tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post8999751263195714117..comments2024-03-27T16:02:25.334-05:00Comments on Orange Crate Art: New Yorker singular and plural formsMichael Leddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-91270360633238170702015-02-03T06:14:33.193-06:002015-02-03T06:14:33.193-06:00Sean, I hadn’t thought of days as part of the prob...Sean, I hadn’t thought of <i>days</i> as part of the problem. “On Wednesdays, I would go to London or Paris or Rome”: saying something like that seems fine to me. But given the trouble in the <i>New Yorker</i> sentence, a singular start would be helpful. (What kind of high school lets you change your seat for a test anyway?)<br /><br />Arthurian, thanks for the compliment. As an outcast from higher mathematics, I appreciate the second paragraph, but I can see that someone who knows pure mathematics could find it tiresome.<br /><br />“Whom to ask” is right: my role is to know to ask <i>him</i> or <i>her</i>, not <i>he</i> or <i>she</i>. But as many people have pointed out, <i>whom</i> in speech can often sound awkward and unnatural or like a hypercorrection. (“Whom shall I say is calling?”)Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-52983590224300060662015-02-03T04:49:53.236-06:002015-02-03T04:49:53.236-06:00Excellent post, Michael. I run into problems like ...Excellent post, Michael. I run into problems like that all the time. It helps to see someone else thinking about them.<br /><br />I tried to read Alec Wilkinson's <i>New Yorker</i> article. Second paragraph is typical of writing I can't stand. It could have been omitted entirely, except for the first sentence.<br /><br />Usually I stop reading by the 2nd or 3rd paragraph when the <i>words per unit of meaning</i> ratio is so high. What was it Seinfeld said? "Always leave them wanting more."<br /><br /><b>“The paper I can’t evaluate off the top of my head, my role is to know whom to ask,” Katz said.</b><br /><br />"Whom"? Is that right?<br />The Arthurianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16501331051089400601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-42388565979099729442015-02-03T00:08:21.355-06:002015-02-03T00:08:21.355-06:00Do you think "days" might be adding to t...Do you think "days" might be adding to the plural-ness? Since he is referring to more than one day then there is the expectation he sat next to more than one person. <br /><br />How about:<br /><br />"On a test day, I sat next to <i>either</i> Bob or Bruce or Ted or Donny—all smart boys whose..."<br /><br />Tricky sentence.Seanhttp://contrapuntalism.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com