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Author Topic: Quotes from work  (Read 188972 times)

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Offline Jonathon

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #775 on: September 23, 2010, 02:44:48 PM »
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Rallying to the cause, a formal organization composed of single young men and women under the age of thirty known as the Young Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Relief Society of Nauvoo was formally organized on March 21, 1843. (emphasis mine)

*sigh*

Nice dangling participle too.
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Offline Jonathon

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #776 on: September 23, 2010, 03:00:40 PM »
It's also a good example of what I consider to be rather rote and superficial editing: the previous editing changed the author's original "comprised of" to "composed of" and left everything else.
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Offline BlackBlade

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #777 on: September 23, 2010, 03:08:30 PM »
Are there situations where comprised is a better word in a sentence rather than composed?
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

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Offline Jonathon

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #778 on: September 23, 2010, 03:16:54 PM »
Yes. The traditional definition of comprise is essentially 'to be composed of', so it doesn't really work as a substitute for compose. According to the traditional rule, one could say that the fifty states compose the United States and that the United States comprises the fifty states, but not that the United States is comprised of fifty states. But people have been using "comprised of" for over two hundred years, and I don't think there's any going back. In fact, I'd say that at least 90 percent of the time when I see some form of comprise in unedited writing, it's in the traditionally incorrect use.

Personally, I would have left "comprised of" in there. I figure if 90 percent of our authors (who nearly all have PhDs) use it in the so-called incorrect way, then it's not worth changing. But what bugs me is when editors seize on usage shibboleths like this one, dutifully correcting them all, while passing over more fundamental semantic and structural problems.
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Offline pooka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #779 on: September 23, 2010, 06:18:13 PM »
Here here.   ;)
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline BlackBlade

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #780 on: September 23, 2010, 06:21:26 PM »
Thanks Jon.
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline Jonathon

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #781 on: September 28, 2010, 09:05:34 AM »
I just came across the phrase "age-group" in something I'm editing, and I noticed that someone had stuck a hyphen in it. Well, that's obviously wrong, I thought, so I struck it out. But then I looked it up in Merriam-Webster just to be safe, and lo and behold, they have it with a hyphen. Blech. I think I hate that worse than good-bye.
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Offline pooka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #782 on: September 28, 2010, 09:50:21 AM »
Agegroup looks weird because of the proximate gs.
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline Jonathon

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #783 on: September 28, 2010, 09:57:48 AM »
I'm talking about age group versus age-group. I wouldn't make it a closed compound.
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Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #784 on: October 02, 2010, 05:25:38 PM »
One of my students is fond of writing in English on her facebook, which I think is a great way to practice. I'm still trying to figure out what today's status update means, though:

"I like today.

BUT..........

I have an annoying cousin.
...
Today, the collapse of the Cold War as a smile"
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline rivka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #785 on: October 03, 2010, 12:20:37 AM »
Any chance "smile" was meant to be "simile"?
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Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #786 on: October 03, 2010, 02:16:55 AM »
Maybe. Pretty sure she doesn't know what simile means, but perhaps.
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline rivka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #787 on: October 03, 2010, 02:23:47 AM »
Pretty sure she doesn't know what simile means
This occurred to me -- it's a pretty advanced word. But it would make so much more sense!
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Offline BlackBlade

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #788 on: October 03, 2010, 04:03:12 AM »
One of my teachers over the summer said she found it endlessly amusing that often, when I was speaking Mandarin, I would make sentences that were a juxtaposition of formal, and informal words.
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #789 on: October 06, 2010, 01:52:57 AM »
Today's quiz: "Use these words in a sentence that explains the meaning."

thrive
He thrived my sister three days ago and I felt anxious.

allergic
He never eats fish because it's allergic to him.

coincidence
I think the word "coincidence" is a pretty hard word.
(My response: What a coincidence! I think so too!)

allergic
Kevin lobster is allergic to lobster. What a strange!
(sadly, this student did not have an answer for the word coincidence)

coincidence
All of us like Jeff because he has coincidence.

mood
The teacher blamed us when we didn't do our homework. I think it's a good mood for us.

disgusted
He is such a disgusted person.
(technically correct, but probably not what you meant.)

disgusted
Some people like to try disgusted food because this can make their life more exciting.

allergic
I am allergic to the doll's fur, so I can't approach these dolls.
(Maybe these are Teen Wolf dolls)

allergic
Will you feel allergic about any seafood?

They're actually very good students. I just find their phrasing awful cute. Also, just about every student's sentence for the word mood was about a math teacher and students who got bad grades. Coincidentally, math is the class they have right before mine . . .
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline rivka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #790 on: October 06, 2010, 06:55:28 AM »
I think I too might be anxious if someone were thriving my sister.
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #791 on: October 06, 2010, 07:40:23 AM »
I know! It made me wonder if I really knew the meaning because all the sudden it seemed very sinister.
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline BlackBlade

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #792 on: October 06, 2010, 09:41:09 AM »
Quote
mood
The teacher blamed us when we didn't do our homework. I think it's a good mood for us.
To be fair, I think the student the student went wrong when they said, "good mood" instead of, "appropriate mood".

So, "I think it's the appropriate mood towards us."
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone

Offline Nighthawk

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #793 on: October 06, 2010, 10:09:19 AM »
Quote
I think the word "coincidence" is a pretty hard word.

If one answered that for every word, would he pass? I mean, it technically is correct and in a sentence...  <_<
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Offline rivka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #794 on: October 06, 2010, 10:15:44 AM »
Not a "sentence that explains the meaning".
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Nighthawk

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #795 on: October 06, 2010, 10:17:27 AM »
I fail! :P
"When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer..."

Offline pooka

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #796 on: October 06, 2010, 10:37:29 AM »
Were we really after a sentence that explains the meaning or a sentence that demonstrates an understanding of the meaning?
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #797 on: October 06, 2010, 03:59:15 PM »
I don't think they would understand "a sentence that demonstrates an understanding of the meaning."
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline Annie Subjunctive

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #798 on: October 09, 2010, 08:26:01 AM »
I can always tell when my students use Google translate
Quote
Jesus Christ
1.To save the world,he was nails tight in ten type cases.
I dunno, call it a sixth sense or something . . .
"It is true, however, that the opposite of Little Rock, Arkansas is Boulder, Colorado." - Tante

Offline BlackBlade

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Re: Quotes from work
« Reply #799 on: October 09, 2010, 08:36:55 AM »
I can always tell when my students use Google translate
Quote
Jesus Christ
1.To save the world,he was nails tight in ten type cases.
I dunno, call it a sixth sense or something . . .
I wish I had a job where I could read funny things like that.
Kyrgyzstan, is the homeland of the Kyrgyzs, a people best known for cheating at Scrabble. -Tante Shvester

What, you expected us to be badly injured or dead, and flying blind to boot? You're the one who told us all to be Awesome. -Brinestone