There, they're, and their.

[merrylander]

Thanks for that link! There is a wealth of info there; unfortunately there are many words which are shown both ways, ending with -ise and -ize. With no help on how to decide which is correct, I'll continue looking for further guidance.

I believe much depends upon whether you are speaking English or American. It is quite common for the English to use the 'ise' form while Americans tend toward the 'ize'

 

[Hyperion]

The thing you have to remember about the written English, is that there are rules, and exceptions to all of them :yes: :sigh:

BTW the use of meter & metre - we use both :yes: - just depends what you are talking about

 

[Grainger49]

Please learn to use them correctly. I'm sure I occasionally screw up in my posts too, it seems like some people were never taught which to use. Drives me bonkers!

There - "over there"
They're - "they are"
their = "belongs to them"

Just had to get that off my chest.
[/end rant]

AK grammar police! Posts are easier to read when there is some semblance of proper grammar, though. :yes:

Here! Here!

How about "Then/Than," "Your/You're?"

I have to agree. With my public school education it makes posts harder to read when the wrong word is used. It makes me go back and reread the sentence.

And reading is hard enough for me as it is. When posting I count heavily on Firefox's spell check.

 

[shrinkboy]

here's my favorite: wallah!, or, even worse-- VIOLA!

 

[jetblack]

There - "over there"

I thought There = "Over yonder"

 

[moinau]

here's my favorite: wallah!, or, even worse-- VIOLA!

You'll have to explain 'walla' and 'VIOLA' this is very obscure to me ??:scratch2::scratch2:

 

[whoaru99]

There are people who can't keep their "there", "their", or "they're" straight, but they're not intentionally trying to piss you off.

 

[Hyperion]

There are people who can't keep their "there", "their", or "they're" straight, but they're not intentionally trying to piss you off.

Quite so.

 

[reggaenaut]

I before E, except after C.

 

[Fisherdude]

I before E, except after C.

Except in "science".

Wouldn't be English without the exceptions.

 

[Arkay]

Shouldn't that be a semicolon after "too"?

Good proofreading! Otherwise, it's a comma splice: joining two independent clauses with only a comma. :nono:

Arkay never makes a mistake. And we like him.

I wish that first statement were true, but alas, it is not. I do most of my posting late at night when I'm a bit tired, and often when I go back and re-read a post, I find a mistake. Usually it's a "stupid typo". I usually try to correct them when I see them, but I'm sure I have missed quite a few.

As for the second statement, since I can't be sure whom "we" refers to, I'll just say "Thank You!" and shut up.

He made one once, I think, but I forgot to bookmark the thread.

That was one that I've since corrected.

I used to be conceited, but then I corrected that, too. Now I'm perfect.

I mean no offense to non-native speakers. But native speakers...you know who you are!

This is something I agree with 100 percent! I would encourage any non-native speaker to do their best, but if they make mistakes, who cares? I'd embarrass the heck out of myself and wouldn't get very far if I tried to communicate in Ibo or Basque or any of hundreds --thousands!-- of other languages. So would any of us, so why should we demand that others be any different or better?

But when you are communicating in your own mother tongue, it's a different story. Not everyone is a top student in school, but there is little excuse for an adult to continue making basic spelling and grammatical errors in their "own" language. :nono: Spelling and grammar aren't really all that difficult to learn.

Be glad you aren't typing in Chinese. English has an alphabet of only 26 letters. Writing decent Chinese requires you to memorize a minimum of 2,000 to 4,000 or more characters, made up from different arrangements of more than 200 different parts. Imagine if it took you a few years to learn the alphabet, or if you had to memorize each separate word, without reference to phonetics? If Chinese can manage to learn those characters (admittedly with varying degrees of success), surely we can manage our measly 26 letters!

Bilingualists get a pass.

I think this is called theoretical lexicography.

Oooooh, a fancy "SAT" word! :thmbsp:

N'gadiwawaldam aln8ba8dwawogan.
This is your first lesson in Abnaki.:thmbsp::thmbsp:

Does the "8" in the spelling represent a "click" sound?

In general, affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

Examples:

Additionally, avoid ending sentences with prepositions. For example:

Where did a topic like that come from? -- incorrect

From where did a topic like that come? -- correct

A nice guideline for generally better writing and speaking, but not a hard-and-fast rule. As Winston Churchill famously said, "Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put!" (Or something very close to that.)

