We Usually Say This Backwards

What we say:

The golden rule appears in several forms across religions. The usual way we say it is a misquote of the Bible. We say “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”). But this is backwards from Bible! The original, (in modern English) says, “However you want people to treat you, treat them like that.” The Bible states the standard for behavior first (whatsoever ye would that men should do to you), then what you should do (do ye even so to them). We usually first say what to do, then the reason for behaving that way.

Not a big difference, I suppose, but we curmudgeons like to get the details right.

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed

This isn’t much of a rule, but it brings back memories.

The punchline is the last item in the caption—pronouncing the “t” in “often.” I remember my teacher mentioning this in grade school. And my grandmother always pronounced that “t”! I never corrected her.

I have no idea where the rule came from, or where the “t” came from, for that matter. If you know, feel free to comment.

Singular subjects get a singular verb, right? And plural subjects get a plural verb. (We call this agreement.) So is the subject of this sentence singular or plural?

Let’s be technical: “1” is the subject of the sentence, and it’s a singular. “8 couples” is a plural, but it’s the object of the preposition “in.”

Now let’s be, um, poetic: “1 in 8 couples” obviously refers to a group of people, especially since we’re referring to a large population of people. We can be metaphorical and call the whole phrase the subject of the sentence semantically, right? So we could use a plural verb, right?

What do you think? Feel free to add something in the comments.

Here’s the picture from the article:

Usually we make nouns into verbs (it’s called denominalization). A “run,” for example, becomes the verb “to run.” You can make just about any noun into a verb. Think about it.

You should find it harder to make verbs into nouns, but here’s a way:

Take a phrasal verb, such as “run over.” We have a noun made by putting the second part of the verb first. You get “overrun.”

You can also do it without switching the order, but you accent the first part of the word: To “set up,” and “setup.” Of course, this word can go either way; we have a “setup.”

Exercise for the reader (or should I say best beloved): Make yourself a list of five of each kind of noun. Hint: You’ll find it easier to make the second kind of noun.

If I find a comic that illustrates this, I’ll include it. If you find such a comic, send it to me!

When you say “it is” or “there are” you’re using what we call a false subject. The words “it” and “there” don’t refer to anything. And the sentence is passive to boot. First panel:

Identify the guilty party! After all, it’s a news program. Could even have been free advertising for the coffee company. Something like “Brown Beanie Coffee Company announced today that they mislabeled…”

Harrumph.