The way you and I both learned leaves the last two open to ambiguity. Are they part of a list, or do they define the previous item in the list? The Oxford comma solves that.
Of course the official rule is that for countable things, like apples, we say fewer, as in, “Why are there fewer apples?” And for things that you can’t really count, you use less, as in “We need more dream time and less screen time.”...
I am a descriptivist overall, so I accept that language changes and evolves. However, people have to pass tests, get through job interviews, and come across as respectable, so I do support everyone learning what it expected, so they can achieve what they want in society.
I am going to continue doing what is traditionally correct. But I’m going to keep the cringe to myself when others do it. However, I have children and a faculty of youngish English professors under my direction. The traditional grammar will be enforced for them.
I could say that I, as the author of the sentence, perceived ‘posts’ as a unified entity. But that would be bullshitting you. I didn’t re-read before posting. I fixed it. Thanks.
Look in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and they’ll usually have -ize as the preferred spelling. The tendency in the 19th century was for American English with the Webster’s Dictionary to go with -ize and in Britain it was mixed. In the late 20th century, the BBC and the Guardian began to make the -ise spelling more mainstream in Britain. With the Internet, both spelling styles began to appear everywhere. However, its never been a clear cut rule. American English has words like “advise,” “surprise,” “compromise,” and “despise”.
I’m often using a variety of computers and apps throughout the day the have me going back and forth between dictionaries and spellings, so I find myself using a mishmash of both. I suspect that’s happening with a lot of people. When I am doing a project, I just note with style I need to use and remain consistent. Other then that all bets are off.
It is difficult for me to ascertain when the person I am communicating is using a logical fallacy to trick me into believing him or doubting my judgement, even when I realise it hours after the argument....
I taught my daughters the usual logical fallacies from a young age. While doing that I learned that while occasionally, they appear in pristine form (looking at you, Slippery Slope and No True Scotsman), usually, they come rather nuanced, often clustered together, and difficult to identify.
A great way to get good at them is watch Fox News and identify them as they come. You can watch other networks and find them, but for a constant stream, Fox is a goldmine.
Your final statement is very true, however there is a reason that Fox News had to defend themselves by claiming they are entertainment. Anyone who believes that Fox News does not have more logical fallacies than most other news really needs to assess their own cognitive biases. I can see logical fallacies on topics I agree with and they piss me off more because I believe that they throw discredit on the perspective that can be argued on it’s own merits.
Hello, me and my partner are visiting Osaka for a week and were interested if there are any good recommendations for fun things to do. Any good restaurants off the beaten path, nice places to walk, interesting museums/shops would be greatly appreciated. We will visit Nara and Kyoto as well while we are here....
To Oxford Comma or not to Oxford Comma
My Microsoft account at work made me re-think this because it is pushing me to add more commas that I usually do....
Less vs. Fewer (double post, please go to the other one.)
Accidently posted this twice. Lets stop adding to this one and go to the one with more comments
Less vs. Fewer
Of course the official rule is that for countable things, like apples, we say fewer, as in, “Why are there fewer apples?” And for things that you can’t really count, you use less, as in “We need more dream time and less screen time.”...
Hello members of English Usage and Grammar.
I see there are no comments here yet....
russian military losses 21.07.2023
How do I learn to detect logical fallacies in a conversation?
It is difficult for me to ascertain when the person I am communicating is using a logical fallacy to trick me into believing him or doubting my judgement, even when I realise it hours after the argument....
deleted_by_moderator
I very much want to reply to your posts, but at the moment I can't. So, I am posting my replies here, because it seems I can do that.
So Spookywagons. Here is the reply to your questions:...
Osaka first visit!
Hello, me and my partner are visiting Osaka for a week and were interested if there are any good recommendations for fun things to do. Any good restaurants off the beaten path, nice places to walk, interesting museums/shops would be greatly appreciated. We will visit Nara and Kyoto as well while we are here....
Sumatra beans seem hard to find recently in Starbucks, Mandheling French at Kaldi is a good replacement. (www.google.com)
Mandheling is a type of Sumatra and has the same low level of acidity as Starbucks Sumatra. (They are probably from similar beans.)...
What habits or practies have you adopted from cultures besides your own?
For example, I’m a white Jewish guy but I’ve adopted the Japanese practice of keeping dedicated house slippers at the front door.