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Author Topic: I say, I say, I say..  (Read 48569 times)

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Offline Fallout

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #60 on: September 28, 2006, 09:37:49 pm »
* ffaalloouutt returns to town and talks to Sean Conno....er... Decard Cain
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Offline Trias

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #61 on: September 28, 2006, 11:16:33 pm »
now to something completely different...


honestly, someone capable of the English language tell me:

Is "the probability that something happens" correct English? Or must it be "the probability of something happening"
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Offline Ant

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #62 on: September 28, 2006, 11:17:43 pm »
of
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Offline Trias

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #63 on: September 28, 2006, 11:36:24 pm »
sure?

what about the following, is this correct:

"I chose something over something else."
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Offline Fallout

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #64 on: September 29, 2006, 12:46:33 am »
Quote from: Trias on September 28, 2006, 11:36:24 pm
sure?

what about the following, is this correct:

"I chose something instead something else."

:)
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Offline Trias

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #65 on: September 29, 2006, 12:57:18 am »
ya, that's the obvious thing. Well, it should be "instead of", shouldn't it?

Maybe I'm too creative with my English... what about "I prefer something over something else"? Maybe that's why I came up with it...
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Offline Fallout

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #66 on: September 29, 2006, 01:14:52 am »
Quote from: Trias on September 29, 2006, 12:57:18 am
ya, that's the obvious thing. Well, it should be "instead of", shouldn't it?

Maybe I'm too creative with my English... what about "I prefer something over something else"? Maybe that's why I came up with it...

Yeah, "instead of". The second one would work too, I guess :)
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Offline PrescriptiveBarony

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #67 on: September 29, 2006, 01:15:19 am »
Hehhehehehhe Trias is righter than fallout.

"Instead of" would be correct, but nothing at all is wrong with "over." Over is actually a little more right when used with "choose" than when used with "prefer."
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Offline Trias

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #68 on: September 29, 2006, 01:31:45 am »
aha!

and what about the probability thing? When I google for "probability that" I get all kind of reasonable sounding sources.... but someone I know said someone he knows said that it was wrong... and that person is from Scotland. I don't know, do them Scots know English?
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Offline Trias

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #69 on: September 29, 2006, 02:36:49 am »
*bümp*

where are the English teachers when you need them  :-\ Comon, you can all contribute to a scientific work now!
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Offline harvey danger

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #70 on: September 29, 2006, 03:35:07 am »
"Probability of something happening" or "probability that something will happen" are both correct.

"Probability that something happens" is incorrect, by the strict standards.
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That's the problem with heroes, really. Their only purpose in life is to thwart others. They make no plans, develop no strategies. They react instead of act. Without villains, heroes would stagnate. Without heroes, villains would be running the world. Heroes have morals. Villains have work ethic.

Offline PrescriptiveBarony

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #71 on: September 29, 2006, 06:31:02 am »
Which is to say that, to use "probability that", it needs to be followed by an independent clause ( a sentence, more or less).

What is the probability that [I know what the hell I'm talking about]? Very high.
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Offline Trias

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #72 on: September 29, 2006, 11:14:54 am »
Maybe it's an UK vs US thing whether you can use the "that" construct or not?


Quote from: Ryan McHarveypants on September 29, 2006, 03:35:07 am
"Probability of something happening" or "probability that something will happen" are both correct.

"Probability that something happens" is incorrect, by the strict standards.

Are you sure? How about

"the probability that it rains on Thursdays is 1/7"?

Sounds better to me than

"the probability that it will rain on Thursdays is 1/7"?    (i.e. speaking of thursdays in general, not a particular one)
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Offline Viherminttu

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #73 on: September 29, 2006, 11:21:12 am »
Quote from: LunarLoki on September 28, 2006, 08:19:46 pm
Bitch? Naw, since "she is a cat" its technical term would be "Queen" and a male cat is called a Tom, so STFU NEWB and bow before the QUEEN!

actually technically im half and half. my fursona is a wolf/cat hybrid.. so id be a Queen Bitch.. or a Bitch Queen.. pick whichever seems appropriate :)
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Offline PrescriptiveBarony

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Re: I say, I say, I say..
« Reply #74 on: September 29, 2006, 11:37:57 am »
Quote from: Trias on September 29, 2006, 11:14:54 am
Maybe it's an UK vs US thing whether you can use the "that" construct or not?


Quote from: Ryan McHarveypants on September 29, 2006, 03:35:07 am
"Probability of something happening" or "probability that something will happen" are both correct.

"Probability that something happens" is incorrect, by the strict standards.

Are you sure? How about

"the probability that it rains on Thursdays is 1/7"?

Sounds better to me than

"the probability that it will rain on Thursdays is 1/7"?    (i.e. speaking of thursdays in general, not a particular one)

You're right; I actually included that in my explanation but I hadn't paid enough attention to Harvey's statement of what was incorrect. It looks weird, especially in an abstracted, non-real-world context, but it is right in all the ways that matter.

"The probability that something happens will depend upon someone's level of motivation to do it."

It's just hard to use it with a present tense. Your example about raining on Thursdays is close, but by using the present tense, it doesn't quite make sense, because probability is not the same as a statistic; that is to say, whether or not it rained on any given Thursday in the past is not subject to any probability at all, because it either happened or didn't, there can't be a chance that something happened in the past. And of course since English is English, using the present in this case encompasses the past as well.

So the problem there is the word "probability," not "that."

The second sentence is also weird not because of "that" but because of what it means, which is that a vague selection of thursdays in the future will undoubtedly be subject to a certain chance of precipitation. It's a very strange thing to say, and one which could not be known as absolutely as it's presented.

[/linguisticsstudent]
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