Do grammatical errors bother you? - Page 16

KarenH · 10-26-2010, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

I think I have heard that type of grammar so often, that I would have failed to notice. It doesn't sound good though.

Should it have been 'three times more Kindles have been sold this year than last year' ?

If I were writing it I would probably use "three times as many Kindles have been sold this year as last year", but I think it would be correct either way.

My understanding is that 'as many...as' (including multiples - three times as many as) or 'more (or less)...than' are correct, but 'as many...than' is not.

lene1949 · 10-26-2010, 02:26 AM

I would have said 'compared to'

HarryT · 10-26-2010, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenH

Earlier this evening, in a story on the local news broadcast about the Kindle's upcoming lending function, I heard a great example of one of my pet peeves. The sentence that made me cringe was "Three times as many Kindles have been sold this year than last year."

I've never claimed to know all the grammar rules or use perfect grammar all the time, but something that glaring really grates on my nerves. Unfortunately, I've been seeing and hearing it more and more frequently lately.

I have no problems at all with this one. "than" is the correct conjunction to use in a statement of comparison:

John is taller than Jane.
Harry earns more money than I do.
Amazon sold three times more Kindles this year than last year.

What is it that you don't like about it?

KarenH · 10-26-2010, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have no problems at all with this one. "than" is the correct conjunction to use in a statement of comparison:

John is taller than Jane.
Harry earns more money than I do.
Amazon sold three times more Kindles this year than last year.

What is it that you don't like about it?

I would have been fine with that, but what they said was 'three times as many', not 'three times more'. As I mentioned previously, 'more (or less) than' works, and 'as many as' works, but 'as many than' doesn't.

HarryT · 10-26-2010, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenH

I would have been fine with that, but what they said was 'three times as many', not 'three times more'. As I mentioned previously, 'more (or less) than' works, and 'as many as' works, but 'as many than' doesn't.

OK, sorry, I missed that. Yes, you're right: "more ... than ...", but "as many ... as ...".

Lo Zeno · 10-26-2010, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrscoach

Only one ending punctuation would be needed.

She moved towards him and said "Don't do that again." or She moved towards him and said "Don't do that again!"

Here is one key difference from British and American English, that you just highlighted:
when two full stops are concurrent (one for the quoted sentence, and one for the quoting sentence), of course only one would be needed; the difference is, you wrote it INSIDE the quote:
She moved towards him and said "Don't do that again."
A British would write it OUTSIDE the quote:
She moved towards him and said "Don't do that again".

It's as if in American English the quoted sentence takes precedence, and in British English the quoting, or enveloping, sentence takes precedence.

HarryT · 10-26-2010, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lo Zeno

Here is one key difference from British and American English, that you just highlighted:
when two full stops are concurrent (one for the quoted sentence, and one for the quoting sentence), of course only one would be needed; the difference is, you wrote it INSIDE the quote:
She moved towards him and said "Don't do that again."
A British would write it OUTSIDE the quote:
She moved towards him and said "Don't do that again".

That depends. In Britain we would write the full stop inside the quote if it's part of the text being quoted. In this case, it's debatable whether or not it is.

orwell2k · 10-26-2010, 06:58 AM

Not really a grammar gripe, rather a word usage gripe. And I know English is a 'living' language contantly evolving, but do we really need new past-tense words like 'lighted'? I have read numerous books with statements like:

He lighted the cigarette...
It was a well-lighted street...

What happened to lit? I'm sure it should be 'he lit a cigarette' and 'it was a well-lit street' - or am I going crazy?

Lady Fitzgerald · 10-26-2010, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orwell2k

Not really a grammar gripe, rather a word usage gripe. And I know English is a 'living' language contantly evolving, but do we really need new past-tense words like 'lighted'? I have read numerous books with statements like:

He lighted the cigarette...
It was a well-lighted street...

What happened to lit? I'm sure it should be 'he lit a cigarette' and 'it was a well-lit street' - or am I going crazy?

Actually, lighted goes back to the 12c.

HarryT · 10-26-2010, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

Actually, lighted goes back to the 12c.

This is a matter of "strong" and "weak" verbs. A strong verb forms its past tense by changing its form, eg: swim -> swam. A weak verb forms its past tense by adding "-ed" to the end.

Many verbs, have both strong and weak forms, and "light" is an example of such a verb: "lit" and "lighted" are both valid.

mrscoach · 10-26-2010, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenH

Earlier this evening, in a story on the local news broadcast about the Kindle's upcoming lending function, I heard a great example of one of my pet peeves. The sentence that made me cringe was "Three times as many Kindles have been sold this year than last year."

I've never claimed to know all the grammar rules or use perfect grammar all the time, but something that glaring really grates on my nerves. Unfortunately, I've been seeing and hearing it more and more frequently lately.

The reason this seems wrong is that they are comparing how many Kindles were sold to a year, not to how many Kindles were sold that year. It might have been better to say "Three times as many Kindles were sold this year as were sold last year."

Apples to oranges.

supermighty · 10-26-2010, 06:41 PM

But "lighted" just sounds weird to me.

Maybe it's just because I talk more than I write, so when I read things I judge them against my spoken language rather than my written language.

varelov · 10-27-2010, 12:44 AM

You bet mistakes in grammar bother me.

Bikeridr · 10-27-2010, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varelov

You bet mistakes in grammar bother me.

Shouldn't it be "You bet , mistakes in grammar bother me." ?

GeoffC · 10-27-2010, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bikeridr

Shouldn't it be "You bet , mistakes in grammar bother me." ?

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10-26-2010, 02:26 AM	#227
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	I would have said 'compared to'

10-26-2010, 06:58 AM	#233
orwell2k Addict Posts: 357 Karma: 1112 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Euroland Device: PocketBook 360°, BeBook (Hanlin V3), iRex DR1000S, iPad	Not really a grammar gripe, rather a word usage gripe. And I know English is a 'living' language contantly evolving, but do we really need new past-tense words like 'lighted'? I have read numerous books with statements like: He lighted the cigarette... It was a well-lighted street... What happened to lit? I'm sure it should be 'he lit a cigarette' and 'it was a well-lit street' - or am I going crazy?

10-26-2010, 06:41 PM	#237
supermighty Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 6384806 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walled City Device: Kobo Libre 2	But "lighted" just sounds weird to me. Maybe it's just because I talk more than I write, so when I read things I judge them against my spoken language rather than my written language.

10-27-2010, 12:44 AM	#238
varelov Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 1590 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: nook	You bet mistakes in grammar bother me.

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