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Once more the Mother Tongue has been the victim of journalistic homicide. This time the offender is one Doug Ferguson, an Associated Press sports writer(?). Mr. Ferguson, in the Times daily of 6/18/08, describing matters attendant to the recent U.S. Open golf Tournament victory by the ailing (knee surgery pain) Tiger Woods, observes the following:

"After going 91 holes to win at Torrey Pines, someone brought up Ben Hogan's victory in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, which came 16 months after a near-fatal car accident."

And just WHO was the "someone" who brought up the Hogan incident? Well, unless it was Tiger Woods, which is very unlikely, the someone who recounted that matter was NOT someone who went 91 holes at Torrey Pines in the most recent U.S. Open.

Mr. Ferguson, a professional writer, should know better how to compose a sentence using participles, but his error is no more or no less flagrant than similar errors by other allegedly "professional" writers. The flaw is absolutely rampant and that is a shame, since it is easily avoided by anyone with a rudimentary sense of logical sentence composition.

And, no, it is not the fault of the Times Daily that the semi-literate Ferguson person perpetrated this absurdity. But if you follow the TD, you will from time to time find precisely this same kind of ineptitude originating from the keyboards of some of its alleged writers.

Some on forums such as this will take me or others to task for pointing out such things, which is yet another reason to lament the sloppy state into which English usage has fallen. If an abuse like THIS is not noteworthy or regrettable, then one wonders what is!
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Good to see you haven't changed any.

Such an insignificant thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

I wish you would find a better hobby- or at least email the actual staff of TD. I really don't think most people here care about this sort of thing. I could be wrong, but still- you nit pick about this kind of thing far too much.

~Amanda
quote:
Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
Good to see you haven't changed any.

Such an insignificant thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

I wish you would find a better hobby- or at least email the actual staff of TD. I really don't think most people here care about this sort of thing. I could be wrong, but still- you nit pick about this kind of thing far too much.

~Amanda


Your opinion and you are welcome to it, but I can only conclude that you probably are too ill-schooled in the nuances of the English language to appreciate how egregious a blunder I was describing. This is no minor misspelling or misplacement of a word. This is English abuse of felonious dimensions! Repeating what I prophetically posted earlier:

"Some on forums such as this will take me or others to task for pointing out such things, which is yet another reason to lament the sloppy state into which English usage has fallen. If an abuse like THIS is not noteworthy or regrettable, then one wonders what is!"
quote:
Originally posted by beternU:
...... Repeating what I prophetically posted earlier: .....



! now comes the prophet of the lexicon! thank goodness i have my boots on.

actually, i am a stickler for correct usage and spelling, too, but i'm not sure this is the correct place or audience for correction.

i'm glad you are after the td instead of someone on here, though.
quote:
Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
Good to see you haven't changed any.

Such an insignificant thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

I wish you would find a better hobby- or at least email the actual staff of TD. I really don't think most people here care about this sort of thing. I could be wrong, but still- you nit pick about this kind of thing far too much.

~Amanda


*hey Manda, welcome back!*
quote:
Originally posted by Puzzled Mind:
I went to school with a guy who had a dangling participle. Most people never noticed, though, since he always wore a long coat.



Wait! Wait!!! Betternone IS, in Fact, that dangling participle!! Another mystery solved!! And he is still dangling. Not much participle left, though.
quote:
Originally posted by beternU:
Once more the Mother Tongue has been the victim of journalistic homicide. This time the offender is one Doug Ferguson, an Associated Press sports writer(?). Mr. Ferguson, in the Times daily of 6/18/08, describing matters attendant to the recent U.S. Open golf Tournament victory by the ailing (knee surgery pain) Tiger Woods, observes the following:

"After going 91 holes to win at Torrey Pines, someone brought up Ben Hogan's victory in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, which came 16 months after a near-fatal car accident."

And just WHO was the "someone" who brought up the Hogan incident? Well, unless it was Tiger Woods, which is very unlikely, the someone who recounted that matter was NOT someone who went 91 holes at Torrey Pines in the most recent U.S. Open.

Mr. Ferguson, a professional writer, should know better how to compose a sentence using participles, but his error is no more or no less flagrant than similar errors by other allegedly "professional" writers. The flaw is absolutely rampant and that is a shame, since it is easily avoided by anyone with a rudimentary sense of logical sentence composition.

And, no, it is not the fault of the Times Daily that the semi-literate Ferguson person perpetrated this absurdity. But if you follow the TD, you will from time to time find precisely this same kind of ineptitude originating from the keyboards of some of its alleged writers.

Some on forums such as this will take me or others to task for pointing out such things, which is yet another reason to lament the sloppy state into which English usage has fallen. If an abuse like THIS is not noteworthy or regrettable, then one wonders what is!



Betternu

You answered your own question in the first paragraph.

