And I nearly forgot my manners, Mrs. Peel:
Posted on 08/29/2007 5:50:29 PM PDT by MrsEmmaPeel
I was in a *boring* meeting, absentmindedly doodling on a scratch pad. I was pretty amazed after the meeting when I noticed that I doodled the following:
After the meeting, I glanced at my notes and have a serious question: is these appropriate in this context? I mean, should the correct grammar be: "I so enjoy discussions like this", she said wielding a bloody axe in her hand. I mean, isn't discussions a collective and therefore implies a singular?
Please set me straight. I am longing for instruction.
I would say, “discussions like this,” because the speaker is relating other “discussions” to the ONE discussion currently taking place.
My daughter dreamed last night that she was practicing her three-point turns in the Methodist Church parking lot, with Pope Pius XII in the passenger seat.
Punctuation might be a fraction off, however, and I think the sentence might be read thus:
"I so enjoy discussions like these", she said, wielding a bloody axe in her hand.
Oh, and a comma between “said” and “wielding.”
Commas inside the quotes.
***”I so enjoy discussions like these”, she said wielding a bloody axe in her hand.***
Not a grammer police by any means, but I would correct it like this:
“I so enjoy discussions like this,” she said, wielding a bloody axe in her hand.
Note punctuation changes.
Comma before quotations, also.
So true. That looks really funny, though.
ax is preferred to axe (nobody said that one)
Your version looks exactly right. The test on the object pronoun is to try it with the noun. “I so enjoy discussions like THIS discussion,” not, “I so enjoy discussions like THESE discussion.”
How many items on the agenda. If there was more than one about which you had a negative attitude, “these” would be correct. If just one, “this” would be correct.
I did not think to ask after the punctuation police. I sincerely thank you.
Could it be she does more than one? A repetitive axe-wielder?
And I nearly forgot my manners, Mrs. Peel:
Maybe you should see a doctor about your possible(subconscious) homicidal tendency's, grammar be damned. ;)
I’m out of wine. Is that the Minister of Magic on the right? Nice bowler.
Depends who you axe.
(Somebody had to say it).
Hmmmmmm...usually I’m on duty as the grammar/spelling police but that one is a little tricky. Nonetheless I’d say “discussions like this” since the discussion she is referring to is just one discussion.
Just my guess...there’s a reason I didn’t take AP English!
Having been castigated by my editor for so many years, something had to stick in my brain. Punctuation before quotations was one I finally learned.
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