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This thread is for tropers who have trouble with English and would like some help with the crazy grammar of this crazy language.

Write down what you wish to edit on the wiki. If you have been suspended from editing, another troper might be kind enough to edit for you after your suggestions have been corrected.

The thread is for help and feedback on your own suggested edits.

If you want help correcting other people's edits (e.g., if you find a page which seems to have grammar problems but want a second opinion, or you don't feel able to fix it by yourself) then that's off-topic here, but we have a separate Grammar Police cleanup thread that can provide assistance.

Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 16th 2023 at 5:37:57 PM

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27001: Nov 10th 2023 at 8:52:23 AM

Page 1080 @kawaiineko333

...saying "They food mid." to get Master Chief and the Spartans...

^ "They food mid." is not correct English, but I can't tell what you meant to write.

Edited by Arivne on Nov 10th 2023 at 8:52:38 AM

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27002: Nov 10th 2023 at 8:58:41 AM

Page 1080 @sdewap

     Corrections 

...sees this and decides to follow Shirou to this world.

However, the Grail does not stop him, even if it could.

^ The only way this would make sense is if it were written:

However, the Grail does not stop him, even 'though it could.

^ If the Grail couldn't stop him, it isn't its fault that he did so.

Edited by Arivne on Nov 10th 2023 at 8:59:27 AM

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#27003: Nov 10th 2023 at 9:00:53 AM

Thanks arivne

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
sdewap (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#27004: Nov 10th 2023 at 9:02:30 AM

^^ The problem is in the fanfic, there is a sentence, "However, the Grail didn't stop the entity, even if it could." And there is another sentence, "...And as to why the Grail allowed the entity to follow the victor to the new world?". So I am getting messages that the Grail allows Angra Mainyu to follow Shirou, yet at first, it can't stop him.

Edited by sdewap on Nov 11th 2023 at 6:54:58 PM

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#27005: Nov 10th 2023 at 11:01:31 AM

For Magnificent Bastard

  • Spider-Man (Insomniac): Mr Negative was once a young sickly boy named Martin Li who was experimented on by Norman Osborn which gave negative emotion powers but at the cost of Li killing his parents. Swearing revenge, Li built a criminal empire for himself upon the defeat of Wilson Fisk in preparation for ruining Norman. Li expertly orchestates a bombing campaign against Norman and later avoids detection from Spider-Man (Peter Parker) by transforming a group of people to keep him busy. Li is also an expert at playing people's emotions which he uses to corrupt them into his pawns. Li also smartly discovers a way to create the biological agent Devil's Breath and later forces Dr. Morgan Michaels into creating a variant to help Doc Ock release it on the city as part of his revenge. Returning in the sequel after his imprisonment, Li proves that he is still a brilliant foe by nearly breaking Miles Morales psychologically through his illusions. Upon his defeat, Li is filled with remorse at what's he's done and later sacrifices his powers to help the heroes stop Venom from assimilating the planet. Affably, brilliant and caniving, Li proved to be one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies and allies.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
Tylerbear12 What you see is what you get, just a guy. from The Green Hills. Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
What you see is what you get, just a guy.
#27006: Nov 10th 2023 at 12:47:25 PM

YMMV.Mario Kart Tour:

  • Memetic Loser: Piranha Plant Pipeline has quickly obtained this status thanks to it being the only original course left out of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass, something that many quickly took notice of. This has resulted in the course becoming mocked or pitied in some circles for being the "forgotten" Tour course.

VideoGame.Mario Kart

  • Artifact Title: Downplayed. While the series still features karts, they're no longer the only form of vehicle in the series and hadn't been since Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, with the vehicle roster now consisting of various types of cars, ATVs, and (since Wii) bikes.

YMMV.Mario Kart 7:

  • Broken Base: Neo Bowser City is one of the most contested tracks in the game, if not the series as a whole. Some love the courses for its unique Cyberpunk aesthetic and its great music, while others find it to be incredibly bland due to its straightforward layout and the lack of stage hazards and gimmicks.

Trivia.The Legend Of Zelda:

  • Promoted Fanboy: Wes Ball is a fan of the series and he has expressed a desire to direct a Zelda film adaptation as far back as 2010. Fortunately for him, he would get his chance to do so a decade later as Nintendo would confirm him to be the film's director in the initial press release.

