Deggesty 54light15 What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes. Is it now taught in schools that if an "s" is added to a word it must be separated from the word by an apostrophe? And that the historical possessive of "it" ("its") must be changed to "it's" (which was the contraction of "it is"?
54light15 What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes.
What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes.
Is it now taught in schools that if an "s" is added to a word it must be separated from the word by an apostrophe? And that the historical possessive of "it" ("its") must be changed to "it's" (which was the contraction of "it is"?
No, Johnny, nothing has changed as far as what is correct. It's still just as you learned it. But the teaching of English is failing.
Psychot I agree with your larger point that editing at many publications has gone downhill. However, the example you provide is not really that egregious from a comprehension standpoint; context clearly tells the reader that it's the writer who is standing and not the breeze. This is one of those errors you only notice when you're actively looking for a reason to be irritated. I think one of the main issues these days is that so much content is being put out there compared to the pre-Internet era that there's not enough manpower to edit all of it with any degree of thoroughness.
I agree with your larger point that editing at many publications has gone downhill. However, the example you provide is not really that egregious from a comprehension standpoint; context clearly tells the reader that it's the writer who is standing and not the breeze. This is one of those errors you only notice when you're actively looking for a reason to be irritated.
I think one of the main issues these days is that so much content is being put out there compared to the pre-Internet era that there's not enough manpower to edit all of it with any degree of thoroughness.
My issue with written media, when I’m not yelling at clouds, is that the authors never seem to proofread their work. Our local paper is full of articles that look like a first draft that never got a second reading. If the authors had at least read their work over once before hitting the send button, they surely would have caught some of the elementary goofs.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Deggesty 54light15 What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes. And, in your illustration, they do not need to be there. Is it now taught in schools that if an "s" is added to a word it must be separated from the word by an apostrophe? And that the historical possessive of "it" ("its") must be changed to "it's" (which was the contraction of "it is"?
And, in your illustration, they do not need to be there. Is it now taught in schools that if an "s" is added to a word it must be separated from the word by an apostrophe? And that the historical possessive of "it" ("its") must be changed to "it's" (which was the contraction of "it is"?
selector 54light15 What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes. Oh..oh!! I got this one! "What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes." should have the apostrophe before the S in apostrophes. Right? While I'm here, what's wrong with my, "I got this one!"
Oh..oh!! I got this one! "What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes." should have the apostrophe before the S in apostrophes. Right?
While I'm here, what's wrong with my, "I got this one!"
Or if "they" sold fresh fish.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmann Lithonia Operator Now, would you rather buy fresh fish or "fresh" (wink, wink) fish? I'd be more worried if they sold fresh "fish".
Lithonia Operator Now, would you rather buy fresh fish or "fresh" (wink, wink) fish?
I'd be more worried if they sold fresh "fish".
EuclidOveruse of exclamation point.
i know... RIGHT??!!!
Its' crazy!
daveklepperT just joined two sentences together to illustrate this kind of application.
And as he noted, the sense is better served with a punctuation mark that indicates more appropriate 'normal pauses of speech' in context -- in T's example, better a full colon than a semicolon.
And yes, better than the full stop between two sentences...
I like commas when they are placed in normal pauses of apeech, and you check this "system" out in my postings. T just joined two sentences together to illustrate this kinf of application.
I don't know if it's still taught in schools on account school ended for me in 1973. You know what else I can't stand, too many commas in a sentence, like this one. Have you ever read anything by Gertrude Stein? No commas as she said that they "hold you coat" and she taught Hemingway how to write good.
Johnny
Lithonia OperatorNow, would you rather buy fresh fish or "fresh" (wink, wink) fish?
I'd more worried if they sold fresh "fish".
zugmann 54light15 What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes. Reminds me of the joke about the pirate and the steering wheel.
Reminds me of the joke about the pirate and the steering wheel.
Which reminds me of the story about Senator Hoare, who was making an impassioned speech during which he would periodically thrust one or the other hand into a pocket as he gesticulated with the other. Someone mentioned that the Senator was apparently leaving no stone unturned in making his argument...
One of my favorites is the misuse of quotation marks.
