tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545678927399679388.post7411923568987842907..comments2023-11-02T05:46:21.988-04:00Comments on Michael's English Usage: BACK TO BUSINESSMichael Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06465195400605256200noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545678927399679388.post-79035497446808610812009-02-05T17:24:00.000-05:002009-02-05T17:24:00.000-05:00Let's see.1. Cheese is a noun. Calvin of the reno...Let's see.<BR/><BR/>1. Cheese is a noun. Calvin of the renowned "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon, gave a great speech on "verbing" words. Of course there are also "nouned" verbs, which are equally incomprehensible. Cheese has some renown, so I would like mine re-nouned.<BR/><BR/>"To annoy" will do, instead of "to cheese off".<BR/><BR/>The author's lists should be separated from their preceding statement by a colon, rather than a period. They should probably be shown in the form of a single list and not two lists of "things", each list disguised as a separate sentence.<BR/><BR/>Some list members are specific, like "my bad back" and "this winter", while other list members are general, like snow and debt. The style is dubious.<BR/><BR/>"A lot of things" is singular, while "things" is plural. One thing out of a lot of things is singular. The list of things has members that are both singular (back) and plural (people).<BR/><BR/>While "another thing" is singular (but unfortunately not very), the phrase "people who complain" isn't at all (sad to say). Or is it "aren't"? Or isn't them? I'm lost.<BR/><BR/>There should at least be a colon or dash after "I don't like", because "People..." is not a sentence, even if it has a capital and a period.<BR/><BR/>The word "them" doesn't agree. "Someone" is singular (who, I don't know). Either the object should be "the person" and not "them" or the subject could be "people", which agrees better with "them". Who "they" are, I'll never know.<BR/><BR/>You know, don't you?<BR/><BR/>"Rants, ranters: is it them, or the fact they're on televison?" <BR/><BR/>"I've been annoyed lately: by having to repay debts, by having to shovel snow; by my bad back and this hard winter; by mean people, and people who are too nice; by people who tow cars, and by people like me, who get annoyed and complain.<BR/><BR/>I'd prefer to make people happy, myself among them. I really don't like unloading my problems on others, or burying my rage deep in my guts -- until either it forms an ulcer, or I do some drive-by shooting.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I should buy some of those happy pills my doctor wants to sell me.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I should take a vacation.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I should go somewhere warmer. I think I'll do that, as soon as I can get my car out of debt."<BR/><BR/>...<BR/><BR/>How have you been? Are you going to do "Inherit the Wind" with the Theatre Windsor sometime? I'd come down for that.<BR/><BR/>-(J.C.) Chris Sullivan<BR/>KanataAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com