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*Remember: ''"'''i''' before '''e''' except after '''c'''"'', unless your spellchecker disagrees. Anyway, '''i''' doesn't even exist, '''e''' is transcendental, and '''c''' is the speed of light. Why should they obey silly grammarians when they occur in words?<ref>...except where it is just '''weird''' of course. However, '''being''' '''atheistic''' (as we do not make '''obeisance''' to any '''omniscient''' '''deity''') '''scientists''' we might '''deign''' to '''abseil''' from the '''height''' of our ivory towers and in our '''leisure'''-time find '''sufficient''', perhaps even a '''surfeit''', of examples, to put our '''weight''' behind '''unveiling''' a '''specie''' of exceptions such as "'''freight'''". We might even be '''inveigled''' by a '''prescient''' '''financier''' (for just a few '''ancient''' gold '''sovereigns''') to '''seize''' the chance of forgoing our '''caffeine''' and '''protein''' (mainly cheesy '''casein''') diet, so long as we are given free <s>'''reign'''</s> '''rein''' to formulate '''efficient''' '''policies''' which '''either''' highlight '''heinous''' '''counterfeit''' examples (such as "reading '''''Mein Kampf''''' with a '''stein''' of lager and a chicken chow-'''mein''' while considering the '''leitmotif''' of '''Rottweilers''' running through the '''edelweiss''' on the '''Eiger'''") or present a '''prima facie''' case to reject the '''spontaneity''' of the '''Society''' of '''Sheiks''' '''feigning''' a '''plebeian''' interest in the '''eight''' '''beige''' '''heifers''' of '''their''' '''feisty''' '''foreign''' '''neighbours'''' from '''Madeira'''. So if you are '''neither''' '''canoeing''' round a '''weir''', '''peeing''' on the '''concierge''' of a '''hacienda''' nor '''sleighing''' down a '''glacier''', and are still bewildered by the '''lunacies''' of English spelling outlined '''herein''' try visiting '''Eire''' and check out the '''intricacies''' of Irish spelling. If we were more '''proficient''' we might, in good '''conscience''', be able to continue in a similar '''vein''' but we're far more interested in the '''eighteen''' '''sheilas''' and '''eighty''' '''geisha''' '''heiresses''' in their '''eiderdown''' jackets next door.</ref> | *Remember: ''"'''i''' before '''e''' except after '''c'''"'', unless your spellchecker disagrees. Anyway, '''i''' doesn't even exist, '''e''' is transcendental, and '''c''' is the speed of light. Why should they obey silly grammarians when they occur in words?<ref>...except where it is just '''weird''' of course. However, '''being''' '''atheistic''' (as we do not make '''obeisance''' to any '''omniscient''' '''deity''') '''scientists''' we might '''deign''' to '''abseil''' from the '''height''' of our ivory towers and in our '''leisure'''-time find '''sufficient''', perhaps even a '''surfeit''', of examples, to put our '''weight''' behind '''unveiling''' a '''specie''' of exceptions such as "'''freight'''". We might even be '''inveigled''' by a '''prescient''' '''financier''' (for just a few '''ancient''' gold '''sovereigns''') to '''seize''' the chance of forgoing our '''caffeine''' and '''protein''' (mainly cheesy '''casein''') diet, so long as we are given free <s>'''reign'''</s> '''rein''' to formulate '''efficient''' '''policies''' which '''either''' highlight '''heinous''' '''counterfeit''' examples (such as "reading '''''Mein Kampf''''' with a '''stein''' of lager and a chicken chow-'''mein''' while considering the '''leitmotif''' of '''Rottweilers''' running through the '''edelweiss''' on the '''Eiger'''") or present a '''prima facie''' case to reject the '''spontaneity''' of the '''Society''' of '''Sheiks''' '''feigning''' a '''plebeian''' interest in the '''eight''' '''beige''' '''heifers''' of '''their''' '''feisty''' '''foreign''' '''neighbours'''' from '''Madeira'''. So if you are '''neither''' '''canoeing''' round a '''weir''', '''peeing''' on the '''concierge''' of a '''hacienda''' nor '''sleighing''' down a '''glacier''', and are still bewildered by the '''lunacies''' of English spelling outlined '''herein''' try visiting '''Eire''' and check out the '''intricacies''' of Irish spelling. If we were more '''proficient''' we might, in good '''conscience''', be able to continue in a similar '''vein''' but we're far more interested in the '''eighteen''' '''sheilas''' and '''eighty''' '''geisha''' '''heiresses''' in their '''eiderdown''' jackets next door.</ref> | ||
*"Know" means "to be aware of something"; "Now" means "at this very moment". | *"Know" means "to be aware of something"; "Now" means "at this very moment". | ||
| − | * | + | *A "capitol" is a building in which a state legislative body meets ''or'' a group of buildings in which the functions of state government are carried out |
| − | * | + | *Capital has numerous meanings ''none'' of which include the above. |
== Like/as if == | == Like/as if == | ||
Revision as of 05:25, 29 July 2009
Here at RationalWiki, we are not perfect. Well, I is perfect, but most of we am not. Very often new articles are created which feature the same mistakes. Be on the lookout for your own and other's mistakes - sometimes we have serious refuting to be doing, and simple mistakes often make otherwise sound arguments seem childish.
