Blast past fast

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . .
I, a non-native speaker of English, need the quotation marks to interpret the "fast" as a noun.

No, you don't. It would be a mistake. Quotation marks mark quotes. That's why they're called quotation marks.

They are not for marking nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, or anything else.

Native speakers often put quotation marks around words on signs simply because they think they look good. They're wrong.

Here are some examples of how NOT to use quotation marks: Bad quotation marks

 

[GoesStation]

As I read the slogan, it says "Blast past 'fast'". That is, "fast" is a label it's referring to, not a word that's a functional part of the sentence. The quotation marks are correct.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

As I read the slogan, it says "Blast past 'fast'". That is, "fast" is a label it's referring to, not a word that's a functional part of the sentence. The quotation marks are correct.

Hm. Maybe we're looking at two different things. I'm looking at this:

 

[GoesStation]

Hm. Maybe we're looking at two different things. I'm looking at this:

View attachment 3683

I discussed this at the beginning of the thread.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I discussed this at the beginning of the thread.

Yes, I read that before I posted. It's not a quote, so I wouldn't put quotation marks around it.

But you're welcome to!

 

[GoesStation]

Yes, I read that before I posted. It's not a quote, so I wouldn't put quotation marks around it.

But you're welcome to!

Quotation marks are also used to mark words that are being written about, as in this case.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

For that, I usually see italics.

But in that slogan, fast (see what I mean?) can also be an adverb, like quickly. So I think Apple got it right.

(This time. Not always. "Think different"? Gimme a break!)

 

[tzfujimino]

No, you don't. It would be a mistake. Quotation marks mark quotes. That's why they're called quotation marks.
They are not for marking nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, or anything else.
Yes, I agree. What I was trying to say was that some kind of device (to draw people's attention) would have helped me to better understand the "fast".
It doesn't matter whether the device is quotation marks, italics or baldface.

The "blast past fast" is a bit challenging for non-native speakers of English. It's easy to remember, though.:-D
I doubt many of them will interpret the "fast" as a noun used in the sense of 'the conventional idea/concept of "fast"'.
For me, the noun "fast" means 'a period during which you do not eat food, especially for religious or health reasons' and it requires a determiner in that phrase.

 

[GoodTaste]

"Blast past fast" - three words all end with "ast". What rhetorical device do you native speakers call it? Rhyme?

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes.