Search results for 'tag:Dates tag:Vowels' matching tags 'Dates' and 'Vowels'

Re: Thank you plural?

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:43:57 GMT

Another opinion...

From the Gregg Reference Manual:

When words taken from other parts of speech are used as nouns, they are usually pluralized by the addition of s or es.

Ifs, ands, or buts

Dos and donâts

Yeses and nos

Ins and outs

Ups and downs

Yeas and nays

Pros and cons

Whereabouts

Whys and wherefores

Haves and havenots

If the pluralized form is unfamiliar or likely to be misread, use and apostrophe plus s to form the plural.

Whichâs and wherefores

Orâs and norâs

The Elements of Grammar, however, notes that nouns ending in vowel sounds could have an apostrophe added, as can plural reference to letters

Aâs and bâs

Dot your Iâs and cross your tâs

Doâs and donâts

Ohâs and ahâs

Thank you, to me, ends in a vowel sound, so I vote for adding the apostrophe.

Let us, however, eschew the addition of an apostrophe with numbers and dates.

1990s

1800s

The 60s

Lucky 7s or sevens

Thank youâs to all.

Re: Apostrophe

Alienvoord — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 23:05:16 GMT

---
There was formerly a respectable tradition (17-19c) of using the apostrophe for noun plurals, especially in loanwords ending in a vowel (as in We do confess Errata's, Leonard Lichfield, 1641, and Comma's are used, Philip Luckcombe, 1771) and in the consonants s, z, ch, sh, (as in waltz's and cotillions, Washington Irving, 1804). Although this practice is rare in 20c standard usage, the apostrophe of plurality continues in at least five areas: (1) with abbreviations such as V.I.P.'s or VIP's, although such forms as VIPs are now widespread. (2) With letters of the alphabet, as in His i's are just like his a's and Dot your i's and cross your t's. In the phrase do's and don'ts, the apostrophe of plurality occurs in the first word but not the second, which has the apostrophe of omission: by and large, the use of two apostrophes close together (as in don't's) is avoided. (3) In decade dates, such as the 1980's, although such apostrophe-free forms as the 1980s are widespread, as are such truncations as the '80s, the form the '80's being unlikely. (4) In family names, especially if they end in -s, as in keeping up with the Jones's, as opposed to the Joneses, a form that is also common. (5) in the non-standard ('illiterate') use often called in BrE the greengrocer's apostrophe, as in apple's 55p per lb and We sell the original shepherds pie's (notice in a shop window, Canterbury, England).
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- The Oxford Companion to the English Language page 75

What's so wrong with some variation anyway?

Re: He, she ,we

CalifJim — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:21:37 GMT

OK. Now I'm all confused!

Let me try these in SAMPA, but adding i and u for 'half-tense' vowels.
I'm leaving out the \ after all those r's.

Here's (I think) how I pronounce these (if anyone even cares at this late date!).

"we, we're, we'll, we've, we'd; beer, feel, fill, wheel, will"
"you, you're, you'll, you've, you'd; poor, fool, full; fuel, Yule"
"Do you?" "You do?" "You do, too?"

[wi, wir, wil, wiv, wid; bir, fil, fIl; wil, wIl]
[ju, jur, jul, juv, jud; pur, ful, fUl; fjul, jul]
[du ju] [ju du] [ju du tu]

I think the half-tense cases can come out either tense or lax or in between in normal speech, and I think which comes out depends on context and speed. Hard to say exactly. The "i" in "mirror" for me can be anything from [ I ] to [ i ]., although it never seems to reach all the way to [ i ]. So maybe what I'm calling half-tense should really be called indeterminate with respect to tenseness.

CJ

Re: W is a vowel

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:29:12 GMT

W: I am addressing the nature of the consonance/vowel controversy in the teaching of poetry. In most cases, assonance has a tendency to slow a line down. Try to say Poe's ". . . weary, way-worn wanderer . . ." fast. So often, assonance holds the tone and holds the sound. Consonnance and alliteration tend to kick the sound away and move quickly to the next.

In this context, w works much more as a vowel. Sometimes h does too. That's why the three letters in why all seem equal candidates for the same job.

Also, there is a quiet in vowels as if they want to be absent and leave space open in words (except maybe i: it seems complicit in the speed of, say, itty bitty; I'm still working on i).

Anyway, thanks for the exposition.

Re: validate, elucidate

CalifJim — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 03:13:13 GMT

It's difficult to characterize some of these unstressed vowels as either u in but or i in kit.

I find that the vowel I use is something between u in but and i in kit in words like elucidate and validate.
I use something closer to i in kit for solid, valid, and fluid -- almost exactly the i in kit, actually.

For all the final et's in the two-syllable words in the second group I use the i in kit, but for the et in cabinet I use a vowel a little less like i in kit and more like e in bet, but not clearly either one or the other.

But if I weren't splitting hairs, I'd just say that I say all of them like i in kit.

CJ

validate, elucidate

Davidrock65 — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:29:08 GMT

1. Do you pronouce validate , elucidate, solid, valid, fluid, etc. as the short vowel u as in rut or but, or as the short vowel i as in bit or kit?

