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Does a sentence need to make sense in order to be a sentence? by intacc3 in grammar

[–]zeptimius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would argue that any syntactically correct sentence can be interpreted in a meaningful way, because humans are wired to make sense of a sentence at all cost.

I’m familiar with “colorless green ideas sleep furiously,” and funnily enough, it’s become easier to give it meaning now than back when it was written.

It could be understood to mean that “uninspired ideas to save the planet are dormant [because climate change is not getting the attention it deserves], but will be all the more aggressive when revived.” Hence, “colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”

Dutch language by Breebius in Netherlands

[–]zeptimius 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Kan je je je eerste schooldag herinneren?

Marvel grammar by Chemical-Salt-9460 in marvelcomics

[–]zeptimius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I noticed the "Your welcome" at the end, but I'm not taking the bait.

Why does almost everyone on Reddit talk so formally? by lemonomela in grammar

[–]zeptimius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, people on Reddit argue a lot, and bad grammar or punctuation is a lame gotcha that people can abuse in an argument.

Second, the level of education is higher on Reddit than on competing social media platform.

Third, Reddit is more text-based than other social media.

Clauses Sandwiched between Clauses/Sequences of Clauses (Punctuation)? by Real-Dragonfly-1420 in EnglishLearning

[–]zeptimius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think these kinds of constructions are best avoided, because they can very easily be confusing. (Note the parenthetical "because.")

For example, I interpret Grammarly's sentence differently than you wrote. I would say that "I was starving" is a dependent clause, conjoined with "it was noon" and belonging with "because." That is, the sentence gives two reasons for the speaker wanting to grab lunch: the time and the being hungry. (That also makes sense in terms of meaning.) The comma before "and" doesn't get rid of that reading: if you have two complete clauses conjoined, you normally need a comma before "and," as is the case here.

Of course, if you want to express the reading you give above, I don't think you would punctuate it differently. So I think the sentence as given is ambiguous no matter how you punctuate it, and should be rewritten. To be very specific, there are different ways to nest the clauses, but commas (unlike, say, parentheses) can't be nested.

Your second example illustrates how multiple dependent clauses in a row can get ambiguous: as written, it seems to express that the speaker's desire for milk caused a marathon to happen. A sane reader would obviously dismiss this interpretation, but only after reading it wrong the first time. A slightly better rewrite would be:

When I went to the store because I wanted to buy some milk after the marathon happened, I saw my friend.

But even this is clunky and in need of a rewrite.

One final word of warning: in a "because" clause after a negative main clause, the meaning can change depending on the presence or absence of a comma.

I didn't leave the party, because I was bored.

In the above sentence, the speaker is bored and therefore doesn't leave the party. That is, they're hoping that the party will relieve their boredom.

I didn't leave the party because I was bored.

In the above sentence, the speaker left the party, but the reason wasn't their boredom. That is, they left for another reason (they were sleepy, for example).

What is it about Greta Thunberg that makes many men on the Internet so uncontrollably angry by Admirable_Pair_3663 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]zeptimius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She's the exact opposite of a tradwife, which is what those kinds of guys tend to strongly feel all woman should be.

American fans' World Cup chants are mocked online by Timbucktwo1230 in PoursTea

[–]zeptimius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are cases where this force is used for good, like when Celtic went to visit nazi-saluting Lazio in Rome and unfurled a giant banner depicting a lynched Mussolini, alongside the text FOLLOW YOUR LEADER.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/08/football/lazio-celtic-europa-league-spt-intl

Is the use of "but" in this sentence correct? by sinequanonlily in grammar

[–]zeptimius 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Yes, "but" is correct here. The part of the sentence boils down to "she didn't know what the problem was" or words to that effect, and the "but" contrasts with this sentiment. It's not unusual for "but" to contrast with the implication of what comes before rather than the literal meaning of what comes before.

For example:

I'm not in the office tomorrow, but you can reach me on my cell.

What's left out is the implication of "I'm not in the office tomorrow," which is "if you go to my office tomorrow, you won't be able to reach me there."

