[Vocabulary] company's birthday or anniversary

[Will17]

Hello!

Which is the right word in this case, please:


-We're going to celebrate the 51st company's anniversary.


Thank you
Will

 

[SoothingDave]

"Anniversary" is good.

 

[GUS22]

anniversity.

????? you having a laugh ?

Anyway either are fine.

 

[Rover_KE]

Anyway either is fine.

GUS, please state that you are not a teacher.

Rover

 

[GUS22]

GUS, please state that you are not a teacher.

Rover

Either ARE fine.

Either ie "both" both is plural. ie "they" ie "they are" ie either "are" fine.
Either "is" fine is also correct - they "are" both fine because English is not logical . So you have a problem with correctly rendered grammar yet you have no problem with the word "anniversity" which exists in no dictionary known to mankind ?
For the record I am a teacher with over 5 years experience and a Trinity TESOL I am also from the South of England so have pretty good grammar by anyones standards.
Please do not start quoting some grammar book at me now - textbook grammatical rules are at best rough guides and just because a native speaker is speaking in a way that is not strictly by the book does not mean they are speaking grammatically incorrectly. It just means that language is a far too complex, flexible and organic for a textbook to fully explain . There are many grey areas and many of these so called "grammatical rules" are recent inventions which fulfil the need of non native speakers to have a clear set of rules to help them learn the language. One example the recently invented difference between "further" and "farther" which have been used interchangebly for centuries. Of course there is such a thing as good English - but language is in a constant state of flux . Grammar may vary for example in Ireland (hiberno English) or the North of England - but does that mean its wrong ? I do not - I believe it is a variation. Interestingly the closest to Old English , authentic English some might say, is from the North Of England which was settled by the angles not the saxons, received pronunciation and the southern accent is actually not the closest to the original English as most people presume.

Anyway whats your opinion on the following :

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...t-perfect-continuous-natives-only-please.html

 

[birdeen's call]

"Either are fine" is not standard English, GUS. As I understand Rover's remark, it is not based on this particular post of yours. You use incorrect punctuation and spacing in your other posts, which may make learners believe they should follow your example.

 

[SoothingDave]

Either ARE fine.

Either ie "both" both is plural. ie "they" ie "they are" ie either "are" fine.
Either "is" fine is also correct - they "are" both fine because English is not logical . So you have a problem with correctly rendered grammar yet you have no problem with the word "anniversity" which exists in no dictionary known to mankind ?
For the record I am a teacher with over 5 years experience and a Trinity TESOL I am also from the South of England so have pretty good grammar by anyones standards.
Please do not start quoting some grammar book at me now - textbook grammatical rules are at best rough guides and just because a native speaker is speaking in a way that is not strictly by the book does not mean they are speaking grammatically incorrectly. It just means that language is a far too complex, flexible and organic for a textbook to fully explain . There are many grey areas and many of these so called "grammatical rules" are recent inventions which fulfil the need of non native speakers to have a clear set of rules to help them learn the language. One example the recently invented difference between "further" and "farther" which have been used interchangebly for centuries. Of course there is such a thing as good English - but language is in a constant state of flux . Grammar may vary for example in Ireland (hiberno English) or the North of England - but does that mean its wrong ? I do not - I believe it is a variation. Interestingly the closest to Old English , authentic English some might say, is from the North Of England which was settled by the angles not the saxons, received pronunciation and the southern accent is actually not the closest to the original English as most people presume.

Anyway whats your opinion on the following :

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...t-perfect-continuous-natives-only-please.html

Do you pay any attention to dictionaries?

Either | Define Either at Dictionary.com

When the pronoun either is the subject and comes immediately before the verb, the verb is singular:

Either is fine. You shouldn't confuse the students here with your ignorance.

 

[GUS22]

"Either are fine" is not standard English, GUS. As I understand Rover's remark, it is not based on this particular post of yours. You use incorrect punctuation and spacing in your other posts, which may make learners believe they should follow your example.

