Messages

1

You Asked Me This Question / Re: What does the expression "if anything" mean

« on: November 20, 2013, 04:53:38 AM »

Thanks, Joe. Yes, the idiom "If anything" is much clearer now.

I'm sorry for my "all is well" statement. I simply misspoke. What I wanted to convey was (at least) the Forum is still going strong. As the kids might say: "my bad."

BTW, is "first foray" redundant, given that one definition of "foray" is "an initial attempt"?

Thanks.

Jonathan

2

You Asked Me This Question / What does the expression "if anything" mean

« on: November 18, 2013, 02:36:50 PM »

Hi Joe,

It's been a while since I last visited and I'm glad to see that all is well (at least in the Forum). Like many of our kababayans here in Los Angeles, CA, my family and I are glued to the TV watching broadcasts on the progress of the relief efforts in the areas devastated by Yolanda. We all hope and pray for our countrymen especially in those hard-hit areas.

More than twice, I've come across the phrase "If anything," my latest "meeting" with it being this afternoon when I read a study with this excerpt: “I do not believe that substituting more precise words and phrases for an equivocal word would decrease the scientific quality of the writing.  If anything, I felt that the precision of the communication process was improved in the 110 instances in which the 'e-word' was replaced.  Equivocal words can always be replaced by other words or phrases that convey a more precise meaning in a scientific context." (italics mine)

Please clarify when, how, etc. "If anything" is used. I googled it but I think it's better to consult with the word maven.

Thanks.

Jonathan

3

Use and Misuse / Re: Gobbledygook na Ingles at Tagalog

« on: March 21, 2012, 02:20:37 AM »

Dear Joe,

My Web research (see following excerpt) shows that the use of "further" instead of "farther" in the phrase "Nothing could be farther from the truth" is acceptable.  What is your preference?

"If we speak of a statement that is far from the truth, for example, we should also allow the use of farther in a sentence such as Nothing could be farther from the truth. But Nothing could be further from the truth is so well established as to seem a fixed expression."
("farther," The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., 2000)"

Thanks.

Jonathan

4

Use and Misuse / A confused and grammatically flawed sentence about a fallen dictator

« on: October 24, 2011, 01:04:43 AM »

Hi Joe,

Is this sentence, from an article titled "How Qaddafi Reshaped Africa" in the online edition of The Atlantic, grammatically correct?

"Of the three North African countries at the heart of the popular uprisings that have riveted the world over the last several weeks, Libya's Muammar Qaddafi has always done the most to assert his country's African identity, staking its prestige, its riches and his own personal influence above all on its place in the continent."

The way its author Howard French wrote it, shouldn't the subject be "Libya" instead of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi"?

Thanks for you comments.

Jonathan

5

How Good is Your English? / Re: How criterion-referenced tests can help improve your English

« on: July 05, 2011, 05:51:33 AM »

I have some comments on the G-TELP LEVEL 2 SAMPLE TEST #1
GRAMMAR SECTION, as follows:

1.   In question no. 1, shouldn’t it be “a French woman” instead of “an French woman”?
2.   Also in question no. 1, I think an “of” was omitted (between “story” and “a” in the last sentence);
3.   In question no. 5, shouldn’t it be the disease (rather than the person) that is “diagnosed”?

Thanks.

Jonathan

6

My Media English Watch / Re: Shocking grammar errors in a news story about a tragic development

« on: February 15, 2011, 01:04:56 PM »

How about "steep" or "saturate" or "suffuse"?  Maybe "surround"?

7

My Media English Watch / Re: Shocking grammar errors in a news story about a tragic development

« on: February 09, 2011, 02:28:10 PM »

Thanks, Joe.  You're right, I missed the "themselves" and "herself." As for the article's title, I agree with your comment on the (mis)use of "swamp." I guess I was sort of carried away by the Ss. Now if there's only a word starting with "s" that also means "pervade."

8

Use and Misuse / Re: Dangling modifier?

« on: January 29, 2011, 01:06:21 PM »

Thank you, Joe.

9

Use and Misuse / Dangling modifier?

