[JohnyBoy]

Thanks mayankk and noopster for taking time to clarify.
Appreciate it.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by JohnyBoy

Thanks.
I know it's is used for it is etc.But this created confusion for me.

I notice a mistake here which I consider very basic. It is also very common these days. It's the space, or lack of it, after a punctuation mark.

I consider it very basic because:
1. It is visual. There is no scope for confusion, like between break and brake, or between advise and advice. The later i am still confused about.
2. Not having a space after a punctuation mark defeats the entire purpose of a punctuation mark. In particular fullstop and comma are to signal a pause in reading, among other things. Having a visual gap aids that pause much much more than not having a gap. In fact having a gap is intuitive.

Even graduates commit this mistake, and I take no pleasure in taking them to task for it, but I do.

[JohnyBoy]

Originally Posted by Guite

I notice a mistake here which I consider very basic. It is also very common these days. It's the space, or lack of it, after a punctuation mark.

I usually check the space after fullstop and comma. Here I missed it.
Thanks for highlighting it.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by noopster

Pefectly valid usage. The apostrophe S is used to abbreviate is or has, as in "Johny's a good boy" or "Mayank's done a good job".
Also "underwater" is one word.

I have an underwater camera: I use it under water.

No?

Johny's a good boy: I got lost and don't know who was saying what about this! There's an a there that cannot be dropped.

Originally Posted by noopster

Yes, option A is plain wrong. English is one of those languages where dropping an article can cause the meaning of a sentence to change drastically:

e.g.
1. Few people appreciate my music.
2. A few people appreciate my music.

The sense of (1) is that NOBODY digs my stuff: I must be terrible!
Whereas (2) implies that there are a discerning few who get what I dish out.

Oh dear. I had a huge argument with an elderly Canada-based Tamil-brahmin Sanskrit scholar some years back...

"Few" does not and cannot ever mean zero.

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by Guite

...or between advise and advice. The later i am still confused about.

"Advice" is a noun. "Advise" is a verb.

In conclusion, to advise is to give advice.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Guite

2. Not having a space after a punctuation mark defeats the entire purpose of a punctuation mark. In particular fullstop and comma are to signal a pause in reading, among other things. Having a visual gap aids that pause much much more than not having a gap. In fact having a gap is intuitive.

Did I read somewhere that the French us puctuation without space?

Anyway, I guess this thread is not about French!

Just picked up a wrong should:

Does he work alone? Should be a back breaking job!

I suggest, Must be a backbreaking job

[Thad E Ginathom]

How much did it cost you?

It cost me Rs.5,000

Accountants may use the word costed when doing their costings, but in speaking of what we paid for something, the past tense of cost is cost. Costed is wrong.

It cost me Rs.5,000, but the price has gone up, so it will cost you Rs.5,500. That is the current price: it now costs Rs.5,500. Yesterday, it would have cost you Rs.5,000. Next week the price may rise again, and then it will cost you even more.

Hmmm... I suppose that the message of this little lesson is... buy now!


~

[Gansan]

^^ Agreed, Thad. It is a mistake people who don't know English too well commit. An error due to transliteration from the vernacular.

Another one is, you may have seen boards in shops advertising "cool drinks", but not "cold drinks!"

Cool drink is a direct lift from the equivalent Tamil word!

[Thad E Ginathom]

"cool drinks", but not "cold drinks!"

There is a lot of stuff like this that I don't even notice any longer. I'm now wondering if other countries don't also have "cool" drinks? If not, then it must be time for me to give up giving English lessons!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

.... then it must be time for me to give up giving English lessons!

The better reason for giving up would be that there are very few today who want to improve their English.
If a mistake is pointed out some take it badly and others argue that they successfully conveyed what they wanted to and that is all that matters!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, I was thinking that when I read something typically not-English in New Indian Express this morning. The fact that we can work out what the writer meant does not mean what he wrote was right. Good language doesn't call on the reader to work it out.

This example was something like "To add to the twist..." The guy knows that stories can have twists, but has no clue what that really means and how to use it. That is a professional writer!

Actually, it is part of the flexibility of English that we take many mistakes, misuse, mispellings (I'm often guilty of that), mispronunciations in our stride, and quickly work out what was meant. I can only speak for my local part of India, but I find that, with the language here, even a slight mispronunciation of place names etc (and of course I have plenty of experience!) often gets just a blank look.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Accountants may use the word costed when doing their costings, but in speaking of what we paid for something, the past tense of cost is cost. Costed is wrong.

I have heard some people say "It costed us dearly" and it sounds plain wrong! The sense where it is correct is as below:

to estimate or determine the cost of (manufactured articles, new processes, etc.):
"We have costed the manufacture of each item."

Source

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

*SNIP*Actually, it is part of the flexibility of English that we take many mistakes, misuse, mispellings (I'm often guilty of that), *SNIP

Sic, Thad?

Cheers

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is a universal rule that any forum post about such mistakes must include one. In fact, this might be the secret of perpetual motion

[faustus77]

Thad Ginathon sir
Hi.
I always wondered when I read the word " costed"
Thanks for your clarification. I still think it should be cost.
Great to read your posts.
Regards

Anup Mathur sahib
Hi
Seeing a post by you after a long time
Regards