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Dyske
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November 6, 2002
Total number of comments
118
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Latest Comments
fact vs. opinion
- October 26, 2015, 10:31am
I would say the statement itself is a fact, not an opinion. It is expressing the fact that everyone expressed the same opinion (or preference).
What does “Curb your dog” mean?
- March 19, 2014, 9:54am
I didn't know that "curb your dog" was legally defined. That's interesting, and good to know. Thank you.
But what I'm curious about is how that expression came to be; the etymological origin. If "curb" means to take something to the curb to pee/poo, is it ever used for anything other than dogs? If it only applies to dogs, it would mean that this particular usage of the word "curb" was invented only for this particular situation, nothing else. If so, who invented this usage? And, why did s/he invent it? If no such usage of "curb" existed outside of this particular instance with dogs, how could this person expect the public to understand that it means to take the dog to the curb to pee and poo?
And, if it applies only to dogs, why bother saying "your dog"? "Curb" alone should suffice. Just define it as a legal term to take your dog to the curb to poo and pee.
What does “Curb your dog” mean?
- March 13, 2014, 10:42pm
I thought about this further and realized that street "curb" is put in place to control/restrain the movement of the cars. Curb is a framing device that contain/restrain what's inside of it. In that sense, "curb" as in the edge of the street and "curb" as in "control" are related. What is NOT related is the fact that it just HAPPENS TO BE a good place for dogs to poo or pee.
When is a bridge not an overbridge?
- June 28, 2013, 7:52am
See this definition:
"Where a bridge takes one form of transport over another it is both an overbridge and an underbridge, depending on the reference level. For example, where a road passes above a railway, the bridge is an overbridge from the point of view of the railway and an underbridge from the point of view of the road."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/overbridge
I think this definition is confusing. It should be the other way around. From the point of view of the railway, it should be called "underbridge" because the bridge structure allows the train to go under the road. And, from the point of view of the road, the same structure allows the cars to go over the railway. In other others, it should describe what it allows you to do as you use the structure. The other way is unnatural, because you are thinking from the point of view of the other, what the structure allows the other party to do (go over/under me).
The terms "overpass" and "underpass" are used in the way I describe. It's an overpass if it allows YOU to go OVER something. It's an underpass if it allows YOU to go UNDER something.
So, it should be called "overbridge" if it allows YOU to go OVER something, and "underbridge" if it allows YOU to go UNDER something.
“If I had studied, I would have a good grade.”
- March 20, 2013, 3:54pm
So, the question is: What is the difference between these two statements?
"If I had studied, I would have gotten a good grade."
and
“If I had studied, I would have a good grade.”
For instance, I would say that the former would be appropriate if receiving a bad grade happened in the past. The latter implies that having a grade is still a current state. For instance, I could imagine a conversation like this:
"So, are you an A-student or a B-student?"
"I'm actually a C-student now. If I had studied, I would have a good grade."
In other words, having a bad grade is his current state, so it would make sense to say "I would have a good grade now, but I don't."
This would make more sense for health inspection grades for restaurants or grading of hotels. Some restaurants are rated "B" by the health department, and that status would remain so until the next inspection. So, until then that restaurant is a "B" restaurant. The owner could say, "If we had cleaned our kitchen better, we would have a good grade now."
“my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
- January 7, 2013, 1:01pm
While I agree with Warsaw Will, wouldn't it still be grammatically correct to use "mine" in this case, if you were to think of "mine" as referring to "my child"? That is, what if the original sentence was this?:
"I so appreciate you taking my child and Gregg’s child to school today.”
This should be grammatically correct although it would be stylistically better not to repeat "child" twice.
What if we then replaced "my child" with "mine"? Wouldn't it still be grammatically correct?
Preferred forms
- January 1, 2013, 9:42am
If they are grammatically correct, the rest is all about their contexts, no?
-ic vs -ical
- September 11, 2012, 1:22pm
Some of those are not legitimate words, like "horrifical" and "feministical", but I see your point. Why there are two forms, and if there are any differences.
“Live local.” Is it a complete sentence?
- June 22, 2012, 6:44am
I guess it's like "Think different." I don't have an answer but I would be curious to know if "Live local" would be grammatically correct.
“Defeat to”
@warsaw
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