Aaaaargh! Cliffhanger!

Somebody Strange · Post by **Somebody Strange** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 5:28 am

You're killing me here! I wanna know now now now!LOL -- seriously, this is a great story. Having to wait for updates only helps to build the dramatic tension you're so good at tormenting us with.Ouch. My English teacher / novel editor wife just smacked my arm. I'm a writer, I should know better. "Waiting for updates merely helps to build the dramatic tension with which you expertly torment us."Sheesh.Boy, when I finish my novel, I'll be lucky if I can sign autographs.--Strange------------------
Neurotic -- sane, but unhappy about it.

SteveB · Post by **SteveB** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 7:21 am

Your English teacher/novel editor wife needs reeducation. The ban on ending sentences with a preposition is a foolish rule that has nothing to do with the English language or its real grammatical structure, but is the result of 18th Century grammarians who tried to impose the rules of Latin on their native tongue. Or, to quote Winston Churchill: "That is the kind of errant pedantry up with which I will not put." See how silly that sounds?A similar rule is the ban on split infinitives. Just because the infinitive is a single word in Latin does NOT make it wrong to say "To boldly go where no man has gone before." Despite what some English teachers will say, you need not say "To go boldly."English is not Latin. There is no reason to twist our language to make it follow another language's rules.

Somebody Strange · Post by **Somebody Strange** » Mon Apr 09, 2001 8:43 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by SteveB:
Your English teacher/novel editor wife needs reeducation. The ban on ending sentences with a preposition is a foolish rule that has nothing to do with the English language or its real grammatical structure, but is the result of 18th Century grammarians who tried to impose the rules of Latin on their native tongue. Or, to quote Winston Churchill: "That is the kind of errant pedantry up with which I will not put." See how silly that sounds?A similar rule is the ban on split infinitives. Just because the infinitive is a single word in Latin does NOT make it wrong to say "To boldly go where no man has gone before." Despite what some English teachers will say, you need not say "To go boldly."English is not Latin. There is no reason to twist our language to make it follow another language's rules.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Actually, she's aware that those rules are by and large unnecessary -- she was more concerned with my poor usage of only vs. merely and other editorial fixes.However, to pose the alternate concept of ending sentences with prepositions, consider this quote as relayed by E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and other beloved children's books: when a particular child acquaintance of his was told what book would be used for her bedtime story, her complaint was: "What did you bring the book I don't like to be read to out of up for?"Sometimes, methinks, "useless" rules are good.(Actually, my wife isn't nearly that anal unless I ask her to be. She wasn't even really near me when I wrote the first post.)--Strange------------------
Neurotic -- sane, but unhappy about it.

SteveB · Post by **SteveB** » Mon Apr 09, 2001 11:13 am

I'm not sure who's responsible for it, but there's an altered version of White's masterpiece that adds three more prepositions, although two of them are not actually being used as prepositions in the sentence. Imagine that the book the child doesn't like is about Australia:"What did you bring the book I don't like to be read to out of about down under up for?"

Tim Broderick · Post by **Tim Broderick** » Fri Apr 20, 2001 3:57 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Somebody Strange:
Boy, when I finish my novel, I'll be lucky if I can sign autographs.--Strange<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Hey, how about posting a bit of a preview to your novel?
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Tim Broderick
Someday, all jobs will be<A HREF="http://oddjobs.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank> Odd Jobs</A>