English Grammar

Grammar Nazis on the web often just voice what a lot of us think inside, but my experiences at Neatorama help me to bite my tongue. One little typo is guaranteed to bring out someone who’s only too willing to point it out to you (and everyone else). More than once, I’ve felt the need to point out that the particular author of this item uses English as a second, or third, or even fourth language. When I have wrong tense or a disagreeing plural, it’s usually because of overediting and poor proofreading, but we all need to lay off criticizing those who put out the effort to write in a non-native language. This realization made me more forgiving. I still cringe when native speakers confuse lose and loose, or there, their, and they’re, but I don’t say anything anymore... UNLESS it produces a really funny joke worth sharing!

Go and enjoy this YouTube video. It’s just pretty pictures and music, but you really should read the story in the description, about learning English as a second language.

Improve your vocabulary with these 20 weird English words.

A mathematical formula shows why some English words change and others remain the same. (via Scribal Terror)

The world’s smallest crossword. For the answer, go to Russell Weekes' site and see the original. (via J-Walk Blog)

Nine Words that Don’t Mean What You Think. I would add “penultimate”. And “deceptively” is an adverb which should always modify a verb, not another adjective.

Words and phrases that you should hate, according to Holy Juan.

Are you gooder at grammar?

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

What they said, and what they MEANT to say.

Marina the philologist is Hot for Words. (via the Presurfer)

14 Signs of a Deficient Intellect. (via Dark Roasted Blend)

VOCABULARY

 
Stressing the importance of a good vocabulary, the teacher told her young charges, "Use a word ten times, and it shall be yours for life."

From somewhere in the back of the room, came a small male voice chanting, "Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda, Amanda."

TWO LETTER ENGLISH WORD

(Thanks, Jeanine!)
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends, we brighten UP a room, we polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing:

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions .

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP for now my time is UP, so it's time to shut UP!

Oh...one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?
U P

(I think this was George Carlin)

ODD ENGLISH WORDS

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right. (Bet you tried this out mentally, didn't you?)

Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable. (I'll bet you're going to check this out.)

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt". (Are you doubting this?)

The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. (Now, you KNOW you're going to try this out for accuracy, right?)

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes). (Yep, I knew you were going to "do" this one.)

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous (You're not doubting this, are you?)

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious." (Yes, admit it, you are going to say ...... a e i o u)

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this out)

English is the Lingua Franca par exellence!

Previously at Miss Cellania: More posts on Language.

Thought for today: Grammar has gots to be one of the most importantest things ever?

humor jokes video funny games English language grammar syntax linguist

Comments

[CruciverbalistFeathers]

I have my share of typos that slip thru the proofing phase (I notice 'em after publishing, or someone spots 'em first), so I don't make an issue of 'em with others, UNLESS (a) they're a scammer or (b) they're criticizing something I wrote with a critique that looks like roadkill alphabet soup ;-)

[Carolyn Bahm]

I love your posts and usually click through on most of the links. You REALLY hooked me with the cool stuff you found today (word nerd here). Love that cool graphic of the words hugging someone back, too -- where'd you find that? I'd love to get permission to steal, er, borrow for my writing blog. :o)

Keep up the great work!

[Miss Cellania]

Carolyn, someone emailed that to me, so I don't know the original source. I was labeled The Comfort of Words.

[William]

Miss C, I think you made a typo in your response to Carolyn. Didn't you mean to say "It" instead of "I"?

[Miss Cellania]

Yeah. :-P

[Tom]

Pity the poor tree. First we chop it DOWN, then we chop it UP.

Very interesting, as always. Thanks.

[the frogster]

Sometimes when I sit down and can't think of anything to write I'll type the quick brown fox sentence a couple of times. If any of my posts just says that over and over, you'll know it's time for me to take a little vacation.

[Suddenly he]

Hi Miss Cellania!
Long time reader, first time commentor and big fan.
Certain things in this post stimulated my memory and, sure enough, in that most excellent resource, "The Book of Lists 3" I found:

6 words in which the vowels appear in order
Including the two you cited are:
Abstentious: adj., characterized by abstinence
Arsenious: adj., of, relating to, or containing arsenic
Caesious: adj., having a blue color (or colour, if Canadian ;-)
Fracedinous: adj., productive of heat through putrification

Also 3 words with the vowels in reverse order:
Duoliteral: adj., in two languages in the same volume
Quodlibetal: adj., having to do with quodlibet (quodlibet is any question in philosophy or theology proposed as an excercise in argument)
Quodlibetary: n., a quodlibetical argument

As a bonus there were 5 more panagrams in addition to "The quick brown fox".
Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
Quick waltzing zephyrs vex bold Jim.
The five boxing wizards jump quickly.
Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz.
Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.

I, of course, wish to give entire credit to The Book of Lists (All of them) and Amy Wallace, David Wallechinsky, and Irving Wallace in particular for the volume that these came from.

[actor212]

I found five unnecessary commas in your piece, Miss C.

[Miss Cellania]

Actor: :-P

[Barbara]

I love English. The house burned up. Or, "The house burned down." The word so has only two letters and has more meanings than up. My Spanish-speaking students would include "so" in their Spanish writing and speaking, because it says so much in only two letters, and they could not find such a versatile word in Spanish. So there!

[Chris]

I grew up with a older brother who seemed to take great joy in correcting my sister and my....my sister and mine....my sister's and mine....oh screw it...OUR grammatical mistakes. It's amazing I didn't kill him then but I still love him:)

[Halon50]

A late response, but a couple more words to add to your lists!

"Skepticisms" is the longest word you can type with alternating hands.

"Redivider" is the longest contiguous palindrome.

I love reading your blog! Thanks for the daily lift!

[pumpkynlyon]

chilver rhymes with silver
(thanks to QI and Stephen Fry)
It's a female young ewe.