A (silly) question about prepositions: on or at f11?

[Derrel]

Hundreds of times I have used the phrase I had my aperture set on F7 .1.. I have also used the phrase. Freaking talk to text has no idea how to insert "pain in the ass"

 

[Light Guru]

None of my cameras have anything like f/11 on them.

Lenses, however.........................

^^^THAT^^^

What does it matter, why not put your mental efforts in to something that can actually improve your photos.

 

[Designer]

When we can't agree, we end up asking our colleagues from places like the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, etc. and and they always say "it's no big deal, sounds right to me" and don't see the point in us asking about all these uses of a certain word, preposition, tense use, etc.

Besides the usual nationalist variances in spelling and pronunciation in the countries you mentioned, there is also a generational component in this country, anyway. I'm an old guy, and I tend to adhere to the old way of doing things, including word definitions and usage. The younger people tend to allow the language to "float", often using definitions that one simply does not find in older dictionaries, and using incorrect words interchangeably with the correct ones.

Bear in mind also that many younger Americans are apparently not educated in the finer points of English usage, and will often use an incorrect homonym or simply misspell a word. I then notice that the younger set either does not notice, ignores the mistake, accepts it without question, (the shoulder shrug) or assumes it to be correct! I have no knowledge of similar differences in the U.K, Canada, or N.Z.

 

[batmura]

None of my cameras have anything like f/11 on them.

Lenses, however.........................

^^^THAT^^^

What does it matter, why not put your mental efforts in to something that can actually improve your photos.

Who forced you to reply if you think it doesn't matter? Why not go post on a thread where you actually respond to the question asked and make a contribution?

 

[limr]

When we can't agree, we end up asking our colleagues from places like the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, etc. and and they always say "it's no big deal, sounds right to me" and don't see the point in us asking about all these uses of a certain word, preposition, tense use, etc.

Besides the usual nationalist variances in spelling and pronunciation in the countries you mentioned, there is also a generational component in this country, anyway. I'm an old guy, and I tend to adhere to the old way of doing things, including word definitions and usage. The younger people tend to allow the language to "float", often using definitions that one simply does not find in older dictionaries, and using incorrect words interchangeably with the correct ones.

Bear in mind also that many younger Americans are apparently not educated in the finer points of English usage, and will often use an incorrect homonym or simply misspell a word. I then notice that the younger set either does not notice, ignores the mistake, accepts it without question, (the shoulder shrug) or assumes it to be correct! I have no knowledge of similar differences in the U.K, Canada, or N.Z.

I will respond properly when I am not on my phone, but I will just say that my eye is very twitchy right now

 

[vintagesnaps]

You could consider that there's an f11 on a camera if it doesn't have interchangeable lenses... or probably say it's on the camera in a general way if you consider the lens part of the camera.

Anyway, setting the aperture at f11 is my vote. Seems like that would be the appropriate use for the act of setting a dial (such as you set the stove at 375, etc.). But I don't think there are any grammar police coming after people who say on. That could be funny though if they were like the Keystone Kops.

Kelby seems to be good at marketing as much as anything, and I don't know that I'd go by just what he says.

 

[480sparky]

None of my cameras have anything like f/11 on them.

Lenses, however.........................

^^^THAT^^^

What does it matter, why not put your mental efforts in to something that can actually improve your photos.

Who forced you to reply if you think it doesn't matter? Why not go post on a thread where you actually respond to the question asked and make a contribution?

 

[limr]

I will say the same thing that I say to my students: let's keep our focus on the grammar if you have any hope of passing the quiz!

 

[Designer]

I will respond properly when I am not on my phone, but I will just say that my eye is very twitchy right now

Heaven help me now! I seem to have picked a fight with an English teacher!

I still remember the last time, and it didn't turn out well at all.

 

[limr]

I will respond properly when I am not on my phone, but I will just say that my eye is very twitchy right now

Heaven help me now! I seem to have picked a fight with an English teacher!

I still remember the last time, and it didn't turn out well at all.

Nah, guns aren't blazing

I actually agree that grammar is not as commonly taught in public schools these days, so some students do struggle with it when they get taken to task for it, be that in college when they find themselves faced with a teacher like me, or at work, when they are faced with their first major eff-up because of a lack of attention to their writing.

The part that makes my eye twitchy is the idea that the younger generations are the ones that are fast and loose with language. The fact is, language itself floats and changes constantly, and we are ALL fast and loose with it. We notice a lot of language that is in the process of changing, phrases that are still in flux, and we think that younger people are using them "wrong" - and they are, according to our usage of the phrase, but give it another generation, and it will be the correct definition. Meanwhile, we are all happily using phrases in ways that would have been wrong had we said them 50 years ago.

