OzSTOC
No Parking Zone! => Off Topic, Off Colour, and non-motorcycle related => Topic started by: Biggles on February 20, 2015, 09:09:34 AM
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You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost a quarter of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so - time to shut UP.
Oh - one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P! :grin
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:dred11
keep it UP Biggles,,
:fp I've gone #@n& UP a few times... :fp
:spank :spank :spank I know I've mucked UP, :spank :spank :spank :spank so I'll beat myself UP... :butt :butt
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Great post Biggles.
One thing that gets UP my nose is those who confuse their there, with their their. If they're thinking it's difficult, they're wrong, as it's there in their Primary School text books.
There's my gripe. :grin
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:dred11
Great post Biggles.
One thing that gets UP my nose is those who confuse their there, with their their. If they're thinking it's difficult, they're wrong, as it's there in their Primary School text books.
There's my gripe. :grin
++ :like
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Great post Biggles.
One thing that gets UP my nose is those who confuse their there, with their their. If they're thinking it's difficult, they're wrong, as it's there in their Primary School text books.
There's my gripe. :grin
You wouldn't see any misusage of "there/their/they're" in this Forum! Wot thuh
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here hear
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here hear
Yeah. That's anotheree!
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And another gem is if you're concerned about your use of an apostrophe, to show possession or omission.
ie the boy's books and the boys' books showing that the books belong to a boy or a group of boys.
ie "you're" is using the apostrophe to show an omission and shortening of "you are"
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Unlike some languages where usage defines the meaning of the word in English it's the spelling that defines the usage.
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And another gem is if you're concerned about your use of an apostrophe, to show possession or omission.
ie the boy's books and the boys' books showing that the books belong to a boy or a group of boys.
ie "you're" is using the apostrophe to show an omission and shortening of "you are"
I'm sure some people regard apostrophes as decorations. You sprinkle them like 100s and 1000s over your iced sentences. :wink1
They're invaluable when you have a plural "s" you'd like to embellish.
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Unlike some languages where usage defines the meaning of the word in English it's the spelling that defines the usage.
unless, the usage determines the spelling.....
whether wether weather there their
My head is starting to hurt, I'm going back to bed.
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then you could always have what watt
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Wunwun was a race horse, Wuntoo was one too, Wunwun won one and Wuntoo won one too :wink1
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then you could always have what watt
..or is it "Which watt?"
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..or is it "Which watt?"
That'd be "witch watt?"
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Wunwun was a race horse, Wuntoo was one too, Wunwun won one and Wuntoo won one too :wink1
Excellent! Pinched that one, too.
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how about which witch
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Back to the original post, I can't understand why, to make firewood, you chop a tree down then you chop it up.
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Why do people say listen UP?
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Why do people say listen UP?
To get your attention??
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to make firewood, you chop a tree down then you chop it up.
When we need wood for the fire I just tell Heather I'm going to saw (chainsaw)some wood........I never add "up" on the end.
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Why do people say listen UP?
I thought it was "listen HERE"....maybe regional variation???
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here hear
where wear ware?
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here hear
where wear ware?
or "to two too" - try putting that in one sentence
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"I thought it was "listen HERE"....maybe regional variation???"
Alan, you need to watch more US TV/movies.
Wot about the misuse of the adjective "due" (due date) introducing a participial phrase rather than the participle "owing". A participial phrase should begin with a past or present participle, not an adjective.
"For most English speakers due to and owing to have become interchangeable. Trying to preserve a distinction between them is pointless."
And another two. I bought a bike off from Jim. Must of have been a small bike.
When I was growing up and forced to read English literature and dictionaries "personable" meant handsome. Some people today use it as a personality trait.
"Who"/"that" when referring to people/animals.
"That"/"which"
We could be here all day.
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Hu's on first?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUU7vOqK0DM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUU7vOqK0DM) :rofl
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Alan, you need to watch more US TV/movies.
I have enough trouble with Australian and UK English and some would say that the US is not the best example of English.
I bought a bike off from Jim.
I would have use off of in that case as in "I bought a bike off of Jim."
"personable"
That's the first time I've seen that word.
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try and do something ('try' is attempt which may not be successful; 'and' implies success) - wrong
try to do something - right
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If you thought verbs were just "doing" words, then your head will start to spin as you work through this page:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm) :grin
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Another two people went to Timbuktu, too.
I also got Timbuktu in, too.
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See! sum ov us dun got lernered reel gud at skool ! :crackup
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Another two people went to Timbuktu, too.
I also got Timbuktu in, too.
Were they wearing tutu's as well? :rofl
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Whilst eating tartufo
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Another two people went to Timbuktu, too.
I also got Timbuktu in, too.
:hijacked Shades of the poem "Me and Tim a-hunting went…."
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Bough, bow.
I find somewhat confounding, the way people want to express "were" or "we're", but end up typing "where".
Hey Pete - bet you read and re-read your "their" post a few times before hitting the 'post' button. :crackup
Nice upbeat post Biggles. ++