Post by: VideoGamerX on July 30, 2003, 10:55:58 AM
To be honest, I don't know why people have given in and changed their own usage of 'is' and 'are' to something incorrect without even looking in to it. Just the sentence, "Oh, well Capcom are working on five exclusive games for the Nintendo Gamecube, " doesn't even come out of your mouth naturally. It reeks of wrongness to anybody that has had Freshman level English in high school. I mean, Capcom itself is ONE company. It stands as one software developer. They are acting as one under a common cause and do not pretend to be several independent individuals working together for separate interests or even common interests. Just think about it.
It's like the difference between saying:
The United States are going to war on terrorism.
and,
The United States is going to war on terrorism.
Which do you think is correct? I know which one Microsoft Word says is correct, and I know the one I would use would be viewed as correct on a formal paper. Now, all I want to know is what's up with the usage of 'are' people? Just curious to hear your reasoning and don't mind if you keep doing it.
Post by: Ian Sane on July 30, 2003, 11:16:41 AM
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on July 30, 2003, 11:19:11 AM
Post by: vudu on July 30, 2003, 11:20:34 AM
Post by: mouse_clicker on July 30, 2003, 11:37:22 AM
I can't stand it when people do that. I can understand it being a mistake when people type, but if they take the time to read over their own post, using are just sounds wrong. People may also get confused since companies are made up of a bunch of people and don't realize that the company itself is only one thing and you're not referring to it's employees.
Post by: Grey Ninja on July 30, 2003, 11:49:19 AM
Post by: mouse_clicker on July 30, 2003, 11:56:43 AM
|]0R|{!!1!!!!111!!1
Post by: VideoGamerX on July 30, 2003, 12:46:19 PM
If I start seeing Rick Powers doing it, I'll have to go to a higher power over the grammar of the English language (an old English teacher
) to find out the truth. lol
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on July 30, 2003, 12:59:53 PM
Quote
Corporations are collective nouns; they can be either singular or plural, and it is correct to refer to them either way. In fact, you can even switch from singular to plural and back again as you wish. The main thing is to make the sentence sound fluid and not confusing. When to use which form is often a matter of taste, which makes it hard to explain why certain uses don't sound right.
Post by: VideoGamerX on July 30, 2003, 01:05:12 PM
I guess Word protects against having sentences that aren't fluid. Nice to know that, but where did the quote come from?
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on July 30, 2003, 01:14:42 PM
Post by: ThePerm on July 30, 2003, 03:22:27 PM
When refering to an Entity or a person you use "is".
The phrase Capcom are actually sounds correct. And there may be another rule to that. But Konami are sounds just wrong. But mayeb this relates to the last letter of a word. Like the AN/A word...words that start with a vowel must have "an" infront of it. Words that start with a consant have "a" in front of them. Also it depends on ther perspective of the reader. If they are thinking of acclaim as "They" then Acclaim are working(note there are two verbs) then it could be correct. Or you could say Tengen is cool(note an adjective). Ahj the rules of English. There is quite alot of them and they are flexible. But you tell me where to put the comma? Every English teacher will say differently.
Post by: Grey Ninja on July 30, 2003, 03:31:48 PM
Please use for your reference.
Post by: ThePerm on July 30, 2003, 04:02:04 PM
lets go into pronunctiation and spelling. I do not pronounce Corporation Corpouration i pronounce it Corperation. Thus the thought was transcribed in incorrect spelling. Though, i would say Corporation looks better to my eyes. However, hurting my tongue, catolog, catalogue, toung, prologue. muwahahahahhahaha
Also try saying Rural. I went to say that one time and i was absolutely Toungue tied;. I have heard the word countless times. I can say it in my head. When i go to speak it it sounds screwed up. My friends have trouble pronouncing it. It turns out of all the years the word was in front of me I had neverr actualyl spoken it despite it beign within my vast vocabulary. I thought about it for a few days and realised you absolutely must not reprounounce the second r forcefully..it must roll with your tongue(note i will spell it differently every time muwahahahahah). At the same time the Starting R becomes a problem as well as i will say somethign to the extent of WeyreRal. Its like that oen epsode of friends where Monica couldnt pronounce a word correctly her entire life lol. i didnt know i would ever have such similar(i pronounce it SimUlaer) problems. LOL
Post by: aoi tsuki on July 30, 2003, 04:33:36 PM
ThePerm: Don't feel bad. Our president can't say "nuclear". He should talk to Homer Simpson sometime; he runs a nukular plant.