“The matters were described by the ailing Tiger Woods”.

I didn’t understand what the incomplete sentence “observes the following” had to do with it.
quote:
Originally posted by beternU:
quote:
Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
Good to see you haven't changed any.

Such an insignificant thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

I wish you would find a better hobby- or at least email the actual staff of TD. I really don't think most people here care about this sort of thing. I could be wrong, but still- you nit pick about this kind of thing far too much.

~Amanda


Your opinion and you are welcome to it, but I can only conclude that you probably are too ill-schooled in the nuances of the English language to appreciate how egregious a blunder I was describing. This is no minor misspelling or misplacement of a word. This is English abuse of felonious dimensions! Repeating what I prophetically posted earlier:

"Some on forums such as this will take me or others to task for pointing out such things, which is yet another reason to lament the sloppy state into which English usage has fallen. If an abuse like THIS is not noteworthy or regrettable, then one wonders what is!"


Heh, you can assume all that you want to betterthanNoOne. You are just as welcome to your assumptions as you want to be, however, what I replied is the truth.Razzer

I'm not sure which part bugs you more, your complete OCD about grammar on the "Intrawebz" or the fact that you know I'm right. Razzer

In the time that I've been here (excluding breaks too Red Face), all I've ever seen you do is nit pick about little things like this nonsense. Yes, it's egregious to see Times Daily isn't up to snuff, when it comes to reporting- however, most of us know that it's not going to change. I'm more concerned with their lack of reporting than their lack of proper punctuation and grammar. Razzer

Now, had that been your point- I would have agreed. It wasn't though. Also, just for the sake of mentioning- You aren't the best writer here. You try entirely too hard, and over compensate what you are trying to relate. Which in turn makes you look like a total rear end when you try to correct others, or put them down by saying they are "Ill schooled". Smiler

Good luck with that. Smiler

----

Hiya, Hippie... Smiler Thanks.. I've been around but not much- my health hasn't been great.

~Amanda
quote:
Originally posted by rramlimnn:
quote:
Originally posted by beternU:
Once more the Mother Tongue has been the victim of journalistic homicide. This time the offender is one Doug Ferguson, an Associated Press sports writer(?). Mr. Ferguson, in the Times daily of 6/18/08, describing matters attendant to the recent U.S. Open golf Tournament victory by the ailing (knee surgery pain) Tiger Woods, observes the following:

"After going 91 holes to win at Torrey Pines, someone brought up Ben Hogan's victory in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, which came 16 months after a near-fatal car accident."

And just WHO was the "someone" who brought up the Hogan incident? Well, unless it was Tiger Woods, which is very unlikely, the someone who recounted that matter was NOT someone who went 91 holes at Torrey Pines in the most recent U.S. Open.

Mr. Ferguson, a professional writer, should know better how to compose a sentence using participles, but his error is no more or no less flagrant than similar errors by other allegedly "professional" writers. The flaw is absolutely rampant and that is a shame, since it is easily avoided by anyone with a rudimentary sense of logical sentence composition.

And, no, it is not the fault of the Times Daily that the semi-literate Ferguson person perpetrated this absurdity. But if you follow the TD, you will from time to time find precisely this same kind of ineptitude originating from the keyboards of some of its alleged writers.

Some on forums such as this will take me or others to task for pointing out such things, which is yet another reason to lament the sloppy state into which English usage has fallen. If an abuse like THIS is not noteworthy or regrettable, then one wonders what is!



Betternu

You answered your own question in the first paragraph.

“The matters were described by the ailing Tiger Woods”.

I didn’t understand what the incomplete sentence “observes the following” had to do with it.


Listen up, Vincent, you have been sipping too much of that absinthe, and it clouds your comprehension. Read VERY carefully what I posted and you will see that (1) there was no "incomplete sentence" and that (2)Tiger Woods was most decidedly NOT the originator of the statement at issue. Try again:

"Mr. Ferguson, in the Times daily of 6/18/08, describing matters attendant to the recent U.S. Open golf Tournament victory by the ailing (knee surgery pain) Tiger Woods, observes the following: [NOTE---IT WAS FERGUSON, NOT TIGER WOODS, WHO WHO MADE THE OBSERVATION]

"After going 91 holes to win at Torrey Pines, someone brought up Ben Hogan's victory in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, which came 16 months after a near-fatal car accident." [THE "SOMEONE" IS NOT IDENTIFIED HERE OR ELSEWHERE.]

Stick to Dick and Jane books or learn to read adult-quality sentences for their actual meaning!
quote:
Originally posted by MonetsGroupie:
quote:
should know better how to compose



BetternU, shouldn't that read: "Should know how to better compose"
If you are betternUS, please be sure and compose all your posts correctly!


While we're at it Monet, your sentence should read: ...please be sure TO compose all your posts correctly!

Caw Caw!

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