Henry, would you be interested in moderating this, a thread where members can ask questions about vocabulary? The meaning and usage of words and phrases? And perhaps even make a list of commonly misused words and phrases e.g. then vs than (i.e. "then" is probably the most misused word there is when "than" is usually the correct word) lie vs lay, use v usage etc.
There's numerous examples such as to & too (most know what two is I think), toward vs towards (towards is not a word) and one that's been cropping up a lot lately is "casted"; when a member refers to something that has been cast they say it's been 'casted'. The past tense of the word cast is . . . . also cast. Did you ever casted your bait into the lake? "Man right after I casted my hydrilla gorilla on the top of that bed, that bucket mouth flushed the toilet on it!" No you haven't ever casted anything you cast it. here's an example I'll try to cover as many oft misused words as I can think of and try to use them correctly - Henry get out your red pen . . . .
"I cast that wormy maple blank last week rather than this week, then I elicited lucre for it in the illicit non-taxed cast blank black market. I soon discovered my success was not going to materialize until I had the capital idea of selling them farther down the road in our state capitol, right under the noses of the crooked cops which furthered my cause. My previous allusion to the illusion of principles in politics & business were dashed by the memory of my HS principal who urged me and my graduating class to look toward (no "s") honor and virtue as our guideposts, and not to be too greedy by seeking two of anything when one (the numeral is not correct here) will suffice our needs. ("our needs" is repetitive isn't it Henry? Shouldn't I have stopped after 'suffice'?)
At the time, I didn't accept his logic as sound, except for the brief second when I did consider the possibility I was just too young to appreciate it. I now wish I had put in to practice the dogma he attempted to plant into our code of ethics and life principles. The affect his speech had on me seemed to be nonexistent for years. Only now am I seeing the effects of it; the seed he planted in me was not to sprout for many years.
Tonight I resolved that before I lie down to rest, I will lay out a plan to make amends for ignoring his words of wisdom for so long, and I vow that my plan will be laid out with fewer flaws and less "me," as I move forward for others rather than myself. After all, whose honor can be redeemed who's too callus to listen to a man whom has been there and back?"
I'm not sure about a lot of that Henry especially the last sentence where I attempted the whose/who's/whom sentence. And did I use i.e. and e.g. correctly in my first paragraph?
I hope you'll do this I think it could be really fun. I realize many members and probably MOST members don't give a rat's ass whether they use words correctly or not. But honestly I think the reason most say they don't is because it means more study and learning for them and they think they're too old, or that they feel "dumb". But in my opinion, if we can make a fun way to help us all learn, even a little at a time, and learn here from friends instead of having to google words on an usage site (and I'm not asking anyone to cite the site they had in sight) I really believe we can at least help some members learn the difference between THEN and THAN - and that's a damn sight better than most other sites none of which I will cite.
And for those such as myself who has (that have?) a decent vocabulary and understanding of our language, I want to further my learning and step up my game. I always want to better myself where I can and I have plenty of room! So Henry - will you hold court here when we have questions? Will you pen some examples of words in their correct usage as I attempted to do above? Will you give us a Word Of the Week and an example of the correct employ of it? Will you challenge us to use the word in our posts that week?
You can say no, and no repercussions will befall you. Except I will ban you and stuff.
There's numerous examples such as to & too (most know what two is I think), toward vs towards (towards is not a word) and one that's been cropping up a lot lately is "casted"; when a member refers to something that has been cast they say it's been 'casted'. The past tense of the word cast is . . . . also cast. Did you ever casted your bait into the lake? "Man right after I casted my hydrilla gorilla on the top of that bed, that bucket mouth flushed the toilet on it!" No you haven't ever casted anything you cast it. here's an example I'll try to cover as many oft misused words as I can think of and try to use them correctly - Henry get out your red pen . . . .
"I cast that wormy maple blank last week rather than this week, then I elicited lucre for it in the illicit non-taxed cast blank black market. I soon discovered my success was not going to materialize until I had the capital idea of selling them farther down the road in our state capitol, right under the noses of the crooked cops which furthered my cause. My previous allusion to the illusion of principles in politics & business were dashed by the memory of my HS principal who urged me and my graduating class to look toward (no "s") honor and virtue as our guideposts, and not to be too greedy by seeking two of anything when one (the numeral is not correct here) will suffice our needs. ("our needs" is repetitive isn't it Henry? Shouldn't I have stopped after 'suffice'?)
At the time, I didn't accept his logic as sound, except for the brief second when I did consider the possibility I was just too young to appreciate it. I now wish I had put in to practice the dogma he attempted to plant into our code of ethics and life principles. The affect his speech had on me seemed to be nonexistent for years. Only now am I seeing the effects of it; the seed he planted in me was not to sprout for many years.
Tonight I resolved that before I lie down to rest, I will lay out a plan to make amends for ignoring his words of wisdom for so long, and I vow that my plan will be laid out with fewer flaws and less "me," as I move forward for others rather than myself. After all, whose honor can be redeemed who's too callus to listen to a man whom has been there and back?"
I'm not sure about a lot of that Henry especially the last sentence where I attempted the whose/who's/whom sentence. And did I use i.e. and e.g. correctly in my first paragraph?
I hope you'll do this I think it could be really fun. I realize many members and probably MOST members don't give a rat's ass whether they use words correctly or not. But honestly I think the reason most say they don't is because it means more study and learning for them and they think they're too old, or that they feel "dumb". But in my opinion, if we can make a fun way to help us all learn, even a little at a time, and learn here from friends instead of having to google words on an usage site (and I'm not asking anyone to cite the site they had in sight) I really believe we can at least help some members learn the difference between THEN and THAN - and that's a damn sight better than most other sites none of which I will cite.
And for those such as myself who has (that have?) a decent vocabulary and understanding of our language, I want to further my learning and step up my game. I always want to better myself where I can and I have plenty of room! So Henry - will you hold court here when we have questions? Will you pen some examples of words in their correct usage as I attempted to do above? Will you give us a Word Of the Week and an example of the correct employ of it? Will you challenge us to use the word in our posts that week?
You can say no, and no repercussions will befall you. Except I will ban you and stuff.
