Need Help with English Spelling, Grammar, Vocabulary or Pronunciation? Ask Here!

[Willie-T]

I'm assuming this means that Curly Brackets {} can be used interchangeably with regular parentheses () ???

Ok, so then how and when would one use Brackets [] ???!!

(For anyone out there struggling with English... I hope it will encourage you to know that I am a native English speaker myself... and obviously, still have plenty of problems with proper usage myself!)

I don't know a rule on this, but I have usually seen brackets "[]" used within the closure of a set of parentheses to further accentuate something contained in the parentheses.

Ex: Rover jumped on the food (The dog .. [a tiny one] ..was hungry. ) as soon as it was put out.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I don't know a rule on this, but I have usually seen brackets "[]" used within the closure of a set of parentheses to further accentuate something contained in the parentheses.

Ex: Rover jumped on the food (The dog .. [a tiny one] ..was hungry. ) as soon as it was put out.

Yea this is how we were taught to use brackets in like 5th grade english..

 

[Willie-T]

I never know the appropriate place to put dots lol.......is it a pause? After a comma........?
Do the dots have influential meaning in the over dramatics theatrics department?
Such as

Dahhhling........but uh.....I ya........Oh dahhhling....

What do the dots mean?
And why do I care in bed now lol

The dots (usually a group of three) are called an ellipsis. They are most often used to indicate a hesitation in speech. Although they can be used for several purposes... such as this... to simply set off something special.

Google: "ELLIPSIS".

 

[seoulsearch]

The dots (usually a group of three) are called an ellipsis. They are most often used to indicate a hesitation in speech. Although they can be used for several purposes... such as this... to simply set off something special.

Google: "ELLIPSIS".

We have several "special" people here on CC... too bad we can't just surround all of them in sets of ellipsises... as a barricade.

DOGGONE IT!

Now, what would be the proper plural of an ellipsis???!!!

* ellipsises?

* Or, how about, ellipsi??!!!

 

[Willie-T]

We have several "special" people here on CC... too bad we can't just surround all of them in sets of ellipsises... as a barricade.

DOGGONE IT!

Now, what would be the proper plural of an ellipsis???!!!

* ellipsises?

* Or, how about, ellipsi??!!!

Well, the most common use of an ellipsis is to point out that those people are...

"Ellipsis" actually means "OMMISSION". Used when you figure it is unnecessary to spell out what you are trying to say.

 

[PoetMary]

I'll go first. Here are my questions:

1. Could anyone please explain why people use the word "eldest"? For instance, "Our eldest son..." I've always just said, "The oldest (sibling) in our family..." Can "oldest" and "eldest" be used interchangeable in this context, or is it absolutely necessary to use the word "eldest"?

2. In my last question, when is it proper to use "? (apostrophe, punctuation) or ?" (punctuation, apostrophe)? Which is correct: "eldest"? or "eldest?"

3. I've always been confused about [ ] and { }. What are the proper terms for these... two types of brackets? And when does one use them?

When do I use "who" vs "whom"?

Eldest and oldest are interchangeable. However, "oldest" seems like it would be more commonly used today. "Eldest" is a bit dated. Most people say, "This is my oldest brother....or she was the oldest person in the room."

The rules for possessives are VERY clear. Here's how it works: If it is a SINGULAR noun that OWNS something, it's ALWAYS apostrophe S-- 's. So there is ONE dress that has buttons, so we'll talk about the dress's buttons. There are TWO choices for plural nouns: If the plural ends in S, put an apostrophe at the end. So, there are boys and the boys have baseballs--it's the BOYS' baseballs. If the plural does NOT end in s, add 's. So, there are geese, and the geese have feathers--it's the geese's feathers.

Brackets [] and braces {} aren't commonly used in writing. They're more common in math. However, sometimes a writer will use BRACKETS and within those have PARENTHESES. Sometimes writers will use brackets or braces in rather creative ways, but there's no real hard and fast rule about it.

As for WHO vs. WHOM--WHO is the SUBJECT and WHOM is the object. So, most of the time it works if you think of HE vs. HIM. If you would say, "HE is late for the meeting?" Then, you'd say "WHO is late for the meeting?" If you would say, "She gave the book to HIM." Then you'd say, "She gave the book to WHOM?"

 

[Mitspa]

I know I should be reading this thread...I just cant

 

[Dino246]

The rules for possessives are VERY clear. Here's how it works: If it is a SINGULAR noun that OWNS something, it's ALWAYS apostrophe S-- 's. So there is ONE dress that has buttons, so we'll talk about the dress's buttons.

