Comments on: Everything You Need to Know about Grammar

By: The Bad Phrase(s) List | The Truth About Grammar

The Bad Phrase(s) List | The Truth About Grammar — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:18:39 +0000

[...] the War on Error Skip to content HomeAbout UsArchivesDo You Want to Be a Technical Communicator?Everything You Need to Know about GrammarPrivacy PolicyThe Stern Style GuideSite Map ← Attack of the Killer Hyphens Grammar War [...]

By: Daniel_Stern

Daniel_Stern — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:01:46 +0000

The calling out of Republicans is all in fun (though Republicans may disagree). As to the overwhelming pronunciation of "lawyer" (and "sawyer")—about as few people say "lawww-yer" as actually aspirate the "wh" in words like "white" and "whether" and "whippersnapper"—I don't regard it as lazy or otherwise problematic. The progression from the "aw" vowell at the end of the first syllable to the "yə" diphthong at the start of the second syllable just naturally morphs into a single diphthong—"oy"—without a subsequent "vey".

What causes me much greater annoyance is the mispronunciation of "warrior" to rhyme with "lawyer" and "sawyer". No, it's not a "woyer", it's a warrior; there are syllables in there, START SAYIN' 'EM!

I'm just saying.

By: Daniel_Stern

Daniel_Stern — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 03:54:05 +0000

The one you say you've most often heard is wrong; it improperly moves a phoneme out of alignment. "Behaviour" is pronounced "bə-HAYV-yər" (or, slowly and without the schwa, "be-HAYV-ee-ur"). It is not written "behavory", so it is not pronounced "bə-HAYV-ə-ree" ("be-HAYV-ur-ee"). The adjective is "bə-HAYV-yə-rul" ("be-HAYV-yur-rul"), with four syllables. It is not "bə-HAYV-ee-OR-əl" (five syllables) nor "bə-hayv-OR-ee-əl" (five syllables out of order).

As to the question of which syllable to stress in the second word of the phrase: both "fə-NANCE" and "FY-nance" are considered indiscriminately interchangeable by at least one major dictionary. Me, I would tend to stress the second syllable for the verb or the first syllable for the noun, in accord with such other homographs as project/project, address/address, record/record, etc.

So the phrase you ask about would properly be pronounced "bə-HAYV-yə-rəl FY-nance".
Your second syllabication is much closer to correctness than the one you say you've most often heard.

By: ljmattox

ljmattox — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:01:01 +0000

Delightful reading, many, many of my peeves are listed here. I would submit, however, that the author's calling out of Republicans for #32 is misplaced. I believe such things are more regionally based, as contrasted to politically based, as a few months spent in southern states would attest. And don't get me started on "sennence", what a convict might receive at the end of a trial. SenTence, people! At court, where "loi-yers" do much of their work. Practicing "loi".

The fields are definitely ripe for harvesting!

By: MG Siegler Infects Paul Carr | The Truth About Grammar

MG Siegler Infects Paul Carr | The Truth About Grammar — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:08:42 +0000

[...] of the first paragraph (as shown above). MG Siegler is another TechCrunch AOL journalist with a penchant for confusing its and it’s and other simple grammar rules. This entry was posted in [...]

By: kgurnsey

kgurnsey — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:40:13 +0000

To “beg a question” is a logical fallacy of formal debate. An argument begs the question when it assumes a position still under debate to be true that has not been conceded by the opposing side. It is not synonymous with suggesting or raising a question.

An engine is a type of motor, but not the other way around. A motor is any machine that imparts motion. An engine is a motor that specifically converts thermal energy into mechanical energy by combusting a fuel.

By: Grammar Girl

Grammar Girl — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:39:42 +0000

I would also like to add that “Nip it in the Bud” is the correct phrase when trying to say something akin to “stop this before it gets worse.”
“Nip it in the Butt,” on the other hand, is something Marv Albert got in trouble for.

You don’t have to be a horticulturalist to know this.

By: Robert Farago

Robert Farago — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:31:30 +0000

Bravo! An entire menagerie of pet peeves.

I fully admit that I have committed some of the grammatical crimes listed above. But it’s not for wont of want. And I think that’s the key.

I don’t think Mr. Stern is suggesting that he holds the key to “proper” communication. He is offering corrections for the sake of respectful communication. We are, after all, a nation of laws. In theory.

As for the idea that the rules of grammar are inflexible, those who seek to remind us of them will no doubt acknowledge the tao of Yogi Beara: “If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be. “

By: Martin B

Martin B — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:39:05 +0000

I have seen people pour over documents so often I don’t even bother to point out it’s supposed to be pore over.

By: kps

kps — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:38:38 +0000

14. If “kilometre” were an English word, it would be pronounced “ki-LAH-mit-ur”. Perhaps it should be spelled “kilo-metre”. (Someone should write an article about that sort of thing.)

23. I must be missing something here; perhaps some examples of misuse would be in order. While “significant” certainly doesn’t mean “large”, I have trouble seeing “real” as a reasonable definition. “Substantial”, on the other hand, can mean “real” (of course it usually doesn’t).

31. An ellipsis can sometimes be found adjacent to a period. I suppose this might be mistaken for four dots.