Post by: ThePerm on July 30, 2003, 04:39:35 PM
anyways.....
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/nuclear
http://www.bartleby.com/64/C007/0140.html
ok Bush pronnounces it nyuu kyooo lar..and that is why the world hates him. I dont. So enough with politics.
Post by: Ness_the_Mess on July 30, 2003, 09:18:12 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: VideoGamerX
It's like the difference between saying:
The United States are going to war on terrorism.
and,
The United States is going to war on terrorism.
Which do you think is correct? I know which one Microsoft Word says is correct, and I know the one I would use would be viewed as correct on a formal paper. Now, all I want to know is what's up with the usage of 'are' people? Just curious to hear your reasoning and don't mind if you keep doing it.
Well, the United States is viewed as a name. In that case, it's singular, and so 'is.'
However, if you don't view it as a name, but as the united states, then it's plural, thus 'are.'
Taking it even further, geese are flying overhead. However, a flock if geese is flying over head.
In the same way, one could view 'United' as the group term for an amount of states. This would turn it to 'is.'
However, much as french uses 'vous' to formerly reffer to a person respectfully, the old english 'thou' should be put into use when reffering to Nintendo, but only in the second person. When in the presence of Nintendo (whether as seperate buisness people, or a collective) you should therefor reffer to them as Thou and use the form of the verb 'to be' "art". So, when speeking to Shigeru Miyomoto, you would say "Thou art the most enlightened human being I have ever met." In the same way, with other verbs, you would say (for the future tense of 'to be') Thou shalt not forget to make online play accessable for thine next console. Note the use of 'thine' as the second-person possesive.
On the other hand, when speaking to the town foo... erm, I mean, George Bush, you would use what is known as Hill-billy communication. For example: "You yella bellied bu-ffoon! Killin' for peace is like makin' luuv for thems virginity-types!" And soforth.
I hope I have been of use.
Post by: PIAC on July 30, 2003, 09:59:43 PM
you may find this tool usefull. its a 'english to 12 year old AOL user translator' http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html
unfortunatly it cant translate back from AOLish into english :\
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on July 30, 2003, 11:05:14 PM
Post by: Mario on July 31, 2003, 02:00:42 AM
Post by: PIAC on July 31, 2003, 02:20:59 AM
and who uses the word 'coke' for any soft drink? that smells! hello KFC person, can i have a COKE! *KFC person gives customer mountain dew* thanks! weird americans
but tbh, thast like back in the day when nintendo was a adjective not just a noun, 'wanna come round and play nintendo?' ahhh the good old days
Post by: nitsu niflheim on July 31, 2003, 03:14:17 AM
Haha, bad Bill Clinton Joke.
Post by: Ness_the_Mess on July 31, 2003, 06:47:37 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: PIAC
mario are smells
and who uses the word 'coke' for any soft drink? that smells! hello KFC person, can i have a COKE! *KFC person gives customer mountain dew* thanks! weird americans
but tbh, thast like back in the day when nintendo was a adjective not just a noun, 'wanna come round and play nintendo?' ahhh the good old days
First off, methinks (however I may be wrong) that the person didn't mean any kind of Soda, rather they ment Cola ...
More importantly, the way you used Nintendo in that statement was as a direct object of the verb 'play'. If I write a letter, it doesn't make the letter an adjective.
However, we still do use nintendo as an adjective to this day. Nintendo console. Nintendo game. In these cases 'game' and 'console' are nouns, and nintendo is not. Nintendo is describing what kind of console or game.
Post by: nitsu niflheim on July 31, 2003, 07:05:52 AM
Post by: ThePerm on July 31, 2003, 12:03:57 PM
note this next bit is literature and is highly readable. Its an addon i wrote to a story for english 102 last year by James joice
“Addition to Evelyn by James Joyce”
She stood silently at the station for several hours. The boat was long gone and she hadn’t left her spot at all for the entire night. She seemed to be in a trance-like state. The seaport was empty and it had been without any ships for several hours. The glowing watery mass gazed into her eyes and she stared back into it. She could hear the ocean waves crack on the harbor singing dark sea shanties of pirates and serpents dueling it out on the high seas. However, The station was much quieter then it was in the daytime. Before you could hear the clamorous chatter of tourist and sailors, but that was many hours ago. A big dark spot of water lay in front of Evelyn. It had once held the large black boat that Frank was on when he left.
