Pedants' Paradise

[MLF]

I discovered the following rather wonderful exchange in the comments section of the Open University's "OU on the BBC: Symphony" page:-

"FAO Simon Russell Beale - Symphony
Edward Addis
11 Nov 2011 19:06
Whilst I watched and enjoyed the programme on Thursday, one moment jarred particularly. Talking about Bizet, you said "He and Harriet's marriage broke down"! Would you say "He marriage broke down"? I don't think so - obviously it should be "His and Harriet's marriage ... ". I can't think how you could read that and not realise it's wrong!

Regards

Ed Addis

Re: FAO Simon Russell Beale - Symphony
Isabelle Rowland
12 Nov 2011 14:06
Whilst I read and enjoyed your comment on Friday, one moment jarred particularly. Talking about 'His and Harriet's marriage', you said 'Bizet'! Would you say 'Hector Bizet?' I don't think so - obviously it should be 'Hector Berlioz... '. I can't think how you could read that and not realise it's wrong!

Regards

Isabelle

"

[ahinton]

Was La Rochefoucauld the first to say that? It seems to have been attributed to various people: Talleyrand, Stendhal and Malagrida in the form:

"La parole a été donnée à l'homme pour qu'il trahisse/pour déguiser/cacher/dissimuler sa pensée."

I really don't know for certain; I cited him as its originator merely because I've heard the maxim ascibed to him far more often than I have to anyone else; it's rather like the various versions of "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" that, whilst ascribed to Edmund Burke, may have originated with someone else (perhaps I should ask my MP about that one, since he's recently published a book on Burke).

[ahinton]

I discovered the following rather wonderful exchange in the comments section of the Open University's "OU on the BBC: Symphony" page:-

"FAO Simon Russell Beale - Symphony
Edward Addis
11 Nov 2011 19:06
Whilst I watched and enjoyed the programme on Thursday, one moment jarred particularly. Talking about Bizet, you said "He and Harriet's marriage broke down"! Would you say "He marriage broke down"? I don't think so - obviously it should be "His and Harriet's marriage ... ". I can't think how you could read that and not realise it's wrong!

Regards

Ed Addis

Re: FAO Simon Russell Beale - Symphony
Isabelle Rowland
12 Nov 2011 14:06
Whilst I read and enjoyed your comment on Friday, one moment jarred particularly. Talking about 'His and Harriet's marriage', you said 'Bizet'! Would you say 'Hector Bizet?' I don't think so - obviously it should be 'Hector Berlioz... '. I can't think how you could read that and not realise it's wrong!

Regards

Isabelle

"

And there I was thinking that it was actually Boulez...

[french frank]

My English grammar has deserted me: I've just read on the BBC News website:

"Initial reports indicate the TGV train was stopped on the tracks and restarting when the crash occurred near the town of Denguin. "

I would have written "the TGV train had stopped on the tracks and was restarting ..." Is there any grammatical justification for that? Ignoring the tautology of 'TGV train', of course.

[Bryn]

My English grammar has deserted me: I've just read on the BBC News website:

"Initial reports indicate the TGV train was stopped on the tracks and restarting when the crash occurred near the town of Denguin. "

I would have written "the TGV train had stopped on the tracks and was restarting ..." Is there any grammatical justification for that? Ignoring the tautology of 'TGV train', of course.

Is there any musical justification for this:

?

[Padraig]

My English grammar has deserted me: I've just read on the BBC News website:

"Initial reports indicate the TGV train was stopped on the tracks and restarting when the crash occurred near the town of Denguin. "

I would have written "the TGV train had stopped on the tracks and was restarting ..."

May I suggest " the TGV train stopped on the tracks was restarting", where "stopped" is a past participle ( verbal adjective)?

[french frank]

I prefer the YouTube long distance train journey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oVTXSntnA0 . More pleasantly hypnotic than minimalist music (don't click on this if you have to go out in the next 8 hours).

Anyway, I think 'was stopped' has to be a passive (like 'I was sat'). The train was stopped at the frontier by customs officers.

[french frank]

Noted this quote from Wikipedia, following up a reference by Alpers:

"[Crouch End festival Chorus] was formed in 1984 by John Gregson and David Temple, who remains the choir's conductor."

Surely an improvement:

"[Crouch End festival Chorus] was formed in 1984 by John Gregson, and David Temple who remains the choir's conductor."

[Pabmusic]

Noted this quote from Wikipedia, following up a reference by Alpers:

"[Crouch End festival Chorus] was formed in 1984 by John Gregson and David Temple, who remains the choir's conductor."

Surely an improvement:

"[Crouch End festival Chorus] was formed in 1984 by John Gregson, and David Temple who remains the choir's conductor."

I love using the 'Oxford Comma', but I've had such vituperation because of it.

[french frank]

I love using the 'Oxford Comma', but I've had such vituperation because of it.

There are contexts where it clarifies. I did read the sentence first time and registered that 'remains' had an ungrammatical s at the end ... :-)

[Ferretfancy]

There are two words that I keep coming across which are almost invariably wrongly used by journalists and TV presenters.

According to my Chambers :-

UNCTUOUS ' Oily: greasy, full of unction, offensively suave and smug '

Used all the time to describe the richness of a food recipe, when the user is looking for luscious, or an equivalent.

TORRID 'Scorching or parching; violently hot, dried with heat, intensely passionate, emotional etc. '

Frequently used by journalists when they try to suggest that things may be uncertain or have a bad outcome

Misuse like this seems to spread like one of Richard Dawkin's memes.

[Roehre]

There are two words that I keep coming across which are almost invariably wrongly used by journalists and TV presenters......

Only two ?

[Serial_Apologist]

There are contexts where it clarifies. I did read the sentence first time and registered that 'remains' had an ungrammatical s at the end ... :-)

Surely David Temple was the sole conductor? The statement would have made more sense had it been written: "... was formed in 1984 by John Gregson and David Temple. The latter remains the choir's conductor".

[french frank]

Surely David Temple was the sole conductor? The statement would have made more sense had it been written: "... was formed in 1984 by John Gregson and David Temple. The latter remains the choir's conductor".

That is just about what it says on the CEFC website! I couldn't find out exactly what had happened to John Gregson (assuming it wasn't THAT John Gregson), so I suppose he could have been a conductor too ... ? Don't know.

[arancie33]

Well off topic but an opportunity for name dropping. David Temple taught at my two younger children's primary school in the late '70s. I remember a production of "Joseph", with No2 daughter belting out one number but, best of all, a concert which David organised in a local church with support from a few members of the Philharmonia Choir. They opened with Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus - you could have heard a pin drop.