Originally posted by oddoneout
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Should have been really as it carried a ‘Red’ warning in Cornwall! -
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Yup, sweeps away the microparticles and you can see the macro ones coming so can avoid them if you're lucky.Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View PostComment
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says Raab. I thought a vanguard was something to be in rather than at.We’ve been at the vanguard of taking actionComment
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Didn't John Major once say "When your back's against the wall, the only thing to do is turn and fight."Originally posted by oddoneout View PostIt isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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I taut I tau a tautology of the most blatant variety. From QOBUZ, no kidding:
"Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8 (Liszt Piano Transcriptions) (Transcribed for Piano by Liszt)"Comment
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I see BBC News Online has altered one of its headlines to 'US man wins $450k lawsuit after unwanted office birthday party'. It originally said 'US man wins $450k suit after unwanted office birthday party'. I thought: Whoever would want a suit worth $450k - even as a prize?It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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At least he's not as careless as his oppo in the US - he's lost over 60 suits in the last couple of years alone.Originally posted by oddoneout View PostIt isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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What used to be called a series now seems to have become a season even with many British speakers of English. A season, as well as being part of the year, is a selection of related items, eg films by one director or with a shared theme. Likewise, seasons of certain music. They are connected but are not a sequence of episodes which, as with a narrative drama, are created to be shown together, usually in a prescribed order, ie a series.
Thus is one piece of American usage which serves no useful purpose and which I shall not be adopting.Comment
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From the announcement in the James O'Donnell thread:
As the Abbey’s Director of Music he has been the head of the Abbey music department and overseen all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work, including directing the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey.
I would have written:
As the Abbey’s Director of Music he has been the head of the Abbey music department and has overseen all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work, including directing the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey.
The reluctance to repeat the auxiliary verb, which is increasingly prevalent, really annoys me!
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I do that all the time!Originally posted by Pulcinella View PostFrom the announcement in the James O'Donnell thread:
As the Abbey’s Director of Music he has been the head of the Abbey music department and overseen all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work, including directing the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey.
I would have written:
As the Abbey’s Director of Music he has been the head of the Abbey music department and has overseen all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work, including directing the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey.
The reluctance to repeat the auxiliary verb, which is increasingly prevalent, really annoys me!
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Never mind.Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View PostI do that all the time!
I'll still be your friend!
Someone more learned than wot I am (frenchie?) will no doubt be able to explain why I get annoyed.
Is it the 'been' in this instance?
For example, there's not quite the same jarring effect if it had read:
He has played the organ and conducted the choir......
Though even there I'd probably repeat the 'has'.Comment
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Your strong feeling on the matter inspired me to investigate (Gowers' Fowler, Butterfield's Fowler, Fraser's Gowers' Plain Words) but I can't see that any of them pronounce on the matter. It's not grammatically incorrect to omit the auxiliary on the second occasion, is it? I can see that where a lengthy phrase separates the clauses the repetition adds instant clarity, but I don't think comprehension is seriously affected by the omission.Originally posted by Pulcinella View PostThe reluctance to repeat the auxiliary verb, which is increasingly prevalent, really annoys me!
I wonder, is there a nuance introduced by the repetition? The omission might be thought to make the two clauses flow together, the repetition to separate them, as:
He has been the head of the Abbey music department and [thus, as a consequence, in that capacity] overseen all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work
as against:
He has been the head of the Abbey music department and [in addition, and somewhat unexpectedly] has played scrum half for the Abbey's second XV.It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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That's an interesting thought.Originally posted by french frank View Post
I'll look out for other annoying instances and try to see if there's any sort of pattern.
Now there's an example in which it wasn't necessary to say I'll look out ..... and will try....!
Maybe it really was the 'been' that causes the awkwardness that I find.Comment
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