Her father would be very angry with her she thought. He would be downright furious. She had packed all her clothes that day and she had all of her belongings with her. She had been out the entire night and she concluded that her father had assumed that she left the family. She felt very guilty even though she was not really gone. The two children were in the clutches of her father. It was Saturday night and he would be especially bad. The time had come she thought as she shifted out of her trance state. Her eyes were no longer fixed on the sea. The glazed look escaped her eyes and it seemed as though she had regained her conscious state. It was morning when she arrived there and now it was night. She needed to get out of the station so she started walking.
Frank was such a nice fellow she thought. Before Frank she had never had a fellow, or knew anyone who had been so kind and generous to her. Frank was a good one she thought. She continued to walk in the night away from the station along the cobblestone road thinking of Frank. She skipped her chance of happiness. No, she thought. She destroyed it. The night was dreadfully cold. The cold had been so familiar to her for the entirety of her miserable life. She had never known any other type of weather. She heard stories about how wonderful the warmth of the tropics were for those who visited. How lovely it sounded to be anything but cold. When Tom Nook the blind preacher spoke of Hell she wondered why it was so bad. A change in temperature sounded lovely. Again she thought of the tropics, which made her think of Frank. My fellow, the dark Irishman who had traversed the world and had made it big in Buenos Ayres she thought. The man she thought she loved. The Fellow she thought loved her. He was gone now.
damn forum screws up my paragraph formating
now the translated version for 12 year old aol users
“ADITION 2 AV3LYN BY JMAS JOYC3”
SH3 S2D SIELNTLY AT DA STATION FOR S3V3RAL HOURS1!!!!!! DA BOAT WAS LONG GONE AND SHE HADN’T LEFT H3R SPOT AT AL FOR TEH ENTIER NIGHT11111! OMG SH3 SEMED 2 B IN A TRANCE-LIEK STAET11!!!!!! TEH SEAPORT WAS 3MPTY AND IT HAD BEN WITHOUT ANY SHIPS FOR SEVERAL HOURS!!1!1!!1 OMG DA GLOWNG W8RY MAS GAEZD IN2 H3R EY3S AND SHE STAERD BAK IN2 IT11!! WTF SHE CUD H3AR TEH OC3AN WAEVS CRAK ON DA HARBOR SNGNG DARK SEA SHANTEIS OF PIRAETS AND S3RP3NTS DU3LNG IT OUT ON TEH HIGH SAAS!1!!! WTF HOWEVER DA STATION WAS MUCH QUEITER TH3N IT WAS IN DA DAYTIEM!1111 OMG WTF BFOR3 U CUD HEAR TEH CLMOROUS CHATER OF 2URIST AND SALEORS BUT TAHT WAS MANY HOURS AGO!!1!!1 OMG A BIG DARK SPOT OF W8R LAY IN FRONT OF EVELYN!!111!! LOL IT HAD ONCA HELD TEH LARGE BLAK BOAT TAHT FRANK WAS ON WHEN HA LAFT
