cekkk wrote: But the decimal is hardly redundant. It alters the value. Gasoline is sold with a .9ยข in the price.
To a literate person, yes, it alters the meaning. To the average person, .99c is the same as 99c, so it's as if it isn't even there.
I don't remember ever seeing this as a child, so I'm completely confused as to how it started, let alone how it propagates itself like cancer. Maybe it's that pricing at 99c instead of a dollar seems cheaper, .99c seems cheaper than 99c. Beats me.
bucky1941 wrote: hanged or hung? Was he hanged or hung?
A picture is hung, but a murderer is hanged.
These past participles can be tricky, especially for me as I use a lot of the UK ones. I say "I learnt it in school" rather than "I learned it in school" which to my ears still sounds wrong, even after almost 40 years on this side of the pond! ( To me it sounds the same as "I sleeped in my new bed last night.")
These 'Strong Verbs', that form the past with a 'T' and or a change in the word rather than the 'Weak' ones that just add an 'ed' are an older form, learnt-learned, leant- leaned, crept- creeped etc and yet in some words I use the 'newer version' like 'dived' while N. Americans still use the old form 'dove'
Fascinating stuff, this English Language and how it is spoke!
I don't believe in astrology. I am a Gemini and
we're very skeptical.
bucky1941 wrote: hanged or hung? Was he hanged or hung?
A picture is hung, but a murderer is hanged.
These past participles can be tricky, especially for me as I use a lot of the UK ones. I say "I learnt it in school" rather than "I learned it in school" which to my ears still sounds wrong, even after almost 40 years on this side of the pond! ( To me it sounds the same as "I sleeped in my new bed last night.")
These 'Strong Verbs', that form the past with a 'T' and or a change in the word rather than the 'Weak' ones that just add an 'ed' are an older form, learnt-learned, leant- leaned, crept- creeped etc and yet in some words I use the 'newer version' like 'dived' while N. Americans still use the old form 'dove'
Fascinating stuff, this English Language and how it is spoke!
bucky1941 wrote: hanged or hung? Was he hanged or hung?
A picture is hung, but a murderer is hanged.
These past participles can be tricky, especially for me as I use a lot of the UK ones. I say "I learnt it in school" rather than "I learned it in school" which to my ears still sounds wrong, even after almost 40 years on this side of the pond! ( To me it sounds the same as "I sleeped in my new bed last night.")
These 'Strong Verbs', that form the past with a 'T' and or a change in the word rather than the 'Weak' ones that just add an 'ed' are an older form, learnt-learned, leant- leaned, crept- creeped etc and yet in some words I use the 'newer version' like 'dived' while N. Americans still use the old form 'dove'
Fascinating stuff, this English Language and how it is spoke!
Oh, how I love this thread! It helps me feel sane in the crazy world of dumbed-down speech. I have to literally stop myself from correcting people's posts on Facebook... Who goes and gets their "toes and nails did"?!?! Seriously, you graduated from high school for goodness sakes!
mowermech wrote: "What really bites my backside (besides tall dogs) are teachers who are intrusted with teaching their charges correct speech and can't even speak correctly themselves."
"INtrusted"??
Shouldn't that be "ENtrusted"?
A teacher who worked for me for a while referred to Concord, NH and Corncard. And the flower on her shoulder was an orchard not an orchid. Yeah, we 'intrust' these people to teach our children. Sad case.
Veebyes wrote: 'BRAND' new. What does BRAND mean. Something is new or it is not. Where does brand come into it?
Or: "Brand spanking new"
It's one of those un-needed qualifier words tacked onto a phrase, such as "extremely unique." What? The definition of "unique" isn't good enough to stand on its own?
If something's new, then brand new is what? Even MORE new than new? As in maybe two minutes off the end of the assembly line as opposed to two weeks on a store shelf?
FMCA# F355513. 40 foot Safari Continental, one slide, Cat powered Magnum Blue Max chassis, PAC brake PRXB, Allison MD3060, Aqua-Hot, 7.5 KW Quiet Diesel, Howard PCS, Velvet Ride suspension. 2006 Jeep Commander.
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