“a” vs “an”, c’mon, man!

Let me offa a apology as I hail from the Univercity of Jethro Bodine:

1747840246669.png
 
I'm an advocate of the Oxford comma, but disappointed that the Harvard semicolon doesn't get the same sort of ardent defense.
 
I'm an oxford comma guy too!

That Eats shoots and leaves book was a very interesting read....I highly recommend it. I found it to be a hard to read book though, because of the British English
Racerx said:
And if someone uses irregardless...I will lose my ****
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My first boss many years ago would say that all the time....ugh, it was maddening!

My current boss loves to say "the reality is..." That's not really improper in and of itself...but the real reality is that a lot of the time it's used to define HIS reality...not the real reality.
The other thing he does that I find to be a bother is extra spaces. $ 12.00, for example

And other folks at work mix units and abbreviations.... in the same document use 6 in and 6", or mix fractions and decimals, or mix differing significant digits
or $12.00 SF (SF = square foot) when they mean $12.00 per SF (or $12/SF, etc.)

Matthew said:
Affect vs effect
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That one trips me up all the time!

I'd like to think that I do fairly well with this stuff for an engineer, but I'm often left wondering, "Where's an English major when you need one?"
 
Brad W said:
My current boss loves to say "the reality is..." That's not really improper in and of itself...but the real reality is that a lot of the time it's used to define HIS reality...not the real reality.
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Kinda like “I literally looked everywhere.”
 
Two spaces after a period. Yes, if I'm trapped in 1978 with a fixed-font typewriter, that would be appropriate. With electronic fonts, it is entirely unnecessary. And yet somehow the Navy wants me to double-space after a period in all formal documents. It looks like crap and I hate it. That is all.
 
AvNavCom said:
Two spaces after a period. Yes, if I'm trapped in 1978 with a fixed-font typewriter, that would be appropriate. With electronic fonts, it is entirely unnecessary. And yet somehow the Navy wants me to double-space after a period in all formal documents. It looks like crap and I hate it. That is all.
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that seems like an reasonable request. I always double tap after a period.
 
eman1200 said:
"wrong"? I dunno. outdated, non-standard maybe, sure.
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Tongue-in-cheek, I assure you. "Wrong" in the spirit of the thread.

In other news, my gardener texted me using "u" instead of "you". I fired him. Not for that, specifically, but a little bit for that.
 
AvNavCom said:
Two spaces after a period. Yes, if I'm trapped in 1978 with a fixed-font typewriter, that would be appropriate. With electronic fonts, it is entirely unnecessary. And yet somehow the Navy wants me to double-space after a period in all formal documents. It looks like crap and I hate it. That is all.
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And yet, documents are more readable to me with the double space after a period. . perhaps the problem is that variable font spacing isn’t correctly implemented

or, to it another way, why do people want to hide the end of the sentence?
 
eman1200 said:
I think I read it wrong, it does depend on the SOUND of the immediate next word regardless if it's an noun or a adjective
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But what if it's an acronym?

"He flies a Light-Sport Aircraft."
"He flies a (an?) LSA."

But the one that always makes me cringe is "an historic". Don't even get me started on "might of"...
 
The event was historic.

The event was historical.

The event was hysterical.

Da, revolution historic event.
 
eman1200 said:
I can’t take it anymore. we all know my grammar, punctuation and speling is about the finest PoA has to offer….. but I am absolutely flabbergasted by the repeated misuse of ‘a’ vs ‘an’ and vise versa. SOOOO many incorrect examples, I don’t feel like searching for them all but does this bother anyone else? Holy cr@p I’m about to have an conniption!

- You got A flight review, not AN flight review.

- You didn’t go to AN museum, you went to A museum.

- You didn’t read AN thread on proper grammar, you read A thread.

Here’s an quick summary from the gpt:

“A” vs. “An” – Quick Summary:
• Use “a” before words that begin with a consonant sound.
• Example: a dog, a university (sounds like “you-niversity”)
• Use “an” before words that begin with a vowel sound.
• Example: an apple, an hour (the “h” is silent)

Key Rule: It’s the sound, not the actual letter, that matters.


these are the things that keep me up at night, folks. maybe I should start an thread on correct capitalization as well.
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Where are you noticing all of these missed steaks?

Before complaining you should fix your username. We all know your real name is Ema.
 
Bob Noel said:
And yet, documents are more readable to me with the double space after a period. . perhaps the problem is that variable font spacing isn’t correctly implemented

or, to it another way, why do people want to hide the end of the sentence?
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My guess is that some software deletes the second space since the programmers considered it unnecessary.
 
AvNavCom said:
Two spaces after a period. Yes, if I'm trapped in 1978 with a fixed-font typewriter, that would be appropriate. With electronic fonts, it is entirely unnecessary. And yet somehow the Navy wants me to double-space after a period in all formal documents. It looks like crap and I hate it. That is all.
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A few years ago when I was working on some document or other for LockMart, I got into an email argument with a young 20-something editor regarding the two spaces after a period. She kept insisting that I stop using two spaces. I finally told her, "My thumb has been automatically double-tapping the space bar for over 45 years and it's not going to stop. I think you need to be more inclusive of the elderly and accept a little diversity in our style."

That was the last I heard about it.
 
A and an… don’t get me started on some of the old farmer vocal (let alone written) grammatical face palms I grew up around and had to try to understand, ignore for learning purposes, and translate when in school. I distinctly remember one time hearing “ain’t - ain’t no word” in class by a teacher when in elementary school. My grammar is definitely lacking in refinement, but given the circumstances I’m content with doing my best to convey concepts and to heck with the “formal” rules of the English language. Cue Gallagher skit on the English language…
 
“Who you tryna get crazy wit ese, dontcha know I’m loco?”

 
eman1200 said:
I can’t take it anymore. we all know my grammar, punctuation and speling is about the finest PoA has to offer…..
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Two who are you referring to???? :cool:

And BTW... "speling" has two Ls in it. :p
 
My wife has lived in the US for 15 years.

Her Engrish no much goodlier now.

In fact, I think I am digressing...
 
I will just say I married a technical writer. Some of the stories she tells of engineers and writing will have you rolling on the ground. RR26 here we come.
 
Brad W said:
That one trips me up all the time!

I'd like to think that I do fairly well with this stuff for an engineer, but I'm often left wondering, "Where's an English major when you need one?"
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When in doubt I text my daughter, the English major.

Or I consult the Oatmeal.

theoatmeal.com

10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling - The Oatmeal

I created a handy guide for common spelling errors. A panda bear makes an appearance.
theoatmeal.com theoatmeal.com
 
I wanna care ... but I just can't bring myself to do so. :dunno:
 
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