Contents |
Those deadly homonymous contractions
Their, there, and they're
- Their is a possessive pronoun. For instance, "this is their goat."
- There is a location. For instance, "put the goat there".
- They're is a contraction of they are. For instance, "they're obsessed with goats".
Its and it's
- Its is a possessive pronoun. For instance, "this is its goat". It works the same way as his; you wouldn't write "this is hi's goat" - at least, we hope you wouldn't. (This confusion may arise because 's is used to indicate the possessive of proper nouns and of "one" as shown below.)
- It's is a contraction of it is. For instance, "it's annoying reading all these goat references."
Ones and one's
- Ones is the plural of one. For instance; "Put the black goats over there, and the white ones over here."
- One's is the possessive form of one, when one is used as a vague generalization. For instance, "one's user page is one's castle".
- One's can also be part of one's self, a fancy way of saying oneself.
- One's can also be a contraction of "one is". For instance, "most of the goats died, but one's still alive".
Your and you're
- Your is a possessive pronoun. For instance, "this is your goat".
- You're is a contraction of you are. For instance, "you're a goataholic".
Zpeelinge misteaks
- When something is mislaid we lose it; when something is not secure it is loose.
- The past-participle of to lead is indeed spelt led. This is due to confusion with to read and read (The infinitives rhyme with "lead", the past participles rhyme with "lead".)
- Remember: "i before e except after c", unless your spellchecker disagrees. Anyway, i doesn't even exist, e is transcendental, and c is the speed of light. Why should they obey silly grammarians when they occur in words?[1]
- "Know" means "to be aware of something"; "Now" means "at this very moment".
- A "capitol" is a building in which a state legislative body meets or a group of buildings in which the functions of state government are carried out
- Capital has numerous meanings none of which include the above.
Like/as if
You can:
- "behave like a goat"
not:
- "behave like you were a goat";
the correct way to say the latter is:
- "behave as if you were a goat".
See the difference?
No?
Oh, well, I tried.
Affect/effect
If you affect something, you have an effect on it.
Affect is always a verb meaning: to modify something:
- Hitting a goat will affect it negatively (and shortly thereafter, yourself).
Effect is usually a noun meaning: the result of some action:
- The effect of hitting a goat can be painful for the hitter as well as for the goat.
Occasionally effect is a verb meaning: to succeed at some task:
- The electorate were able to effect a change of policy.
Free rein/free reign
Unless you mean someone's got a very cheap monarchy, it's always "free rein".
Think of a horse being kept on a "tight rein" v allowed to go where it wants on a "free rein". [1]
Riting gud Inglish
Complete Sentences
- Always write in complete sentences. Remember, a complete sentence must have a verb, and a prepositional phrase cannot be a sentence.
- A common mistake is making the first sentence of articles a fragment. If your article is "Goat," don't start your article with the phrase: An awesome animal. Rather, start with the phrase: The goat is an awesome animal.
Even though it might not be true.Which has the additional advantage of being absolutely true. - Lists and bullet points are an exception to the complete sentence rule, though it doesn't hurt.
Periods (Full stops to Brits)
- End every sentence with a period (common sense, neh?).
- (Unless a "?" or a "!" is appropriate of course. This is called punctuation.)
- A frequent mistake is forgetting periods at the the end of paragraphs or sentences that end with references.
- As a general rule, periods go before references (remember this by thinking how bizarre it would look to have about 5 reference numbers before the puctuation!).
- Whether the final quote mark (") goes before or after the puctuation (. , ! ?) is dependent on American English or British English. Generally the best approach is to go with what ever version makes sense in terms of the quote's content: See Wikipedia's article on quotes (and WP's own style guide) here.
