Weary vs. Wary

[Entropymancer]

They're two different words with two different meanings.

To be wary is to be cautious, perhaps even apprehensive.
To be weary is to be tired, perhaps even exhausted.


/end grammar nazi mode

 

[Entropymancer]

Actually, while I'm at it, here's one more:

Vile is an adjective describing something unpleasant
Vial is a noun referring to a small container, usually glass, that (if one is lucky) may contain a delicious solution of LSD.

 

[dromedary]

Grammar : The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.

Spelling : The forming of words with letters in an accepted arrangement; orthography.

 

[Ljosalfar]

Semantics: the study of meaning

 

[Enoon]

....

then - is a temporal reference refering to something happening after something else (sequence of things). E.g. 'I took the water and then poured it into the jar...'
than - is used in comparatives statements, it shows relations between things e.g. 'larger than...'

(btw I love this thread)

 

[Lichen]

Freeradicals and I - correct.
Me and Freeradicals - incorrect.

Take these sentences for example:

Freeradicals and I smoked changa and gazed at the stars.
Me and freeradicals smoked changa and gazed at the stars.

Now remove freeradicals from the situation - does it still make sense?

I smoked changa and gazed at the stars.
Me smoked changa and gazed at the stars.

(Unless you are one of our esteemed prehistoric ancestors, I may let this one slide)

 

[dromedary]

Freeradicals and I - correct.
Me and Freeradicals - incorrect.

Not necessarily. Well, not at all, but first even within the prescriptivist framework this isn't the whole truth. Traditionally the rule has been to use 'I' when you are the subject of the sentence and 'me' when you are the object. So 'freeradicals and me' would be quite correct in the object position, eg: they laughed at freeradicals and me for arguing over grammar. Some (sad) people will restate a sentence in the passive voice to avoid using 'me' here, eg: freeradicals and I were laughed at by them for arguing over grammar.

Your 'incorrect' example also changes the traditional position for the first-person pronoun (I/me): 'me and freeradicals' instead of 'freeradicals and me'. In practice, 'someone and me' occurs three times as often as 'me and someone', but 'someone and I' occurs thousands of times more frequently than 'I and someone'. If for whatever reason your sentence calls for putting yourself first, then choosing 'me' is always going to sound less awkward than 'I', even when you are the subject of the sentence.

The most important thing to remember though is that there is no prescribed set rules of language. Language authorities - lexicographers, linguists and the like - write down the 'rules' of language to describe it as it exists, not to prescribe what is correct or incorrect usage. The history of the 'me and someone did something' form is much older than you are, and it is certainly not 'incorrect' in any meaningful way.

 

[Bill Cipher]

Fumarate - An intermediate in the citric acid cycle used by cells to produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from food. It is formed by the oxidation of succinate by the enzyme succinate dehydrogenase.

Furmate - A poodle or similar small furry creature kept for the purpose of sexual enslavement.

 

[proto-pax]

I thought that was Succinyl-coa...

 

[Bill Cipher]

What do I know? I just cut and pasted from Wikipedia!

 

[easyrider]

A swell site for these errors: Common Errors in English Usage | Common Errors in English Usage and More | Washington State University.

 

[jbark]

OVER-EXAGGERATION

...Implies an acceptable level of exaggeration which has been surpassed (...?? :shock: )

I have a lot of linguistic pet peeves, but I generally keep the rage locked up tight - in a lil ole gilded box in me mushy grey gunk I open only when in private to blow off a lil steam without the risk of any potential peripheral or collateral damage. So far no passersby casualties... 8)

Now I have a thread to vent on, I may open a valve here from time to time.

JBArk

 

[Lichen]

That's very interesting stuff Dromedary!

Personally I hear a lot of people say "Me and someone" a lot more than I ever hear the traditional position of "someone and me". Someone and me, sounds terrible imo.

Freeradicals and me are going to the shops.
Me and Freeradicals are going to the shops.