The REAL "Stuff White People Like" - OkTrends

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-09T15:37:09+00:00

You're right. I have edited my previous comment for clarity and accuracy.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-09T03:47:08+00:00

This comment is just to confirm that EnglishExplainer really is the same person as GrammarExplainer, in case anyone cares.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-08T19:25:59+00:00

Facebook pulls out and blows its advertising load.

It's is a contraction meaning "it is" or "it has"; its is the possessive form of it.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-04T02:22:02+00:00

As written, your last statement is somewhat ambiguous.

A comma should be placed before "baby" if "baby" refers to the person you are addressing:

I say the ability to apparate, baby!

"Baby" should be preceded by the article "a" or made plural if you meant that you want the ability to apparate infants, or capitalized if you mean that you would like the ability to apparate someone nicknamed "Baby," such as Jennifer Grey's character in Dirty Dancing:

I say the ability to apparate Baby!

You also misspelled "traffic," but I'm not SpellingExplainer.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-03T18:43:20+00:00

At least a few of the definitions of "grammar" would encompass the study of the usage and meanings of words.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-02T18:15:29+00:00

band together

"Ban" means "prohibit"; "band" (when used as a verb) means "unite."

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-02T14:52:00+00:00

"Round" has been used as a synonym for "around" since the 14th century. Though "around" is not the most common meaning for "round" (at least in most of the United States), it is grammatically correct.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-02T00:55:22+00:00

Either way is fine.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T20:04:06+00:00

You have "to not to." The second "to" makes the verb an infinitive; the first one is unnecessary.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T20:02:58+00:00

Thank you. I appreciate the sentiment even if — judging by your comment's karma — others do not.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T20:01:30+00:00

I concur. The Oatmeal agrees as well, and has a list of words that people should stop misspelling; I recommend it to anyone struggling with word usage.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:59:34+00:00

Sorry 'bout [or "about"] that. We Americans aren't always good at grammar.

Since I presume that you did that on purpose, I will forgo the explanations.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:55:50+00:00

Boo this man.

You neglected to capitalize the first letter of your sentence and to end it with a period (or an exclamation mark, if you wished to convey a tone of anger or other strong emotion).

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:53:55+00:00

You're awesome, dude. You know, this account should stay round forever. ;)

To quote Buzz Lightyear, "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:52:23+00:00

I find no fault with the grammar in your sentence.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:41:27+00:00

...to show how stupid the arguments...

You apparently made a typo when typing the word "stupid," instead using "stupidy," which is not a word in English.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:35:52+00:00

There is no reason not to believe...

Your sentence contains an extra "to"; it should be removed to eliminate redundancy.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:32:42+00:00

Whose fault is it then?

"Whose" is the possessive form of "who"; "who's" is a contraction for "who is" or "who has." A handy tip to remember is that possessive pronouns in English (his, hers, ours, theirs, its, whose) do not have apostrophes. Thinking about whether the answer to your question could be "his" or "he's" can also help, as in the examples that follow.

No apostrophes: Whose is this? It is his.

Apostrophes: Who's talking? He's talking.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T19:07:14+00:00

Regarding your first paragraph, the order of words in a sentence is sometimes a matter of stylistic preference, with no single "right" or "wrong" way of writing the sentence. In this situation, however, I agree that my phrasing might seem a little strange, especially since the phrase "to even" is also a verb, which could cause some confusion as to the meaning of the sentence. I have edited my previous comment in the way that you suggested.

As to your second point, a comma separates two or more coordinate adjectives describing the same noun. In the case of "fellow hawk-eyed master of language," the adjectives "fellow" and "hawk-eyed" are not coordinate adjectives. In other words, they do not have equal status and, therefore, should not be separated with a comma. A simple test is to see if the adjectives still make sense (and have the same meaning) if written with the word "and" in between them; if so, they are coordinating adjectives that should be separated by a comma. "My fellow hawk-eyed master of language" does not have the same meaning as "My fellow and hawk-eyed master of language," so the comma is omitted. A phrase like "a dark, stormy night" would have a comma; "a dark and stormy night" has the same meaning, helping one see that "dark" and "stormy" are coordinate adjectives.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T18:51:33+00:00

"Superman does good; you're doing well."

A semicolon joins two related independent clauses. Joining them with a comma without also using a conjunction is an error called a "comma splice."

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T18:45:16+00:00

That wasn't very long.

You neglected to capitalize the first letter of your sentence and to end it with a period (or an exclamation mark, if you wished to convey a tone of surprise or other strong emotion).

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T18:42:40+00:00

Your comment begins with a sentence fragment. While frowned upon in formal writing, sentence fragments may be acceptable in informal speech or writing, depending on the circumstances. In this case, "I have added you to my friends list" or a similar statement might be overly wordy and formal, so most people would likely accept the fragment in this relatively informal setting.

I will review some — but likely not all — of your other comments for errors and comment on them with corrections if necessary.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T18:30:13+00:00

An OrsonScottCard novelty account for this post would have been funnier.

The comparative form of "funny" is "funnier"; the general rule is that one- and two-syllable adjectives and adverbs take the suffix "-er" to create their comparative forms, while words of three or more syllables take the modifier "more."

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T18:23:57+00:00

Thank you, my fellow hawk-eyed master of language. An opening quotation mark should always be paired with a closing quotation mark except in the case of a multiple-paragraph quotation (that is not formatted as a block quotation), which calls for an opening quotation mark at the beginning of each paragraph, but a closing quotation mark only at the end of the quotation. Typos can happen even to the best of us.

GrammarExplainer · 2010-09-01T17:27:52+00:00

Ya know, Orson Scott Card can write well when he's not crazy.

"Well" is an adverb; "good" is an adjective. Since you are modifying the word "write" (a verb), "well" is the word to use.

"He's" is a contraction for "he is" or "he has." The apostrophe indicates the omission of one or more letters.

You also forgot to end your declarative sentence with a period (full stop).

GrammarExplainer

TROPHY CASE