Another Nitpicking Treatise on Grammar
Another Nitpicking Treatise on Grammar
#0Another Nitpicking Treatise on Grammar
Posted: 6/6/06 at 7:42am
This one has been bothering me for some time.
Addicting. I don't think anyone is quite using it correctly. In almost every instance of this word I see, the intended meaning implies they should have used addictive. I realize which words ending in -ing are much more common than words which end in -ive but come on, folks.
Addicting Versus Addictive - The More You Know
touchmeinthemorning
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/3/04
#1re: Another Nitpicking Treatise on Grammar
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:14amPreach it, sister!
#2another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:31amy'know, bway, i read this and thought, "oh, bway's just seen it once or twice and it's bothering him, sheesh, chill hairboy." but then i did a search. jesus h. christ. people read this over and over and over agin, k?
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
JohnBoy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/06
#3another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:34amI don't think anyone should chill when it comes to grammar. It's a dying art!
#4another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:45am
Thank you bway!! Sadly, my office computer is afraid of that link, so I will have to read it when I get home.
#5another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:52am
The most intriguing part is that more research is showing me that, while addicting IS proper conjugation, it really doesn't exist historically and has come into use AS an adjective, which is completely improper.
And, Papa, just do a search on the off-topic board for the word addicting.
Then search addictive. I've noticed a few certain people know the difference (Thanks, KelRel!) and many do not.
#6another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:53amI find it fascinating how many words/expressions "come into use" - and if I'm not mistaken, in this internet age, it's happening much more frequently.
#7another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:58am
It's the ease of communication for otherwise illiterate folk, Rath.
#8another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 8:58amIt frustrates me.
#9another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:04am
I think it frustrates a lot of people.
I won't sit here and pretend I'm not prone to mistakes but I do think I'm different in that I will attempt to correct them. The real problem as I perceive it is, rather than LEARN, most people will just make it up. When I'm hazy on word usage or spelling, I dictionary.com it. It might not be THE best grammatical source but it's good and easy and the word pops up right there in Google; you don't really even have to go to the page to see how it's correctly spelled (and Google will attempt to correct your spelling for you if you misspell your search! HELLO!).
It amazes me that, in the age of the internet, where knowledge is impossibly easy to gain, people choose to be this illiterate and unread.
#10another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:06amI agree - I'm certainly far from perfect, but at least I try.
#11another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:24ami did search it, bway. that's why i told people to read it over and over.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
#12another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:25ambway, will you paste some of the relevant info for those of us who can't get to the article?
#13another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:31am
Papa, it's enough to make me lose my BWW addiction (hey, check it! That's a noun!).
For the record, addicting is in fact a word. A transitive verb, more precisely. These are verbs that require a direct object (like abuse, as in The Digg user physically abused the grammarian.) And we all seem to agree that addictive is a word. An adjective. Those are describy words. You remember those. Adjective != verb. Addictive != addicting. An interesting fact about dictionaries is that when two forms of a word are included, interchangeability is not implied.
#14another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:32amGreat! Thank you.
#15another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:34am
Funny how I like his creation of the word "describy" but addicting bothers me. Then again, one is very Whedonesque and clever and the other is not.
#16another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 9:35amThat's because we know he's playing.
iflitifloat
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/03
#17another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:03am
Recommendation:
Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite by June Casagrande
In this collection of hilarious anecdotes and essays, June Casagrande delivers practical language lessons not found anywhere else, demystifying the subject and taking it back from the snobs.
I can't vouch for how entertaining the printed version of this book is, but the audiobook is terrific. It identified, one by one, all those grammatical issues that I'm never quite sure about. This has to be THE most painless way to clear up some problems.
Audible link
#18another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:03am
But I quite like being a great, big, meanie Grammar Snob.
Updated On: 6/6/06 at 10:03 AM
#19another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:05am
That sounds like a fun read, iflit!
Bway, get rid of that comma, you idiot.
#20another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:08am
actually, it needs another.
#21another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:09am
It doesn't need any.
#22another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:13am
#23another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:16am
Rath is correct. Great, in this case, modifies big, not snob, so no comma is needed.
The way to remember is: If an "and" would fit between the words, you need a comma.
Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot.
(Rush Limbaugh is a big and fat idiot? Nope. No comma)
Rush Limbaugh is a bigoted, obese blowhard.
(Rush Limbaugh is a bigoted and obese blowhard."
Updated On: 6/6/06 at 10:16 AM
#24another nitpicking treatise on grammar (but not capitalization)
Posted: 6/6/06 at 10:18am
Your, sooooooooooooooooooooooo meen.
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