Maciver's Guide to Grammar

[maciver]

Um, some further input....



Who/Whom:
Yes, Maciver's right that it's a matter of subject vs. object of the action. One easiest way is to separate out that part of the sentence and rephrase it as "he/him" to see which makes more sense.

1) Wrong version: "Jason, whom of which was a bastard child, stole from the sanctuary."
(ok, first off, I think you didn't quite mean it to come out this way... ^_^ )

"he was a bastard child"/"him was a bastard child" => "who was a bastard child"

2) Wrong version: "Maciver, who we often poked fun at, was actually a nice fellow."

"we poked fun at he"/"we poked fun at him" => "whom we often poked fun at"

Practice/Practise:

Here, sorry, Mac is just wrong.

For UK-based English, "practise" is the verb ("She practised the violin.") and "practice" the noun ("He built up a practice in law.").

For USA-based English, both are "practice" and there's no such word as "practise." ^_^

hehe... then I stand corrected... *I hate English too* ... but am glad to have learned a neat trick to remember it by. Thanx Saera.

 

[maciver]

There is also a space between each period, as-well-as at the start and end of an Ellipsis. Like so.

"Well . . . I . . . I don't know . . . "

Depends on the use of the ellipsis, but aye.

And please. Please! Take this into account. Nonetheless. It is one solid word. I get tired of 'none the less', and 'none-the-less' or any other combination you can think of . . . Save yourself the key depressions and spell it correctly.

I am so with you here.

Lastly. When you end a sentance. There are two spaces before the next letter. Just like in my post. And yes, I know word processors won't tell you that, but that is because you have to set an option for them to add in two spaces.

Yes indeedy. Which makes HTML proper a pain in the ass. LOL HTML only allows for one space unless you actually CODE IN a space. Go figure.

 

[maciver]

Um, some further input....

For UK-based English, "practise" is the verb ("She practised the violin.") and "practice" the noun ("He built up a practice in law.").

For USA-based English, both are "practice" and there's no such word as "practise." ^_^

I have completely learned this differently where as practise and practice are reversed and actually used in U.S. English as such.

 

[Magi_Brigid]

I have never actually seen spaces between ellipises, nor in all of my studies have I come across such a thing.

Still and all, though, this guide rocks. Thanks folks.

 

[maciver]

I have never actually seen spaces between ellipises, nor in all of my studies have I come across such a thing.

Still and all, though, this guide rocks. Thanks folks.

Generally.. spaces are used when using the ellipsis as a pause.

"I . . . er . . . guess that would be ok."

That's really the only time. I don't really follow that rule, myself admittedly.

If an ellipsis is being used for its intended purpose, i.e. to supplement an omission, then spaces are not to be used.

Quoted from the book, "Jan watched as the moonlit shadows danced across the valley, instilling her..."
Meaning that the sentence continues, but does not deal with a point trying to be made.

"It has been proven that sunlight does increase the body's production of Vitamain D... it also increases the production of seratonin."
Although I think I misspelled seratonin, the above sentence signifies the key points, while omitting what is in between. In addition to this rule, if the omission includes a cross sentence (i.e. there is a period somewhere in the omission), then it involves a FOUR period ellipsis. For example, the sentences:

"The herb catnip is an excellent remedy for bronchitis. It opens the bronchi, allowing for greater passage of air."

may be quoted as

"The herb catnip.... opens the bronchi..."

That is a VERY VAGUE and useless example, but it gets the point across.

 

[Kinetti]

Ok, I've got to join the high school English class excitement.

Here's one I've not seen much lately, but I used to, more often, a while ago:

Wonder vs Wander

Wonder refers to being curious. being in a state of wishing to know more. Though it can also refer to seeing something "wonderful", seeing a Wonder of the Ancient World, or a new invention. Something awe-inspiring.
For the example which'll cover how, grammatically, most would likely use it in ISRP, I'll use everyone's favorite li'l vampie-hater in my example, just for fun!

"Orchid gazed into her mirror, and wondered if her hair could look any more perfect"


Now, Wander refers to meandering about in an aimless fashion, or some use it to refer to a casual sort of walk, as if no purpose is in mind. To meander, which can thus also imply an aimless course. Here's an example

"Orchid wandered casually inside, patting her hair back into place."


The way it has most often been misused in ISRP has been substituting "wander" for "wonder", as follows (this time with a randomly brain-generated name):

"Sedgewick wondered into the tavern, kicking the snow off his boots"


I hope this is of help to you all.


~~ Kinetti, the ever-logical CAT, and amateur Spelling Bee

 

[maciver]

Ok, I've got to join the high school English class excitement.

Here's one I've not seen much lately, but I used to, more often, a while ago:

Wonder vs Wander

Wonder refers to being curious. being in a state of wishing to know more. Though it can also refer to seeing something "wonderful", seeing a Wonder of the Ancient World, or a new invention. Something awe-inspiring.
For the example which'll cover how, grammatically, most would likely use it in ISRP, I'll use everyone's favorite li'l vampie-hater in my example, just for fun!

"Orchid gazed into her mirror, and wondered if her hair could look any more perfect"


Now, Wander refers to meandering about in an aimless fashion, or some use it to refer to a casual sort of walk, as if no purpose is in mind. To meander, which can thus also imply an aimless course. Here's an example

"Orchid wandered casually inside, patting her hair back into place."


The way it has most often been misused in ISRP has been substituting "wander" for "wonder", as follows (this time with a randomly brain-generated name):

"Sedgewick wondered into the tavern, kicking the snow off his boots"


I hope this is of help to you all.


~~ Kinetti, the ever-logical CAT, and amateur Spelling Bee

Good call. Those are two that I completely forgot about but drive me nuts.