote that should be separated from the main body.
I think thats all for now...I'll edit this as appropriate....Spelling errors now edited out to aviod oh-so-hilarious irony quotes...
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05.01.05 21:09 Post #1 | Last edited: 06.01.05 21:55 (Meiapaul - 7 times) |
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C1
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That's why english is my worst subject
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05.01.05 21:17 Post #2 | [Hide Sig (2)] [Profile] [Quote] |
the candy man
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you might want to add
Know
Does anyone Know anything
No
Hell No!
Knifa usually has a go at me for doing that....
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05.01.05 21:36 Post #3 | [Hide Sig (0)] [Profile] [Quote] |
C1
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I never do that. That annoys me as well.
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05.01.05 21:54 Post #4 | [Hide Sig (2)] [Profile] [Quote] |
Thnikkaman
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I directly quote Strong Bad Email 89
"Ooooh,
If you want it to be possessive, it's just 'I-T-S' but if it's supposed to be a contraction, then it's 'I-T-apostrophe-S'... scalawag."
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05.01.05 21:54 Post #5 | Last edited: 05.01.05 21:57 (Thnikkaman - 1 times) |
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HarrY
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Note the doulbe "oo"
Oh the irony!
I've done that, correcting someone's spelling errors then make a typo(i swear, it was a typo!) my self.
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05.01.05 22:02 Post #6 | [Wormopoly!] [Hide Sig (13)] [Profile] [Quote] |
C1
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I directly quote Strong Bad Email 89
"Ooooh,
If you want it to be possessive, it's just 'I-T-S' but if it's supposed to be a contraction, then it's 'I-T-apostrophe-S'... scalawag."
Words like that are my only problem and that's because I type so fast I don't always think which word is the correct one.
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05.01.05 22:13 Post #7 | [Hide Sig (2)] [Profile] [Quote] |
ReadMe
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the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations.
you mean NOT surely?
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05.01.05 22:47 Post #8 | [Hide Sig (7)] [Profile] [Quote] |
Zogger!
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the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations.
you mean NOT surely?
I think he means what he wrote there - I think it's perfectly valid, tho some examples might clarify that for me.
Personally I can normally get apostrophes right without thinking about it, if you do it right enough you don't need to think.
Although it is amusing that there are two spelling mistakes in that post, and for some reason you used a capital K on know...
edit:
They're, Their, There
They're - They are
Their - It was their car.
There - I went there last year
Too, To
There were too many of their cars on the road, because they're not well built.
I think so too.
I went to the circus. There were clowns. There were elephants too
also:
You're - You Are.
Your - possesive. Your car.
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05.01.05 22:57 Post #9 | Last edited: 05.01.05 23:24 (ZoGgEr! - 5 times) |
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Glenn
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While we're at it:
Spoiler (Click to Expand)
. To be used at the end of a complete statement. Also to be used to end a command that uses the understood you (aka the parenthesied you).
? To be used at the end of an interogatory statement (aka a question). Not to be used with a definate statement.
! Here's the big one. This is ONLY used in two cases:
1) To display strong emotion.
2) To end an interjection (look this word up).
An ! mark and a ? mark can be used in conjuction to form a forceful question, but the practice is frowned upon in formal english.
; Used to separate two separate sentences without using a conjuction; this can be very useful for sentences like this.
, Used to separate items that come in a series, to precede a conjuction where neccessary, and to end an interjection.
: Used to precede a list ONLY when neccessary, and to preced a statement/quote that should be separated from the main body.
For reading all that, you get a reward. Humerous grammar rules (you can learn something from this if you try):
Spoiler (Click to Expand)
Did you really read that. Well, here you go anyway:
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with. Winston Churchill, corrected on this error once, responded to the young man who corrected him by saying "Young man, that is the kind of impudence up with which I will not put!
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies endlessly over and over again
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't always necessary and shouldn't be used to excess so don’t.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not always apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous and can be excessive
14. All generalizations are bad.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Avoid excessive use of ampersands & abbrevs., etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake (Unless they are as good as gold).
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words, however, should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when substituting a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Don’t overuse exclamation points
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed and use it correctly with words’ that show possession.
27. Don’t use too many quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a billion times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. Besides, hyperbole is always overdone, anyway.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions? However, what if there were no rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Avoid "buzz-words"; such integrated transitional scenarios complicate simplistic matters
35. People don’t spell "a lot" correctly alot of the time.
36. Each person should use their possessive pronouns correctly
37. All grammar and spelling rules have exceptions (with a few exceptions)....Morgan’s Law.
38. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
39. The dash – a sometimes useful punctuation mark – can often be overused – even though it’s a helpful tool some of the time.
