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| Title: | The Joy of Lex |
| Notice: | A Notes File even your grammar could love |
| Moderator: | THEBAY::SYSTEM |
|
| Created: | Fri Feb 28 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Mon Jun 02 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1192 |
| Total number of notes: | 42769 |
864.0. "So much little more" by MAST::FITZPATRICK (Juuuust a bit outside.) Mon Jan 21 1991 20:56
When I was in High School, I took part in a new program at the
school. After a few months, the school had a meeting for students and
parents to discuss how things were going. The principal, who was
"mediating" the discussion, called mostly on the parents to discuss
things, rather than the students.
One of my friends, Dave, took exception to this policy and, when
called upon to speak, made his feeling known. He explained that, since
our parents knew "so much little more than what we tell them," that the
students should be more involved in the discussion.
Since the intent of the program was to teach us Latin and
"Humanities" in an attempt to improve our vocabularies and verbal
skills, a student uttering a sentence like this provoked some laughter
and moved the discussion, at least temporarily, in an unproductive
direction.
Dave took some heat for it, but I always thought that, even though
it didn't sound great, the sentence was grammatically correct, and
expressed his thought that "the parents didn't know much more than what
they heard from us."
Anyone want to discuss the validity of this sentence, or any other
incongruous-sounding but grammatically correct expressions?
-Tom
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 864.1 | | JIT081::DIAMOND | This note is illegal tender. | Tue Jan 22 1991 01:23 | 1 |
| "So little more" would be correct. What's the "much" doing there?
|
| 864.2 | | MAST::FITZPATRICK | Juuuust a bit outside. | Tue Jan 22 1991 17:40 | 5 |
| >> "So little more" would be correct. What's the "much" doing there?
To emphasize "little"?
-Tom
|
| 864.3 | Way wicked little | STAR::RDAVIS | Just like medicine | Wed Jan 23 1991 16:43 | 8 |
| � >> "So little more" would be correct. What's the "much" doing there?
�
� To emphasize "little"?
I very much think the phrase (if it is to exist in some form) should be
"so very little more than" then.
Ray
|
| 864.4 | if it doesn't communicate, who cares if it's correct? | TLE::RANDALL | Pray for peace | Thu Jan 24 1991 22:47 | 9 |
| In my opinion, it doesn't matter whether it's "correct" or not; if
one has to diagram it in order to interpret it, it's a poor
sentence.
I think a sentence that is grammatically correct but so obscure it
confuses or annoys is just as bad as an unclear grammatically
incorrect sentence and worse than a clear ungrammatical sentence.
--bonnie
|