H3R111! WTF LOL FATHER WUD B VERY ANGRY WIT HER SHE THOUGHT1!11!!!! OMG LOL HE WUD B DOWNRIGHT FURIOUS1!111 OMG LOL SHE HAD PAKAD AL H3R CLOTH3S TAHT DAY AND SHA HAD AL OF HAR BLONGNGS WIT H3R!111!1 WTF SH3 HAD BEN OUT TEH 3NTIER NIGHT AND SHA CONCLUD3D TAHT H3R FATHER HAD ASUM3D TAHT SHE L3FT TEH FMILY!1!!1!1 OMG WTF LOL SH3 FELT VERY GUILTY EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS NOT RILLY GONE11!!1!!! OMG LOL DA TWO CHILDRAN WARE IN DA CLUTCH3S OF HER FATHER!!!!! LOL IT WAS SATURDAY NIGHT AND H3 WUD B ESP3CIALY BAD!!1!11 OMG WTF DA TIEM HAD COMA SHE THOUGHT AS SHA SHIFTED OUT OF HER TRANCE STAET1!11 OMG HAR EYAS W3RE NO LONGER FIEXD ON DA SEA!!!1!!1 OMG TEH GLAEZD LOK 3SCAEPD H3R EYES AND IT SEM3D AS THOUGH SH3 HAD R3GANEAD HER CONSCIOUS STAET1!!!!1!! WTF IT WAS MORNNG WHEN SHE ARIEVD THEIR AND NOW IT WAS NIGHT1!!!11!1 OMG LOL SHE NEDED 2 GET OUT OF TEH STATION SO SHA STARTAD WOKNG
FRANK!111 OMG WTF LOL WAS SUCH A NIEC F3LOW SHA THOUGHT!1!!1 OMG WTF BFORA FRANK SHE HAD NAVER HAD A FALOW OR NU ANYON3 WHO HAD BEN SO KIND AND GAN3ROUS 2 H3R!11! WTF LOL FRANK WAS A GOD ON3 SHE THOUGHT!!!!!! OMG SHE CONTINUED 2 WOK IN DA NIGHT AWAY FROM TEH STATION ALONG DA COBLES2N3 ROAD THINKNG OF FRANK11111 OMG LOL SHE SKIP3D H3R CHANCE OF HAPIENS1!1!1!! WTF LOL NO SH3 THOUGHT!1!!111! OMG WTF LOL SH3 DESTROY3D IT!!!!!1 WTF LOL DA NIGHT WAS DREADFULY COLD11!!!!1 OMG LOL DA COLD HAD BEN SO FMILIAR 2 H3R FOR DA 3NTIERTY OF HER MIESRABL3 LIEF!!111!!! WTF SHE HAD NEVER KNOWN ANY OTHAR TYPE OF W3ATHER!!11 OMG WTF LOL SHE HEARD S2REIS ABOUT HOW WOND3RFUL DA WARMTH OF TEH TROPICS W3R3 FOR THOSE WHO VISIETD!111!! WTF HOW LOVELY IT SOUNDED 2 B ANYTHNG BUT COLD!1!1 WHEN 2M NOK TEH BLIND PR3ACH3R SPOKE OF HAL SHA WONDERED Y IT WAS SO BAD!!!1 A CHANGE IN T3MPERATURA SOUNDAD LOVELY11!!1!11 WTF LOL AGANE SH3 THOUGHT OF DA TROPICS WHICH MAED HAR THINK OF MAH!11!1! OMG LOL F3LOW TEH DARK IRISHMAN WHO HAD TRAEVRSAD DA WORLD AND HAD MAED IT BIG IN BU3NOS AYR3S SH3 THOUGHT1!11!!! WTF DA MAN SHE THOUGHT SHA LOVED!!!1!!!1 OMG WTF LOL DA FALOW SHE THOUGHT LOVAD H3R1!!1 WTF HE WAS GON3 NOW
1!1111!! OMG
Post by: mouse_clicker on July 31, 2003, 12:14:36 PM
Meh, we're more split than that.
Half the country calls it pop, half calls it soda, and people in the south label any carbonated soft drink as Coke. In general, I call soft drinks soda, but if I want something specific, I'll call it by the name.
Post by: ThePerm on July 31, 2003, 12:27:25 PM
Post by: mouse_clicker on July 31, 2003, 12:32:42 PM
Post by: ThePerm on July 31, 2003, 04:48:52 PM
Post by: mouse_clicker on July 31, 2003, 04:57:48 PM
BTW, that was some pretty good l337/h4xx0r- did you type it up yourself or use a translator?
Speaking of which, you can have Google translate itself into l337- it's hilarious.
Post by: Grey Ninja on July 31, 2003, 05:29:02 PM
My drink of choice is the good old Cherry Coke.
When a place doesn't serve Coke products, I will usually opt for a Dr. Pepper, as I really don't like most Pepsi products.
Post by: aoi tsuki on July 31, 2003, 06:55:37 PM
Funny thing about Coke is, i used to not like it. A few years ago i'd get a drink in honor of my friend (she didn't die; we just lost contact) because she loved the stuff. Now i can't stop drinking it. i've noticed that certain vending machines taste differently. The one at the local Wal-mart is the best; forty cents a can and it has a very slight spice (cinnamony) flavor. i don't really care for cherry or vanilla coke though, except as something different.
