this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
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Science Memes

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[–] lemillionsocks@beehaw.org 50 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I find people who actually study language are more tolerant toward different pronunciations and informal speech and colloquialisms and less likely to be grammar nazis.

[–] SuiXi3D@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Probably because they understand that all language is made up and they all change constantly. There’s no hard and fast rules.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Language science/grammar/etc are all just observations of a natural phenomena, they are not laws to dictate.

[–] v4ld1z@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 year ago

See description vs prescription for anyone interested

[–] blindsight@beehaw.org 30 points 1 year ago

Obligatory alt text:

"Do you feel like the answer depends on whether you're currently in the hole, versus when you refer to the events later after you get out? Assuming you get out."

XKCD should always include the alt text, imho. It's often the better punchline (as in this case, imho.)

[–] KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Fell down a hole implies that the hole is vertical and going downwards

[–] letsgo@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Is there a similar implication for stairs when people fall down them?

[–] deo@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

I've fallen up the stairs, and i've fallen down the stairs. I've also fallen upstairs and fallen downstairs.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In that case, does "I fell in a hole" imply that the hole is horizontal and going sideways?

[–] Bach37strad@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

That's how my best friend accidently got my girlfriend pregnant.

Tie your damn shoelaces people!

[–] quaddo@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

See also "fell into a hole".

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

To me, if you partially fall into a hole, ie. foot falls into a small pothole, you've fallen in it but not down it.

[–] MBM@lemmings.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If I'm walking around in a hole and stumble, I've also fallen in a hole (but not into/down)

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Yes, although I think that's parsed differently-- you've [fallen] [in a hole] not [fallen in] [a hole]

[–] rbits@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Yeah. I feel like fell down implies you travelled some not insignifcant distance while falling.

[–] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well this changes that Alice In Chains song for me 🕳️

But this is something that makes English both frustrating and fascinating!

[–] Frozengyro@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

All language is like this. It's a large part of why communication is actually very difficult.

[–] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

This is awesome. I only know some of one other language but am not as fluent in it. This is good to know, thanks!

[–] MadPlaid@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Out of curiosity, shouldn't there be a comma after the "or" in the third panel?

[–] radix@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Grammatically, no, because "or" is a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), and coordinating conjunctions are a way to join two independent clauses, like a semicolon. They are used after an independent clause and a comma, and they are followed by another coordinating conjunction.

Here's two independent clauses: I got scratched by a cat. I'm sad.

Here's a way to join them with a semicolon: I got scratched by a cat; I'm sad. The semicolon replaces the period.

Here's a way to join them with a coordinating conjunction: I got scratched by a cat, so I'm sad. The , so replaces the semicolon/period.

Note that I got scratched by a cat so, I'm sad is incorrect, because to join two independent clauses, you're supposed to put the comma first and then the conjunction, in that order. Colloquially, people will often omit the comma entirely, to reflect pronunciation I guess. But as far as I can tell, people don't generally pronounce a pause between the coordinating conjunction and the following independent clause, so they don't put a comma there either.

[–] MadPlaid@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I really appreciate this comment and enjoy that I learned something today.

[–] radix@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

I'm so glad it didn't come off as passive-aggressive or rude. Thank you for this message. I hope you have a truly wonderful day, my friend.

[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

No I don't think it's necessary at all, unless the author wanted to emphasise a pause there