The Grammar Thread

[Silver Sonya]

This thread is here as reference.

Add to it one item at a time. Please keep the tone friendly/succinct/educational.

- c

[Silver Sonya]

There = a place that is not here.

They're = they are

Their = owned by them.

[Silver Sonya]

You're = you are

Your = owned by you

[seaneldon]

Chad...just write a book, will ya?


It's = contraction for "it is" or "it has"

Its = possessive pronoun, as in "The car lost its wheels."

[tINY]

Warmer = they sound someone who doesn't understand gain staging is looking for

Thicker = what people who don't understand mic placement want out of a pre-amp



-tINY

[Cosmic Closet]

Too....as in 'too much' (not 'to')

'Definitely' (not 'definately')

Guitars (not guitar's)..goes for all plurals.

[seaneldon]

So, it only took a handful of replies before someone listed "buzz words", while someone else made a reference to spelling errors rather than grammar...

Thread over?

[tINY]

That's how it rolls down here at the bottom of the sight....

You should see the "Which is the longest...?" thread.



-tINY

[Silver Sonya]

Everyone, seriously, please resist the impulse to pollute the thread with cleverness or nastiness.

I am trying to build a simple database that people can use as a reference, maybe a sticky someday. A couple of things have become clear to me from reading this website over time: (1) levels of education vary widely and (2) GS is an international site and many of the GS members speak English as a second language. I'm sympathetic on both counts. I happen to have a college education, but I regard this as a privilege and I'm very lucky. Not everyone is as fortunate. I don't look down on people who haven't had the opportunities I have had.

So I thought I'd try to start a helpful, easy-to-read thread. I'm trying to take a positive, non-derisive approach to the problem. I'm seriously hoping some people can learn from this thread. So, please, resist the impulse to be snarky or mean or OT.

On the internet, there are infinite opportunities to indulge those impulses. Y'know?

Sean's "It's/Its" post is the kind of thing I'm hoping for. I forgot about that one. Let's keep it going.

- c

[Silver Sonya]

[expanding on Cosmic Closet's post]

To = towards / the opposite of "from"
Too = also
Two = the number 2

[FeatheredSerpent]

A simple rule that will help in a lot of common cases (spelling, not grammar sorry, but it does my head in!)

"I before E except after C (with exceptions )

The thing that really bugs me is when people abbreviate 'preamplifiers' to 'pre's'.
Lose the apostrophe people!

It would be nice if everyone could also abbreviate 'microphone' to 'mic' instead of 'mike' but I guess with so many Americans that may be tough

But there's no 'K' in microphone

[christmasjones]

advice - to give an opinion from a point of view

advise - to inform someone of something

man, that one really REALLY gets me

i don't know why

[Sid Viscous]

Then-time
Than-difference
It's weird that people screw this up, but the ones that do, always do.

[True North]

now - I need to pee right now

know - you don't know nuthin you moron

[bcgood]

Verbs are among the most important words because they move the meaning of sentences along. Verbs show action of body or mind, occurrence, or a state of being.

Time- We work, we worked

Person- I work, she works

Number- one person works, two people work

Voice- she asks, she is asked

Mood- we see, if we saw

[Silver Sonya]

Originally Posted by Sid Viscous

Then-time
Than-difference
It's weird that people screw this up, but the ones that do, always do.

This is an important one and bears repeating. It is a really common mistake.

Then = a time that is not now (either the future or the past)
Than = a modifier connoting difference, often following a descriptor or adjective. Example: "The sun is brighter than the moon."

(Or in GS language: "The AKG C12 is brighter than the Coles 4038...")

- c

[drmmrboy]

You're tread a'reddy been dun. Your a little late.
Grammar issues....

[Silver Sonya]

I am aware of that thread but I wanted to have one that had a different tone. Less exasperated/harsh, more friendly/helpful. My ideal is that if you see some grammatically weak writing, you could just direct the author to this thread for a quick education.

[jeremy.c.]

except - with the exclusion of

accept - to receive

[drmmrboy]

Originally Posted by Silver Sonya

I am aware of that thread but I wanted to have one that had a different tone. Less exasperated/harsh, more friendly/helpful. My ideal is that if you see some grammatically weak writing, you could just direct the author to this thread for a quick education.

In that case, may I offer:

effect & affect

[Silver Sonya]

"must of" = bad

"must have" = good

- c

[dntknowsht]

Weather = refers to atmospheric conditions

Whether = introduces a possibility, a choice.

[opentune]

I learned all the stuff mentioned here (except for the mic placement by tINY) way
back in school and still can remember all that.... and i´m not a native speaker.

My english is definetely far from perfection, but i have the strong feeling that my grammar/spelling is above the average US level. How comes? Can someone explain that to me?

Although i have still problems with syntax and many of my posts are probably
difficult to understand, i don´t think i make all these mistakes listed here.

I don´t get it - can someone enlighten me? Don´t get me wrong, this isn´t
a complaint. It´s just that i don´t understand why many US americans have
such massive problems with spelling and grammar.

[matt thomas]

"None" takes the singular.

None of the mics IS good, as opposed to none of the mics ARE good.

Seriously, but everyone gets it wrong so it's pretty much accepted to use the plural these days. It comes from "None" = "not one".

narco

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by opentune

It´s just that i don´t understand why many US americans have
such massive problems with spelling and grammar.

any relation?



narco

[Jay-]

Ain't

Ain't is a contraction originally used for "am not", but also used for "is not", "are not", "has not", or "have not"
"Ain't", entry in Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, E. Ward Gilman, ed., (Merriam-Webster 1989

Jut toss this in for us stupid spellers... stick around long enough and its the norm.

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by Jay-

[COLOR="DarkRed"]
Jut toss this in for us stupid spellers... stick around long enough and its the norm.

Yeah, like "awful" originally came from "full of awe", but now means the opposite.

narco

[opentune]

Originally Posted by narco

any relation?

Man, that´s incredible. Wouldn´t have thought that "some people in the US
don´t have maps".

Crazy. Thanks for posting.

[tINY]

I think she needed a teleprompter....



-tINY

[opentune]

Originally Posted by Silver Sonya

"must of" = bad

"must have" = good

- c

Same thing i see often:

"could of" does not mean "could´ve"

it´s "could have"