English 101 with Trihan sometimes!

Snarky · Sun 28/11/2010 19:45:03

Yes, it sounds awkward, and moreover, I think a sentence of that form 90% of the time would mean "Not all of them got the lecture." In other words, some of them may have, but at least some people didn't.

Stupot · Sun 28/11/2010 22:30:47

This is more of an observation than a question, but feel free to discuss.
I've noticed how where British speakers of English say something like:

'you can't just come waltzing in here without knocking'

an American would say:

'you just can't come waltzing in here without knocking'... which to my British ears makes little sense.

Scarab · Mon 29/11/2010 15:41:32

Quote from: Khris on Sun 28/11/2010 16:39:23
Here's an example:
Say Person A is talented. Person B though thinks otherwise.
In German we say "Person B thinks Person A is not talented."
However, in English the usual way of expressing the same thing seems to be "Person B does not think Person A is talented."

I think the reason "B thinks A is not talented." is jarring in English is because it is more correct to use the prefix 'un-', or use an antonym instead.

"B thinks A is untalented" is far more natural to say, so to use the word 'not' to negate the word it makes more sense to refer to the verb.

For an antonym, consider "I don't think this is a good idea", "I think this isn't a good idea," and "I think this is a bad idea."

In the second example sentence, "isn't good" is more naturally replaced by "is bad".

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Is it more common in German to use 'not' rather than an antonym?

cat · Mon 29/11/2010 15:54:39

Quote from: Scarab on Mon 29/11/2010 15:41:32
Is it more common in German to use 'not' rather than an antonym?

Yes, some antonyms also have a slightly different meaning than just using 'not'.

Calin Leafshade · Mon 29/11/2010 18:09:39

thats true in english to.

Just because something is *not* the case doesn't mean the opposite *is* the case.

LRH · Tue 30/11/2010 01:12:45

Quote from: Stupot on Sun 28/11/2010 22:30:47
This is more of an observation than a question, but feel free to discuss.
I've noticed how where British speakers of English say something like:

'you can't just come waltzing in here without knocking'

an American would say:

'you just can't come waltzing in here without knocking'... which to my British ears makes little sense.

Actually, I'm an American and the second one sounds a bit off to me as well.

Ryan Timothy B · Tue 30/11/2010 05:11:42

I'm Canadian and the second one definitely sounds a bit off, but I wouldn't think twice about it if I heard it used.

Atelier · Fri 20/03/2015 10:57:08

*thunder clap* The thread... it's aliiive!

Important question -

Is century capitalised? 21st Century or 21st century?

Andail · Fri 20/03/2015 11:00:39

Quote from: Atelier on Fri 20/03/2015 10:57:08
*thunder clap* The thread... it's aliiive!

Important question -

Is century capitalised? 21st Century or 21st century?

Unless "Century" is a name of your boat, and you've owned 20 before, you spell it century, lower case c.

Atelier · Fri 20/03/2015 12:43:50

Thanks

I've been writing it wrong my whole life then, and only just now thought to question it.

Mandle · Fri 20/03/2015 17:43:00

I do a lot of proofreading for AGS games so I just thought I would put a simple bit of grammar down in here that I often find many people don't get (myself included until recently):

"any more" vs "anymore"

Here's the easy way to remember which to use:

"I don't want to take any more crap from that guy anymore."

"any more" indicates an amount of something.

"anymore" indicates time.

Okay, I'm not going to post any more usless crap in here anymore...

monkey0506 · Sat 21/03/2015 00:13:41

Quote from: Andail on Fri 20/03/2015 11:00:39Unless "Century" is a name of your boat, and you've owned 20 before, you spell it century, lower case c.

20th Century Fox

Only because you gave such a specific example about boats...

Obviously, any time (not just pertaining to boats) it's being used as part of a name (and isn't being stylized for aesthetic purposes), then the first letter should be capitalized.

As an additional note (an an unabashed attempt to have something actually relevant to post), even in its anglicized form ("century"), the Roman "centuria" is not capitalized either.

And I've also just realized that "anglicized" isn't capitalized (unlike "Anglican").

The more you know...

Eric · Sat 21/03/2015 03:59:17

I'm fairly certain the Associated Press used to capitalize Century, which is perhaps where you got that from. They don't anymore, though.

One thing that bothers me, since "anymore" was brought up, is the positive use of the word, i.e. "anymore" used as a replacement for "nowadays." Anymore people use "anymore" to begin sentences, like this one, and it bugs the living shit out of me. I wish they wouldn't do that anymore.

Stupot · Sat 21/03/2015 05:02:42

Can't say I've ever come across 'anymore' as a replacement of 'nowadays' not at the beginning of a sentence. That just sounds way off to me.

Fitz · Sat 21/03/2015 07:28:31

Yeah, some people just take there langugage for granted. Their making all these errors with such constistency that they're is no telling what the proper way to spell is, nowadays.

I mean, anymore.

Or do I?

Eric · Sat 21/03/2015 18:26:19

Quote from: Stupot+ on Sat 21/03/2015 05:02:42
Can't say I've ever come across 'anymore' as a replacement of 'nowadays' not at the beginning of a sentence. That just sounds way off to me.

It's apparently a regional affectation, and I've just moved in recent years to the region that's affected.

Cassiebsg · Sat 21/03/2015 19:12:24

I'm not English native, but that just rubs me the wrong way...

Mandle · Sat 21/03/2015 23:09:55

Quote from: Fitz on Sat 21/03/2015 07:28:31
Yeah, some people just take there langugage for granted. Their making all these errors with such constistency that they're is no telling what the proper way to spell is, nowadays.

ROFL!!! And GAWD!!! It drives me CRAZY when people make those mistakes for real. And the best part is: it's ALWAYS native English speakers that make this mistake! Non-native English speakers always get their/there/they're correct. I mean come on! It's embarrassing!

Stupot · Sun 22/03/2015 00:24:13

Quote from: Eric on Sat 21/03/2015 18:26:19
Quote from: Stupot+ on Sat 21/03/2015 05:02:42
Can't say I've ever come across 'anymore' as a replacement of 'nowadays' not at the beginning of a sentence. That just sounds way off to me.

It's apparently a regional affectation, and I've just moved in recent years to the region that's affected.

Of the five examples given on that page, the middle one does sound kind of acceptable, but still slightly off. The other four just sound weird to me.

Interestingly, Fitz's example shows is how it might have come to be used as a synonym of 'nowadays' because it seems to be acceptable at the end of the word and in a negative sentence. So, I can kind of understand how some groups of people may have developed the positive usage. But not where I'm from.

MiteWiseacreLives! · Sun 22/03/2015 06:33:55

Quote from: Mandle on Sat 21/03/2015 23:09:55
Quote from: Fitz on Sat 21/03/2015 07:28:31
Yeah, some people just take there langugage for granted. Their making all these errors with such constistency that they're is no telling what the proper way to spell is, nowadays.

ROFL!!! And GAWD!!! It drives me CRAZY when people make those mistakes for real. And the best part is: it's ALWAYS native English speakers that make this mistake! Non-native English speakers always get their/there/they're correct. I mean come on! It's embarrassing!

Damn it, Mandle, take it easy on me! Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to type our thoughts before we lose them we make dozens of simple grammar mistakes...

BTW
I miss two spaces after the end of a sentence. Was that just a typewriter thing?