POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : Question about English grammar : Re: Question about English grammar Server Time
7 Sep 2024 15:24:01 EDT (-0400)
  Re: Question about English grammar  
From: Darren New
Date: 30 Jun 2008 16:37:39
Message: <48694413$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:
>   Btw, wouldn't it be better to say "none of these three are correct"?

Yes, probably. I tend not to write particularly carefully here, as you 
might have noticed. :-)

>   How about sentences where the initial conjunction is redundant? For
> example: "And exactly how do you know that?" (The "and" could be removed
> without changing the meaning of the sentence in any way.)

Hmmm... Good question.  Based on the rules *I* know, I'd have to say 
it's likely incorrect. Of course, people say it anyway, so it's hard to 
say they're wrong. :-)

"Exactly how do you know that?" is reasonably a question.
"And exactly how do you know that?" sounds like an accusation.

I think the "and" is a signal to link it to the previous lines of the 
argument, as in "good excuse, but I'm not buying it, because now you 
have to answer this question also" or some such.

That's just my gut feeling, tho.

-- 
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
  Helpful housekeeping hints:
   Check your feather pillows for holes
    before putting them in the washing machine.


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