Write Right ;)
Boy!! Isn't English an interesting language and ofcourse confusing too :)...well, not if you know all the rules ;), I mean the unlimited ones !!!
Meanings for words in English vary based on the context they occur in. Sometimes, they might be mis-interpreted because the context is not propogated clearly. I am a daily subscriber to WordSmith and I am quite into it. Anu Garg, the editor for this "daily"(;) see see see) sends a word a day(with it's origin, usage etc), based on topics which she defines at the start of the week. Topics covered are very interesting too..for instance, this week he has "There is a word for it" as the topic in which talks about words that convey a rather complex idea.
Coming back to what prompted me to write this...I was sending out a few e-mails to people when suddenly I realised that I was using "was/were" as my verb, both for a singular form..Well, I was using them correctly but couldn't really explain why I "was" using what I was using (I had a slight idea) and if my assumptions "were" true..Normally speaking, I would use a was for a singular form and a were for a plural form but in a few cases I was using were for a singular form...
After doing a little research on the internet, I found that were should be used for singular forms when the "mood" is subjunctive (sounds complex :))..
Subjunctive - a statement contrary to fact, a wish, a mandative statement. Now, this makes better sense. If the context is a wish, the verb takes a 'were' form for singular..in all other cases, it is a 'was'!! Well, one more rule ;0). I am sure there are more that negate this!
Enough about mood, let's change it! Let's advance forward .. Oops, I just used a pleonasm here .. Aarrgghh, now what's this...Pleonasm are superfluous words..A pleonasm consists of two concepts (usually two words) that are redundant..For example, in "advance forward"...advance is to move forward, which makes forward just redundant! Each and Every, Exactly the same, final showdown, free gift etc etc all come under this category and all this is common usage!
Now for some fun with words :)...Look at these sentences !!!
1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
22. I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
Enough of this..now back to work !!
Meanings for words in English vary based on the context they occur in. Sometimes, they might be mis-interpreted because the context is not propogated clearly. I am a daily subscriber to WordSmith and I am quite into it. Anu Garg, the editor for this "daily"(;) see see see) sends a word a day(with it's origin, usage etc), based on topics which she defines at the start of the week. Topics covered are very interesting too..for instance, this week he has "There is a word for it" as the topic in which talks about words that convey a rather complex idea.
Coming back to what prompted me to write this...I was sending out a few e-mails to people when suddenly I realised that I was using "was/were" as my verb, both for a singular form..Well, I was using them correctly but couldn't really explain why I "was" using what I was using (I had a slight idea) and if my assumptions "were" true..Normally speaking, I would use a was for a singular form and a were for a plural form but in a few cases I was using were for a singular form...
After doing a little research on the internet, I found that were should be used for singular forms when the "mood" is subjunctive (sounds complex :))..
Subjunctive - a statement contrary to fact, a wish, a mandative statement. Now, this makes better sense. If the context is a wish, the verb takes a 'were' form for singular..in all other cases, it is a 'was'!! Well, one more rule ;0). I am sure there are more that negate this!
Enough about mood, let's change it! Let's advance forward .. Oops, I just used a pleonasm here .. Aarrgghh, now what's this...Pleonasm are superfluous words..A pleonasm consists of two concepts (usually two words) that are redundant..For example, in "advance forward"...advance is to move forward, which makes forward just redundant! Each and Every, Exactly the same, final showdown, free gift etc etc all come under this category and all this is common usage!
Now for some fun with words :)...Look at these sentences !!!
1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
22. I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
Enough of this..now back to work !!
posted by Vijay Challa | 1:09 PM
3 Comments:
thats great man... enjoyed reading it... subconsciously we do many things right... but when asked reason, we wont be able to tell... ur digging out the usage of 'was' and 'were' were good... i enjoyed reading the sentences at the end... man u play with the language...
One more addition to your list
A portmanteau (plural: portmanteaux) is a term in linguistics that refers to a word or morpheme that fuses two or more grammatical functions. A folk usage of portmanteau refers to a word that is formed by combining both sounds and meanings from two or more words (e.g. 'animatronics' from 'animation' and 'electronics'). In linguistics, these folk portmanteaux are called blends. It can also be called a frankenword (incidentally, this is another example of a portmanteau). Typically, portmanteau words are neologisms. In short, it's a word that combines two words to form a single word. One of the most well-known examples is cyborg, a term which is commonly used to refer to a cybernetic organism.
One more addition to your list
A portmanteau (plural: portmanteaux) is a term in linguistics that refers to a word or morpheme that fuses two or more grammatical functions. A folk usage of portmanteau refers to a word that is formed by combining both sounds and meanings from two or more words (e.g. 'animatronics' from 'animation' and 'electronics'). In linguistics, these folk portmanteaux are called blends. It can also be called a frankenword (incidentally, this is another example of a portmanteau). Typically, portmanteau words are neologisms. In short, it's a word that combines two words to form a single word. One of the most well-known examples is cyborg, a term which is commonly used to refer to a cybernetic organism.
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