If none of this were true, we'd all be able to pick up an original Beowolf and understand it perfectly. Hundreds of years of course results in drastic change (behold, the Great Vowel Shift of the 14th-17th century!), but even a generation is enough to witness some of that change. Sometimes there are rapid changes. Technology helps this along - for example, widespread communication can bring regionalisms into mainstream awareness, and sometimes those regionalisms then get folded into mainstream use. For someone from a different region who suddenly hears younger people use this new phrase or usage might think they are using language incorrectly when they're just using it differently.

And yes, some of it is painful to watch, but that's the way language works. I can guarantee that some of the things you said as a teenager made your grandparents shake their damn heads

See, no big guns, just a lot of linguist geekery

 

[limr]

Wow, that's awesome. I'm in Istanbul and I'm also an English teacher. Often times, we'll discuss whether a sentence sounds right/authentic, or whether a native speaker would actually say it that way. When we can't agree, we end up asking our colleagues from places like the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, etc. and and they always say "it's no big deal, sounds right to me" and don't see the point in us asking about all these uses of a certain word, preposition, tense use, etc.

Oh yeah, that sounds very very familiar I remember how the phrase "I need a native speaker judgement!" would be yelled out in the staff room several times every day. The funny thing is that after enough years teaching English, you begin to distrust your own native speaker judgement. You'd hear the same mistake so many times that it starts to sound correct, and then you can't tell anymore

I taught a year at Ozel Yildiz Lisesi in 1.Levent and two years at International House in Etiler. I loved it and still miss Istanbul

 

[batmura]

Wow, that's awesome. I'm in Istanbul and I'm also an English teacher. Often times, we'll discuss whether a sentence sounds right/authentic, or whether a native speaker would actually say it that way. When we can't agree, we end up asking our colleagues from places like the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, etc. and and they always say "it's no big deal, sounds right to me" and don't see the point in us asking about all these uses of a certain word, preposition, tense use, etc.

Oh yeah, that sounds very very familiar I remember how the phrase "I need a native speaker judgement!" would be yelled out in the staff room several times every day. The funny thing is that after enough years teaching English, you begin to distrust your own native speaker judgement. You'd hear the same mistake so many times that it starts to sound correct, and then you can't tell anymore

I taught a year at Ozel Yildiz Lisesi in 1.Levent and two years at International House in Etiler. I loved it and still miss Istanbul

Great. I'm on the Asian side. I work at a private university here. I don't know how long ago you were here, but Istanbul has changed a lot over the years -- both in good and bad ways.

 

[OGsPhotography]

Canyou set it " to"?
Like; I set the ovens to 350 degrees. Its the movement of the temp dial setting that matters here. It goes from 0 "to" something. Cameras are different than ovens.

 

[limr]

Wow, that's awesome. I'm in Istanbul and I'm also an English teacher. Often times, we'll discuss whether a sentence sounds right/authentic, or whether a native speaker would actually say it that way. When we can't agree, we end up asking our colleagues from places like the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, etc. and and they always say "it's no big deal, sounds right to me" and don't see the point in us asking about all these uses of a certain word, preposition, tense use, etc.

Oh yeah, that sounds very very familiar I remember how the phrase "I need a native speaker judgement!" would be yelled out in the staff room several times every day. The funny thing is that after enough years teaching English, you begin to distrust your own native speaker judgement. You'd hear the same mistake so many times that it starts to sound correct, and then you can't tell anymore

I taught a year at Ozel Yildiz Lisesi in 1.Levent and two years at International House in Etiler. I loved it and still miss Istanbul

Great. I'm on the Asian side. I work at a private university here. I don't know how long ago you were here, but Istanbul has changed a lot over the years -- both in good and bad ways.

Quite a few years ago - from 1998-2001. I was looking at Google maps a few weeks ago to see if I could find my old hangouts and "see" them again, and I was amazed at how it's changed. My first year there, Erdogan was in jail.

 

[batmura]

Canyou set it " to"?
Like; I set the ovens to 350 degrees. Its the movement of the temp dial setting that matters here. It goes from 0 "to" something. Cameras are different than ovens.

I'd actually say "I've set the aperture to f/11" rather than "I've set the aperture at f/11". The latter sounds weird to me, but what do I know? English is my third language.