at the speed of light

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nona the brit

#292512 Mon, 13 Nov 06 01:00 PM

The colon is increasing in popularity over in the UK too.

nona the brit

Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004

England

Veteran Member (11,353)

The name says it all.

Colons

Yankee

#292513 Mon, 13 Nov 06 01:08 PM

Nona The Brit wrote:
The colon is increasing in popularity over in the UK too.

And here I'd thought the use of a colon with a quotation was a British innovation. Surprise [:O]

Maybe we should be "blaming" the Aussies? Stick out tongue [:P]

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,157)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

Colons

Grammar Geek

#292582 Mon, 13 Nov 06 03:22 PM

Sure, we can blame the Aussies, but I'm not sure it's entirely fair...

Anyway, I can confirm that Americans do NOT use the colon before a quote in standard prose.

Grammar Geek

Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006

Pennsylvania, USA

Veteran Member (15,583)

Barbara, who answers in American English.

Colons

J Lewis

#292592 Mon, 13 Nov 06 03:48 PM

I'd say it comes from the British and it's probably a European influence. In Italian at least, the colon is used and I think also in a lot of other languages.

J Lewis

Joined on Tue, Sep 5 2006

Italy

Regular Member (518)

Colons

Goodman

#292638 Mon, 13 Nov 06 06:46 PM

Don't throw eggs at me! Just want to throw my 2 cents into the debate... Smile [:)]

Figuratively speaking, no living being can run at 186,000 per hour,or the speed of light. “Stronger than the locomotive and faster than the speeding bullet” is the opening intro. In the 60’s Superman show which was a metaphor used to dramatize the fictional hero. There is nothing grammatically wrong but conceptually I think there is a problem with saying “one runs at the speed of light”. If I said “His mind can process numbers like the speed of light”, I am merely using a simile to dramatize my point. However, if I said “His mind can process numbers at the speed of light”, the impression to me is that of exaggeration. There is definitely a big difference between exaggeration and dramatization. Smile [:)] Learners need to clearly distinguish the difference.

Goodman

Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005

Calif. USA

Senior Member (3,197)

The name says it all!

Difference between, Numbers, Metaphors

Yankee

#292640 Mon, 13 Nov 06 06:55 PM

Actually, I would prefer “His mind can process numbers at the speed of light”. Saying 'faster than' would also be good. Both of those sound much better to me than using 'like' in that particular sentence.

Sorry, Goodman. I'm not throwing eggs, just being honest. Smile [:)]

Yankee

Numbers

Goodman

#292659 Mon, 13 Nov 06 08:32 PM

Hi Yank,

Ok, I’ll buy that. What if the sentence is modified to “his mind can process numbers with the speed of light”. How’d you qualify this sentence? Wink [;)]

Goodman

Numbers

Marius Hancu

#292661 Mon, 13 Nov 06 08:52 PM

Both OK:

"His mind can process numbers at the speed of light"
I'm seeing a speedometer indicating that, right beside his brain Smile [:)]

"His mind can process numbers with the speed of light"
I'm seeing a Nike swoosh carrying a 3, a 4, a 5, ..., all the numbers in the universe, on its waves Smile [:)]