Spelling mistakes

Peak

Relevant:

.

Oceana

Delphinus said:

PRESENT: You currently lay an object. You currently lie down.
"She lays herself down. He lies on the carpet."

PAST: You previously laid an object. You previously lay down.
"Last week, she laid the blankets. Yesterday, he lay on the floor sleeping."

So does lay imply a movement, and lie a state? I always have trouble with lie and lay, but more in the laying - lying choices. That the past of lie is lay is not helping matters.

Eld

Oceana said:

Delphinus said:

PRESENT: You currently lay an object. You currently lie down.
"She lays herself down. He lies on the carpet."

PAST: You previously laid an object. You previously lay down.
"Last week, she laid the blankets. Yesterday, he lay on the floor sleeping."

So does lay imply a movement, and lie a state? I always have trouble with lie and lay, but more in the laying - lying choices. That the past of lie is lay is not helping matters.

To lie is an intransitive verb, synonymous with "to recline". Past tense: lay, past participle: lain.
To lay is a transitive verb, synonymous with "to put (down)". Past tense: laid, past participle: laid.
You lay sheets on a bed and then lie on the bed. Yesterday, you lay on a bed on which you had laid sheets. Tomorrow, you might lie on a new bed, on which you have not previously lain.
The reflexive "lay oneself down" is a confusing example because it's a (correct) use of the transitive "lay" with essentially identical meaning to the intransitive "lie".

Delphinus

@Oceana: Lay/laid specifies a direct object, even if that object is "yourself." Lie/lay doesn't specify an object; it's implied. So -- and these are both present tense -- you would "lie on the couch" or "lay yourself on the couch."

Oceana

I am lying on a couch.
I am laying myself on the couch?
I am going to lay myself down?

Eld

Oceana said:

I am lying on a couch.
I am laying myself on the couch?

Yes, but the two are a bit different in that case (that is, both are grammatically correct, but the meanings are slightly different). "I am lying on the couch" is true while you are lying there on the couch. "I am laying myself on the couch" implies (to me) that you are in the act of getting onto the couch (rather than having been there for a while). I laid myself on the couch, so now I am lying on the couch.

Iocun

You're all such a horrible bunch of couch potatoes. I'm going to lay fire to your couches.

Salik

Please keep up the good pointers. This is a good reading for me, hopefully I'll learn the US grammar

Peak

Salik said:

Please keep up the good pointers. This is a good reading for me, hopefully I'll learn the US grammar

lol y u wanna do that?

Peak

just kidding

Amunet

I suppose that I will also add that I will advise anyone who sends me a message or a tell about their grammar. I already proofread quite a bit for members of the UUC, whether I know them IC or not, so don't be shy. I won't eviscerate anyone for intermittent OOC communication.

Salik

So Amunet, give me some pointers here? Also how would I with correct grammar ask if your singel?

Eld

Iocun said:

You're all such a horrible bunch of couch potatoes. I'm going to lay fire to your couches.

Quit lying, Iocun. I'm one of the best couch potatoes around.

Cinya

Here's one: 

Waste = trash, something that did not go to optimal use. 

Waist = narrowest part of the torso.

You know who you are. 

Iocun

Fun fact: I first accidentally wrote "coach potatoes" in a thread about spelling mistakes before editing it.

Delphinus

@Iocun: You were just channeling your inner Canadian. Nothing to worry about if you play a Cyrenian.

Silas

Cyrenians from Cyrenia.

Oceana

More spelling: Is it Silas's comment or Silas' comment?

Silas

Silas's. Silas' has become accepted usage, but I was taught that it's only correct to leave off the trailing s for possessive plurals. "The Maynards' house," for instance.

Rovelda

With a name like Denis, the most common would be Denis's. With foreign, classical, ancient names, it would be Socrates' ideas.

That leaves Silas there as an enigma. Is he ancient and foreign like Socrates, or a Denis?

My vote (to contradict) goes for Silas'.

I don't really know in this particular case, but the comments are from this book (which Salik might like):

http://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/grammar_vocabulary/practical_english_usage/?cc=global&selLanguage=en

Eld

The use of just the apostrophe (Silas' rather than Silas's) was formerly standard (given, for example, in Priestly's Grammar, from 1798), but has largely given way in current use to the 's form. The Chicago Manual of Style gives an optional use of the bare apostrophe for words ending in a 'z' sound (such as Pericles', to give an example both ancient and Achaean), as well is in constructions of the form "for _ sake" (so be good for goodness' sake). . Some references also offer the exception @Rovelda mentions for ancient, classical, and especially Biblical names (Jesus', Moses', Hercules'); I'm not sure how common this is. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends just the apostrophe for all nouns ending in s.

tl;dr: Current usage is mixed, but generally seems to favour the 's form. For informal writing, take your pick. If you're writing for publication, find out what style guide the publication in question uses, and follow its recommendation.

Edit: If I contradicted myself between the beginning and end of that comment, it's because I was researching it as I wrote, so give more weight to the references than to my own generalisations.

Eld

And a pet peeve of mine: One phenomenon, two phenomena.

Oceana

Oh, that reminds me: Hierophant (and not Heirophant).

Sarapis

It drives me nuts when people spell 'lagniappe' with only one p. 

Jiraishin

I once saw a classmate spell it 'lanyap'.

Aldeberan

A few more from the village idiot:

dual - having two.
EX) The fearsome warrior wields a dual-bladed axe.

duel - a fight between two people
EX) I do not duel because I am a pacifist.

Bugs me to no end.

ALSO! Improper use of the word 'literally.' I don't care if it is widely accepted, I refuse to sucuumb to the whims of society because they are stupid.

literally - in the strictest sense. Word for word. Actually, without exaggeration or innacuracy.

"My eyes literally popped out of my head!" <--- Ouch. This is wrong. On many levels. The word you want to use here is 'figuratively.'

versus

"Penwize bashes so much he literally beat Achaea!" <--- This is truth. Penwize has beaten Achaea.

One last one for giggles:

"I'm such a whiner and a troll and I'm so frustrated with people hating me I literally quit Achaea last night!" <--- Then why are you still here? GTFO and make good on your statement.

Delphinus

Aldeberan said:

ALSO! Improper use of the word 'literally.' I don't care if it is widely accepted, I refuse to sucuumb to the whims of society because they are stupid.

literally - in the strictest sense. Word for word. Actually, without exaggeration or innacuracy.

"My eyes literally popped out of my head!" <--- Ouch. This is wrong. On many levels. The word you want to use here is 'figuratively.'

versus

"Penwize bashes so much he literally beat Achaea!" <--- This is truth. Penwize has beaten Achaea.

This is true, except (as is often the case) when one's trying to evoke the literal image for comedic effect.

Sena

Aldeberan said:

"My eyes literally popped out of my head!" <--- Ouch. This is wrong. On many levels. The word you want to use here is 'figuratively.'

While I agree that using 'literally' as a generic intensifier is frustrating (not because it's "wrong", but because it's a useful word and there's not really a good replacement), the bolded is incorrect. Using 'figuratively' would be very far from the intended meaning.

Aldeberan said:

I don't care if it is widely accepted, I refuse to sucuumb to the whims of society because they are stupid.

It's pretty much inevitable, it's a tradition older than the word "literally". It's happened to basically every word that means anything like "truthfully" (seriously, truly, very, really, etc.), some have even lost their original meaning entirely.

Anaidiana

OH here's one I see frequently

it's the DAIS of creation, not the bloody dias. I see people saying Dias and I cringe. (Any other past IOJD/Masons/Demolay around?)

Oceana

Rogue and not rouge. Rouge is a powder for cheeks or a colour in French.