2. Do you pronounce cabinet, hornet, booklet, magnet, voilet, piglet, pamphlet, etc. as the short vowel u as in rut or but, or as the short vowel i as in bit or kit, or the short vowel e as in bet or set?

I looked them up in various dictionaries and received different answers. I am very confused as to how to pronounce them.

Much obliged for your help

Re: Very Important Questions!

Woodward — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 21:52:32 GMT

1) How long is a piece of string?

Exactly 27.82cm. Anything other this is either shorter or longer than it should be.

2) Who Said an Orange should be called an Orange , and not a Window?

First, windows weren't invented back then. Second, it was almost called a Green because long ago, at the time when there were no windows, they used to eat oranges before they were ripe, when they were green.

3) What do you call a bedroom with no bed in it?

It's called a floorroom.

4) Day light savings time - why are they saving it and where do they keep it?

Every knows that the sun will not last for ever and of course if there is no sun, there is no day, only night. So someone with a little foresight decided to start saving daylight for that tragic day. Where do they keep it? They keep it tightly compacted in little missiles that they will later send up into the air and explode, thus giving us daylight. That's why so much light comes out of an atomic bomb when is exploded.

5) Are there any Bi-polar bears?

Yes, it is quite a typical occurance in natural. That's why they have that 'I want to go up to you and cuddle you' appearance but one which will leave you with your intestines being chewed on if you go and try it. Yet they can just leave you alone too. You never know until you try with these characters.

6) Are Nobel Gases Knighted?

Well no they aren't. They are ignited to hide the smell since when you are sitting with fellow barons and other royalty, it's not really appreciated having it drifting over the dinner table. Not wise having all those candles about too.

7) Who Cares for the Care Bears?

No-one. That's why you don't see them around any more. Since nobody cared for them, they all died.

8) Is duck tape made out of ducks?

Well the original duck tape was made from a mixture of duck fat and paper. They used to use it in the lower mountain regions of China. The duck they used was from the same family as the Peking Duck.

9) Why is it you must wait until night to call it a day?

This is out of consideration for the small island countries that are to the right of the international date line. They would feel left out and not a part of the rest of the world if they didn't have their day along with everyone else.

10) Why get even, when you can get odd?

This expression comes from years of playing poker. If you get evens or in other words pairs, it will win you a lot more money that having odds, or non-pairs. That's why they say 'get even' because you will win if you do.

11) Why does a grapefruit look nothing like a grape?

It is in fact a type of grape. About 500 years ago, there were a lot of grapes in the Southern region of Paraguay. But with Global warming, the normally rainy Amazonic region to the north has had a permenant change in redistribution of the rainfall. It is currently raining a lot more present day in the South of Paraguay than it did 500 years ago. So now the grapes that used to be grown there have been saturated so often by rainfall that they were continually swollen in size. With each generation of grape produced in the region, it retained a little of its swollen size. The problem with this is that the vines couldn't cope with the excess weight so they became tree like in form. And since the fruit grew higher from the ground than normal, over time it created a defense mechanism of a thick skin (the peel) so that it wouldn't explode on contact with the ground when it fell.

12) Why do they call it 'chili' if it's hot?

Well actually chilies are not hot despite common belief, they are in fact incredible cold. The burning sensation you have in your mouth is not from heat but from the cold. It's like when you hold some ice cubes in your hand, it kind of hurts because of the cold. That's the same sensation in your mouth. The association for the protection of the Chilies rights are currently pleading their case at the UN to get this common misconception rectified since it is causing irrepairable damage to their name.

13) Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

No, it is totally forbidden in that way that Humanitarians are not permitted to eat humans either.

14) Why is it that rain drops but snow falls?

It is because of the original starting position of the rain and snow. The next time you are flying above the clouds (in a plane I mean) take a close look at them. You will see that the top of the cloud doesn't look wet at all. Why? Because the rain is being held inside the cloud (you just can't see it). So when something comes out of your hand by accident, it drops, just like the rain that is being held by the cloud. Now if you take another look at the cloud, very closely at the top of it, you will see that it is usually covered in a light fluffy substance. This is the snow sitting on top of the cloud. Now, sometimes when the cloud moves, the snow just falls off it. Like if you have a cup on the table, it falls off and doesn't drop. That's the origin of rain drop and snow fall.

15) Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

That is because no-one every finishes doctor school. People who want to be doctors are in fact slow learners and a practice is to cover that fact. They are constantly practising or experimenting on you. You will often hear them say... Let me see (because they have never seen it before and they are curious). That's why Tests are called tests. A blood test is a way of saying, I need to test (using your blood) whether I am right or wrong because I don't know in the first place.

16) Why is clear considered a color?

Because it is. If you look at a clear thing really really closely, and I mean get your nose right up to it, you will see the clear is in fact a very, very light white.

17) Who chose Dyslexic ( sp? ooh the ultimate irony) as a word for peeps who have spelliing difficulties?

