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#166246 02/24/07 07:02 PM
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It's about this:

We had the prepositons a while ago :
at,on,in,to,with etc. You must have automatically learned the prepostions from early childhood on as I did in my language.

But the following I guess you must have been taught to do well:
Words ending on y ye uy ie.
Confusing :
to ly,lie die dye buy by bye bye,to fly rye tie. etc.These words are specially confusing when used in the adjective form. Dying, dyeing , lying , lying?

Is there any memory belp in this matter?
More of those helpful rhymes like Pennyless posted?

"A flea and a fly in a flue
Were stuck, so what could they do?
"Let us flee!" said the fly.
"Let us fly!" said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue. "


I did this post because from this little rhyme I noticed how a little word learned this way really sticks to memory, ('flue 'new to me and 'flu', which I always wrote as 'flue')

Dictionary look-ups are fine for difficult words and they hang on easy, but those little ones... well maybe memory works differently with each person.





Last edited by BranShea; 02/25/07 06:20 AM.
#166247 02/26/07 08:45 PM
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enthusiast
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There are a handful of mneumonic tricks for keeping track of these sorts of 'difficulties' with the language.
As in "I before E except after C or sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh".*
Many find it equally difficult to differentiate between Accept and Except; so I offer this: remember that to Accept is a very Active operation.
Perhaps that is a poor example but the firs that comes to mind.
==================
*This relates directly to one of my personal peeves. The song that is associated with the US Navy is "Anchors Aweigh" but so often (mis)stated as Anchors Away.


"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton
#166248 02/26/07 09:01 PM
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M
addict
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Quote:

As in "I before E except after C or sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh".*



And many other weird exceptions... it's hardly a science.

#166249 02/26/07 09:21 PM
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Quote:


==================
*This relates directly to one of my personal peeves. The song that is associated with the US Navy is "Anchors Aweigh" but so often (mis)stated as Anchors Away.




In another forum, this came up. When I tried to googling it, I found a very interesting reference on the US Navy's website. One of the USN's unofficial songs is called "Anchors aweigh", and the 1906 version of the lyrics includes the line I have copied and pasted below:

"Anchors Away, my boys, Anchors Aweigh."

#166250 02/26/07 09:39 PM
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"Anchors Away, my boys, Anchors Aweigh."

'Tis pity, that under weigh has since become under way. Or that way became weigh or vice versa.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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A
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If it looks funny then to hell with it.

#166252 02/27/07 03:39 AM
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> mneumonic

I like your airor.



formerly known as etaoin...
#166253 02/27/07 08:43 AM
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Quote:

.
As in "I before E except after C or sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh".*





Mneumonic - Mnemonic. Ach, ParkinT, if you look at my first post you'll find a pretty error as well : " memory belp " and I only saw it now.

Thanks for your advise, though right now this mnemonic seems to me like the cure is worse than the illness. How do I figure this out.

#166254 02/27/07 02:06 PM
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Advise? Period instead of question mark?

Maybe you could make up a mnemonic on the 'complication' of the y: ly to lie or lye.


I exist! I am a pedant! I have a foreboding signature!
#166255 02/27/07 02:54 PM
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Quote:


Maybe you could make up a mnemonic on the 'complication' of the y: ly to lie or lye.




Yes, that's the idea . Why don't we make a little contest out of this. See who's quickest. I wouldn't mind being the looser.

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