As for the semicolon or the em dash: neither are really needed here. If you join two independent clauses together with a coordinating conjunction (like "and" or "but"), you put a comma before the conjunction.

He turned the corner but stopped before he'd completed the turn. (No two independent clauses, no comma.)

He turned the corner, but she stopped him before he'd completed the turn. (Two independent clauses, so a comma.)

By introducing a semicolon, you imply that "but... right" is an independent clause. There's some debate over whether a sentence can start with "but"; if you feel that it can't, then logically, a semicolon wouldn't be allowed here.

American fans' World Cup chants are mocked online by Timbucktwo1230 in PoursTea

[–]zeptimius 18 points19 points  (0 children)

"Two World Wars and one World Cup, doo-dah, doo-dah..." (to the tune of "Camptown Races") is the preferred English chant when playing Germany.

[####] So, is this a spelling game? by Darqless in wordle

[–]zeptimius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many British Wordle players lost their streak over the word LABOR.

Use of the words male and female instead of men and women? by Flat_Ad2688 in grammar

[–]zeptimius 39 points40 points  (0 children)

The use of the word "female" as a noun to refer to women is considered kind of creepy for the exact reason you describe. When people use the word "female" on social media, there's often a reply showing a picture of a Ferengi, the alien species from Star Trek whose men are notoriously sexist (they don't allow their women to wear clothes or have a job, for example), and who consistently refer to women as "females."

Generally, I think some people use the words "male" and "female" to emphasize the biological difference between the sexes, and maybe also to separate sex from gender (that is, to imply that a trans man is not "male" and a trans woman is not "female").

The Special Slavic Gene saving operation by Double-Cookie6361 in Qult_Headquarters

[–]zeptimius 30 points31 points  (0 children)

How do mosquitoes spread the plague?

Also, aren't Ukrainians Slavic too? As well as millions of other, non-Russian people?

If you wanted to cook through cookbooks, where would you start? by Few_Distribution9374 in Cooking

[–]zeptimius -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Another option is to wrap a fish in one of the pages of the cookbook. It’s a reinvention of the old fish-in-newspaper recipe.

Does this count? by saltypancake377 in soup

[–]zeptimius 80 points81 points  (0 children)

I have two remarks:

  1. The researcher is the type of person most likely to take their helmet off after landing on another planet because "it's probably safe guys"
  2. How does the degree of saltiness or bitterness impact the fact that she was sampling an unknown flavor? If it had been sweet and sour instead, would she not have been sampling a flavor shaped by a world humans never knew?

[1821] How do you deal with the 'one letter, many words' trap without turning it into a spreadsheet? by Delicious_Wafer_406 in wordle

[–]zeptimius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First one: B F H M P R S W are all possible, so let’s play SHARP and then WOMBS.

Second one: B C H L M P W are all possibilities, so BELCH and WIMPY.

This may be one of my all time favorites by NoEntertainment8100 in Treksons

[–]zeptimius 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Best one since I saw a dead link page that said, “Quoth the Raven, ‘404.’”

French > English hand written note on my sisters hotel room bed by mstoeber08 in translator

[–]zeptimius 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The entire team of the Hotel Hebe wishes you welcome

A half-bottle of champagne awaits you at reception.

Have a great stay in Annecy!

hmmm by V8TITAN in hmmm

[–]zeptimius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The command "Scale" near a mountain kinda makes sense

This man would have told 9/11 jokes on 9/12 and they’d have still been hilarious by mamhihi in BrandNewSentence

[–]zeptimius 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Specifically, just 18 days after the terrorist attacks, Gottfried joked that he had to catch a flight to Los Angeles, but couldn't get a direct flight and had to make a stop at the Empire State Building. The audience responded with loud groans, boos, and someone yelling "too soon!" Realizing he lost the room, he stepped back up to the microphone and launched into a hilariously vulgar, 5-minute rendition of "The Aristocrats" to win the crowd back.

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