It does not take very long for all languages written or spoken to have major change over time. For me, I like the challenge of studying other languages and their variations.
So, I immediately noticed that you live in the USA "clydeselsor". If it was BURNS HARBOUR it will have to be England.:tresbon:

NOT to criticise, but to offer a little possibly helpful instruction:

In the last sentence, "If it was BURNS HARBOUR it will have to be England," you are speaking about something that is not fact, but only imagined. This kind of unreal situation is what we call the "subjunctive case" in grammar. Sometimes you will see it called the "conditional", because the "if" makes one part of the sentence conditional upon the other part being true. In this case, the correct grammar would be: "If it were BURNS HARBOUR, it would have to be England." The use of "were" (past tense) and "would" tell the reader/listener that this is an unreal (hypothetical) situation, something unlikely or impossible, and not a real, true situation.

Again, I do NOT mean to criticise, but only to help. Many native speakers have trouble with conditional sentences, too!

 

[Arkay]

Theres reezuns why wee half rooles 4 speling N grammer cuZ eat makes stuff eeZier 2 reed N UNdRstAnd ya NO N eat stoPs mIZunnerstaNdin

That's as much as I can stomach. Point made.



Along these lines, the following are NOT words:

cuz
gonna (woulda, coulda, shoulda, oughta...)
lite or nite (except in some product names, where is it deliberately misspelled so that it can be trademarked and thus legally protected).

Language does change and evolve over time, as it should, but it is very important that we resist letting such changes occur too rapidly, and resist all such changes which make the language less precise, flexible or expressive. I won't get into the reasons (which would require a l-o-n-g post), but this is true. [Coining a new word FOR A NEW IDEA OR THING is fine, though, and should not be resisted nor delayed.]

Along these lines, folks, please remember that adverbs exist for a reason. To say something "It works flawless" is just wrong, wrong, wrong! Long live the final "ly" suffix! Even if you don't subscribe to the need for rules of grammar, realize that saying or writing things like that make you sound like a stupid, ignorant hick to any (and every) literate person, whether they will say it to your face or not.

 

[moinau]

Be glad you aren't typing in Chinese. English has an alphabet of only 26 letters. Writing decent Chinese requires you to memorize a minimum of 2,000 to 4,000 or more characters, made up from different arrangements of more than 200 different parts. Imagine if it took you a few years to learn the alphabet, or if you had to memorize each separate word, without reference to phonetics? If Chinese can manage to learn those characters (admittedly with varying degrees of success), surely we can manage our measly 26 letters!

It takes on average 10 to 12 years for a person to learn and put to proper use the Latin, Greek, and the Cyrillic alphabet also, a lifetime of practice to get better at it day after day.
I can't fathom trying to learn, as you say, 2,000 to 4,000 characters just to be decent at it. It would be nice if I could just manage to learn 500 characters.




Does the "8" in the spelling represent a "click" sound?

According to my good friend, yes. Personally I don't speak nor do I write the Abnaki language.


NOT to criticise, but to offer a little possibly helpful instruction:

In the last sentence, "If it was BURNS HARBOUR it will have to be England," you are speaking about something that is not fact, but only imagined. This kind of unreal situation is what we call the "subjunctive case" in grammar. Sometimes you will see it called the "conditional", because the "if" makes one part of the sentence conditional upon the other part being true. In this case, the correct grammar would be: "If it were BURNS HARBOUR, it would have to be England." The use of "were" (past tense) and "would" tell the reader/listener that this is an unreal (hypothetical) situation, something unlikely or impossible, and not a real, true situation.

Again, I do NOT mean to criticise, but only to help. Many native speakers have trouble with conditional sentences, too![/QUOTE]

Thanks for your kind help. French and English grammar sometime are very similar, sometime. Spelling is somewhat easy using a computer, lots of help while using the right click, but grammar is entirely another story.
Regards

 

[Tom Brennan]

I won't get into the reasons (which would require a l-o-n-g post),

You've never been averse to them before; prolixity being the main flaw in your writing.

 

[Grainger49]

Tom,

Don't bait him, he thinks his previous posts were short!

 

[Grainger49]

More

I before E, except after C.

And when pronounced as A as in neighbor and weigh.

See, public school got through my thick head!

 

[Grainger49]

I thought There = "Over yonder"

True below the Mason-Dixon Line. Is Jasper Jeep still in business?

(Native Atlantan>60, a rarity)

 

[shrinkboy]

moinau-- the french exclamation 'voila!' = 'there it is!' or 'done!' or, 'look upon this with shock and amazement!' is often rendered by those who only know it phonetically as 'wallah!', or, misspelled as 'viola!'

 

[moinau]

moinau-- the french exclamation 'voila!' = 'there it is!' or 'done!' or, 'look upon this with shock and amazement!' is often rendered by those who only know it phonetically as 'wallah!', or, misspelled as 'viola!'

Got it, thanks.

 

[merrylander]

And when pronounced as A as in neighbor and weigh.

See, public school got through my thick head!

Pronunciation of the five vowels differs between English and the Romance languages, leading to all sorts of phonetic fun.