Hello, I'm having some difficulty getting a conclusive answer to the question of which is more "proper" grammatically and in academia. When referring to "blacks" and "whites" in society, I used to write them without quotes until a professor corrected me. However, when I use quotes now, some people disagree. Could you all help me find the correct usage? Professors explanation inside...
[more inside]
posted by Knigel
on Mar 10, 2013 -
54 answers
Whenever it comes up while I'm texting I come to an impasse. I know that I don't want to type the whole word because I have a dumbphone and I want to minimize thumb-wear. If I were writing a novel I would write it as
'cause, but I'm not so it's still too long. The phonetic
cuz is clear and concise but somehow doesn't fit my personality or the tone of most of my communications. I started using
cos but for some reason I associate that with UK English and I'm from the states and it doesn't quite feel right. What do you use and why, if there is a why.
posted by TheRedArmy
on Feb 27, 2013 -
41 answers
My wife has organized a 5k as a fundraiser for her school. The event website lists it as the
"First Annual" race. She got a nitpicky email chastising her her about it, complaining that it should be the
"Inaugural" race. What do you think, and how should she respond?
[more inside]
posted by RevRob330
on Feb 15, 2013 -
58 answers
In Chicago style, or barring that, in Generally Accepted Historical Practice, how should one capitalize the following sentence, which discusses the "Isthmus of Panama" (which is undoubtedly capitalized when it appears in full): "The canal crossed the
isthmus." or "The canal crossed the
Isthmus."? (My CMS subscription has lapsed and I can't afford a re-up, alas.)
posted by flibbertigibbet
on Dec 5, 2012 -
8 answers
Are grammatical genders, as a rule, consistent across the Indo-European languages which use them?
[more inside]
posted by obloquy
on Dec 4, 2012 -
30 answers
Please help settle a grammar disagreement.
My Boyf and I are having a grammar disagreement and I was hoping that the wonderful Askme members could help settle it.
If someone states "We don't do X" which of the following would you assume was correct?
A: That the reference to 'X' applies to the past, present and the future.
B: That the reference to 'X' applies to the past and present.
C: That the reference to 'X' applies to the past only.
Context is the sentence "We don't go on on Holiday".
posted by Faintdreams
on Jul 24, 2012 -
20 answers
Is there a term for, or linguistic function fulfilled by, the phrases "no yeah" and/or "yeah no" when used for the purpose of agreeing?
posted by CitrusFreak12
on Jul 18, 2012 -
12 answers
Apostrophe help: System's' Anlaysis.
Wiki does not have one, and neither does
this page.
Talk page says it should, but it shouldn't.
Brethower (big name in the field) doesn't use one. I'm writing a resume for employers who maybe-do, maybe-don't have familiarity with the field. Should I say "System's Analysis," "Systems' Analysis," or "Systems Analysis?"
posted by rebent
on Jun 7, 2012 -
11 answers
Grammar: Is it better to say that a committee "will be implementing a new policy" or "will implement a new policy"?
I favour the latter because it seems more succinct; however, all my colleagues use the former convention.
What am I missing? Does their way make more sense, grammatically or stylistically? Or is this just a collective habit that they've all adopted and I should avoid picking it up?
[more inside]
posted by cranberrymonger
on Mar 15, 2012 -
26 answers
How much help is too much help when it comes to a friend's application to an accountancy training programme?
[more inside]
posted by muhonnin
on Feb 3, 2012 -
9 answers
Somewhat silly usage question: If I'm someone's research assistant, how can I succinctly describe
their relationship to
me?
[more inside]
posted by dismas
on Dec 3, 2011 -
13 answers
Can you help me explain how and when to use articles (a/an/the) to a non-native English speaker?
[more inside]
posted by shortyJBot
on Nov 7, 2011 -
9 answers
How would one address atrocious grammar errors, poor sentence construction and spelling mistakes in the monthly email updates from administrators of your child's school?
[more inside]
posted by webhund
on Oct 26, 2011 -
25 answers
Poking the grammatical hornets' nest. As seen on CNN.com as a headline: "1 in 10 kids isn't (something not relevant)." I think it's ungrammatical, my co-workers think it's correct.
[more inside]
posted by sbutler
on Oct 3, 2011 -
53 answers
What are the rules, or guidelines around the use of the (tm), (r) and (c) signs? They seem to be ubiquitous in corporate English, but as far as I can tell they're both unnecessary and ugly. Is putting a (tm) on a trademark something that's considered a required prerequisite to protecting it?
posted by Sebmojo
on Sep 7, 2011 -
8 answers
Grammarfilter: In the Pittsburghese construct needs + past participle (e.g., the car needs washed), what is the name of the "to be" that is dropped?
