Another Misplaced Adjective

Remember, in English, adjectives go directly in front of the word they modify. As I mentioned in the last post, people frequently get “only” wrong. Here’s another similar goof. Last panel

O think he means “look of quiet desperation.” I confess, a look can be pretty quiet, too.

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In comics and cartoons (hmm, what’s the difference?) word balloons have a pointer that identifies the speaker. The pointer zig-zags to indicate speech coming from a telephone, and a line of bubbles indicate something being thought. Here’s one I haven’t seen before.

The room has only one cat. Apparently the multiple pointers mean multiple Z’s! Cats do sleep a lot…

People frequently put “only” at the beginning of the clause that contains the target word. For example Mom might say “you can only have one piece of pie before supper.” But “only” modifies the word directly after it. Is having the piece the only thing? Can’t he see it, or smell it? What she means is that you can have only one piece of pie. But sometimes, the first word in the clause is the target. Not often, but sometimes. And sometimes “only” could go in more than one place! See below:

Being allowed looks like a good thing for “only,” doesn’t it? But the number of items makes a good target for “only,” too. (…allowed to carry only one item…”)

So be careful where you put “only” when you write.

Yes, this is one of my chronic complaints, though usually the error is to say “is comprised of.” This is another way to get “comprise” wrong. From The New Yorker, yet!

 The hundred accumulated tales comprise the Decameron, and together contain an era’s worth of comedy and debauchery. 

Should be “… hundred tales compose the Decameron.” “Comprise” goes from the whole to its parts, so “the Decameron comprises the hundred accumulated tales” is correct.

Harrumpf.

Oh. Here’s the picture that went with the article:

This post goes with my last one. You measure brain power, you don’t count it, even though it’s measured in units, apparently. Units notwithstanding, memory is something you measure. See the sign in the elevator:

I apologize, sort of, that my second and third sentences are basically a repeat.