Paphos Life

Just an observation but I am impressed with members correct use of language on PL. When I receive an email from my daughter I sometimes have to resort to google for interpretation

I think there should be a comma after observation.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

I think there should be 2 a's in grammar. Sorry...

Anyway, it's grammar, not grammer!

josef k wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:14 pm I think there should be a comma after observation.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

Not before a "but" Josef - at least that was what I was taught i.e. but is a conjunction

Rita

and..... isn't it Google in stead of google?

LouiseCastricum wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:53 pm and..... isn't it Google in stead of google?

and (also a conjunction word) shouldn’t in stead be 'instead'

Goodness me, you lot don't take any prisoners, do you?

TLR wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 6:27 pm Goodness me, you lot don't take any prisoners, do you?

I think that's grammatically correct.

Best fred eva.

Q: What should you say to comfort a grammar nerd?





A: “There, their, they’re.”

And, I'd just like to mention this.

But, booger it, I forgot what I was going to say...

However, this thread has made very interesting reading!

AL

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:14 am You may care to enlighten yourself by reading the Merriam-Webster Dictionary's view on this topic: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-a ... ences-with

But (starting my sentence!) Merriam-Webster cannot be an authority on the English language, because it is American. Partridge, who is the English authority, states for 'and':

In general, avoid beginning a sentence with and: its use is justified only when a very effective addition is desired or when an arresting accumulation is to be concluded.

By extension, this dictum is applicable to other conjunctions.

Devil dixit

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:34 pm Enter "is it OK to use and at the beginning of a sentence" into Google and you will find that almost without exception, every single site says that it is; with the general proviso that you should not go overboard in the use of a preposition in this way.

Just goes to show that Google is not faultless. And is never a preposition; it is a conjunction!

It became acceptable to start a sentence with "And" some time ago. It is not a new thing. If you don't like it, I am afraid you will have to invent a time machine.

I should have posted a smiley after my post but it has encouraged some interesting responses

All languages evolve & change over time but if you could abolish some words or saying's which ones would you ban?

To get you started, here's some that would make my list:

Blue sky thinking
Capacity building
Framework agreements
Going forward
Place shaping
Stakeholders
Strategic partners/priorities
Transformational
Value-added
Worklessness

Why is it necessary for young people to start to answer a question with”so”? I find that extremely irritating as well.

We should rename this section “old farts blog”

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:58 pm You don't have to look far. Just perusing the Sunday Mail and Sunday Times over lunchtime I came across the examples below. In two of these instances, the word 'And' was used at the start of a paragraph.

The first two examples are acceptable but I'm adamant that you cannot start a new paragraph with and. It is not only bad grammar, it is senseless. A new paragraph is meant as a break in thought; And conjoins a plurality of thoughts. Of course, newspapers, like the ones quoted, are not the paragons of grammatical virtue. They lower themselves to populist levels.

Indeed. Imagine if we still spoke and thought like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT6cB6vMWYU