What's wrong with this sentence?
Rickster
be forwarded to me."
The part that troubles me is that the write uses an active voice with a
passive predicate. I would write:
"Please stop forwarding me those profane messages/materials."
Please comment.
Polar
The original is not correct English. Sounds as though written by
a non-native speaker.
If the person wanted to remain very formal (read: stuffy), as in
the original, he/she could write:
"I request that messages and pictures which border on profanity
no longer be forwarded to me." NOTE REMOVAL OF 'the' AND
ADDITION OF "to"
You nicely condense the sentence to a simple, forthright
statement, but it is not exactly true to the original, which used
the term "border on".
To reflect the thought exactly, you could write:
"Please stop forwarding TO me any messages/materials which border
on profanity (or: on the profane). NOTE ADDTION OF "to".
However, to be persnickety correct, "...on the profane..." poses
another problem. It would probably be read as referring to the
*religious* use of "profane", rather than bad language.
HTH
--
Polar
Howard G Walker
Would obscene messages still be acceptable? IMO sexually explicit pictures would
not be profane unless they portrayed a religious subject, object, or person. It
would then be doubly damned - or a damned profane obscenity.
It has been my observation that many if not most persons use profane when that
mean obscene.
meirman
<Walker...@att.net> posted:
There's more than one meaning of that word profane. There's an added
one lately, dirty in some way. But the earlier one that still is a
good one is just "not sacred; every-day (as an adjective)". Also "not
concerned with religion, secular".
>would then be doubly damned - or a damned profane obscenity.
>
>It has been my observation that many if not most persons use profane when that
>mean obscene.
I haven't heard profane used for pictures, more for language, but I
agree with you.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 17 years
Mark Wallace
"Howard G Walker" <Walker...@att.net> wrote in message
news:3C2B14B9...@att.net...
Lemme see...
<flicks through the APIHNA World Dictionary>
Obscene (wotsit): 1. part of a script set in an exterior location.
2. (thinghy): part of a soap opera set in a maternity unit.
And isn't profane a heating gas used in loud discussions?
Pretty tough to confuse the two.
--
Mark Wallace
____________________________________________
Ever been stuck on a word, or a point of grammar?
You need to visit the APIHNA World Dictionary
http://humorpages.virtualave.net/m-pages/apihna-0.htm
____________________________________________
John Emery
----------
In article <a0e0u7$o4...@imsp212.netvigator.com>, "Rickster"
<ricke...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Using the infinitive after "stop" is what's wrong with the first
sentence. The infinitive after "stop" means that one is
"stopping" _in order to perform the action designated by the
infinitive_. It doesn't make much sense in this instance, but it
can mean the opposite of what is intended. "I stopped to smoke
cigarettes" means "I halted in order to smoke cigarettes", not "I
ended my smoking of cigarettes". For that you need to say "I
stopped smoking cigarettes". For your first example you need
"stop being forwarded" instead of "stop to be forwarded".
Mark Wallace
"John Emery" <n...@this.org> wrote in message
news:a0jhi1$l32bn$1...@ID-93256.news.dfncis.de...
Why spoil the fun of such a wonderfully silly discussion by pointing
out that one may not 'stop' a verb?
<marks Mr. Emery's name in his little black book>
--
Mark Wallace
-----------------------------------------------------
Doctor Charles.
You can trust him.
http://humorpages.virtualave.net/m-pages/doc01.htm
-----------------------------------------------------
meirman
<n...@this.org> posted:
>
>----------
>In article <a0e0u7$o4...@imsp212.netvigator.com>, "Rickster"
><ricke...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>"I request that the messages and pictures which border on
>profanity stop
>>to
>>be forwarded to me."
>>
>>The part that troubles me is that the write uses an active voice with a
>>passive predicate. I would write:
>>
>>"Please stop forwarding me those profane messages/materials."
>>
>>Please comment.
>>
>Using the infinitive after "stop" is what's wrong with the first
>sentence. The infinitive after "stop" means that one is
>"stopping" _in order to perform the action designated by the
>infinitive_. It doesn't make much sense in this instance, but it
>can mean the opposite of what is intended. "I stopped to smoke
>cigarettes" means "I halted in order to smoke cigarettes", not "I
>ended my smoking of cigarettes".
Very insightful wrt what he may be thinking.
>For that you need to say "I
>stopped smoking cigarettes". For your first example you need
>"stop being forwarded" instead of "stop to be forwarded".