Saturday, September 05, 2015
A rhyme
Polistra observes a repetition of ignorance on a simple subject. Every time we get blessedly necessary rain after a long dry spell, we also get a certain number of popped transformers. Despite this predictability, lots of people are completely puzzled every time it happens. Avista has to jump into social media to explain it over and over.
Time for a rhyme.
Short poems are useful as memory aids.
Leaves of three, let it be.
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.
I before E except after C.
White flies swarming, no more warming. (Polistra's earlier effort.)
For this purpose:
Rain after dust, Power goes bust.
= = = = =
Sidenote: The worst of all such rhymes was hammered by a high-school English teacher.
Is! Are! Was! Were! Never takes an Ob! Ject!
Is! Are! Was! Were! Never takes an Ob! Ject!
Is! Are! Was! Were! Never takes an Ob! Ject!
The rhyme was basically meant to prevent "It's me." The rhyme was wrong. "It's me" is perfectly fine. Beyond wrongness the rhyme was also moot and defective. Moot because anyone who understands the concept of takes an object already knows the bad rule; defective because there aren't any situations where Are! and Were! come in front of a pronoun. It are us? It were him? Nobody says those things, so they don't need to be falsely "corrected".
= = = = =
Sidenote: The worst of all such rhymes was hammered by a high-school English teacher.
Is! Are! Was! Were! Never takes an Ob! Ject!
Is! Are! Was! Were! Never takes an Ob! Ject!
Is! Are! Was! Were! Never takes an Ob! Ject!
The rhyme was basically meant to prevent "It's me." The rhyme was wrong. "It's me" is perfectly fine. Beyond wrongness the rhyme was also moot and defective. Moot because anyone who understands the concept of takes an object already knows the bad rule; defective because there aren't any situations where Are! and Were! come in front of a pronoun. It are us? It were him? Nobody says those things, so they don't need to be falsely "corrected".
Labels: Danbo, Language update
¶ 5:49 PM
