[Rhodes22-list] grammar

[Bob Fletcher]

elle,

While you are on the subject... what do you think of the common practice, 
even among folks (like NPR commentators) who should know better, of 
"singularizing" contractions involving "are."  I'm thinking about phrases 
like, " There's three ducks on the pond." You wouldn't say, "There is three 
ducks on the pond."  Think also, "There's too many people at this party." 
So why is "there's" so commonly used where the contraction "there're" would 
be appropriate if you want to shorten the phrase?

(Think of this as a diversion from the recent political spats on the site.)

Bob Fletcher

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "L. Sailor" <watermusic38 at yahoo.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 7:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Political:Off to Iraq re: Dave


> An easy way to remember:
>
> "I imply, you infer" and  'Bring & come', 'take & go.'
>
> Do you think they'll ever get 'number' & 'amount'
> straight again...as in "A large amount of accidents on
> I-95."  AARGH.
>
> (Sorry...the schoolmarm just reared her pince-nez'd
> head...)
>
> elle
>
> --- Herb Parsons <hparsons at parsonsys.com> wrote:
>
>> Small point, but you're misusing the word "infer".
>> You would have made the implication, Brad would have
>> (but maybe not) drawn the inference.
>>
>>
>> Herb Parsons
>>
>> S/V O'Jure
>> 1976 O'Day 25
>> Lake Grapevine, N TX
>>
>> S/V Reve de Papa
>> 1971 Coronado 35
>> Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana Coast
>>
>> >>> DCLewis1 at aol.com 10/26/2006 3:26:05 pm >>>
>>
>> In a message dated 10/26/2006 9:16:12 A.M. Eastern
>> Standard Time,
>> flybrad at gmail.com writes:
>>
>> Remember, "Good people sleep peaceably in their beds
>> at night only  because
>> rough men stand ready to do violence on their
>> behalf."
>>
>>
>>
>> Brad,
>>
>> Regarding "read between the lines": In my experience
>> reading between the
>> lines applies to poetry and fiction - perhaps that's
>> were you're experience
>> is.  But in the real world, if I wanted to say the
>> men and women in the  service
>> were to dumb to get jobs in the private sector I
>> would have said it  plainly.
>>  I didn't say it, I didn't infer it, and I didn't
>> think it.   You might well
>> served if you learned to read the English language
>> as it's  presented and
>> curb your imaginative paranoid tendencies.
>>
>> As to Remember, "Good people sleep peaceably in
>> their beds at night only
>> because
>> rough men stand ready to do violence on their
>> behalf."
>>
>> Who protects the good people from the rough men?  Oh
>> yeah, there is  that
>> problem, and there is no free lunch.  Good people
>> have to protect  themselves,
>> and we're quite capable of doing that.  I don't need
>> any rough  man to do
>> violence on my behalf, thank you, and I suspect that
>> applies to  everyone else on
>> this list.
>>
>> Dave
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>
>
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