Hacker News with Generative AI: Grammar

The 600-Year History of the Singular 'They' (2022) (mentalfloss.com)
For evidence that language is constantly evolving, look at the history of they. The singular form of the pronoun, which has become mainstream in recent years, can describe individuals whose gender isn’t specified—replacing the clunky he or she—and is used by nonbinary people who identify with the pronoun. The AP Stylebook has accepted such functions of they, them, and their since 2017, and Merriam-Webster made the singular they its word of the year in 2019.

Language, Pronouns, Gender, Grammar, History

9 points by Tomte 9 days ago | 1 comments

Show HN: Autarkie – Instant grammar fuzzing using Rust macros (github.com/R9295)
Autarkie is a native grammar fuzzer built in Rust. Using procedural macros, it (almost completely) automatically creates a grammar fuzzer.

Rust, Fuzzing, Grammar, Programming Tools

41 points by r9295 25 days ago | 4 comments

AI is right about em-dashes (joeldueck.com)
There’s a notion going around that em-dashes signify AI authorship.

Artificial Intelligence, Writing, Grammar

12 points by freediver 25 days ago | 7 comments

The American Style of Quotation Mark Punctuation Makes No Sense (2021) (erichgrunewald.com)
There are different ways of combining quotation and punctuation marks. In the American style, you almost always put periods and commas inside the quotation marks:

Grammar, Punctuation, Writing, Style, Linguistics

14 points by colinprince 26 days ago | 0 comments

Fear and loathing of the English passive [pdf] (ed.ac.uk)

Grammar, English Language, Linguistics, Academia, Research

7 points by fanf2 34 days ago | 0 comments

In the Matter of the Commas (theamericanscholar.org)
For the true literary stylist, this seemingly humble punctuation mark is a matter of precision, logic, individuality, and music

Grammar, Punctuation, Writing, Style, Literature

11 points by apollinaire 52 days ago | 0 comments

How to Use Em Dashes (–), En Dashes (–), and Hyphens (-) (merriam-webster.com)
Be dashing—and do it well

Writing, Grammar, Punctuation

650 points by Stratoscope 57 days ago | 473 comments

How to use an en-dash and em-dash correctly? (BrE) (lighthouseproofreading.co.uk)
There are hyphens. Then there are dashes. There’s the en dash. Then there’s the em dash.

Writing, Grammar, Punctuation

38 points by susam 62 days ago | 43 comments

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo (wikipedia.org)
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatically correct sentence in English that is often presented as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs through lexical ambiguity.

Linguistics, Grammar, English Language, Wordplay

19 points by jcartw 83 days ago | 3 comments

Why is zero plural? (2024) (stackexchange.com)
For example, if we choose two 2s, zero 3s, and one 5, we get the divisor

Grammar, Linguistics, English Language, Math

125 points by not_a_boat 121 days ago | 200 comments

The 'Blog' of 'Unnecessary' Quotation Marks (unnecessaryquotes.com)
A few months ago I had the delightful experience of a recorded conversation with Kyle and Emily from the language podcast Butter No Parsnip...

Grammar, Language, Podcasts, Humor

10 points by bookofjoe 138 days ago | 1 comments

Sentence Structure for Writers (2017) (oup.com)
Some sentences just sound awkward. In order to ensure clarity, writers need to consider more than just grammar: weight is equally important.

Writing, Grammar, Sentence Structure

84 points by onemind 191 days ago | 35 comments

Show HN: Harper, an Offline Grammarly Alternative (writewithharper.com)

Software, Grammar, Productivity, Writing Tools

14 points by chilipepperhott 200 days ago | 1 comments

Germans decry influence of English as 'idiot's apostrophe' gets approval (theguardian.com)
A relaxation of official rules around the correct use of apostrophes in German has not only irritated grammar sticklers but triggered existential fears around the pervasive influence of English.

Grammar, Language, German Language, English Language

232 points by pseudolus 226 days ago | 560 comments

Linus Torvalds declares war on the passive voice (theregister.com)
Linux contributors told to sort out their grammar lest they be actively corrected

Linux, Grammar, Writing Style

11 points by jmsflknr 227 days ago | 1 comments

Germans decry English influence as 'idiot's apostrophe' gets official approval (theguardian.com)
A relaxation of official rules around the correct use of apostrophes in German has not only irritated grammar sticklers but triggered existential fears around the pervasive influence of English.

Grammar, Language, Germany, English, Culture

9 points by impish9208 228 days ago | 2 comments

Diagraming sentences in the 19th century (publicdomainreview.org)

Grammar, History, Education, Language

74 points by benbreen 333 days ago | 37 comments

Is there a BNF grammar of the TeX language? (2010) (stackexchange.com)

TeX, Programming Languages, Formal Languages, Grammar

61 points by nequo 351 days ago | 39 comments

The curious case of the missing period (tjaart.substack.com)

Grammar, Writing, Punctuation

531 points by the_real_tjaart 367 days ago | 193 comments

'Proper punctuation' to return after apostrophe ban (bbc.co.uk)