Grammar Nazi

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blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
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Sigh...
 

niro

Well-Known Member
Apr 5, 2013
2,434
14,206
Hey I am just reading a text for university.

does "two or fewer" means just the opposite? So more then two?

Full Sentence:
Surprisingly, almost half of the studies assessed only one dimension; 71 percent of studies assessed two or fewer dimensions.

Doesn't make sense to me.
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Hey I am just reading a text for university.

does "two or fewer" means just the opposite? So more then two?

Full Sentence:
Surprisingly, almost half of the studies assessed only one dimension; 71 percent of studies assessed two or fewer dimensions.

Doesn't make sense to me.
No, not more than two. One would be the only other logical choice for "two or fewer" as they couldn't have done less than one if they actually did the assessment. I'm guessing they wrote it that way so they could let people know that no more than two dimensions were the basis for 71 percent of the studies.
 

JoannHBuchanan

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2014
70
379
Once you figure out how the site is layed out, Grammarly Handbook | English Grammar Rules is very useful. (the affect/effect, lie/lay, etc. are covered in the 'Words that sound alike' subheading. There's a bit in transitive/intransitive verbs, too)
Another good book for this is Eats Shoots and Leaves. It's entertaining and makes sense of all the common issues you can come across.
 

booklover72

very strange person
Jan 12, 2014
731
2,995
51
Dublin
My Spelling and Punctuation is Atrocious, i am typing and trying to think as fast as i type. This is from someone who every week in school got 20/20 in English. lord help us. I hope i don't use bad punctuation in my programs, god knows what will happen.
 

EMTP513

Well-Known Member
Oct 31, 2012
503
1,923
I'll never be able to figure out when to use affect and effect. Thank God it almost never comes up in my run reports. Only affect does, as in the diagnosis schizoaffective disorder which, according to Doctor Jones, our psychiatrist, doesn't mean anything. It's a label for the insurance company so they have something to write down. Without a code ICD or CPT, they can't pay us. So they thought up one word to mean a whole range of labels. There are at least 50 different kinds of most disorders.
 

blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
I'll never be able to figure out when to use affect and effect. Thank God it almost never comes up in my run reports. Only affect does, as in the diagnosis schizoaffective disorder which, according to Doctor Jones, our psychiatrist, doesn't mean anything. It's a label for the insurance company so they have something to write down. Without a code ICD or CPT, they can't pay us. So they thought up one word to mean a whole range of labels. There are at least 50 different kinds of most disorders.
I used to be intimidated by these two, also. It can seem tricky, but really isn't.
Affect - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Effect - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary