| Author |
Message |
Bloke
Guest
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 8:44 pm
Post subject: Choices |
|
|
My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bloke
Guest
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 11:19 pm
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 14:15:57 -0500, "Raymond S. Wise"
<mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote:
| Quote: | "Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:o99rl09hms7crfndsh7rt1lejdtiqglo4m@4ax.com...
My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
That she felt compelled to make the observation would seem to indicate that
the existence of the word "choices" is a certainty: Otherwise, it would have
been utterly pointless for her to have said anything at all about the
matter, wouldn't it?
|
So a word exists just because someone somewhere says it? Surely we
should set more stringent hurdles for a word to surmount before it can
be accepted as such?
Would you argue that sheeps is a word? Suppose I say it is the plural
of sheep, does that make it so? I may insist it is so, but that
doesn't make me right.
When one makes a choice, and then another choice, one has still only
made a choice. One has not made choices.
Bloke |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Raymond S. Wise
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 1:15 am
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
"Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:o99rl09hms7crfndsh7rt1lejdtiqglo4m@4ax.com...
| Quote: | My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
|
That she felt compelled to make the observation would seem to indicate that
the existence of the word "choices" is a certainty: Otherwise, it would have
been utterly pointless for her to have said anything at all about the
matter, wouldn't it?
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Don Phillipson
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 2:51 am
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
"Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:o99rl09hms7crfndsh7rt1lejdtiqglo4m@4ax.com...
| Quote: | My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
|
You may have missed the subtext.
Almost the only choice a man (or woman) can
simply never make is the choice of his mother.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
don groves
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 3:57 am
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
In article <p6irl09plssh8t15t2uv5o64q7knc8td7g@4ax.com>,
mc_wanker@excite.com wrote...
| Quote: | On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 14:15:57 -0500, "Raymond S. Wise"
mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote:
"Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:o99rl09hms7crfndsh7rt1lejdtiqglo4m@4ax.com...
My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
That she felt compelled to make the observation would seem to indicate that
the existence of the word "choices" is a certainty: Otherwise, it would have
been utterly pointless for her to have said anything at all about the
matter, wouldn't it?
So a word exists just because someone somewhere says it? Surely we
should set more stringent hurdles for a word to surmount before it can
be accepted as such?
Would you argue that sheeps is a word? Suppose I say it is the plural
of sheep, does that make it so? I may insist it is so, but that
doesn't make me right.
When one makes a choice, and then another choice, one has still only
made a choice. One has not made choices.
|
But one may have had several choices to begin with.
--
dg (domain=ccwebster) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
joetaxpayer@nospam.com
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 4:23 am
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
don groves wrote:
| Quote: | In article <p6irl09plssh8t15t2uv5o64q7knc8td7g@4ax.com>,
mc_wanker@excite.com wrote...
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 14:15:57 -0500, "Raymond S. Wise"
mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote:
"Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:o99rl09hms7crfndsh7rt1lejdtiqglo4m@4ax.com...
My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
That she felt compelled to make the observation would seem to indicate that
the existence of the word "choices" is a certainty: Otherwise, it would have
been utterly pointless for her to have said anything at all about the
matter, wouldn't it?
So a word exists just because someone somewhere says it? Surely we
should set more stringent hurdles for a word to surmount before it can
be accepted as such?
Would you argue that sheeps is a word? Suppose I say it is the plural
of sheep, does that make it so? I may insist it is so, but that
doesn't make me right.
When one makes a choice, and then another choice, one has still only
made a choice. One has not made choices.
But one may have had several choices to begin with.
--
dg (domain=ccwebster)
|
Indeed. I ask my 6 year old what she wants for dinner, her reply is,
"what are my choices?" Aside from the fact that I often throw this
decision to her, I thought her grammar was fine.
JOE |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Michael DeBusk
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 12:13 pm
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 18:44:50 +0000 (UTC), Bloke <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote:
| Quote: | My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist.
|
How sad it would be to have no choices.
