[tilt]

Originally Posted by murillo

*SNIP*I see this mistake - main clause
I - subject
see - verb
this - demonstrative adjective
mistake - accusative noun

happening a lot with us Indians - present participle phrase modifying the noun "mistake"
happening - present participle
a - indefinite article
lot - noun

with us Indians - adverb adjunct
with - preposition
us - objective pronoun renaming the objective noun "Indians"
Indians - objective noun

Thank you, I am reminded of grammar lessons in school

Wren and Martin and Murillo

Cheers

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by murillo

Words like 'sea of' and 'massive' aren't concrete language.

Sea, in this instance, is a metaphor. A sea descending may not be a very good metaphor!

Massive could be metaphorical, although I tend to stick to its literal meaning. It could also be (wait for it... One of my favourite English words...) Hyperbole!

Originally Posted by tilt

Thank you, I am reminded of grammar lessons in school

Yes. An analysis way beyond my capabilities.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

When in doubt, ask ChatGPT !

Sorry to burst the bubble. ChatGPT can sometimes hallucinate not only with content but also with spellings and grammar. In one case when I pointed out, it said - " Apologies - I should be more careful "

The normal punctuation rules stipulate that when you combine words and at the end before the last word you use 'and' which should not be preceded with a comma (,). But ChatGPT always adds 'and' preceded by a comma.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Prowler

The normal punctuation rules stipulate that when you combine words and at the end before the last word you use 'and' which should not be preceded with a comma (,). But ChatGPT always adds 'and' preceded by a comma.

I've read that a "," can precede "and" in certain situations (depending on whom you ask ): https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/oxford-comma/

[Thad E Ginathom]

The tautological "back."

I thought this was an Indian-English thing, but I now see it from the rest of the world.

One does not return back something: one returns it. That is what return means.

One does not reverse back the car: One reverses it. Reverse means going backwards.

(one could reverse back to a given point, but "back," there, belongs to the point)

I could rant for ages on the misuse of the word "revert." I have done, and given up on it, two or three decades ago. Another lost cause. Now the offence is compounded by people who "revert back."

Aaaaarrrgh!

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

[b]
I could rant for ages on the misuse of the word "revert." I have done, and given up on it, two or three decades ago. Another lost cause. Now the offence is compounded by people who "revert back."
i

"Revert back"- to what?
"Revert back to you"- You weren't me before

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by saket77

"Revert back"- to what?
"Revert back to you"- You weren't me before

Just like Dravid turned the Indian team around 360 degrees!

[dailydriver]

I asked my wife to describe me in 5 words.

She said I'm mature, I'm moral, I'm pure, I'm polite and I'm perfect.

Then she clarified that I also had a fundamental lack of understanding about apostrophes and spaces.

(A lesson in life and language - forwarded by an elderly colleague)

[dailydriver]

I can't help but wonder if all the sub editors and proofreaders at Inshorts have gone holidaying!!!

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

I can't help but wonder if all the sub editors and proofreaders at Inshorts have gone holidaying!!!

"Her doctor came in and asked the nurses to stop preparing for surgery because Morgan had gotten pregnant naturally" - this episode really does give a whole new meaning to the term "a pregnant pause"!

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

"a pregnant pause"!

Now that's one infidelity to the Queens English that might perhaps be forgiven. Moments like these showcase how fertile the language is!

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was wondering how one could have an infidelity removed!

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by Happysmiles

Just saw couple of weeks ago, at a busy intersection, some street musicians and beggars asking for alms via Phone Pe QR code.

Sorry for dragging your post into this thread . Kindly permit me an off topic, semantic intervention.

Beggars ask for alms.

Street performers (buskers) are paid gratuities.

If the reference was to beggars who would sing on the streets in expectation of monetary compensation, I am uncertain about the word to be used for their pay.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Here's one we are going to be stuck with forever, certainly in Indian English, and possibly further afield.

Battery backup.

No! How long your phone battery lasts is not "backup!" Backup is something you have for when a primary source fails. Backup, in the home context, is a generator, or inverter, or a UPS for a computer. A phone does not have backup. Capacity, runtime, would be good words.

[ruskinash]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

[*]This discussion is relevant here because Team-BHP is an Indian forum that uses English as the means of communication between it's members.

Just stumbled upon this thread, and it's fantastic to see a focus on the fundamentals of proper spelling and punctuation. Big shoutout to the original poster for the effort.

In the sentence above, it should be "Its members" without an apostrophe after "it".
Remember, "It's" is a contraction of "it is." Adding an apostrophe would imply "it is members".

As a general rule, you shorten "it is" or "it has", with "it's".
When describing something as belonging to "it", use "its".