The Grammar Thread (updated)- Page 7
The Grammar Thread (updated)
#150Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/28/09 at 4:48pm
Just noticed this slightly old post:
It's pretty astonishing that it's been almost four years and no one has noticed that in the original post there was a horrifying mistake involving quoatation marks and the placing of a period...
Yikes.
All examples will also work if you replace "Wicked" for "Brooklyn".
One way is correct in American English, the other is correct in British English. Since this is an international message board, I don't think that counts as a "horrifying mistake."
Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. ~ Wicked
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
"He's a tramp, but I love him."
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#151Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/28/09 at 4:50pmYero my Hero is my hero.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#152Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/28/09 at 4:52pm
Aww, thanks. *blushes*
I think hypercorrection bugs me even more than plain old bad grammar.
Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. ~ Wicked
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
"He's a tramp, but I love him."
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#153Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 5/11/12 at 1:45pmI think it's time for a refresher.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#154Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 1:18pmI had to add more updates because things seem to be getting worse before they get better.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#155Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 1:26pm
One of the things I do at my day job is type daily notes the staff writes about what the clients do each day, and I have found some doozies.
"[Client] road a public transportation to work today."
"[Client] was a lot rude. She had a great day."
Thanks Jane. It's multiple staff members writing the reports, so then wouldn't it be "the staff write"?
"I've never encountered such religiously, you know, loyal fans as Broadway musical theater fans. It's amazing."
--Allison Janney
Updated On: 4/19/13 at 01:26 PM
#156Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 1:31pm^ there's an error in your own statement. It should be "the staff writes" not write.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#157Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 1:41pmNo, iflip, you're talking about one staff that writes, not several staffs.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#158Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 1:54pmJane is correct. There is ONE staff comprised of many members.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#159Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 2:06pmColor me embarrassed, we've been saying it wrong for years then!
"I've never encountered such religiously, you know, loyal fans as Broadway musical theater fans. It's amazing."
--Allison Janney
#160Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 2:16pmOh, don't worry. It's a common error, you see it a lot here.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#161Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 2:22pm
Actually, either is correct, and if you're stressing that individual members write individual reports, I'd probably go with "the staff write" (though adding "members" would make it clearer). If they write them as a team, I'd say "the staff writes."
Also, strictly speaking the whole comprises the parts, so it would be "There is one staff comprising many members," but dramamamma's usage is becoming more and more common.
#162Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 2:53pm
Rules of grammar may have changed since I've been in school. I was going by what I was taught!
What is Dramamamma's usage? I thought she was agreeing with me.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#163Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 3:01pm
I think grammar "rules" are a bit more fluid than they used to be, not least because a bunch them were just made up by grammar school teachers (such as not splitting an infinitive--because you can't split one in Latin!) in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
"Staff writes" is certainly more common--possibly even more likely to be correct--but "staff write" isn't automatically wrong.
I was talking about Dramamamma's usage of "comprise."
#164Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 3:07pm
"Comprised of" is NEVER correct.
You can say "There is one staff composed of many members" or "Many members comprise the staff" but to say "There is ONE staff comprised of many members" is a hypercorrection: a grammatical mistake made in an attempt to sound authoritative.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#165Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 3:20pmI am. (Reginald's post just confuses me.)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#166Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 3:24pm
Sorry about that!
Both posts? Any particular part(s)?
#167Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 3:49pm
Regarding the word, "staff", I think it can be used two ways, as Reg says. If it is used as a singular group writing something together, then, "the staff writes..." If they, as individuals in this group, are producing individual efforts, "the staff write..." In the second sense of the word, it's comparable to the word, "people". Yes it's a group, but you wouldn't say, "the people writes..."
Is that clear? I needed an awful lot of punctuation in there and likely got something wrong.
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.
Updated On: 4/19/13 at 03:49 PM
#168Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 3:53pmoy. I'm here to say I'm sticking with what I was taught. The subject of the original sentence is singular (staff), so the predicate agrees (writes). Simple!
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#169Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 4:51pm
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#170Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 5:00pm
Go away, Matt.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#171Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 5:18pm
I wasn't taking sides! I was just clearing up the issue.
Much love to all parties involved. Now, if only the people who actually need this thread would read it.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#172Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/19/13 at 6:17pm
That's actually very helpful, Mister Matt!
"Collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on context." That was the point I was trying to make.
#173Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/20/13 at 8:15pmThanks Mister Matt! Sorry for starting this, but glad we could all get some closure.
"I've never encountered such religiously, you know, loyal fans as Broadway musical theater fans. It's amazing."
--Allison Janney
John Adams
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/13
#174Is it really that difficult?
Posted: 4/20/13 at 10:01pm
>> "glad we could all get some closure."
When referring to the cast of the Elton John musical:
* Billys?
* Billies? or
* "Billy"s?
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