40. Proofread carefully to make sure you don’t repeat repeat any words.
41. In writing, it’s important to remember that dangling sentences.
41. When numbering in a written document, check your numbering system carefully.
42. It is important to use italics for emphasis sparingly.
43. In good writing, for good reasons, under normal circumstances, whenever you can, use prepositional phrases in limited numbers and with great caution.
44. Avoid going out on tangents unrelated to your subject -- not the subject of a sentence -- that's another story (like the stories written by Ernest Hemingway, who by the way wrote the great fisherman story The Old Man and the Sea).
45. Complete sentences. Like rule 10.
46. Unless you're a righteous expert don't try to be too cool with slang to which you're not hip.
47. If you must use slang, avoid out-of-date slang. Right on!
48. You'll look poorly if you misuse adverbs.
49. Use the ellipsis ( . . . ) to indicate missing . . .
n 50. Use brackets to indicate that you [ not Shakespeare, for example ] are giving people [ in your class ] information so that they [ the people in your class ] know about whom you are speaking. But do not use brackets when making these references [ to other authors ] excessively. n
51. Note: People just can't stomach too much use of the colon.
52. Between good grammar and bad grammar, good grammar is the best.
53. There are so many great grammar rules that I can't decide between them.
54. In English, unlike German, the verb early in the sentence, not later, should be placed.
55. When you write sentences, shifting verb tense is bad.
It takes a good mind to catch all of the jokes (specifically the number one and a few others).
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06.01.05 02:22 Post #10 | [Youtube] [Hide Sig (12)] [Profile] [Quote] |
Khuzad
Great Donkey Master Send PM
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Good job making this thread Meia, I get annoyed as well sometimes. I feel I'm a "competent enough speller" myself, but you can't no it all. Spoiler (Click to Expand)
sorry, lame joke
For reading all that, you get a reward. Humerous grammar rules (you can learn something from this if you try):
Spoiler (Click to Expand)
Did you really read that. Well, here you go anyway:
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with. Winston Churchill, corrected on this error once, responded to the young man who corrected him by saying "Young man, that is the kind of impudence up with which I will not put!
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies endlessly over and over again
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't always necessary and shouldn't be used to excess so don’t.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not always apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous and can be excessive
14. All generalizations are bad.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Avoid excessive use of ampersands & abbrevs., etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake (Unless they are as good as gold).
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words, however, should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when substituting a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Don’t overuse exclamation points
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed and use it correctly with words’ that show possession.
27. Don’t use too many quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a billion times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. Besides, hyperbole is always overdone, anyway.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions? However, what if there were no rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Avoid "buzz-words"; such integrated transitional scenarios complicate simplistic matters
35. People don’t spell "a lot" correctly alot of the time.
36. Each person should use their possessive pronouns correctly
37. All grammar and spelling rules have exceptions (with a few exceptions)....Morgan’s Law.
38. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
39. The dash – a sometimes useful punctuation mark – can often be overused – even though it’s a helpful tool some of the time.
40. Proofread carefully to make sure you don’t repeat repeat any words.
41. In writing, it’s important to remember that dangling sentences.
41. When numbering in a written document, check your numbering system carefully.
42. It is important to use italics for emphasis sparingly.
43. In good writing, for good reasons, under normal circumstances, whenever you can, use prepositional phrases in limited numbers and with great caution.
44. Avoid going out on tangents unrelated to your subject -- not the subject of a sentence -- that's another story (like the stories written by Ernest Hemingway, who by the way wrote the great fisherman story The Old Man and the Sea).
45. Complete sentences. Like rule 10.
46. Unless you're a righteous expert don't try to be too cool with slang to which you're not hip.
47. If you must use slang, avoid out-of-date slang. Right on!
48. You'll look poorly if you misuse adverbs.
49. Use the ellipsis ( . . . ) to indicate missing . . .
n 50. Use brackets to indicate that you [ not Shakespeare, for example ] are giving people [ in your class ] information so that they [ the people in your class ] know about whom you are speaking. But do not use brackets when making these references [ to other authors ] excessively. n
51. Note: People just can't stomach too much use of the colon.
52. Between good grammar and bad grammar, good grammar is the best.
53. There are so many great grammar rules that I can't decide between them.
54. In English, unlike German, the verb early in the sentence, not later, should be placed.
55. When you write sentences, shifting verb tense is bad.
It takes a good mind to catch all of the jokes (specifically the number one and a few others).
Lol, i loved those grammar rules Glenn. Good find!
________________
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06.01.05 15:30 Post #11 | Last edited: 06.01.05 15:31 (Khuzad - 1 times) |
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sargetron
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Note for people who don't read the whole thread, the below post is wrong - sorry to edit but we don't want people getting the wrong idea.
Erm, wait a second! The most common mistake in the English language (even pros do it).
SargeTron's car.
The apostraphe constitutes a missing letter, so that says:
SargeTron is car.
Not a likely name for a car .
This is correct:
SargeTrons' car.
The car belonging to SargeTron.
