Thread: check this out please

Originally Posted by Ustas

Im flattered

People don't realize how dumb the average person is. I mean, of course, the working class people who never bother to learn another language, let alone fritter away their free time discussing said language online.

That's why people make fun of accents. They don't like it when a foreigner understands the language better than they do.

Originally Posted by BlackMage

Originally Posted by Ustas

Im flattered

People don't realize how dumb the average person is. I mean, of course, the working class people who never bother to learn another language, let alone fritter away their free time discussing said language online.

That's why people make fun of accents. They don't like it when a foreigner understands the language better than they do.

Why do they make fun of Americans then?

Originally Posted by TATY

"Beautiful elegant young lady". 3 adjectives is a bit of an overload.

I asked a couple of people what they thought of this phrase and they said it sounds fine. In fact, they said more adjectives can be added as long as there is no redundancy or contradition.

I do not think any woman would frown on the compliment "You are a beautiful elegant young lady".

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by TATY

"Beautiful elegant young lady". 3 adjectives is a bit of an overload.

I asked a couple of people what they thought of this phrase and they said it sounds fine. In fact, they said more adjectives can be added as long as there is no redundancy or contradition.

I do not think any woman would frown on the compliment "You are a beautiful elegant young lady".

There is a difference between giving a woman a compliment, and what you write in prose.

Three adjectives, like that, is very schoolboy-ish. Ever heard of "less is more"? A good writer can describes things economically. And would put commas between adjectives as well.

In a big, dark, grey, empty, spooky house on a long, foggy, narrow, tree-lined street, there sat an old, crazy, grey-haired, black woman.

Giv me a buk deel mommy, i can rite good!

Originally Posted by BlackMage

People don't realize how dumb the average person is.

Sad but true. The one that really gets me is when people say 'conversate'. I think you should be forced to repeat elementary school if you're caught using that "word".

I'm with tatty here.

Originally Posted by Layne

Originally Posted by BlackMage

People don't realize how dumb the average person is.

Sad but true. The one that really gets me is when people say 'conversate'. I think you should be forced to repeat elementary school if you're caught using that "word".

Absolutely. Sort of like "enthused" which also isn't a word yet people still use it.

I had no idea that 'wasn't a word'.

What, conversate or enthused? Neither is, people derived 'enthused' from enthusiastic and it's spread like a wild-fire. I suppose eventually it will be accepted as a word because of that.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

I do not think any woman would frown on the compliment "You are a beautiful elegant young lady".

I'd really only count that as two adjectives, seeing how 'young lady' is a very common single phrase. You're not really calling the lady young...

I'll admit I didn't know that one either. I found this on dictionary.com.


Usage Note: The verb enthuse is not well accepted. Its use in the sentence The majority leader enthused over his party's gains was rejected by 76 percent of the Usage Panel in the late 1960s, and its status remains unfavorable: the same sentence was rejected by 65 percent of the Usage Panel in 1997. This lack of enthusiasm for enthuse is often attributed to its status as a back-formation; such words often meet with disapproval on their first appearance and only gradually become accepted over time. But other back-formations such as diagnose (a back-formation from diagnosis that was first recorded in 1861) and donate (first cited in 1785 as a back-formation from donation) are considered unimpeachable English words. Since enthuse dates from 1827, something more significant may be overriding the erosion of popular resistance. Unlike enthusiasm, which denotes an internal emotional state, enthuse denotes either the external expression of emotion, as in She enthused over attending the awards ceremony, or the inducement of enthusiasm by an external source, as in He was so enthused about the diet pills that he agreed to provide a testimonial. Possibly, some people's distaste for this emphasis on external emotional display and manipulation is the source of unease that is manifested by a distaste for the word itself.

Originally Posted by TATY

In a big, dark, grey, empty, spooky house on a long, foggy, narrow, tree-lined street, there sat an old, crazy, grey-haired, black woman.

I agree that too many adjectives can make the sentence wordy.
I like your sentence. It sounds like the start of a childrens story.
I would have written it as follows:

A crazy, grey-haired, black woman sat in a big, dark, spooky house
on a long, foggy, narrow, tree-lined street.

I would leave out "empty" since it contradicts the fact that a woman is there. Unless you mean there are no funishings in which case I would describe the contents (or lack thereof) in a separate sentence.
I would leave out "old" or "grey-haired" since they are somewhat redundant.

Also, it is not as flexible as in Russian, word order in the English language.
I don't like the construct "They were in a house, an old man and a young woman."

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Also, it is not as flexible as in Russian, word order in the English language.
I don't like the construct "They were in a house, an old man and a young woman."

I think that's the one I commented on. "They were in the house: an old man and a young lady" sounds better (not using -man twice). It sounds a little abrupt and dramatic, too.

Originally Posted by BlackMage

Originally Posted by kwatts59

I do not think any woman would frown on the compliment "You are a beautiful elegant young lady".

I'd really only count that as two adjectives, seeing how 'young lady' is a very common single phrase. You're not really calling the lady young...

Yes "young lady" is pretty much a noun in its own right.

And for the record, most of my female friends would object to a middle aged man saying "You are a beautiful elegant young lady".

Being as all my female friends are aged 16-22, all of them would object to being complemented by a middle-aged male as well.

American girls object to everything men say unless its "I have money".

Originally Posted by Layne

American girls object to everything men say unless its "I have money".

haha,

now, with the story, it was good to what I saw, and I'm not going to quote the corrections ( ) But all that was left out was 'Marlboro Lights', I'd just say cigarettes.

perhaps you needs a semi-colon rather than a comma.

(that should be written "perhaps you need a semi-colon rather than a comma."

And only old men and women (grandmas and grandpas mainly) say 'young lady'

Originally Posted by Layne

American girls object to everything men say unless its "I have money".

Remind me to avoid American girls.

"A rickety old man was standing next to a beautiful, elegant young lady in the kitchen of a grand house."

First of all, you need a comma in there (and it would be two if "young lady" weren't like a noun of its own). And besides the stylistic aspect of having so many adjectives, it doesn't work. This "rickety" old man ran around the kitchen screaming for thirty minutes??

Originally Posted by challenger

First of all, you need a comma in there (and it would be two if "young lady" weren't like a noun of its own). And besides the stylistic aspect of having so many adjectives, it doesn't work. This "rickety" old man ran around the kitchen screaming for thirty minutes??

What about

"An ornery old man was standing ..."
or maybe
"A cantankerous old man was standing ..."