The Dreaded Apostrophe Easy to use if you apply a few simple rules:
- Contractions. The apostrophe always replaces the letter or letters which have been removed and is inserted at the point where the removed letters were. However, in formal writing contractions (e.g. can't; won't) should be avoided like the plague (as should clichés)
- Indicates possession (non-demonic). For singular nouns "'s" is added to the noun (the dog's ball). For plural possession, the noun must always be made plural first. Then the apostrophe follows immediately after. (e.g. the boys' cars). Where nouns end in an "s" or a "z" sound, it is preferred, although not required, to have the second "s" added in possessive form. (e.g. the Jones's car - but the Jones' car is also correct)
- Apostrophes are not to be used for the plural of a proper noun. (e.g. the Smiths are coming round, not the Smith's)
- When more than one person is being discussed, only use the 's after the second name, if the people possess the same item. (e.g. John and Sarah's house). But note that both Peter's and Mary's cars are broken.
- Never use an apostrophe with the possessive pronouns (his, hers, theirs, etc) - it's never his's book.
- It's means "it is". So it's "the dog chased its tail" not "the dog chased it's tail"
- The plurals for capital letters and numbers which are used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes. (e.g. the 2000s, not the 2000's)
- Use the possessive apostrophe in front of a verb gerund (a verb ending in "-ing"). (e.g. Mary's baking was a disaster), but not if a gerund is preceded by a possessive pronoun. (e.g her baking was awful).
Spelling
- Rationalwiki does not have a built in spell checker.
- As such, please try to proofread your own work - or at least, ping someone you trust to do it for you.
- If you're not sure how to spell a certain word, look it up. Don't just insert it, hope you're right, and wait for another user to fix your mistake.
- If you write your article or edit in a word processor or similar editor program, you can, and should, use the spellchecker before copy/pasting.
- Alternatively, the Firefox and Opera web browsers can be equipped with spellcheckers, although that can still lead to "spellchecker typos" - picking the wrong word out of the suggested list. Safari and Chrome also have a spellcheckers that are built in.
Italics
- Book and more often than not movie titles are normally italicized in most style guides. Two single apostrophes before and after the word or phrase will accomplish this. Hence, ''Crime and Punishment'' will appear as Crime and Punishment (NB not one double apostrophe at each side).
Capitalization
- English is not German. You should not capitalize all
Nnouns and theirMmodifiers, even whenYyou thinkYyou should. You should just capitalizePproperNnouns, such asjJohnsSmith.
Relative time
If you use a relative time reference, such as "recently", "yesterday" or "an hour from now" etc. then please insert the actual time and/or date. Remember your edit might still be there in a year & no-one will be able to reference the time. If you're going to sign (~~~~ on talk or debate pages), there is no need for other dating as the signature will automatically include the full date.
Breaking Rules
The above are NOT hard and fast rules. There are occasions when you might want to break them for a particular effect. If you do you can put an invisible comment (using: <!-- comment -->) after the error to ensure that people get that it's a joke if they don't get it first time.
See also
Andrew Schlafly, a mistake if ever there was one.
Footnotes
- ↑ ...except where it is just weird of course. However, being atheistic (as we do not make obeisance to any omniscient deity) scientists we might deign to abseil from the height of our ivory towers and in our leisure-time find sufficient, perhaps even a surfeit, of examples, to put our weight behind unveiling a specie of exceptions such as "freight". We might even be inveigled by a prescient financier (for just a few ancient gold sovereigns) to seize the chance of forgoing our caffeine and protein (mainly cheesy casein) diet, so long as we are given free
reignrein to formulate efficient policies which either highlight heinous counterfeit examples (such as "reading Mein Kampf with a stein of lager and a chicken chow-mein while considering the leitmotif of Rottweilers running through the edelweiss on the Eiger") or present a prima facie case to reject the spontaneity of the Society of Sheiks feigning a plebeian interest in the eight beige heifers of their feisty foreign neighbours' from Madeira. So if you are neither canoeing round a weir, peeing on the concierge of a hacienda nor sleighing down a glacier, and are still bewildered by the lunacies of English spelling outlined herein try visiting Eire and check out the intricacies of Irish spelling. If we were more proficient we might, in good conscience, be able to continue in a similar vein but we're far more interested in the eighteen sheilas and eighty geisha heiresses in their eiderdown jackets next door.