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| I believe in the principle of Due Process  |
As the New Year approaches, one of my New Years wishes is that we here on the Forum improve our writing, try to minimize, if not eliminate those spelling grammatical and stylistic malaprops that we often inflict on each other. To that end, I offer the following dozen suggestions from William Safire, a professional writer of some renown. 1. Remember to never split an infinitive. 2. The passive voice should never be used. 3. Do not put statements in the negative form. 4. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. 5. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. 6. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing. 7. A writer must not shift your point of view. 8. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) 9. Don't overuse exclamation marks!! 10. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. 11. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. 12. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. 13. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. 14. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. 15. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. 16. Always pick on the correct idiom. 17. The adverb always follows the verb. 18. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives. Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me. When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown | ||
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| Member |
These should be a sticky made. -------------------------- Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H L Mencken I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is. -- JALLEN 10/18/18 | |||
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The Unmanned Writer |
And always place a period inside the close quotation otherwise it is "wrong." Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own... | |||
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Fortified with Sleestak |
Winston Churchill once said that number 8 above was just the sort of English "up with which I will not put." I have the heart of a lion.......and a lifetime ban from the Toronto Zoo.- Unknown | |||
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| The Main Thing Is Not To Get Excited  |
To parrot a phrase, grammar is the hobgoblin of small minds. _______________________ | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
That's my favorite quote from Ralph Waldo Anderson. | |||
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| Three Generations of Service  |
19. Eschew Obfuscation. Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent. | |||
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| Three Generations of Service |
DAMN it, Para!  I read that and my mind filled in "Emerson" and I thought "I didn't know he said that." And then my brain caught up with my eyes. Real glad I wasn't mid-swallow on my coffee. Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent. | |||
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| Eschew Obfuscation |
Where have I seen that before? _____________________________________________________________________ “One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them.” – Thomas Sowell | |||
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| The Main Thing Is Not To Get Excited |
Mine too. He's been my go to philanderer for years and years. _______________________ | |||
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| Member |
In a similar vein, Benjamin Franklin (I think) said he had no respect for a man who could only spell a word one way. To which I respond: "Werd"! Edited to correct punctuation error. -------------------------- Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H L Mencken I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is. -- JALLEN 10/18/18 | |||
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| On the wrong side of the Mobius strip  |
One must not exclude the Oxford comma from any discussion about grammar. | |||
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| Member |
This is something up with which I shall not put! Seriously though, try some car forums. You need a translator for some of the posts. I try to proofread my own posts and clean anything up as best I can. I think spellcheck messes up some posts with a totally different word then I have to try to figure out what the person is trying to say. Since I was a shop teacher, we can always blame it on the English teachers. | |||
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Yeah, that M14 video guy... |
I understand numbers 9 and 18, but everything else was Greek. Did I mention that my mother was a spanish teacher and I failed Spanish in high school? Second languages were never my strong point. Tony. Owner, TonyBen, LLC, Type-07 FFL www.tonybenm14.com (Site under construction). e-mail: tonyben@tonybenm14.com | |||
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| The Main Thing Is Not To Get Excited |
Maybe this will help, give it a second to set up the mood of the thing, try again, read carefully and get a chuckle, maybe. _______________________ | |||
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DeadHead |
Ouch! I'm having flashbacks of sixth grade English class. "Being miserable and treating other people like dirt is every New Yorker's God-given right!" - GhostBusters II "You have all the tools you need. Don't blame them. Use them." - Dan Worrall | |||
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| Three Generations of Service |
I worked for the local school system for 7 years. I did IT support so I wasn't (thankfully...) involved in actual teaching. I used to daydream about how I'd run a school if I made all the rules. There were many, but very near the top of the list was that ALL teachers, regardless of subject, required proper grammar, punctuation and spelling in ANY classwork or homework. Of course, that would require all teachers to be cognizant of proper grammar, punctuation and spelling so that would never fly. Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent. | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
I'm sure that you know the story of the Texan who went to Harvard. The Texan, not yet knowing his way around, approached a Harvard English major and asked, "Can y'all tell me where the library's at?" The English major sneered at the Texan and replied, "My good man, at this university we do not end a sentence with a preposition." The Texan said, "All right. Where's it at, asshole?" הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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Member |
When I was in grade school, the teacher called on me and said, "Name two pronouns." I said, "Who, me?" | |||
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| Three Generations of Service |
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent. | |||
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