Really . Thankyou once again for correcting my English my Polish friend. Really you are absolutely unbelievable - so perhaps you have done a degree in English and you actually have the gall to tell a native speaker they are speaking incorrectly. Your arrogance knows no bounds.
Ok I can prove you wrong very easily and maybe then you will show a bit more humility , though I doubt it.
first let us define "standard English"

Standard English (often shortened to S.E. within linguistic circles) refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_English

also note "there is no official or central regulating body defining Standard English"

Note it does not say "what a non native speaker thinks is standard as a result of what he has read on some grammar website or a textbook he has read "

So now we will search English speaking websites and forums for the term "either are fine" and see if it is a widely used phrase by native English speakers and thus fulfilling the definition of "standard English" :
and "lo and behold " a google search of "either are fine" reveals :

"either are fine" around 65.100 results. The fact that I will guarantee you that on none of these forums or blogs has anyone corrected them on their use of "either are fine" pretty much proves that it is not only accepted as a national norm but an international norm seeing as the internet is an international resource. I suggest you go and correct all 65,000 of them immediately - they are obviously in need of your superior understanding of their native language.
The Cambridge exams do not define the English language - no textbook on Earth defines it - native speakers define it .

 

[birdeen's call]

"either are fine" around 65.100 results. I suggest you go and correct all 65,000 of them immediately - they are obviously in need of your superior understanding of their native language.

Try searching here: CORPORA: 45-425 million words each: free online access

 

[SoothingDave]

Why pick on the Pole? You've had two native speakers correct your error.

I have a hard time seeing how your contributions here are useful.

Citing Google hits as proof of proper English is feeble.

 

[birdeen's call]

Citing Google hits as proof of proper English is feeble.

Especially when there are so few hits.

 

[GUS22]

Why pick on the Pole? You've had two native speakers correct your error.

I have a hard time seeing how your contributions here are useful.

Citing Google hits as proof of proper English is feeble.

Have I ? - there was one native speaker who corrected my "error" and I presented an alternative view as to why it was not an error to which there has been no reply.
If you disagree then you are welcome to refute my arguments with logic and reason - simply saying that I have made an error does not make it true.
Actually google provides a huge resource for learning what types of phrases and language is in common usage and ultimately it is common usage that defines a language.
I am picking on the Pole because he had the gall to try and correct my English and to be honest I am sick of non native speakers believing they understand a language better than a native speaker because of what somebody somewhere wrote in a textbook.

 

[GUS22]

Especially when there are so few hits.

65,000 is plenty.
So are you actually going to answer the post I made to you ?

 

[5jj]

Really . Thankyou once again for correcting my English my Polish friend. Really you are absolutely unbelievable - so perhaps you have done a degree in English and you actually have the gall to tell a native speaker they are speaking incorrectly. Your arrogance knows no bounds.

Well it does rather seem that BC knows more about what is and is not correct English than you do.

5

 

[GUS22]

Do you pay any attention to dictionaries?

Either | Define Either at Dictionary.com



Either is fine. You shouldn't confuse the students here with your ignorance.

No you shouldn't restrict your use of English to dictionaries and textbooks - this mechanistic approach to English can be disingenuous and I believe is not only much more misleading for students but is actually having a negative and restrictive effect on the English language..
Again take the example of further and farther which now have different definitions in different dictionaries and textbooks and are viewed as interchangeable in others.

 

[GUS22]

5

If you don't actually have a reasoned argument to the points I have made with regard to the English language then your comment is superfluous.

 

[5jj]

If you don't actually have a reasoned argument to the points I have made with regard to the English language then your comment is superfluous.

Either word (singular) is fine.
Both words (plural) are fine.

I know this. BC knows this. You apparently don't.

Either are fine is acceptable only of the choice involves plural nouns:

Do you want carrots or peas with your steak? E,,,,,Either are fine.

As you do not appear to want us to rely on dictionaries or grammars, then I see little point in presenting reasoned argument. The fact that all the native speakers I know agree that Either (word) are fine is incorrect should be good enough.

Incidentally, no teacher I know, native speaker or Pole, would write, as you did, "Actually google provides a huge resource for learning what types of phrases and language is in common usage ...". For us, plural nouns normally require a plural form of the verb.

 

[Barb_D]

I am locking this thread.

Take your heat and fire elsewhere.

GUS, all of us has made mistakes and had them pointed out by others. I've made my share.

BC was not showing "gall" and being arrogant. BC was doing what I hope any user of this forum would do if I made a mistake.