3:40 PM
Man on Net
"English is the result of Norman men-at-arms attempting to pick up Saxon barmaids and is no more legitimate than any of the other results." H. Beam Piper
"English has a grammar of great simplicity and flexibility." The Story of English
"Fussing about split infinitives is one of the more tiresome pastimes invented by nineteenth century grammarians." Barbara Strang in Modern English Structure
"The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; and (5) those who know and distinguish...." Fowler's Modern English Usage
"[Someone who uses a multiple negative] spreads as it were a thin layer of negative colouring over the whole sentence instead of confining it to a single place." Otto Jespersen
"The name is misleading, for the preposition to no more belongs to the infinitive as a necessary part of it, than the definite article belongs to the substantive, and no one would think of calling the good man a split substantive." Otto Jespersen, (referring to split infinitives, in Essentials of English Grammar)
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." James D. Nicoll
"This is the sort of English up with which I will not put." Winston Churchill
"English has a grammar of great simplicity and flexibility." The Story of English
"Fussing about split infinitives is one of the more tiresome pastimes invented by nineteenth century grammarians." Barbara Strang in Modern English Structure
"The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; and (5) those who know and distinguish...." Fowler's Modern English Usage
"[Someone who uses a multiple negative] spreads as it were a thin layer of negative colouring over the whole sentence instead of confining it to a single place." Otto Jespersen
"The name is misleading, for the preposition to no more belongs to the infinitive as a necessary part of it, than the definite article belongs to the substantive, and no one would think of calling the good man a split substantive." Otto Jespersen, (referring to split infinitives, in Essentials of English Grammar)
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." James D. Nicoll
"This is the sort of English up with which I will not put." Winston Churchill
Posts
