Grammar pirate

Word of the Day

Greetings! I'm back from my sabbatical and celebrating with a new word of the day:

sophist

MEANING:

noun: One who makes clever, but unsound arguments.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin sophista, from Greek sophistes (sage), from sophos (clever). Earliest documented use: 1542. In ancient Greece, Sophists were philosophers and teachers known for their subtle, but fallacious reasoning.

USAGE:

"To say that a hazard does not exist if proper safety procedures are followed is a sophistic argument."

Word of the Day

cogent

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Convincing or believable.
2. Relevant.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin cogere (to drive together), from co- (together) + agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw), which is also the source of such words as act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, and ambassador. Earliest documented use: 1659.

USAGE:

There are cogent reasons for preferring Marvel to DC comics. 

will vs. going to

Most of the time, you can use “will” and “going to” interchangeably to predict future happenings and situations. So you can say:

"I think the weather will be nice later."

or

"I think the weather is going to be nice later."  

These are some high-quality shoes. They’ll last a long time.

or

These are some high-quality shoes. They’re going to last a long time.

However, there’s a difference between the use of “will” and the use of “going to” depending on whether you’re talking about something that you know/decide at the moment of speaking or whether you’re talking about something you've known for a while/decided a while ago:

“Hey Dani, let’s have a dinner party!”     “Sure thing, Mia! We’ll invite lots of people.”

• Here, you use “will” to announce a new decision. The dinner party is a new idea.

Later that day, Mia breaks the news to Raoul:

“Dani and I have decided to throw a dinner party. We’re going to invite lots of people.”

• In this example, “going to” is used because the decision to do something has already been taken. Mia had already decided to invite lots of people before she spoke to Raoul.

Also, when you say something is going to happen, you know this from the situation now. What is happening now shows that something is going to happen in the future:

“Look at those black clouds. It’s going to rain.”  (not “It will rain.”)

“I ate too much. I think I’m going to be sick.” (not “I think I’ll be sick.”)

Be advised that using “gonna” in written language will most definitely incur the wrath of the grammarillo. 

for vs. since / When…? vs. How long…?

As the calender turns...

You use for and since to say how long something has been happening.

Use for + a period of time (one hour, five weeks, etc.):

I’ve been bingewatching Breaking Bad for four days.

I haven’t seen a grammarillo for a week.

Use since + the start of a period (7 o’clock, Saturday, 1987, etc.):

I’ve been bingewatching Breaking Bad since Thursday.

I haven’t seen a grammarillo since June.

It’s possible to leave out for (but not usually in negative sentences):

My parents have been married (for) twenty-five years. (with or without for)

They haven’t had a break for three hours. (you must use for)

Don’t use for + all … (all day, all my life, etc.):

Raoul has lived in this area all his life. (not for all his life)

You can use in instead of for in negative sentences:

Alex hasn’t had a cold in five years. (= for five years)

When …? (+ past simple) and How long …? (+ present perfect):

“When did it start snowing?”                    “It started an hour ago / at 10 o’clock.”

“How long has it been snowing?”             “It’s been snowing for an hour / since 10 o’clock.”

Note that both the present simple and the present perfect can be used in these cases:

It’s (= It is) or It’s been (=It has been)

a long time six months etc.

since something happened

It’s two months since I saw a grammarillo.          or            It’s been two years since ... (= I haven’t seen a grammarillo for two years.)

It’s ages since Dani and Mia went to the cinema.      or     It’s been ages since … (= They haven’t been to the cinema for ages)

How long is it since our birdie died?          or            How long has it been since …? (=When did the birdie die?)