#266400 - 29/09/2005 19:30
Today's lesson
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veteran
Registered: 21/03/2002
Posts: 1424
Loc: MA but Irish born
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Never ever assume you have support on a product, even if this is a product your company makes 
After alot of jumping through hoops I know that even though I can get the software for free we actually have to specifically purchase support, ie take it from one pocket and put it into the other.
Now that I am over the hump with this I can see the funny side, but it was quite frustrating earlier in the day.
Grammar question: Is the correct spelling "alot" or "a lot" when referring to many of an item?
Edited by Phoenix42 (30/09/2005 00:13)
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#266401 - 29/09/2005 20:06
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: Phoenix42]
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veteran
Registered: 19/06/2000
Posts: 1495
Loc: US: CA
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"grammar"
"referring"
"a lot" - Always two words, "alot" isn't a word at all.
Oh, and it should be "Today's Lesson" too. 
http://yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html
Edited by ricin (29/09/2005 20:25)
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#266404 - 30/09/2005 12:42
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Since I was Too Slow(TM), I'll just add that "alot" is simply not a word. It's not one of those things where you have to wonder if it's the right word for a situation. It never is.
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Bitt Faulk
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#266405 - 30/09/2005 14:40
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
I'll just add that "alot" is simply not a word. It's not one of those things where you have to wonder if it's the right word for a situation. It never is.
Except when it's "allot".
Peter
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#266406 - 30/09/2005 14:54
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: peter]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Quote:
Quote:
I'll just add that "alot" is simply not a word. It's not one of those things where you have to wonder if it's the right word for a situation. It never is.
Except when it's "allot".
...and used as a verb instead of an adjective.
*edit*
I wanted to mention that I am thankful for my 4th grade teacher. One of her biggest pet peeves was "alot," and she had a large poster with dozens of alternative words and phrases. She just retired after 45 years of teaching, and remains the best teacher I've ever had.
Edited by Dignan (30/09/2005 14:56)
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Matt
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#266407 - 30/09/2005 14:57
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: peter]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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But I trump you all with this fix:
Quote:
Never, ever assume ...
<maniacal laughter>
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#266408 - 30/09/2005 15:19
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: Robotic]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Hmm. I've been thinking about this one and I think you're wrong. I think it should be either "never ever assume" or "never, ever, assume". The first I think is probably more accurate to modern usage as a colloquialism; it's probably very close to being a hyphenated word. The second makes more grammatical sense as "ever" is being used to parenthetically refine "never" (and specifically isn't a second adverb for "assume", since "never" and "ever" are antonyms), but I'm having trouble coming up with a parallel using different words, which is why I'm leaning towards colloquialism.
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Bitt Faulk
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#266409 - 30/09/2005 15:33
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: wfaulk]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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I think your point is very, very well thought out, but I would never, ever put a comma after my second 'very'. Would you?
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#266410 - 30/09/2005 15:48
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
I'm having trouble coming up with a parallel using different words, which is why I'm leaning towards colloquialism.
"Never, ever, assume"
"Quietly, so as not to wake the baby, he left the house"
Both commas are required, IMO. "Very, very quietly" is, as Bitt says, a different situation: two adverbs forming a comma-separated list, with only one comma required.
Peter
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#266411 - 30/09/2005 15:52
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: Robotic]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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When I was learning English in the late 40's/Early 50's, we were taught that the only use of the word "lot" was as an item or items in an auction: To use it to describe "a large number of" was a no, no of the level of "Nearly unique".
But like so many things that, and the reason for it, is lost in modern usage.
My grandmother referred to "An alarum clock" and a removal truck/lorry, as a "pantechnican"!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#266413 - 30/09/2005 17:09
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: peter]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Quote:
"Very, very quietly" is, as Bitt says, a different situation: two adverbs forming a comma-separated list, with only one comma required.
Actually, many people consider the second "very" to be associated with the first "very", requiring two commas again. A less controversial example would be "He slowly, quietly left the house."
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Bitt Faulk
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#266414 - 30/09/2005 17:13
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Quote:
a no, no of the level of "Nearly unique".
I've never understood this one. I totally agree with "very unique". "Unique" is a specific state the only state beyond which is nonexistant, but one can approach it. Surely if there is one thing of its kind in the universe it's unique. But can't something where two exist be "nearly unique"?
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Bitt Faulk
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#266415 - 30/09/2005 18:03
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: wfaulk]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Right behind you on that one Bitt! Maybe, like "lot" it just gave English teachers something to pad out lectures with.
Just to throw another log on to the fire: My Uncle, a Cambridge classics scholar, was permanently writing to the Beeb and the press to complain about the use of: "The Hoi Polloi", "Hoi" being the Greek for the, hence "The, the Polloi"!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#266416 - 30/09/2005 18:12
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: wfaulk]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 25/08/2000
Posts: 2413
Loc: NH USA
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Didn't we discuss the 'very unique' in a long thread a few years ago? Aaah, yes, here it is. The old Hummer H2 article.
-Zeke
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#266417 - 01/10/2005 09:22
Re: Todays lesson
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
writing to the Beeb and the press to complain
I couldn't help noticing that following the recent death of Simon Wiesenthal, who survived a concentration camp in WW2 and thus became a staunch international advocate of correct hyphenation, the BBC web site initially reported the death of the famous "Nazi hunter", but within a couple of hours they'd obviously received enough aggrieved emails to change it to "Nazi-hunter".
Peter
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