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This is not a Hall of Shame thread.  Please do not copy posts with people's names.

This is a condensed thread to teach specific lessons to those who want to learn correct grammar and spelling.
We have many members whose mother tongue is not English.

Please title your post if you choose to add a lesson.  A font size of 12 pt in capitals will make that post easy to find.  The lesson posts will also be referenced in the wiki.

LESSONS

1.   there / their / they're
2.   a vs. an
3.   went vs. have gone
4.   It's vs. Its
5.   Affect vs. Effect
6.   Capital vs. Capitol
7.   Much vs. Many
8.   We're vs. Were
9.   Your vs. You're
10. Definitely vs. Defiantly
11. Manner vs. Manor
12. Exasperate vs. Exacerbate
13. Gorilla vs. Guerilla
14. Idle / Idol / Idyll
15. Precede vs. Proceed
16. Rouge vs. Rogue
17. Independence vs. Indpendents
18. Ordinance vs. Ordnance
19. Weather vs. Whether

  • Commas go before the space, like this, not like ,this.
  • Commas/periods go after the close parenthesis (like this), not before (like this.)   (Unless the entire sentence is enclosed.)
  • All punctuation goes inside the quotation, like "this." not like "this".

« Last edited by SSLPhD on September 24, 2024, 03:32:05 PM »

Author Topic: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101  (Read 69446 times)

Offline S209

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #240 on: March 24, 2022, 12:40:37 AM »
noun
two of the same sort considered together; pair.
two persons considered as joined together, as a married or engaged pair, lovers, or dance partners:
They make a handsome couple.
any two persons considered together.
Mechanics. a pair of equal, parallel forces acting in opposite directions and tending to produce rotation.
Also called couple-close. Carpentry. a pair of rafters connected by a tie beam or collar beam.
a leash for holding two hounds together.
Fox Hunting. two hounds:
25 hounds or 12˝ couple.

Lets put this off until next Sunday!  :P
Yes, I’m aware what the simple noun “couple” means, but methinks you missed the last definition they offer:


INFORMAL
an indefinite small number.
"he hoped she'd be better in a couple of days"

Source: Oxford
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #241 on: March 24, 2022, 12:47:20 AM »
Yes, I’m aware what the simple noun “couple” means, but methinks you missed the last definition they offer:
Was a copy and paste.


Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half
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Offline S209

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #242 on: March 24, 2022, 01:23:17 AM »
Was a copy and paste.
A couple of powerhouse dictionaries like Google, Oxford and Merriam-Webster are more than enough for me to be comfortable that it’s not that I just
don't know the meaning.  :)


PS: Special treat for natives of this thread: Notice the missing comma.
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Quotes in a signature is annoying, as it comes across as an independent post.

Offline S209

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #243 on: March 24, 2022, 01:25:08 AM »
Was a copy and paste.
Scroll down to #14

a couple of, more than two, but not many, of; a small number of; a few:
It will take a couple of days for the package to get there.
A dinner party, whether for a couple of old friends or eight new acquaintances, takes nearly the same amount of effort.
Also Informal, a couple.
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #244 on: March 24, 2022, 01:28:32 AM »
A couple of powerhouse dictionaries like Google, Oxford and Merriam-Webster are more than enough for me to be comfortable that it’s not that I just
Look at the post in question. It was "couple pieces" not "couple of pieces". That means exactly two if you except it was proper grammar without the "of".
Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #245 on: March 24, 2022, 01:29:16 AM »
Scroll down to #14
Scroll to the next post.  :)
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #246 on: March 24, 2022, 01:33:37 AM »
Look at the post in question. It was "couple pieces" not "couple of pieces". That means exactly two if you except it was proper grammar without the "of".
I think “a couple pieces of fruit” is a (poor) contraction of “a couple of pieces”. While the grammar is off regardless, the intent and meaning is still “a small amount”.
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #247 on: March 24, 2022, 01:36:39 AM »
I think “a couple pieces of fruit” is a (poor) contraction of “a couple of pieces”. While the grammar is off regardless, the intent and meaning is still “a small amount”.
Look at your #14. It is "couple of" not "couple". Couple means two. If we bet a couple bucks on a game you going to come back and say you meant 3 or 4? Lets be honest now.  :)
Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #248 on: March 24, 2022, 01:39:03 AM »
Look at your #14. It is "couple of" not "couple". Couple means two. If we bet a couple bucks on a game you going to come back and say you meant 3 or 4? Lets be honest now.  :)
Yes I agree that proper iteration of the idiom is “a couple of”. However, when someone says “a couple pieces/bucks”, I think the intent is actually to say “a couple of”.

