English grammar and such: On the Nature of Bookshelfs

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:

Geoff: 
> > Other peculiarities which sometimes arise and are wrongly handled in
> English 
 
> Carol:
> Sorry to interrupt, but I see that you're advocating correctness, not
> whatever the masses decide to write or say. Good for you!
 
Geoff resumed:
> are words which are hyphenated or have the noun at the beginning.
> Examples which spring immediately to mind are: aide-de-camp, aide-
> memoire, master-at-arms and auto-da-fé for which the plurals are 
> aides-de-camp, aides-memoire, masters-at-arms and autos-da-fé. 
> Looking at the ones which spring to mind straight away, perhaps I
> ought to lie down quietly in a darkened room.
> > :-)
> > 
> > Seriously, you can probably provide further examples.
> 
> Carol:
> How about mothers-in-law and passers-by?

Geoff:
Precisely. Thank you.

Carol: 
> BTW, logic is the basis of many of the rules of grammar that CJ finds
> so objectionable. For example, in math(s), two negatives make a
> positive, so, logically, a double negative is a positive: "I don't
> want none" means "I want some." Of course, the restriction on double
> negatives deprives us of such gems as "Nor this is not my nose,
> neither," one of my favorite Shakespearean lines.

Geoff:
I recall teaching that "I don't want none" is bad grammar and is a 
double negative, but there are occasions - as I pointed out not so 
long ago - that double negatives are used in English to produce 
certain nuances of meaning.

Consider as an example "I am happy with the outcome" with "I am 
not unhappy with the outcome". there is a subtle difference between 
them. The first can be read at face value while the second implies a 
neutrality of feeling. The speaker is not unhappy but isn't necessarily
happy. Thinking about this the other day, I appreciated that this 
construction, which is a permissible double negative,  is used more 
often than I realised.

Geoff
Who is not dissatisfied with the interesting way this thread has moved.