Tada, that's all!
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06.01.05 18:59 Post #12 | Last edited: 06.01.05 20:37 (ZoGgEr! - 1 times) |
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meiapaul
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No.
"SargeTron's car" if there is one car belonging to one SargeTron.
"SargeTrons' car" if there is one car belonging to more than one SargeTron.
Never "SargeTron is car", apostrophes aren't always for omissions, nor are they singularly for possession, so use your own disgression
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06.01.05 20:19 Post #13 | [Hide Sig (0)] [Profile] [Quote] |
Zogger!
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Erm, wait a second! The most common mistake in the English language (even pros do it).
SargeTron's car.
The apostraphe constitutes a missing letter, so that says:
SargeTron is car.
I don't know what crazy messed up language you speak, but yes, apostrophe only goes on the end if it's a plural. eg. The generals' guns implies more than one general. The general's guns implies just one general.
The exception is if the word is already a plural without the s, eg. children becomes children's, not childrens'
________________
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06.01.05 20:36 Post #14 | [Hide Sig (8)] [Profile] [Quote] |
C1
Looking For Status Send PM Posts: 0
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While we're at it:
Spoiler (Click to Expand)
. To be used at the end of a complete statement. Also to be used to end a command that uses the understood you (aka the parenthesied you).
? To be used at the end of an interogatory statement (aka a question). Not to be used with a definate statement.
! Here's the big one. This is ONLY used in two cases:
1) To display strong emotion.
2) To end an interjection (look this word up).
An ! mark and a ? mark can be used in conjuction to form a forceful question, but the practice is frowned upon in formal english.
; Used to separate two separate sentences without using a conjuction; this can be very useful for sentences like this.
, Used to separate items that come in a series, to precede a conjuction where neccessary, and to end an interjection.
: Used to precede a list ONLY when neccessary, and to preced a statement/quote that should be separated from the main body.
For reading all that, you get a reward. Humerous grammar rules (you can learn something from this if you try):
Spoiler (Click to Expand)
Did you really read that. Well, here you go anyway:
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with. Winston Churchill, corrected on this error once, responded to the young man who corrected him by saying "Young man, that is the kind of impudence up with which I will not put!
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies endlessly over and over again
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't always necessary and shouldn't be used to excess so don’t.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not always apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous and can be excessive
14. All generalizations are bad.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Avoid excessive use of ampersands & abbrevs., etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake (Unless they are as good as gold).
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words, however, should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when substituting a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Don’t overuse exclamation points
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed and use it correctly with words’ that show possession.
27. Don’t use too many quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a billion times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. Besides, hyperbole is always overdone, anyway.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions? However, what if there were no rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Avoid "buzz-words"; such integrated transitional scenarios complicate simplistic matters
35. People don’t spell "a lot" correctly alot of the time.
36. Each person should use their possessive pronouns correctly
37. All grammar and spelling rules have exceptions (with a few exceptions)....Morgan’s Law.
38. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
39. The dash – a sometimes useful punctuation mark – can often be overused – even though it’s a helpful tool some of the time.
40. Proofread carefully to make sure you don’t repeat repeat any words.
41. In writing, it’s important to remember that dangling sentences.
41. When numbering in a written document, check your numbering system carefully.
42. It is important to use italics for emphasis sparingly.
43. In good writing, for good reasons, under normal circumstances, whenever you can, use prepositional phrases in limited numbers and with great caution.
44. Avoid going out on tangents unrelated to your subject -- not the subject of a sentence -- that's another story (like the stories written by Ernest Hemingway, who by the way wrote the great fisherman story The Old Man and the Sea).
45. Complete sentences. Like rule 10.
46. Unless you're a righteous expert don't try to be too cool with slang to which you're not hip.
47. If you must use slang, avoid out-of-date slang. Right on!
48. You'll look poorly if you misuse adverbs.
49. Use the ellipsis ( . . . ) to indicate missing . . .
n 50. Use brackets to indicate that you [ not Shakespeare, for example ] are giving people [ in your class ] information so that they [ the people in your class ] know about whom you are speaking. But do not use brackets when making these references [ to other authors ] excessively. n
51. Note: People just can't stomach too much use of the colon.
52. Between good grammar and bad grammar, good grammar is the best.
53. There are so many great grammar rules that I can't decide between them.
54. In English, unlike German, the verb early in the sentence, not later, should be placed.
55. When you write sentences, shifting verb tense is bad.
It takes a good mind to catch all of the jokes (specifically the number one and a few others).
Note to Meiapaul.
!'s are not used to show humour.
(I know I put a " ' " there but that's because I want to separate the symbol. If proper english you'd spell the word out. Who the hell spells out a long ass word like that on a forum)
!s looks stupid. It looks like is.
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06.01.05 21:34 Post #15 | Last edited: 06.01.05 21:34 (C1 - 1 times) |
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