Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Shadowy Man · 07-25-2003, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by VonEvilstein

They're there, their friends haven't arrived yet.

You need a semicolon in this sentence, not a comma.

They're there; their friends haven't arrived yet.

VonEvilstein · 07-25-2003, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shadowy Man
You need a semicolon in this sentence, not a comma.

They're there; their friends haven't arrived yet.

I never could get the hang of semi-colons. I'll take your word for it.

Shake · 07-25-2003, 06:05 AM

Oh, I thought this was going to be a remedial English lesson for folks who didn't know how to use each of those correctly, and then I was going to add "you're" and "your" which are commonly substituted (incorrectly of course). That's one of my pet peeves.

emotional · 07-25-2003, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shake
Oh, I thought this was going to be a remedial English lesson for folks who didn't know how to use each of those correctly, and then I was going to add "you're" and "your" which are commonly substituted (incorrectly of course). That's one of my pet peeves.

Don't forget "it's/its" and "who's/whose". Definately!

MJones · 07-25-2003, 08:02 AM

This may not make a whole lot of sense, but it's gramatically correct:

Suppose you and I each came up with two variations of answers to the op, and we were competing against some others, who could only come up with part of one of the challanges, and I wanted to point out to you how you were doing...

You're your two, too, to their "They're there."

Dirty Dog

Mageth · 07-25-2003, 08:08 AM

They're there their own worst enemies.

The blasted program defaulted to two too many times on that last run.

07-25-2003, 08:12 AM

That reminds me of the one about two boys sitting an exam.

Quote:

Jones had had "had"; Richardson had had "had had". "Had had" had had the examiners' approval.

That gives you 8 consecutive "had"s.

Non-praying Mantis · 07-25-2003, 11:44 AM

Tap dance to two tu-tus? Too much!

Pare paired pears!

NPM

DarkBronzePlant · 07-25-2003, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by VonEvilstein
I never could get the hang of semi-colons. I'll take your word for it.

Basically think of a semicolon as a way to take two sentences that are very much related and turning them into one sentence. The semicolon takes the place of the first sentence's period.

I am hungry. Therefore, I will eat.

becomes

I am hungry; therefore, I will eat.

echidna · 07-25-2003, 06:25 PM

Slightly off-topic, but Thai has 6 tones & there is a phrase :

mai mai mai mai mai

... where I have omitted the 5 different tones and which translates as ...

new wood doesn't burn does it

And tellingly, Thai speakers do not even recognise this as even being in the slightest way odd. But of course to non-tonal speakers it's an excellent example of just how confusing tones can be.

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07-25-2003, 06:05 AM	#13
Shake Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Folding@Home in upstate NY Posts: 14,394	Oh, I thought this was going to be a remedial English lesson for folks who didn't know how to use each of those correctly, and then I was going to add "you're" and "your" which are commonly substituted (incorrectly of course). That's one of my pet peeves.

07-25-2003, 08:02 AM	#15
MJones Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Lincoln, AL Posts: 1,048	This may not make a whole lot of sense, but it's gramatically correct: Suppose you and I each came up with two variations of answers to the op, and we were competing against some others, who could only come up with part of one of the challanges, and I wanted to point out to you how you were doing... You're your two, too, to their "They're there." Dirty Dog

07-25-2003, 08:08 AM	#16
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	They're there their own worst enemies. The blasted program defaulted to two too many times on that last run.

07-25-2003, 11:44 AM	#18
Non-praying Mantis Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Roanoke, VA, USA Posts: 2,646	Tap dance to two tu-tus? Too much! Pare paired pears! NPM

07-25-2003, 06:25 PM	#20
echidna Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,832	Slightly off-topic, but Thai has 6 tones & there is a phrase : mai mai mai mai mai ... where I have omitted the 5 different tones and which translates as ... new wood doesn't burn does it And tellingly, Thai speakers do not even recognise this as even being in the slightest way odd. But of course to non-tonal speakers it's an excellent example of just how confusing tones can be.

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