Posts tagged English

No Ethnocentrism In This Household

  • Adam: English is the only language that's normal.
  • Rashad: That's a very ethnocentric thing to say, Adam.
  • Adam: Oh. I'm sorry to all the other languages.
So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.
John Keating, Dead Poets Society
This quote is cannot be properly attributed to Shakespeare, it’s merely a bastardization of Helena’s words in Act II of All’s Well That Ends Well. The sentence structure of Shakespearean English is unique…thus the term exists. The proper quote is: “Oft expectation fails, and most oft thereWhere most it promises; and oft it hitsWhere hope is coldest, and despair most fits.” Regardless of their analogous nature, it’s folly to peg Shakespeare as the author. You’d be better off claiming it was Oscar Wilde, maybe you’d get away with it.

This quote is cannot be properly attributed to Shakespeare, it’s merely a bastardization of Helena’s words in Act II of All’s Well That Ends Well. The sentence structure of Shakespearean English is unique…thus the term exists. The proper quote is:

“Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises; and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits.”

Regardless of their analogous nature, it’s folly to peg Shakespeare as the author. You’d be better off claiming it was Oscar Wilde, maybe you’d get away with it.

Is there a difference between the two pronunciations of via? If so, in which situations do you use either pronunciation? — Asked by Anonymous

In Latin it was originally pronounced very close to wee-ah. There’s no difference in meaning when it’s pronounced v-eye-ah versus vee-ah. 

It’s Latin for “road”. Which is why it means “through” or “by means of” in English as a preposition.

“Yours” is already possessive though.

“Yours” is already possessive though.

workshoperotica

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ADDING AN APOSTROPHE S TO INDICATE PLURALITY.

MORE THAN ONE ASSHOLE = ASSHOLES. 

NOT ASSHOLE’S.

STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE.

fivethousandfathomss

Inbox is a noun.

Message is the appropriate verb. You illiterate fools.

Grammar Lesson #1

SOME OF YOU GUYS NEED TO GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.
I’m here to help.

“It’s” vs. “Its”

“It’s” is a contraction. Not a contraption, no; a contraction. That is, a shortening of a word, syllable, or word group via the omission of internal sounds or letters, and the inclusion of an apostrophe [‘].

Contractions are most commonly used to combine (contract) two or more words into one. Where the letters are dropped, you’ll find an apostrophe. E.g., “I am” becomes “I’m”. 

“It’s” simply represents the combination of it is or it has. 

  • “It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s your failing English grade!” employs the “it is” contraction.
  • “It’s been awful knowing you, good riddance,” uses “it has” as its contraction.

“Its” on the other hand, is a possessive pronoun. It is one word, and represents one word. It is used to indicate the possession by the noun which it replaces. 

Here “its” represents the possession of the English language:

  • “This English language is renowned for its proclivity to confuse.”