I believe there is one exception to this rule: "its". With an apostrophe, it is a conjunction of "it is" or "it has"; without, it is the possessive form of "it". For example, "The fender has a dent; its surface is no longer smooth."

Methinks English has more exceptions than any other language. Does that make it exceptional?

 

[Willie-T]

I know I should be reading this thread...I just cant

I had huge difficulties "getting" all the complicated rules in school. That's why I work hard to explain things like this in the most ordinary language I can come up with. I try to tell it the way it finally worked for me.

 

[Hellooo]

I work hard to explain things like this in the most ordinary language I can come up with

This is a highly underrated skill....essentially communicating WITH people, not at them or down to them.

 

[Dino246]

I found an interesting site which has explains many rules of grammar. Here is a link to the page on quotation marks and associated punctuation:

Punctuation inside or outside quotation (speech) marks?

Apparently there are different conventions for quotes in US English than in UK English.

Of course, I'm Canadian (by upbringing), so I don't subscribe to either, necessarily. Canadian English conforms to British English in some things (spelling of 'Saviour', for example), and to American English in others ('capitalize').

Also, we don't drink soda. It's 'pop' here, for those who do drink it.

 

[NukePooch]

We have several "special" people here on CC... too bad we can't just surround all of them in sets of ellipsises... as a barricade.

"Ellipsis" actually means "OMMISSION". Used when you figure it is unnecessary to spell out what you are trying to say.

I (over)use ellipseseses all of the time. I can't be bothered to change. I view it as my shortened version of "Yada, yada, yada..."

 

[Willie-T]

I (over)use ellipseseses all of the time. I can't be bothered to change. I view it as my shortened version of "Yada, yada, yada..."

Yeah, I'm a freak for a long row of "dots", as well as being guilty of WAY over doing the use of commas.

 

[Willie-T]

This is a highly underrated skill....essentially communicating WITH people, not at them or down to them.

I get put down a lot when I try to do this with Scripture. Some people think you haven't spoken God's truth unless you quote something like the KJV, verbatim.

 

[coby]

Hey Everyone,

With all the talk about spelling, grammar, and vocabulary in the forums, I thought it might be helpful to have a thread where we could present our most puzzling questions about the English language, then have helpful, friendly, and more knowledgeable people answer here.

(I'm hoping I write this first post correctly so that we'll attract all the people who can help us! )

Don't feel you have to answer all the questions--just pick the ones you feel you can contribute to. Even if a question has been answered, feel free to share any additional information you may have been taught. Yup, I know I could probably just look these things up on a website somewhere, but as we discussed earlier, it's tough to find reliable information and I know we have several talented teachers and writers in our own CC community. Kudos to all of you and I'm hoping you can help the rest of us out!

I'll go first. Here are my questions:

1. Could anyone please explain why people use the word "eldest"? For instance, "Our eldest son..." I've always just said, "The oldest (sibling) in our family..." Can "oldest" and "eldest" be used interchangeable in this context, or is it absolutely necessary to use the word "eldest"?

2. In my last question, when is it proper to use "? (apostrophe, punctuation) or ?" (punctuation, apostrophe)? Which is correct: "eldest"? or "eldest?"

3. I've always been confused about [ ] and { }. What are the proper terms for these... two types of brackets? And when does one use them?

I'm looking forward to your answers and hope others will feel free to post their questions as well!

Here, have some good English lessons:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1hJCYcpEs

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MvXy5VrU53c

 

[Grace-Like-Rain]

You can embed youtube videos directly into your post by clicking the "film strip" button on the tool panel of the message box, and inserting the link. That way people can view the video without ever leaving this page or having to click a link.

So that's my contribution to this thread. Not grammar, but equally important to know. Ha.

 

[crosstweed]

I get put down a lot when I try to do this with Scripture. Some people think you haven't spoken God's truth unless you quote something like the KJV, verbatim.

Meh. I usually copy/paste the verses and then break it down, specifically to avoid that situation x)

 

[coby]

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1hJCYcpEs[/video]

My phone refuses, stupid thing.

 

[Dino246]

You can embed youtube videos directly into your post by clicking the "film strip" button on the tool panel of the message box, and inserting the link. That way people can view the video without ever leaving this page or having to click a link.

So that's my contribution to this thread. Not grammar, but equally important to know. Ha.

CC grammar is important too!

 

[AbigailZeke]

I must add that MS Word or Pages or any writing software, can help improve grammar and spelling a lot. I really hated red and green lines underlines when I'm writing so I always had to edit until everything looked perfect. It actually makes me sound smarter than I actually am xD