--
Michael DeBusk, Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place
Did he update http://home.earthlink.net/~debu4335/ yet? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Raymond S. Wise
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 1:02 pm
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
"Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:p6irl09plssh8t15t2uv5o64q7knc8td7g@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 14:15:57 -0500, "Raymond S. Wise"
mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote:
"Bloke" <mc_wanker@excite.com> wrote in message
news:o99rl09hms7crfndsh7rt1lejdtiqglo4m@4ax.com...
My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
That she felt compelled to make the observation would seem to indicate
that
the existence of the word "choices" is a certainty: Otherwise, it would
have
been utterly pointless for her to have said anything at all about the
matter, wouldn't it?
So a word exists just because someone somewhere says it? Surely we
should set more stringent hurdles for a word to surmount before it can
be accepted as such?
|
In the "Is 'predominately' a word?" thread I discussed my reasons for
thinking that this use of the word "word" is best avoided.
See
http://groups.google.com/groups?safe=images&ie=UTF-8&as_umsgid=8bydnYHlkvsQdsHcRVn-vQ@gbronline.com&lr=&hl=en
or
http://tinyurl.com/5ubdy
| Quote: |
Would you argue that sheeps is a word? Suppose I say it is the plural
of sheep, does that make it so? I may insist it is so, but that
doesn't make me right.
|
"Sheeps" is indeed a word, and yes, it is a plural of "sheep." It is not
your calling it a word which would make it so, but the fact that it fulfills
the requirements for being a "word" according to the linguistic definition
for that term.
| Quote: |
When one makes a choice, and then another choice, one has still only
made a choice. One has not made choices.
|
Others have addressed that question. "Choices" is an entirely unremarkable
standard usage.
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bloke
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 6:19 pm
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
On Sat, 02 Oct 2004 15:25:48 GMT, Gary Eickmeier
<geickmei@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
Bloke wrote:
My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
So what would your mother have to say about a multiple choice test?
Gary Eickmeier
|
That's a fair point. One makes one's choice and submits one's answers,
I suppose.
Bloke |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Gary Eickmeier
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 9:25 pm
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
Bloke wrote:
| Quote: | My mother maintained that there was never a justification for using
the word "choices" and that it therefore does not exist. About 99% of
the time I think she was right.
|
So what would your mother have to say about a multiple choice test?
Gary Eickmeier |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
meirman
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:07 am
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
In alt.english.usage on Fri, 1 Oct 2004 21:19:21 +0000 (UTC) Bloke
<mc_wanker@excite.com> posted:
| Quote: |
When one makes a choice, and then another choice, one has still only
made a choice. One has not made choices.
|
Yes, I think your mother means something like that.
But if one makes a choice between chocolate and vanilla, he has made a
choice.
If he then makes a choice between a malted milk, a parfait, and a hot
fudge sundae, he has made another choice. So he has made two choices.
I think what your mother is objecting to is considering one to have
two choices when one is chocolate and the other is vanilla. She would
call that a single choice. But in the US, both are considered choices
that one may choose. One can have 2, 3, or n choices until he has
made his choice. Then he *had* n choices but he has chosen one of
them. Also at this point, the ones he didn't choose were possible
choices. Although some might say they were never more than possible
choices until one was chosen.
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
meirman
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:07 am
Post subject: Re: Choices |
|
|
In alt.english.usage on Fri, 01 Oct 2004 22:23:04 GMT
"joetaxpayer@nospam.com" <joetaxpayer@nospam.com> posted:
| Quote: |
Indeed. I ask my 6 year old what she wants for dinner, her reply is,
"what are my choices?" Aside from the fact that I often throw this
decision to her, I thought her grammar was fine.
JOE
|
I don't know. In my family we didn't have such choices. If we said
"What's for dinner?" my mother told us what she had decided to make.
If we didn't ask, we got the same thing anyway, as if we had asked.
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| |
FAQ
Memberlist
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in