Comments on: From the Mixed-Up Files of Joan Jett

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By: infant tyrone

infant tyrone — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:08:04 +0000

Wo + rose,

I did say I figured it out…it was me being slow on the uptake…not anything wrong with Her construction.

Possibly I was predisposed to the ambiguity ’cause I just got a copy of a Hofstadter book I hain’t red yit…
‘t’s called I Am a Strange Loop…
if I get out alive I’ll do a book review in the wreck hall.

By: Splint Chesthair

Splint Chesthair — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:18:07 +0000

Damn Noah, slapped down again, how many times will you stand up again? I’m kinda curious now.

By: another English teacher

another English teacher — Wed, 19 May 2010 04:44:38 +0000

I’m betting the kid’s still out there. Some parents never learn.

By: another English teacher

another English teacher — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:25:07 +0000

Noah,

You say “[i]n my opinion, the misuse of the plural verb has not traveled far enough along to have become correct.” Really? If you will kindly read the links I included in my comment below, you will see that it’s not a “misuse.” Moreover, use of the plural verb with “none” dates back at least to King Alfred the Great in the year 888 and appears in the King James Bible. It was used by Dryden and Burke, among others. I think it’s “traveled far enough along.”

Oh, and if those links aren’t enough for you, Noah, here’s another (from Merriam-Webster’s dictionary of English usage) : http://books.google.com/books?id=2yJusP0vrdgC&pg=PA662&vq=none&as_brr=1&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0#v=onepage&q=none&f=false

Lazy, stupid, and pompous — not a good combination, Noah. Get over yourself.

By: Canthz_B

Canthz_B — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:31:47 +0000

I isn’t got a clue what you all are talking about.

By: park rose

park rose — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:14:47 +0000

ty, there’s pedantic and there’s pedantic.

We all bow to the goddess, that being Kerry, of course. Then we all bow to the other goddess, she-who-can-rarely-be-faulted, that being ‘glo . . . or this . . . either way, you don’t mess with a deity, especially when your . . .or my . . . punctuation is as bad as this, or that

By: Woman on the Verge

Woman on the Verge — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:04:43 +0000

Ty, when you read glo’s entry, picture her pointing to the offending sentence. Seriously. Then it makes perfect sense.

By the way, don’t ever even think of hinting that she might be less than perfect. She’s anglophile.

By: infant tyrone

infant tyrone — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:55:49 +0000

Secondly, I’d like to tell you you’re a complete idiot and in this sentence, the plural verb is completely acceptable.

‘glo,
At the risk of exposing myself as a Douglas Hofstadter groupie, I hope when you said ‘this’ sentence you meant ‘that’ sentence (or ‘your’ sentence, meaning Noah’s).

I looked a couple times in your sentence for a plural anything before I realized you meant his sentence.

Keep up the absolutely smashing good work,
ty

By: park rose

park rose — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:48:07 +0000

so much depends, fac.

By: noah

noah — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:11:03 +0000

yawn. All the super-technical comments are right, in the sense that the English language is always amendable to multiple forms of usage. Thus, for example, “literally” has come in recent years to mean, “figuratively.” Similarly, by way of popular usage, there has been a significant uptick in the use of a plural verb along with a singular subject such as “none of us.” In my opinion, the misuse of the plural verb has not traveled far enough along to have become correct. I suppose, though, that the fact that English teachers (i.e., those who actually have thought about it) have come to accept this usage perhaps proves me wrong. Not that I think Emily is one such English teacher. She just got it “wrong.”

By: Dm

Dm — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:11:27 +0000

My little brother decided to run away when he was about six; my mother helped him pack my father’s large military bag, including lots of water. She figured it would take him about 20 minutes to push and drag it to the nearest neighbors, which estimate was spot on. I’ll never forget how cute he looked with that bag and his determined expression.