Post by: ThePerm on July 31, 2003, 06:56:37 PM
Also awesome Kiwi flavored Shasta
dr. pepper is the only doctor i trust
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-07-11&res=l
also if youve ever been to Mexico youll notice Soda tastes 10x better....
they use cane sugar.....not cheap sugar...not High Fructose Corn Syrup...good damn Cane Sugar.....
In Georgia we always called Soft Drinks Soda...here in Arizona its the same...but over in Idaho and Minnesota where my relatives are from the call it pop. And i think Drinks is a very vague term.....you drink everything. Beverages is jsut too big a word...drinks is more rustic.
also to you foreigners youd be really suprised at the huge regional differences withinside the States.....iv been to all corners of the Country and some people are just plain different. Moving aroudn iv gone into culture shock a few times.
Post by: mouse_clicker on July 31, 2003, 09:06:33 PM
I've noticed sodas in France and Italy taste better, too (my grandparents took me to Europe
). Funny how there's so many health food out in America and yet obesity is still an epidemic. "also to you foreigners youd be really suprised at the huge regional differences withinside the States.....iv been to all corners of the Country and some people are just plain different."
Couldn't be more true. It's liking going between different countries, sometimes, visiting different states, even neighboring ones. It's crazy.
"Moving aroudn iv gone into culture shock a few times."
Tell me about it- I was born in South Dakota, moved to California, moved to Okinawa, Japan, then moved to Kansas- THERE'S culture shock for you.
Perm, you never answered me- did you write that l337 yourself or use a translator?
Post by: PIAC on August 01, 2003, 12:22:55 AM
oh and the perm used the aol translator on the first page that i posted..
and you moved from japan TO kansas? ... why! slap your parents right now
Post by: nitsu niflheim on August 01, 2003, 03:38:31 AM
warm or cold) My family thinks I'm weird for that, I hate ice in anything too.Quote
they use cane sugar.....not cheap sugar...not High Fructose Corn Syrup...good damn Cane Sugar.....
confused me you have. all real sugar comes from cane. I know when they harvest the sugar cane, they burn the field.
Post by: mouse_clicker on August 01, 2003, 11:54:13 AM
Quote
confused me you have. all real sugar comes from cane. I know when they harvest the sugar cane, they burn the field.
Well, high fructose corn syrup is a sweetner made from corn (as the name would imply). Pure cane sugar is just straight sugar, no complicated stuff, and tastes much better.
Quote
and you moved from japan TO kansas? ... why! slap your parents right now
Military.
My dad actually decided on going to Kansas, specifically near Wichita, because Boeing, Cessna, and Raytheon all have major branches hear and he was an Air Force pilot for 22 years. He's been retired for about 3 years now and works at Raytheon teaching people how to fly business jets.
Post by: aoi tsuki on August 01, 2003, 11:58:52 AM
Raw sugar comes from either sugar cane or sugar beets; the main difference is the climate that each can grow in. If i remember correctly, it's not available in the US because the FDA deemed it unsafe due to levels of certain impurities. If you've been to a Starbucks you've seen Sugar in the Raw, the biggest name brand turbinado sugar, which is closest to cane sugar as it gets in the US. True brown sugar is a sugar which still has some of the molasses syrup intact, although i've heard that most brown sugar in the US is really white sugar sprayed with molasses. White sugar is the super refined (bleached) sugar we all know and love. Powdered sugar is a step beyond that; it's blended so that it's a powder. Confectioner's sugar goes even further, and adds a bit of corn starch to keep it from clumping. i think corn syrup is made from corn starch, but i'm not sure. There's also fructose, a sugar made from fruit.
Post by: mouse_clicker on August 01, 2003, 12:25:28 PM
Post by: aoi tsuki on August 01, 2003, 02:29:23 PM
Post by: PIAC on August 01, 2003, 07:09:35 PM
hows that for a useless fact!
Post by: ThePerm on August 01, 2003, 07:57:30 PM
and on thta film someone mentioned ealier...i like that film.....makes me feel good.
Post by: nitsu niflheim on August 02, 2003, 03:37:46 AM
Now there's some more useless information.