Characters.Super Mario Bros The Princesses (Daisy)

  • Ambiguously Related: Beyond looking like Peach (especially before her redesign), at least one official guide describes her as being Peach's cousin. That said, their relationship is not touched on beyond them being best friends, making it unclear if the info is canonical.
  • Depending on the Artist: Is Daisy a redhead or a brunette? It seems not even Nintendo can decide, as her hair frequently shifts between orange and brown in both 2D artwork and 3D renders.

Characters.Super Mario Bros Allies (Rosalina)
  • Ambiguous Situation: Is Rosalina a princess? Or is she just a normal girl? While the games never address the topic, not only is she depicted with a crown and gown like Peach and Daisy, but her backstory shows that her mother also had a crown (and a similar appearance to Peach). The Prima Guide for Galaxy and Galaxy 2 and the website for Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D All-Stars'' also outright call her "Princess Rosalina", but given that this info is not in the games (and the Prima guides are dubiously canon at best), it's not clear if this is canon.

Trivia.The Muppets

  • Creator's Oddball: The Muppets Studio is currently a sub-division of Walt Disney Imagineering, who are more known for their work on the Disney Theme Parks than on movies and television, which is what The Muppets primarily dabble in. This makes sense, given that they're the department most fond of The Muppets (to the point that it's allegedly the only department within Disney that Jim Henson got along with, thanks to their similar crafts).

  • Adored by the Network: Walt Disney Imagineering adores the gang and frequently makes them a part of special events, with one advertising campaign in 2009 prominently starring them. They even planned to have an entire Muppets takeover of Disneyland Park in the early '90s, which was unfortunately canned due to Jim Henson's death and the deal to buy the Jim Henson Company from him falling apart. In 2019, the Muppets would be made a part of WDI, which has led to a greater integration of the Muppets into the American parks (and an increase in Muppet content overall).

Edited by Tylerbear12 on Nov 11th 2023 at 11:43:45 AM

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#27007: Nov 10th 2023 at 4:32:14 PM

For the upcoming TMNT stranger things page.

  • Adapted Out: Despite being a TMNT work, their Arch-Enemy Shredder never appears which makes sense as the comic is based on the Mirage Comics incarnation of the Turtles where Shredder was a very minor villain in contrast to the rest of his role in the franchise as Big Bad. Instead the TMNT side of the villain roster is fulfilled by Baxter Stockman.
  • Big Bad: The Mind Flayer serves as the main antagonist of the comic as it's responsible for all the bad stuff happening to New York and is planning to drag New York into its realm of the Upside Down.
  • Dimensional Traveller: The Mind Flayer takes advantage of the dimension traveling aliens called the Utroms to build a portal so it can invade earth.
  • For Science!: Baxter Stockman is only interested in researching the predators of the Upside Down for his scientific goals and doesn't care who gets hurt in the process.

  • Gaslighting: Baxter Stockman enter's Eleven's mind and pretends to be the person she looks up to police chief Jim Hopper to force her into opening portals to the Upside-down for him.
  • Mind Rape: Baxter Stockman tries to break both Raphael and Eleven by making them think their both just lab experiment freaks using his mental abilities inside her mind. Raphael saves Eleven by revealing to her that their origin doesn't need to be a flaw but can be a benefit and she snaps out of it and helps defeat Stockman.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
jahman Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Dancing with myself
#27008: Nov 10th 2023 at 10:26:27 PM

One Piece: Eustass Kid:

Codae Since: Aug, 2022
#27009: Nov 10th 2023 at 11:02:36 PM

[up]It looks like the character's name is "Kid" and (despite his namesake) not "Kidd", so that should be corrected repeatedly.

... firm believer in Social Darwinism, ...

... multiple defeats, but he never ...

... Eustass's ultimate defeat ...

AsrulGuza A QUINCY Since: Jul, 2022 Relationship Status: All is for my lord
A QUINCY
#27010: Nov 11th 2023 at 3:32:10 AM

BoBoiBoy

  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Gopal had this twice. Unfortunately, neither both two cases ended well.
    • In Episode 9 of Season 1 Original season, after believe Papa Zola is killed by Sleeping Monster due to suffer his injury, Gopal attempted to fight Sleeping Monster alone with Papa Zola special belt. Because he to scared over the monster deadly roar, Gopal gave up his intention and hand off Papa Zola Belt to BoBoiBoy.
    • In Galaxy Season 1 Vol.7, when he believed BoBoiBoy is killed by Vargoba, Gopal scream in anger and attempted to take a revenge. Sadly, he easily beaten by the villain with one hit.

