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#148154 09/23/2005 9:06 AM
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What is the difference (if any) between "all" and "all of" in a phrase such as "please take all/all of your belongings with you"?

tyro


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#148155 09/23/2005 9:21 AM
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I'd say no difference. (Or same difference if our prescrips would let me get away with it)


#148156 09/23/2005 9:42 AM
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At a nickel a word it's five cents versus ten cents. But other than that there's no difference.



TEd
#148157 09/23/2005 12:52 PM
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"All of the ——" can usually be rewritten as "All the ——," "All ——," or "Every ——."

~From the :Guide to Grammar and Style" by Jack Lynch, Rutgers University
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/a.html



#148158 09/24/2005 2:01 PM
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I'm sure it can be rewritten, but why bother?



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#148159 09/24/2005 2:46 PM
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1. All of the bottles are on the table.
2. All the bottles are on the table.
3. All bottles are on the table.
4. All are on the table.
5. None of the bottles are on the table.
6. *None the bottles are on the table.
7. None are on the table.
8. *None bottles are on the table.
9. No bottles are on the table.
10. Some of the bottles are on the table.
11. Some bottles are on the table.
12. Some are on the table.




Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148160 09/24/2005 2:49 PM
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I remember a grammar teacher in my dim distant past telling me that, when struggling with the use of "none", one ought think of it as the two-word phrase "not one."


#148161 09/24/2005 2:55 PM
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I remember a grammar teacher in my dim distant past telling me that, when struggling with the use of "none", one ought think of it as the two-word phrase "not one."

Not one are on the table ???

Not one is on the table

None is, none are: either, or which?



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For many speakers of English, the indefinite pronoun none is not synonymous with the phrase not one. This argument from etymology would yield such rules as "one ought to think of not as ne wight (no being)."



Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148163 09/24/2005 3:09 PM
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I write with such hesitation, knowing that I will inspire the wrath and disapprobation of some rabid descriptivist by presuming to think such thoughts as these about the English language. But, insel, you asked.

"None" is an indefinite pronoun. A singular pronoun takes a singular verb. A plural pronoun takes a plural verb. None may be thought of as either singular or plural, wherein lies the rub. If one thinks of "none" as the two-word phrase "not one", one will use a singular verb. If one thinks of "none" as the two-word phrase "not any", one will use a plural verb.

None (not one) of the students is going to the assembly.
None (not any) of the students are going to the assembly.

None of the fruit is ripe.
None (not any) of the fruits are ripe.
None (not one) of the fruits is ripe.

Of course, if it doesn't matter to you, then it doesn't matter.


#148164 09/24/2005 3:21 PM
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Father Steve, though I know it is useless to argue with a prescriptivist, what the heck, here goes. It's not that I don't care how you use none, it's just that I care how I (and some others) use none. To my ear, none is dead sounds bad. None are dead sounds right. If you need to censure me, go ahead.



Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148165 09/24/2005 4:27 PM
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Dear zmjezhd ~

I don't need to censure anybody 'cause I'm not mad at anybody. My guess is that there is something, either in the physiological structures of the brain or in personality type, which determines whether a person will tend toward prescriptivism or descriptivism. Thus, arguing about which is better, more noble, more enlightened or cuter, is about as useful as arguing whether blue eyes are better than brown ... or whether Tuesdays are better than Thursdays.


#148166 09/24/2005 5:09 PM
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redundancy?



TEd
#148167 09/24/2005 5:10 PM
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Dear Father Steve--

I think it's more a matter of nurture than nature, but yes, It really isn't worth arguing about and what all.





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#148168 09/24/2005 5:12 PM
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redundancy?

More of an oxymoron?



Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148169 09/24/2005 6:35 PM
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whether Tuesdays are better than Thursdays.

It's obvious to me that Tuesdays are better than Thursdays; Tuesdays is when Schickele Mix is on and Thursdays has nothing better to offer than A Night on the Town.


#148170 09/24/2005 7:06 PM
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Muslim people keep Friday as the day of rest. The Qur'an refers to Friday as the "king of days."

Jewish people keep Saturday as the day of rest. They reckon that, on this day, God rested after creating the world.

Most Christian people keep Sunday as the day of rest because it is the Day of Resurrection. Seventh-Day Adventists are the exception.

The Baha'i keep Friday as their day of rest.

Many Eastern Orthodox Christians honour Saint John the Baptist on Tuesdays, if there is no other saints day appointed to the calendar date.

An old German tradition holds that Thursday is the unluckiest day of the week, so much so that people avoided signing contracts or being married on a Thursday.

In India, Saturday is considered in some place to be unlucky because of its connection with Sani, the God of Misfortune.

In Roman Catholic tradition, Saturday is devoted to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin, the first Saturday of the month, especially.

The difference between the days of the week is found in what people ascribe to the them.



#148171 09/24/2005 7:31 PM
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I've been cross-thread-mantled... or is it just a propensity to *scribe 'what all'.


#148172 09/24/2005 8:31 PM
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monday's child is fair of face
tuesday's child is full of grace
wednesday's child is loving and giving
thursday's child has to work for a living
friday's child is full of woe
saturday's child has far to go
but the child born on the lord's own day
is wise and good and fair and gay.

or i learned--back when gay most happy and joyful. but i suppose it doesn't matter the meaning.

so tuesday isn't quite the same as thurdays--


#148173 09/24/2005 9:05 PM
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I've been cross-thread-mantled
Is that painful at all? Does aspirin help?


#148174 09/24/2005 9:44 PM
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>> nurture<<

or lack thereof


#148175 09/24/2005 9:47 PM
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>>But, insel, you aksed<<

Then "not one" *or* "not any" -- it was your teacher's maxim I was doubting.


#148176 09/24/2005 9:48 PM
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Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#148177 09/24/2005 11:01 PM
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I was born on a Sunday

Bingley


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#148178 09/26/2005 5:31 AM
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In cases like this, the rhythm of the sentence is often the deciding factor. In my ears, your sentence without "of" sounds better.


#148179 09/26/2005 2:15 PM
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One thing that no one (not one of the responders ) has mentioned is the use of 'of' when 'all' is singular; at least in the examples I can think of, 'all of' is required.
"How much of that book have you read so far?"
"All of it."


#148180 09/26/2005 2:23 PM
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>>All of it.<<

"All of it" is a fragment. The full sentence would read, "I have read all of it," for which you can substitute, "I have read it all."


#148181 09/27/2005 1:30 AM
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Or...you can not substitute! Gee, I wonder if this post will be on the new place?


#148182 09/27/2005 2:31 AM
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And if you don't, you're using a colloquialism.



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