6 ms·
Entering pedantic mode: "But," in Paul's usage, isn't a preposition. And starting sentences with prepositions isn't considered "incorrect" by most grammarians[
by cneurotic 7y ago
Entering pedantic mode:
"But," in Paul's usage, isn't a preposition. And starting sentences with prepositions isn't considered "incorrect" by most grammarians[0]. Or even bad style.
If it's good enough for the Bible[1], it's probably good enough for you.
[0]https://wordcounter.net/blog/2016/10/26/102560_can-you-start-a-sentence-with-but.html https://wordcounter.net/blog/2016/10/26/102560_can-you-start...
[1]https://biblehub.com/nlt/genesis/31.htm https://biblehub.com/nlt/genesis/31.htm
- kasey_junk 7y agoI’m certainly no grammarian or even much of a writer, but the Bible seems a particularly odd piece of writing to use as a guide. It’s been translated to the nth degree, is ancient & frequently obtuse on purpose...
- philwelch 7y agoTranslations of the Bible, at least in historically Christian cultures, are usually treated as authoritative examples of proper written usage.
- normalnorm 7y agoNo they aren't.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- tptacek 7y agoWhere did you get this idea?
- philwelch 7y ago(deleted)
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- tptacek 7y agoSo you derived the idea axiomatically?
- philwelch 7y agosighs No, but if you think I’m full of shit, I don’t really want to waste my time discussing how I developed this particular misunderstanding about the world for your amusement.
- tptacek 7y agoI'm sorry. It's the game I'm poking fun at, not the players (I'm as bad as anyone) and I can see how I could have communicated personalized contempt rather than general bemusement. I apologize and promise that I don't think you're full of shit.
- philwelch 7y agoThanks. In retrospect it's kind of funny that I ended up making one of those mistaken remarks that the original essay explicitly recommends against.
- tptacek 7y agoI'm not sure I even agree with that, since I just spent my lunch down a 20 minute rabbit hole of researching the regard usage experts have for English translations of the bible, and it's actually a pretty interesting digression. I shouldn't have jumped on you for it; I made the thread worse.