[more inside]
posted by bfranklin
on Jan 26, 2011 -
21 answers
Is there any graduate program that emphasizes writing skills (in English) while providing a rigorous education in grammar, literature, and related languages (i.e. Latin), without focusing on literary criticism, but rather on writing itself? More after the jump.
[more inside]
posted by Nebula
on Jan 8, 2011 -
17 answers
Are there official grammatical rules about the capitalization of the words "god", "lord" etc. when referring specifically to Christianity (or any specific faith)?
[more inside]
posted by Carlotta Bananas
on Dec 5, 2010 -
11 answers
What's the proper way to order dates in geologic time when writing and why? In this example,
The Iapetus Ocean existed between 600 and 400 million years ago, would it be equally correct to write
400 to 600 million years ago? Can you also direct me to a source for the rules?
posted by Kronur
on Dec 2, 2010 -
26 answers
Is the plural of a variety of bread, "breads" or does it remain bread?
"I scale, mix and bake various breads from scratch for a busy café and catering orders."
posted by wocka wocka wocka
on Jul 19, 2010 -
12 answers
Punctuation filter: Comma, colon, semicolon, dash? Is what I'm saying even grammatically correct?
[more inside]
posted by a.steele
on Jun 10, 2010 -
24 answers
Please help resolve an office grammar debate regarding hyphenated adjectives! (Sounds fun, right?)
[more inside]
posted by Flamingo
on Jun 4, 2010 -
43 answers
In his book "Fathers and Sons", Alexander Waugh quotes an essay written by his grandfather Evelyn Waugh that includes this sentence:"He would have liked to do the same with me, but my school was less conveniently placed for visiting (sic) and the hard times of the First World War made hospitality difficult." Why the (sic)? What was Evelyn Waugh's error here?
posted by davidjmcgee
on May 2, 2010 -
11 answers
What's going on grammatically in the opening verse of the Quran, which uses a sound masculine plural for the word "worlds"?
[more inside]
posted by Biru
on Apr 9, 2010 -
10 answers
Is the phrase "needs replaced" an English language regionalism? Is it an American English regional phrase? Is it of relatively recent vintage? Why does it seem to be gaining prevalence?
[more inside]
posted by OmieWise
on Mar 15, 2010 -
47 answers
"One hundred and one" vs. "one hundred one." Which is correct?
posted by nestor_makhno
on Feb 11, 2010 -
61 answers
GrammarFilter: Is the phrase "I will trade you.." often misused, or is it a perfectly valid usage that drives me crazy?
[more inside]
posted by mikeh
on Jan 11, 2010 -
24 answers
I was thinking the other day about "all Greek to me!" as I was reading a physics book w/equations (using the Greek symbols)
And equations are a sort of language, of course.
So I wondered if there's some sort of linguist who's ever looked at the grammar or syntax of math/physics equations and tried to derive, whatever the hell it is linguists derive!
Does this sound like something anyone has heard of? If so, have any links?
posted by symbioid
on Jan 8, 2010 -
6 answers
Quick grammar/usage question. Which is the preferred usage: "I'm buying this property on their
behalf," or "I'm buying this property on their
behalves."
[more inside]
posted by crLLC
on Dec 8, 2009 -
17 answers
GrammarFilter: A friend and I have been discussing this construction: "would have had to go" vs. "would have had to have gone." It seems they are both correct and are almost always interchangeable, so it would seem the former, simpler version is preferable. Thoughts, explanations, examples otherwise? Are they both correct?
[more inside]
posted by Badasscommy
on Oct 26, 2009 -
10 answers
Editors, I need your help with quotation marks! Which is correct?
a) I sent him an article about "The X Factor".
b) I sent him an article about "The X Factor."
[more inside]
posted by HeyAllie
on Oct 26, 2009 -
40 answers
If I am on the phone with an unknown person, I usually say "whom an I speaking with?" to get the callers name. It doesn't seem to roll of the tongue very nicely though. What is the best way to get a callers name in today's world?
posted by kapu
on Aug 23, 2009 -
41 answers
LanguageFilter: How can a native English speaker develop a better sense of grammatical cases?
[more inside]
posted by mary8nne
on Jul 22, 2009 -
16 answers
