Most Common English Writing Mistakes

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Lery
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by Lery »

Rava wrote:When I first saw it happen, I attributed it as an ESL-related mistake, but I've seen people on forums who read like native English speakers but make that same error.
Mhhh, I guess someone who's no native speaker, like me, wouldn't do such an error... Because that possessive form is really "english", as a foreigner I had to learn those kind of rules, so I know it exists and every time I use it I have to think twice about it to be sure that it will be appropriate... So I wouldn't write a plural using ['s]. It certainly the same for every foreigner.

So I guess it's the kind of mistakes only native speakers would do.
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by pudding321 »

Sorry, it seems I have missed out "noun ellipsis" in my previous example.

Example 1: The first dog barked, and the second (dog) followed.

Example 2: I rode on Mark's car, and you rode on Sandy's (car).

Without the words in brackets, "Sandy's" may look like a noun, but it still remains an adjective.

Talking about ellipsis, I would also like to point out a common mistake: incorrect use of pronouns.

Have a look at this familiar sentence: "I am taller than her."

Sounds right? No. Look at the original formation of the sentence: "I am taller than she is."

You see? We use the subject form 'she' instead of the object form 'her' since the verb 'is' is omitted.

So this is the correct sentence: "I am taller than she."
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by YoakeNoHikari »

what ellipsis
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by Lery »

It's the fact of "omitting" something.
In that case we are omitting words in a sentence because they are implied by the construction...
Example:
I'm going to the doctor's.
Here the "appointment" is implicit. So it's an ellipsis from Pudding's point of view... (Personally I'm using ellipsis only to indicate the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.) :wink:

@Pudding : Sandy's (car) would also be called a genitive, wouldn't it ?
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by pudding321 »

Lery wrote:It's the fact of "omitting" something.
In that case we are omitting words in a sentence because they are implied by the construction...
Example:
I'm going to the doctor's.
Here the "appointment" is implicit. So it's an ellipsis from Pudding's point of view... (Personally I'm using ellipsis only to indicate the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.) :wink:

@Pudding : Sandy's (car) would also be called a genitive, wouldn't it ?
Yes, "Sandy's car" are genitives.

For ellipsis, you first have to provide sufficient information before the sentence. Then, you have to check if ambiguity is created in the ellipsis, which should be dismissed immediately if found. It's called lexical restriction.

In writing, for the sentence "I'm going to the doctor's", you would either have to, generally, provide the word 'appointment' beforehand or after the word "doctor's".

1. I was treated better during the dentist's appointment than during the doctor's. (comparative deletion)

2. On Friday, I'm going to the dentist's appointment, and on Monday the doctor's. (double ellipsis)

3. I'm going to the doctor's appointment. (no ellipsis)

In informal speech, though, I think it has been more common to use ellipsis without giving information beforehand. I often hear people say, "I'm going to Wendy's." or "I'm going to McDonald's." Blame these fastfood restaurants. :P
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by Dohma »

Isn't "I'm going to McDonald's" correct because the restaurant is actually called McDonald's, and not McDonald?
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by pudding321 »

Yes, but when you habitually say these sentences, you'll think that "similar" formations will also work.
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by YoakeNoHikari »

where're all these ellipses : o

im not insulting you im genuinely interested
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by pudding321 »

YoakeNoHikari wrote:where're all these ellipses : o
The ellipsis we have been talking about is the omission from a sentence of words that are normally needed to complete the grammatical construction or meaning.

There's another meaning for ellipsis that refers to the three dots to indiciate an omission in text.

Though both of them pertain to the idea of omission, the former makes your sentence more succinct and less wordy, while the latter has rather subjective uses including but not limited to hesitation, intentional omission of information, distress, and uncertainty.
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by YoakeNoHikari »

alright, thanks
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by Lery »

The word "ellipsis" shouldn't be mistaken with the word "ellipse", by the way ;)
The first is an omission, the later looks like a generalised circle. :mrgreen:
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by YoakeNoHikari »

ellipses is the plural of ellipsis
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by Lery »

But an ellipse is also a well known figure :
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by YoakeNoHikari »

YoakeNoHikari wrote:ellipses is the plural of ellipsis
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Re: Most Common English Writing Mistakes

Post by pudding321 »

YoakeNoHikari wrote:
YoakeNoHikari wrote:ellipses is the plural of ellipsis
Of course, but when we talk about the general idea of omission of things, we say the singular form 'ellipsis'.
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