If I said I was going to bet “a couple dollars” on something, I would mean a small amount, not precisely two.
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #249 on: March 24, 2022, 01:40:23 AM »
If I said I was going to bet “a couple dollars” on something, I would mean a small amount, not precisely two.
Don't bet with a bookie.
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #250 on: March 24, 2022, 01:41:24 AM »
Don't bet with a bookie.
If they take it to mean precisely two then I would learn soon enough how they perceive it. Unless I was saying a couple million.
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #251 on: March 24, 2022, 02:21:39 AM »
COUPLE officially means a quantity of two.  Period.  The tendency for some illiterate speakers to abuse the word to mean 'a few' is absolutely a pet peeve of mine, as well.

Couple comes from Old French 'cople' meaning 'married couple' [ie, TWO] and from Latin 'copula' meaning 'tie', 'connection' [between TWO items]. Think grammatical: the English 'coplula' is a form of 'be', 'is', 'am', etc; words that tie together TWO parts of a sentence, subject and predicate.

One - a couple - a few - some - several - many.

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #252 on: March 24, 2022, 02:27:08 AM »
COUPLE officially means a quantity of two.  Period.  The tendency for some illiterate speakers to abuse the word to mean 'a few' is absolutely a pet peeve of mine, as well.

Couple comes from Old French 'cople' meaning 'married couple' [ie, TWO] and from Latin 'copula' meaning 'tie', 'connection' [between TWO items]. Think grammatical: the English 'coplula' is a form of 'be', 'is', 'am', etc; words that tie together TWO parts of a sentence, subject and predicate.

One - a couple - a few - some - several - many.
In the common vernacular, it means two or three or possibly more. From Merriam-Webster dictionary:
So the Merriam-Webster dictionary is illiterate? Usage since 1500 irrelevant? Etymology is often messy but popular usage always wins.
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #253 on: March 24, 2022, 07:57:10 AM »
frindle
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #254 on: March 24, 2022, 08:58:02 AM »
So the Merriam-Webster dictionary is illiterate?
No, I would say it has been corrupted.  ;)

marriage: the state of being united as spouses in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law
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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #255 on: May 28, 2022, 11:05:13 PM »
Precede vs. proceed

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/precede-or-proceed-usage#:~:text='Precede'%20or%20'Proceed'%3F&text=Precede%20means%20%22to%20come%2C%20be,proceed%20is%20related%20to%20action.

(I'm sure the person that used the wrong one knows the difference, but I figured I'd throw this in here anyway.)
45/50, 46/63

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #256 on: June 10, 2022, 02:31:43 AM »
Quick lesson of the day:
The rule is: "I" before "E" except after "C" or when your foreign neighbor Keith receives eight overweight freight containers
Don't even try it.

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #257 on: June 10, 2022, 07:34:14 AM »
Quick lesson of the day:
The rule is: "I" before "E" except after "C" or when your foreign neighbor Keith receives eight overweight freight containers
I.e., when making the long a sound. (Also foreign and some others.)
45/50, 46/63

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #258 on: June 10, 2022, 12:49:15 PM »
I.e., when making the long a sound. (Also foreign and some others.)
Also height
Don't even try it.

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Re: Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101
« Reply #259 on: June 10, 2022, 12:55:40 PM »
Quick lesson of the day:
The rule is: "I" before "E" except after "C" or when your foreign neighbor Keith receives eight overweight freight containers