There is a fish market near us with a large sign which says "Fresh" Fish.
Now, would you rather buy fresh fish or "fresh" (wink, wink) fish?
Let's hear it!
Electroliner 1935 Lithonia Operator Hey, guys! You nailed it! The light breeze is the subject of the sentence, and there's just no way a breeze is standing on a right-of-way. The suggested fixes do the job. This isn't really that hard. A few months ago (I wish I had saved the mag, because I meant to ask you folks about it.) in Trains, there was a run-on sentence that I spent about ten minutes simply trying to figure out what the heck it was saying. I never could. And either could my wife. I have a degree in Journalism. She has two college degrees. But we were stumped. Free hall passes for all of you! Should either be neither?
Lithonia Operator Hey, guys! You nailed it! The light breeze is the subject of the sentence, and there's just no way a breeze is standing on a right-of-way. The suggested fixes do the job. This isn't really that hard. A few months ago (I wish I had saved the mag, because I meant to ask you folks about it.) in Trains, there was a run-on sentence that I spent about ten minutes simply trying to figure out what the heck it was saying. I never could. And either could my wife. I have a degree in Journalism. She has two college degrees. But we were stumped. Free hall passes for all of you!
Hey, guys! You nailed it!
The light breeze is the subject of the sentence, and there's just no way a breeze is standing on a right-of-way.
The suggested fixes do the job.
This isn't really that hard.
A few months ago (I wish I had saved the mag, because I meant to ask you folks about it.) in Trains, there was a run-on sentence that I spent about ten minutes simply trying to figure out what the heck it was saying. I never could. And either could my wife. I have a degree in Journalism. She has two college degrees. But we were stumped.
Free hall passes for all of you!
Should either be neither?
You, my friend, are correct.
I'll fix that.
54light15What drive's me nut's is misplaced apostrophes.
Keep them in your pocket and you won't misplace them so easily.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
No, I wasn't looking for a reason to be irritated; I was just relaxing in bed reading. Chilling. But sentences like that jump out at me.
It's not "egregious," but it is incorrect writing. And I just feel like THE magazine of railroading should not be publishing sentences a high school English teacher would quickly draw a red line through. It's a question of professionalism, that's all.
Larry, it was indeed the very first sentence. One can usually understand what a writer means even if he/she does not state it correctly; this is true. And, obviously, I did get what he meant. But even if there had been more context beforehand, it would still be a bum sentence. (It was a story about the Phoenix sub of the BNSF. The pix, all but one from drones, are terrific.)
Some of us care about the language. But I'm not trying to convert anyone. I'm just an old guy lamenting the loss of something.
I do agree that manpower is an issue; so much more is expected of people in publishing now, it's no doubt harder to get everything right. This is true of the non-print media, also. I see TV reporters setting up video cameras on tripods, and shooting their own on-camera segments; a one-person operation.
Lithonia Operator Here is the first sentence of an article in last month's Trains: "Standing on a section of right-of-way abandoned long ago, a light breeze cools the warm sunrays and produces the only sound in a location that seems thousands of miles from civilization." There is someting fundamentally wrong with this sentence. I mean in terms of English usage and writing. Before I tell you what is wrong (and of course you know that's coming!), do any of you guys wish to take a stab at what the problem is? I'll check in again after a while. I find problems with English usage, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure in almost every issue of Trains. Some have several errors. I know most people don't care about this. (Obviously, I do. ) But with the Internet, along came the gradual butchering of the language. Dozens of errors can be found in Internet articles every day, and over time it gets worse and worse. What's sad is that the low standards are spreading to the print media also. There was a time when one would hardly ever find English mistakes in legitimate print publications. Trains was once virtually perfectly edited. I wish those days would return. I find the errors jarring, and they lessen my enjoyment of reading. I have read the magazine since I was about 8. I hate seeing it go downhill. I know budgets are tight for magazines these days, but it seems like they could afford an English-major grad student to help out for a few hours each month, if that's what it takes. By the way, the article was very good, and the photos spectacular.
Here is the first sentence of an article in last month's Trains:
"Standing on a section of right-of-way abandoned long ago, a light breeze cools the warm sunrays and produces the only sound in a location that seems thousands of miles from civilization."