« on: January 24, 2011, 06:15:22 AM »

Hi Joe,

Cleaning up the garage, I was browsing some some magazines when I came across this sentence in an article (titled "Platon's Portraits") in Esquire's May 2004 edition: 

"Though he's a Greek who grew up in London, the iconic photographs in Platon's first book, Platon's Republic (Phaidon, $60), are a veritable primer on American culture. We asked the photographer to reflect on a few memorable subjects."

Something seems amiss.  Am I right?

Thanks.

Jonathan

10

Essays by Joe Carillo / Conditional sentences

« on: January 10, 2011, 05:02:26 AM »

Although the answer to the first "conditional" question is clear from a reading of "the first conditional" paragraph of your essay, the answers to the second and third are not (at least, to me anyway).  May we have the answers, please?  Thanks.

11

You Asked Me This Question / Re: The pronoun “each” is singular no matter its position in a sentence

« on: January 10, 2011, 01:58:28 AM »

Thanks for the clarification, Joe.

12

Use and Misuse / Re: 70 English idiomatic expressions sometimes bungled by Pinoys

« on: June 20, 2010, 04:25:14 AM »

Joe, how about the lead of the headline of today's edition of Inquirer.net: "TO SAVE ON COSTS, PRESIDENT-ELECT BENIGNO “Noynoy” Aquino III will break tradition and do away with the parade at his June 30 inaugural."  Shouldn't it be "break with tradition"?

13

Use and Misuse / Re: Subject-Verb Agreement?

« on: June 05, 2010, 04:09:55 PM »

today, i returned to the Forum, after being inactive for more than six months, and was surprised to learn about maxsims's suspension.  i was surprised not because of the suspension but because it took a long time before maxsims was suspended.  you see, even before my inactivity, i sensed that maxsims's tone was confrontational and at times even belligerent in his responses.  at the very least, maxsims didn't seem willing to help others reach the apparent high level of English proficiency that he or she has managed to attain. truth is, his or her cantankerousness is a factor in my hiatus.  i just felt that maxsims's trademark attitude of "win-the-debate-and-embarass-the-other-party-at-all-cost" ( i hope i would be spared from maxsims's ascerbic review on his or her return for my ignorance of an idiom or proper phrase in place of the long-winded phrase above --- or anything else in here that he or she might fancy as worthy of a response ---) has no place in a forum, such as this Forum, mainly geared to educate its members.  that it took a long time before the suspension is a testament to Joe's patience and "bigger take on things." (i don't know if this is a proper idiom, but i'm using it anyway.)
as for your suggestion for a panel to observe due process, i disagree. this is joe's forum, and he has his rules. we are mere invitees. in any event, due process, i believe, was observed. maxsims was given a lot of "warnings" (which maxsims simply ignored).
changing the topic, i came across a very helpful grammar book that is basically a condensed version of Joe's "Winning Edge" book.  it's titled "Woe Is I" by Patricia Conner, and i got new one cheap ($7) online. just the witty and funny writing style is worth every cent. cheers!   

14

Site Announcements / Re: What’s wrong in the picture?

« on: January 07, 2010, 02:33:57 PM »

Bamboo Bistro in West Covina, California has signage posted on its walls that reads:

"Please avoid leftovers"

and, obviously the intended meaning,

"Pakiusap Iwasan Ang Pagtitira Ng Pagkain"

I think the management wants its patrons not to waste food, but isn't the use of "leftovers" improper in this context?

It's a pity my cell phone doesn't have a camera.

15

My Media English Watch / Re: A newspaper is generally as lax as its language

« on: December 20, 2009, 12:19:02 PM »

"end-year phenomenon"?  Your "Give Your English..." book lists two major grammatical situations for hyphenation: (1) when using nouns to modify adjectives; and (2) when using phrases to modify nouns. If your use of end-year is based on #2, that's the first time I've seen the phrase "end-year."  What's wrong with repeating "year-end"?  And would "end-of-the-year" do as well?

On the "acting" bit, I know it's one letter longer but maybe "interim" should be used in its place (it may discourage the film stars).