Clare Since: Aug, 2009
#27011: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:16:07 AM

@ AsrulGuza

BoBoiBoy

  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Gopal twice fights to avenge someone's supposed death (move text). Unfortunately, neither (superfluous words - cut) case ends well.

    • In Episode 9 of Season 1 of the original season, after believing Papa Zola has been killed by the Sleeping Monster (superfluous words - cut), Gopal attempts to fight the Sleeping Monster alone with Papa Zola's special belt. Because he is too scared by the Monster's deadly roar, Gopal gives up his intention and hands off Papa Zola's belt to BoBoiBoy.

    • In Galaxy Season 1 Vol.7, when he believes BoBoiBoy has been killed by Vargoba, Gopal screams in anger and attempts to take (superfluous word - cut) revenge. Sadly, he is easily beaten by the villain in one hit.
^ "Had this twice" is a Zero-Context Example because it tells the reader nothing about what the character "had twice". Even with context, it becomes Word Cruft of the "this example is an example" variety, so I rewrote the first sentence to better reflect what this trope is about.

Edited by Clare on Nov 11th 2023 at 4:16:43 PM

kawaiineko333 (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#27012: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:20:01 AM

@Arivne For the pantsahat example, "They food mid" means “their food is mid(dle of the road)." Basically saying it sucks.

Clare Since: Aug, 2009
#27013: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:21:20 AM

@ Arivne (re kawaiineko333)

Since "they food mid" is in inverted commas in the original post, I would guess it's a direct quote from the work and is therefore likely to be intentionally ungrammatical. If so, I would recommend adding "sic" after it or otherwise indicating that it's meant to be written the way it is.

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27014: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:37:38 AM

[up] @sdewap

     Corrections 

In that case, the original fanfic has the bad English. If you're going to add your example to TV Tropes, you need to either use correct English or put it in quotes, followed by "(sic)", so anyone reading it will know it's from the work.

sdewap (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#27015: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:44:05 AM

^ So if I change it into "However, the Grail allows Angra Mainyu to do so, without stopping him.", Is it ok?

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27016: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:47:23 AM

[up] @miraculous

     Corrections 

Mr. Negative was once a young sickly boy named Martin Li who was experimented on by Norman Osborn, <- comma which gave Li negative emotion powers but at the cost of Li killing his parents. Swearing revenge, upon the defeat of Wilson Fisk, Li built a criminal empire for himself in preparation for ruining Osborn. Li expertly orchestrates a bombing campaign against Osborn and later avoids detection by Spider-Man (Peter Parker) by transforming a group of people to keep him busy. Li is also an expert at playing with people's emotions, <- comma which he uses to corrupt them into being his pawns. Li also intelligently discovers...brilliant and conniving, Li proves to be one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies and allies.

^ "smartly" means "quickly".

Despite being a TMNT work, their Arch-Enemy Shredder never appears, <- comma which makes sense, <- comma as the comic is based on the Mirage Comics incarnation of the Turtles where Shredder was a very minor villain, <- comma in contrast to his role in the rest of the franchise as Big Bad. Instead, <- comma the TMNT side of the villain roster is fulfilled by Baxter Stockman.

The Mind Flayer serves as the main antagonist of the comic, <- comma as it's responsible for all the bad stuff happening to New York and is planning to drag New York into its realm of the Upside Down.

The Mind Flayer takes advantage of the dimension traveling aliens called the Utroms to build a portal so it can invade Earth.

^ When you're talking about the planet, "Earth" is always capitalized.

Baxter Stockman enters Eleven's mind and pretends to be the person she looks up to, <- comma police chief Jim Hopper, <- comma to force her into opening portals to the Upside-down for him.

Baxter Stockman tries to break both Raphael and Eleven by making them think they're both just lab experiment freaks using his mental abilities inside Eleven's mind. Raphael saves Eleven by revealing to her that their origin doesn't need to be a flaw but can be a benefit and she snaps out of it and helps defeat Stockman.

^ In the first sentence, you didn't make it clear which character (Raphael or Eleven) was female, thus making it unclear which person the "her" was referring to.