There is someting fundamentally wrong with this sentence. I mean in terms of English usage and writing.
Before I tell you what is wrong (and of course you know that's coming!), do any of you guys wish to take a stab at what the problem is?
I'll check in again after a while.
I find problems with English usage, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure in almost every issue of Trains. Some have several errors.
I know most people don't care about this. (Obviously, I do. ) But with the Internet, along came the gradual butchering of the language. Dozens of errors can be found in Internet articles every day, and over time it gets worse and worse. What's sad is that the low standards are spreading to the print media also. There was a time when one would hardly ever find English mistakes in legitimate print publications.
Trains was once virtually perfectly edited. I wish those days would return. I find the errors jarring, and they lessen my enjoyment of reading. I have read the magazine since I was about 8. I hate seeing it go downhill.
I know budgets are tight for magazines these days, but it seems like they could afford an English-major grad student to help out for a few hours each month, if that's what it takes.
By the way, the article was very good, and the photos spectacular.
I once worked with someone who excelled at malapropisms and the like. Never used a small word if there was a big word available, even if it was wrong.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
rrbrewerI winch at most of the news articles I read now and don't get me started on listening to the speech of a millennial.
Just keep the winch rolling in the line.....Harbor Freight has inexpensive ones.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Semper Vaporo rrbrewer Hey operator, I agree totally with your observations. I am the son of a high school English teacher, and although she did not use rulers to the side of the head, her corrections were almost the same. I winch at most of the news articles I read now and don't get me started on listening to the speech of a millennial. Post more of these giving us a chance to exercise our doctor English muscle Personally, I "WINCE" when people use the wrong word. Especially when complaining about other's use of language. I also "WINCE" when someone reverses the use of "THEN" and "THAN", which thankfully I have not seen in this thread (yet).
rrbrewer Hey operator, I agree totally with your observations. I am the son of a high school English teacher, and although she did not use rulers to the side of the head, her corrections were almost the same. I winch at most of the news articles I read now and don't get me started on listening to the speech of a millennial. Post more of these giving us a chance to exercise our doctor English muscle
Hey operator, I agree totally with your observations. I am the son of a high school English teacher, and although she did not use rulers to the side of the head, her corrections were almost the same.
I winch at most of the news articles I read now and don't get me started on listening to the speech of a millennial.
Post more of these giving us a chance to exercise our doctor English muscle
Personally, I "WINCE" when people use the wrong word. Especially when complaining about other's use of language.
I also "WINCE" when someone reverses the use of "THEN" and "THAN", which thankfully I have not seen in this thread (yet).
And, it seems to me that the accepted meanings of some words has been reversed--"arguable" used to mean that there was merit in debating a matter; now many people use it to mean "there is no point at all in tryng to debate--and consider "inarguable" to mean that there coould be merit is debating the matter.
As I recall, the proper use of various homonyms was emphasized when I was in the second grade.
Another failing, which I have noticed recently, is misspelling a banner across the bottom of a newscast as one letter is left out, and what is put up is senseless.
York11. On a forum of this type, grammar and spelling mistakes can be overlooked. Weird spell-check corrections, fat fingers, or typing a train of thought may contribute to mistakes. To point out grammar or spelling mistakes to a forum poster is bad manners.
I might still point out an error that changes the meaning of something - like a brand name or technical term. Or I'll try to make light of it - say if someone wrote "tunnel boar" or "tunnel boor..."
I sometimes catch myself writing as I would talk, with implied words or meanings vs the "Queen's English." In fact, that's how I would characterize the sentence in question, which is where my context point comes from.
I usually re-read my posts, which is when I often catch such gaffes.
As for ottospel....
1. On a forum of this type, grammar and spelling mistakes can be overlooked. Weird spell-check corrections, fat fingers, or typing a train of thought may contribute to mistakes. To point out grammar or spelling mistakes to a forum poster is bad manners.
2. Written published or submitted material is a different matter. A high school senior should make sure his or her college application essays are absolutely perfect. Magazine articles should be perfect. CNN's chyrons or news tickers should be perfect.
York1 John
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