O/T: Grammar pendantry

[unnameable]

I am a writer. See www.deunantbooks.com. So I am bound to be something of a stickler for grammar. Sometimes, I think that I am too intellectual for this board, or any other such board, but I need to commune with fellow Albion fans as much as I need to watch the team, most matches, home and away.

 

[The Large One]

WRONG

"its" is one of the few occasions when wou DON'T use an apostrophy for a possessive.

"It went back into its hole".

But you do write "it's" when you mean it is, or it has.

Do keep up. I clarified that one later in the thread. I just explained it badly. And do spell apostrophe correctly.

 

[aftershavedave]

I am a writer. See www.deunantbooks.com. So I am bound to be something of a stickler for grammar. Sometimes, I think that I am too intellectual for this board, or any other such board, but I need to commune with fellow Albion fans as much as I need to watch the team, most matches, home and away.

too many, unnecessary, commas, in my opinion, mate.

 

[The Large One]

I think this is one of those thread's what should go in NSC Gold.

Wind them up and they go for hours...

 

[Kryten]

This thread has been very informative, and has helped me edit my coursework, which got given back to me, because of poor Grammar.

Thank you.

 

[Schrödinger's Toad]

Afters: Sorry, but Royal Ali is incorrect about the company thing. A company is NOT plural - it is singular. The pronoun for a company is 'it', NOT 'they'. Of course, the people within the organisation are plural.

People - plural
A collection of people: singular

Surely this is a matter of semantics, not grammar?

 

[swiss tony]

Another one that gets my goat is: "If I was you............."
It should be: "If I were you.........."

Not grammar but the amount of people that say "at this moment in time" as well...........what else is a friggin' moment going to be in?

 

[Crawley Boy]

I don't like "disallowed goal". Surely if it was disallowed it wasn't a goal?

 

[swiss tony]

I work as an English teacher in Central America. Today I had a very embarrasing moment when a student asked me a question and I wasn't sure of the answer. I've tried to find the answer in a book without success.

Should you say.........

1. There are a lot of students.
2. There is a lot of students.

The problem being that 'a lot' is singular but 'students' are plural. I've tried saying both to see which feels more natural and 'are' sounds better to me but I have a hunch that it should be 'is'.

Come on you grammar boys........

 

[Juan Albion]

There are many students.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Do keep up. I clarified that one later in the thread. I just explained it badly. And do spell apostrophe correctly.

If you find yourself confused about its and it's, it's worth considering if it's its that you mean (a possesive equivalent to his or her/s) or if if it's, it's a truncation of it is. Isn't it?

for example:

his shirt has pale blue stripes
its stripes are pale blue
it's a pale blue stripe

 

[Gwylan]

I work as an English teacher in Central America. Today I had a very embarrasing moment when a student asked me a question and I wasn't sure of the answer. I've tried to find the answer in a book without success.

Should you say.........

1. There are a lot of students.
2. There is a lot of students.

The problem being that 'a lot' is singular but 'students' are plural. I've tried saying both to see which feels more natural and 'are' sounds better to me but I have a hunch that it should be 'is'.

Come on you grammar boys........

That's a good question: 'are' is certainly more natural but is it right?

It if were 'a group of students' then you'd certainly need 'is' but 'lot' is a bit different, as it's a noun that's actually defining the number. I have no idea what the grammatical term for such a word is and I wouldn't begin to answer whether 'is' or 'are' is correct, I'm going to post that on grammar board and see if I can find an answer.

As for 'and' and 'but' starting sentences. At one of my first lectures at journalism college, the lecturer said "you can forget all that crap you learned at school about not starting sentences with 'and' and 'but'." And I have ever since.

 

[Pevenseagull]

There are many students.

 

[Reading Posh]

Folk often talk about 'plan' or 'planning ahead.'

Plans and planning are always about the future - 'ahead' is redundant.

Oh, and there's no such word as restauranteur - it's restaurateur!

 

[Crawley Boy]

So a team scores a goal when the ball goes through the posts, not when the referee signals that it has been given. (or after 14 seconds)

Thats my (probably incorrect) view on things.

Dictionary.com
goal ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gl)
n.
The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective. See Synonyms at intention.
Sports.
- The finish line of a race.
- A specified structure or zone into or over which players endeavor to advance a ball or puck.
- The score awarded for such an act.

It is not a goal until deemed such by an official.

 

[lost in london]

There are lots of students.

I saw a you'r on here the other day.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

When I lived in Italy, I was constantly pestered by students who wanted me to help them with their English Language homework.

The hardest task I was ever given was to explain when it was correct to say "I shall go to Florence" and when it was better to say "I will go to Florence".

Fortunately, Italian school text books provide a very clear explanation of how this rule works.

For the life of me, I cannot remember what it was. And I successfully completed a masters degree in linguistics.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

"Due to the rain, the cricket was abandoned"

"Owing to the rain, the cricket was abandoned".

One of these is correct. The other isn't. Or so I was taught.

Likewise ...

"The cricket was abandoned, due to the rain"

"The cricket was abandoned, owing to the rain".

 

[Icy Gull]

That's a good question: 'are' is certainly more natural but is it right?

It if were 'a group of students' then you'd certainly need 'is' but 'lot' is a bit different, as it's a noun that's actually defining the number. I have no idea what the grammatical term for such a word is and I wouldn't begin to answer whether 'is' or 'are' is correct, I'm going to post that on grammar board and see if I can find an answer.

As for 'and' and 'but' starting sentences. At one of my first lectures at journalism college, the lecturer said "you can forget all that crap you learned at school about not starting sentences with 'and' and 'but'." And I have ever since.

I was taught that you should never use "a lot" in a sentence (in the sense that you are using it) , which would solve your problem!


this was supposed to be referring to the Swiss Tony question

 

[The Large One]

I work as an English teacher in Central America. Today I had a very embarrasing moment when a student asked me a question and I wasn't sure of the answer. I've tried to find the answer in a book without success.

Should you say.........

1. There are a lot of students.
2. There is a lot of students.

The problem being that 'a lot' is singular but 'students' are plural. I've tried saying both to see which feels more natural and 'are' sounds better to me but I have a hunch that it should be 'is'.

Come on you grammar boys........

The word 'lot' is the important one. As there is only one lot, it should be singular.

Therefore, 'there is a lot of students'. Or you can say 'there are lots of students', or better still 'there are many students' as the word 'students' then becomes the subject.

Gwylan: for the sake of this phrase, the words 'lot' and 'group' mean the same thing. Therefore, the rule applies to both.