Dr Dyslex's secretary. The truth is that he had no problem spelling, he was just alcoholic and got things a little mixed after the fifth bottle. It used to be a bit of a joke with all the ladies who worked with him. If anyone did anything a little wrong or made a mistake, they would say, "Aren't you a little dyslexic today". Funnily enough, when ever the doctor made cheques, the bank tellers would say the same thing referring to his writing.

18) Why isnt the word Palindrome, a Palindrome?

Well, Palidrome is actually an abbreviation for Palindromeemordnilap. Since it is too long to say (especially at 3 in the morning after a couple of bottles of red wine), it is almost always shorten.

19) Why does the alphabet go a,b,c ,d etc... and why does it have to have 26 letters?

The creators of the Alphabet thought they would write it according the most common words that were used by babies and young children. According to the internationally reknown Child psychologist of the time, Dr. Sdik Etahi, the first sounds are usually, a, a ,a, and then ba, ba, or caca then frequently they say dada, then the next vowel they use is the E which gives them babe, ace, dead and so on. So that is why the alphabet starts with A and ends with Z (since kids almost never use Z in their first words).

Originally there were more than 26 letters, in fact there were 47 and a half letters. Over time the Alphabet got smaller and smaller in much the same way as computers have done. They took up too much space. There are rumours that eventually the World Alphabet Association (WAA) would like to reduce the alphabet to include only 12 letters to make it easier to type words and so keyboards can be made smaller.

Re: Peace of mind

rvw — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 23:23:59 GMT

I found the following at:   http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=peace+of+mind&searchmode=none

peace Look up peace at Dictionary.com
    1140, "freedom from civil disorder," from Anglo-Norm. pes, from O.Fr. pais (11c., Fr. paix), from L. pacem (nom. pax) "treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of war" (cf. Prov. patz, Sp. paz, It. pace), from PIE *pak- "fasten," related to pacisci "to covenant or agree" (see pact). Replaced O.E. friÃ°. Modern spelling is 1500s, reflecting vowel shift. Sense in peace of mind is from c.1200. Used in various greetings from c.1300, from Biblical L. pax, Gk. eirene, which were used by translators to render Heb. shalom, properly "safety, welfare, prosperity." Sense of "quiet" is attested by 1300; meaning "absence or cessation of war or hostility" is attested from 1297. As a type of hybrid tea rose (developed 1939 in France by Francois Meilland), so called from 1944. Native American peace pipe is first recorded 1760. Peacemaker is from 1436. Phrase peace with honor first recorded 1607 (in "Coriolanus"). The Peace Corps was set up March 1, 1962. Peacenik is from 1965 (for suffix, see beatnik); an earlier equivalent was peacemonger (1808).

piece Look up piece at Dictionary.com
    c.1225, "fixed amount, measure, portion," from O.Fr. piece (11c.), from V.L. *pettia, probably from Gaulish (cf. Welsh peth "thing," Breton pez "piece"), from O.Celt. base *pett-. Sense of "portable firearm" first recorded 1581; that of "chessman" is from 1562. Meaning "person regarded as a sex object" is first recorded 1785 (cf. piece of ***, human beings colloquially called piece of flesh from 1593; cf. also L. scortum "bimbo, anyone available for a price," lit. "skin," dim. scortillum "bimbette"). Meaning "a portion of a distance" is from 1612; that of "literary composition" dates from 1533. The verb meaning "to mend by adding pieces" is recorded from c.1380; sense of "to join, unite, put together" is from 1483. Piece of my mind is from 1572. The Mod.Fr. form is reborrowed into Eng. in piÃ¨ce de rÃ©sistance (1839), originally "the most substantial dish in a meal." Piece-work dates from 1549. Piece of work "remarkable person" echoes Hamlet. Piece of Eight is the old name for the Sp. dollar (1610) of the value of 8 reals.

Re: Proper use of the apostrophe (Guest:clreilly)

Guest — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 11:35:13 GMT

I am continually stunned by the fact that so few sources seem to realise the logic that lies behind their own rules. I have heard whacky rules that suggests that ancient or biblical names ending with s are exceptions, or words of more than one syllable ending with s.

The 'eez' thing here is at least in the right ballpark. The rule should be that if the final s is immediately preceded by a vowel with no other consonant in between, it's a candidate for dropping the extra s. So JesUs is a candidate, as is SocratEs, but not JAmes, whose final vowel sound is the A, not the E, and has an M between it and the S.

That's not the entire story, though, inasmuch as it's really the awkwardness of pronunciation which should tell you. James's doesn't sound awkward at all (it has a 'ziz' sound). Jesus's does ('zuzz-ziz'). Morris's seems to be okay, though.

Re: V3

paco2004 — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:13:28 GMT

The verb "get" came from the Old North "geta" and the verb inflected like; geta - gat - getten. The past participle "getten" or "gotten" (a new variant of "getten" generated by vowel shift) had been used down to the 16th century. However, during the 17th century, the past tense form "got" (which was originally "gat") was gradually assimilated to the past participle. Now in British English the form "gotten" is almost obsolete being superseded by "got". But in American English "gotten" is still very common, despite that Webster Dictionary (1864) said it was out of date.

paco