Topic: Pedant's Corner

[OllieC]

Anyone?

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

don't understand. Is this for people on the Sex Offenders Register?

I love saving "Data ARE...", but then I also say "The Team ARE...." Is that what you're on about?

[OllieC]

Inspired by a correction saddad made to Barnie the Owl, IIRC... I just thought it would be nice for some of us to get certain pedantry out of our system(s)... see topic on Blossom End Rot...

Now, in terms of the points you raise RT, I think it should be called the "Sex Offender's Register" to give a greater degree of ownership & instill a sense of responsibility in the aforementioned offenders.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I did wonder about the apostrophe. You envisage something like the big book on "This is your life"? Perhaps we should move on to something else.

I love semi-colons

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-colons-and-semi-colons

[asbean]

I'm an English teacher. It's been a long week, so don't get me started  :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[Georgie]

I'm an English teacher. It's been a long week, so don't get me started  :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

Superfluous comma after 'week' I'd say. ;)

G x

[Palustris]

The Pedants are revolting!

[asbean]

And so are you  ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

[valmarg]

I love saving "Data ARE...", but then I also say "The Team ARE...." Is that what you're on about?

Yes, because datum is.

You are wrong with 'the team are'.  A team is singular, therefore the team 'is'.   Members of the team 'are'.

valmarg

[Melbourne12]

I still think that "simplistic" should be reserved for descriptions of herbal remedies, and that "busses" are smacking kisses, not a form of public transport.

But what do I know?

[Palustris]

I must of mist that. Your rite their!

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I love saving "Data ARE...", but then I also say "The Team ARE...." Is that what you're on about?

Yes, because datum is.

You are wrong with 'the team are'.  A team is singular, therefore the team 'is'.   Members of the team 'are'.

valmarg

no that's what I mean. Data is plural. Team is singular.  I choose to recognise one but not the other. etc etc

[grawrc]

Except that, like "family", "team" is a collective noun and so can be used with either a singular or a plural verb.

Do you pronounce it day-ta or dah-ta? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[lorna]

Crikey no more posts from me cos me English ain't velly good ;D

[valmarg]

Except that, like "family", "team" is a collective noun and so can be used with either a singular or a plural verb.

Do you pronounce it day-ta or dah-ta? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I say tomAto, you say tomaato
I say potAto you say potato,
lets call the whole thing off ;D

valmarg

[betula]

Except that, like "family", "team" is a collective noun and so can be used with either a singular or a plural verb.

Do you pronounce it day-ta or dah-ta? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I think it should strictly speaking be dah-ta because the root of the noun datum is from the Latin verb dah-re (spelt dare ),to give.....this is via my husband but he is also a self-confessed pedant! :)...................I am not

[grawrc]

...but if you're a trekkie... rofl



.. and in that case only singular verbs would be appropriate, although I believe that on one episode he has a daughter!  ;D ;D

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

no i'm sorry,  if you think "the team are" is right, then we're all going to hell in a handcart
Nothing wrong with a split infinitive - it just became a problem when we tried to apply Latin grammar rules to English

on the subject of pronunciation- there was a nice new word in the Daily Telegraph last week - someone who is obsessed with buses and coaches is called an "omnibolist". Trouble is, I can't drop this nugget into conversations until I know whether it's pronounced omni-boll-ist, om-nibblist.  ;D

[grawrc]

From wikipedia ( my italics):
Metonymic merging of grammatical number

Main articles: Synesis and Plurale tantum
Two good examples of collective nouns are "team" and "government," which are both words referring to groups of (usually) people. Both "team" and "government" are count nouns. (Consider: "one team," "two teams," "most teams"; "one government," "two governments," "many governments"). However, confusion often stems from the fact that plural verb forms can often be used with the singular forms of these count nouns (for example: "The team have finished the project"). Conversely, singular verb forms can often be used with nouns ending in "-s" that were once considered plural (for example: "Physics is my favorite academic subject"). This apparent "number mismatch" is actually a quite natural and logical feature of human language, and its mechanism is a subtle metonymic shift in the thoughts underlying the words.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

Wiki seems to say it's OK because a lot of people do it

so this is OK - "the Manchester United team are overpaid"

but also "This packet of hob-nobs are delicious"

how's that for a subtle metonymic shift