need some help with some grammar phrases.

I'm doing some proof reading this month, so I need some help on a select few. Just tell me if my phrases are correct or not. thanks. I'll place ( ) around the word or cooma in question.

1."You have (turned) what would've been a very streesful day into a much more enjoyable one." ---(I could replace with "waisted" so I'd said the verb tense is good, right?)

2." I filled it out a month ago and as you can see ( comma?) everything is in order." (the speaker had filled out an application)

thanks for the help.
 
huxley said:
1."You have (turned) what would've been a very streesful day into a much more enjoyable one." ---(I could replace with "waisted" so I'd said the verb tense is good, right?)

2." I filled it out a month ago and as you can see ( comma?) everything is in order." (the speaker had filled out an application)

thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

I'd say that #1 is fine - apart from "stressful".

As for #2, I'd be more inclined to write it as:

"I filled it out a month ago and, as you can see, everything is in order."

or

"I filled it out a month ago. As you can see, everything is in order.
 
I've never thought of this before but shouldn't c'mon be c'm'on because there is another letter missing after the m? I don't know why I only just spotted this, the amount of times i've written it.

(Sorry that is a bit off topic.)
 
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Threddy said:
I've never thought of this before but shouldn't c'mon be c'm'on because there is another letter missing after the m? I don't know why I only just spotted this, the amount of times i've written it.

(Sorry that is a bit off topic.)
Click to expand...
Strictly speaking, yes, there should - but it's probably one of those missing ones that are taken so much for granted that they're missed out as well as the missing letter.
It's like bus and plane - only the real pedants write 'bus and 'plane ( for omnibus and aeroplane) these days!

By the way, in your post quoted above, the two uses of the "I" word in red below should really agree! :)

why I've only just spotted this, the amount of times I've written it.
Click to expand...
 
I'm doing some more proof reading, so I'm going to post some phrases that I'm unsure about. I hope you can help me with my punctuation. Here goes.

1."I'm terribly sorry for disturbing your meal, but once you see what i have (comma?) you'll understand. (I sense there's a comma,but I'm unsure.)

2."Of course, but first you see(comma?) I was hoping for some sort of cash reward for my troubles."

3."Get on with it (comma?) fool! (I'd say yes cause it's a direct address. Fool could be replaced by "mark")

4." What do I care about other (peoples or people's ) conversations." (Basically I'm confused. Is it "peoples" or "people's")

5."His words (comma?) not mine. I swear."

6."You insult me(comma?) plus you want a reward for what you did."


Thanks for the help guys.
 
#1 is correct. #3 is correct. As is #5.

#2 needs the comma after see, and one before "you".

I'm awful with apostrophes, so I don't know about #4.

And I'd write #6 as two sentences, rather than one with a comma:

"You insult me?! And you want a reward for what you did?!"
 
Well, #4 would make better sense using "other peoples'," with the apostrophe at the end of the 's'. As for the last sentence, you could actually do that two ways with dialogue...

"You insult me? And you want a reward for what you did?" as Lenny mentioned. Or, you could take out the 'you' after 'and' and it would flow well all the same. "You insult me and want a reward for what you did?"

It all depends on how you want the conversation to flow. Check out Stephen King's On Writing or several other reference books on grammar and style to learn a bit more about dialogue. It doesn't necessarily have to follow normal grammatical rules as long as the conversation makes sense and sounds believable, as if two people were actually talking. A lot of times I only use commas in dialogue where I want a break in the flow of words. There are times where I might even keep a comma out of dialogue where it might otherwise be necessary; it all depends, again, on how you want it to go. A good exercise is to speak your dialogue out loud; it can be helpful for deciding where a comma should go, where you should put one of those oft overused (or underused) exclamation points and can help you decide when it's the right time to make a grammatical mistake purposefully to make the dialogue read in a way it otherwise wouldn't. (notice the end of that paragraph, the last part of that sentence specifically, was written as an example of what I was talking about)
 
thanks for the help guys. if anyone else wants to add to the original post, feel free. here's one i forgot.

is it descendent or descendant?

like in: "I'm a direct descendent / descendant of the king."
 
With an "a" - descendant.

As a general rule of them, very few words that end with endant seem to have two "e"s... I think. Maybe someone could confirm this?
 
You're right Lenny; oddly though, there are actually quite a few words that can be spelled with either the 'e' or the 'a' and are still considered correct, despite what MS Word might tell you. Though varients are only ever tolerated in literature when they are done consistently.
 
I need some help with some more proof reading. thanks guys.

1."Oh, one more thing (comma?) can you cook?" (I'd say yes, right)

2. "Tell you what(comma?) why don't i join you."(I'd say yes to a comma and not a period, right)

3."I can't wait to see what he buit for me." ( is "built" in the correct tense? I'd say yes, right, but I just want to make sure.)

4. A short man, wearing worn out clothes, sits at the table. (is "worn" the correct verb tense, cause in speach it sounds like it should be "worned out" but worned doesn't exist as a verb.)

5. the word "aw" vs "ah" which one is correct for the expressing I want.
ex: "Aw, I hate you" "Aw, I don't have time for this" "Aw, shut up."
which one is it for the emotion of frustrating.
 
1 to 4 are correct.

As for #5, it's a matter of opinion. I haven't the foggiest, so I'll leave that to someone else.
 
huxley said:
5. the word "aw" vs "ah" which one is correct for the expressing I want.
ex: "Aw, I hate you" "Aw, I don't have time for this" "Aw, shut up."
which one is it for the emotion of frustrating.
Click to expand...

Lenny has it right - it's purely personal taste.

Personally, I would use "ah" in a tender situation, as in "Ah, aren't those kittens sweet?, and "aw" in an embarrassed way, as in "aw, shucks, Mary-Lou", or if I was writing dialogue for John Wayne.
Say it to yourself aloud - that's usually a good guide.
 
thanks guys. About the AW or Ah I just didn't know which one was right for frustration. cause i didn't know exactely what they sound like , but i think i know which one to use unless there's a better one out there.

aw is more for like cute stuff. like,"Aw, she's sweet."or "Aw, look at that cat."

but i'm looking for more a hate or frustration interjection.
for phrases like these. but i'm not sure if AH is the correct interjection or not.
ex: "Ah, get off of me." "Ah, I hate you." it's sort of the sound people make when they're frustrated . it almost sound like a frustrated sigh, like in :

"Ah, leave me alone. You piss me off." is there a better interjection that i could use?
 
That's how I'd do it - "aww" for sweet, cutesy stuff and "ah" or "ahh!" for hate and frustration.
 
There's a trans-Atlantic difference, as well, I think.
Where are you, Huxley? - your User CP comes up N/A, and it can make a difference in this sort of question :)
 
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