Edited by Arivne on Nov 11th 2023 at 9:04:53 AM

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27017: Nov 11th 2023 at 8:55:26 AM

[up] @Tylerbear 12

     Corrections 

This makes some sense, <- comma though, given that they're the department most fond of The Muppets (to the point that it's allegedly the only department within Disney that Jim Henson got along with, <- comma thanks to their similar crafts).

Walt Disney Imagineering absolutely adores the gang <- no comma and frequently makes them a part of special events, with one advertising campaign in 2009 prominently starring them. They even planned to have an entire Muppets takeover of Disneyland Park in the early '90s, which was unfortunately canned due to Jim Henson's death and the deal to buy the Jim Henson Company from him falling apart. In 2019, the Muppets would be made a part of WDI, which has led to a greater integration of the Muppets into the American parks (and an increase in Muppet content overall). Allegedly, WDI was the only division of Disney that Henson got along with well, <- comma thanks to their shared passion and craft for animatronics and puppetry in general.

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27018: Nov 11th 2023 at 9:14:05 AM

[up] @kawaiineko333

You could add that to make it clear:

...saying "They food mid." ("their food is mid(dle of the road)", basically saying it sucks) to get Master Chief and the Spartans....

Edited by Arivne on Nov 11th 2023 at 9:16:56 AM

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27019: Nov 11th 2023 at 9:15:45 AM

[up] @sdewap

It would be correct English, at least.

sdewap (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#27020: Nov 11th 2023 at 9:17:45 AM

Ok, thanks for the help, Arivne.

Arivne Since: Jan, 2001
#27021: Nov 11th 2023 at 9:23:36 AM

[up] @jahman

     Corrections 

He suffers multiple defeats <- no comma but never seems to learn from them...

^ You don't need to add another "he" before "never". The first "He" covers it.

Eustass' ultimate defeat at the hands of Shanks...

^ Your use of "Eustass'" is correct. Both Eustass' and Eustass's are proper English.

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#27022: Nov 11th 2023 at 9:36:02 AM

Thanks arivne

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
Potential1900 Just Average Guy Since: Jan, 2016 Relationship Status: Singularity
Just Average Guy
#27023: Nov 11th 2023 at 12:39:52 PM

Is this grammatically correct and allow me to edit things again?

Codae Since: Aug, 2022
#27024: Nov 11th 2023 at 1:16:12 PM

@Potential 1900: Mostly grammatically correct but not with the meaning I'd expect you to want.

[[folder]] "Similar to" -> "Like" [I assume the intention is to express similarity of the characters' capabilities, not to mention that they are similar in general.]

"Izuku is the Un-Sorcerer who'll gradually form" -> "Izuku is an Un-Sorcerer who gradually forms" [The friendship is something that comes to be during, not after, the story, right? And readers aren't made familiar with Izuku's character arc before they encounter him as a character, are they?]

"Zuko; " -> "Zuko, "

Naruto and Ai suffered greatly from Parental Abandonment and Abusive Parents, respectively. This leads to them being Good Parents towards their four children: Aqua, Ruby, Sapphire, and Minato.

Tylerbear12 What you see is what you get, just a guy. from The Green Hills. Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
What you see is what you get, just a guy.
#27025: Nov 11th 2023 at 2:58:59 PM

Thanks, Arivne.

Fandom Heresy

  • Disney Animated Canon: Unless it's the package films, don't ever say you hate the Walt Disney-era films (1939-1967), as they're almost all regarded to be beloved and nostalgic classics by many fans and critics. Even lightly criticizing them effectively requires you to walk on eggshells to not upset fans. This also applies to the early Disney Renaissance films (TheLittle Mermaid to The Lion King) for the same reasons.

YMMV.Wario Ware:

  • Americans Hate Tingle: While WarioWare has been an almost consistent success in Japan, the series has struggled to achieve anything more than a cult following at best in North America, with sales in America being far weaker than in Japan and the critical reception being typically middling. This likely stems from the franchise's quirky humor not translating well to Western sensibilities, casual games not being hugely popular in the West, and the Western Nintendo fanbase generally preferring the Wario Land series (which has the opposite reaction) over WarioWare, which many view as a Replacement Scrappy. This is reflected in marketing, as Nintendo of America and Europe tend to give the games far more barebones marketing than Nintendo does in Japan.

Edited by Tylerbear12 on Nov 12th 2023 at 2:11:17 PM


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