[ampere]

Originally Posted by noopster

To be fair, Sherlock Holmes was targeted at the lay magazine/"pulp" reader while literary works are typically more high brow. Surprisingly, Shakespeare is relatively easy to understand considering he wrote in the 15th century. There are exceptions from even within his repertory but by and large the popular plays are, for want of a better term, "user friendly".

I would tend to disagree a bit. Similar time lines but see the difference between Doyle and Hardy. Holmes was targeted as you aptly put it for "pulp" reader, but Hardy was was on a different turf. Even though both were British, but contrasting writing styles can be seen even in the same times. And surely interpreting Hardy is not that easy compared to Doyle.

Another way to look at the same (may be): If an author has been writing both prose and poetry, the styles may tend to reflect between the two genres.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by CaliAtenza

I had a question; why is that people cannot speak in real english either online or in text messages (SMS)? I mean i cannot for the life of me understand this SMS language when people post on fb or on online forums. Is it that hard to type out English words and sentences?

Originally Posted by noopster

Gd qn. Gr8 tht ppl lyk u stl xist. Itz diff 2 undstd sms slng smtyms. Kthxbye. Ttyl.

Seriously, how difficult *is* it to be grammatical in a text? Sometimes the shortened forms are tougher to type than the long forms!

Good examples. Today's TOI says a school in South London has banned such language. It is a step in the right direction, if you ask me.

[Guite]

From today's Times of India:
"Palestinian investigators accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death on Friday, ...."

Wait a minute, didn't he die many years back? Of course.

There is a reason why I ended my quote at the comma. As I paused my reading at the punctuation mark, it struck me that the part of the sentence I have just read does not seem right. Shouldn't the correct order of words be like this:

"Palestinian investigators on Friday accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death, ...."

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Guite

....

"Palestinian investigators on Friday accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death, ...."

Ha ha, and along similar lines, take a look at this headline:
Centre challenges Gauhati high court order declaring CBI unconstitutional in SC



Does this mean that the CBI is unconstitutional in the SC only but valid elsewhere?

[Thad E Ginathom]

I think some more commas are needed

Palestinian investigators, on Friday, accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death ...

Might be better to have said

On Friday, Palestinian investigators accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death ....

Or even

On Friday, Palestinian investigators accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's 2004 death ....

Oh dear, someone is going to ask if he had more than one!

On Friday, Palestinian investigators accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death in 2004....

Americans might say,

Palestinian investigators, Friday, ...

Which seems odd to Brits, but I think I've seen that usage in Victorian English writing.#

OK, That's Friday dealt with, now how about, "the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's death?"

Turning journalese into formal English can get very complicated

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

....

On Friday, Palestinian investigators accused Israel of being the only suspect in Yasser Arafat's 2004 death ....

Oh dear, someone is going to ask if he had more than one!....

That someone would've been I!
Alas, it was not to be.
The English know their English!

[Thad E Ginathom]

There is a sliding scale of precision, where all the ambiguity is removed, and correctness, where the sentence is grammatical, properly formed, and reads well.

On the whole, correct language has clear meaning. That, rather than some esoteric academic pursuit, is the purpose of it. Sometimes, though, it doesn't.

[Eddy]

Which usage is correct ?

Many a time... or many a times....

[DWC]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Which usage is correct ? Many a time... or many a times....

Many a time would be correct.

Originally Posted by anupmathur

That someone would've been I! Alas, it was not to be. The English know their English!

You mean 'that someone would've been me.'

Mod Note: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

To know how to multi-quote, click here.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I have a feeling he was right. Re-arrange the words...

Me would've been that someone.

I would've been that someone.

[Gannu_1]

Been noticing that a lot of them are mixing up these words off lately.

1. Loose and lose:

Loose: not secured properly, not fixed/rigid, free, untie. Eg. He's wearing a loose-fitting shirt, I have been suffering from loose bowel movements, she likes her hair loose. etc.

Lose: misplace, fail to achieve. Eg. Please do not lose my car keys!, I bet he's going to win the match etc.

2. Their, There and They're:

Their: To describe something belonging to them indicating possession. Eg. The Jetta is their car, I went to their home yesterday.

There: Many meanings depending on the usage. Eg. There it is!, He paused there for a moment, There are different species of snakes, Right there! etc.

They're: combining 2 words - they are. Eg. They're joining us for dinner tonight, They're moving into their new home this weekend.

3. And definitely is incorrectly spelled! This link is pretty damn helpful - D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y

I am glad there is one forum that lays stress on posting in proper and meaningful English very seriously!

[vnabhi]

Good examples, @Gannu 1. Few more are given below:

1. Your vs You're. The latter is a combination of 'you are'.
2. 'One of my friend' instead of 'one of my friends'.
3. Brakes vs breaks. Even on this forum, majority use 'breaks' when they want to say 'brakes'! Give me a break, guys!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

And guess what... your friendly local Englishman makes many of those mistakes regularly!

[Gansan]

Another common example is saying "I can't be able to" instead of "I will not be able to" or just plain "I am unable to".

[ani_meher]

Generally there is a confusion between whether to use 'me' or 'I'. I have remembered it as using a 'he' or 'him' in the same sentence. If the sentence looks proper when using 'he', you should use 'I', if 'him' is proper, then 'me' should be used.