Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:18 am Post
popcornflix wrote:Are there any alternatives to Strunk & White that are more generally acceptable these days?
A handy guide to problems of confused or disputed usage based on the critically acclaimed Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Over 2,000 entries explain the background and basis of usage controversies and offer expert advice and recommendations. Addresses common usage issues like ‘affect’ vs. ‘effect,’ ‘less’ vs. ‘fewer,’ and the word ‘alright.’
less, fewer
Here is the rule as it is usually encountered: fewer refers to number among things that are counted, and less refers to quantity or amount among things that are measured. This rule is simple enough and easy enough to follow. It has only one fault—it is not accurate for all usage. If we were to write the rule from the observation of actual usage, it would be the same for fewer: fewer does refer to number among things that are counted. However, it would be different for less: less refers to quantity or amount among things that are measured and to number among things that are counted. Our amended rule describes the actual usage of the past thousand years or so.
Sat Aug 31, 2019 11:05 am Post
Sat Aug 31, 2019 12:46 pm Post
Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:07 pm Post
brookter wrote:British: 'Go home', he said, 'to your father.' (The original didn't have one, so the comma goes outside...)
Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:10 pm Post
Sat Aug 31, 2019 8:29 pm Post
auxbuss wrote:brookter wrote:British: 'Go home', he said, 'to your father.' (The original didn't have one, so the comma goes outside...)
I've never seen this construction. Can you cite an a example? Not challenging you, but out of curiosity.
Personally, I'd recast it to avoid the issue: 'Go home, to your father,' he said,
Sun Sep 01, 2019 9:43 am Post
brookter wrote:auxbuss wrote:brookter wrote:British: 'Go home', he said, 'to your father.' (The original didn't have one, so the comma goes outside...)
I've never seen this construction. Can you cite an a example? Not challenging you, but out of curiosity.
That example I gave is actually from the Oxford Guide to Style itself.
brookter wrote:The point is, you wouldn't recast it as “‘Go home, to your father,’ he said.” because the original doesn’t have a comma after home. That’s why the American usage is ‘illogical’ from our point of view, because that comma isn’t in the original. The comma after father goes inside the quotation mark in both US and GB styles, though, because it represents the full stop at the end of the original sentence.
brookter wrote:The split quotation construction isn’t the most common, and you can usually recast it, but I wouldn’t say it was particularly rare either. It can lend itself to comedy, for example. PG Wodehouse (and there is no finer stylish in English that PG...) does it a lot.
"But," I said, "but, but, but Jeeves!"
Sun Sep 01, 2019 12:11 pm Post
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Wed Sep 18, 2019 4:22 pm Post
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