Man, you are not smart. I know, I know... it is hard for you to hear that because, gosh darn it, your mom told you that you were special. But I'm sorry, you're not.
Please. My intelligence isn't up for discussion or dispute. And you don't even believe what you just said. You're just trying to save face. So we'll move right along to your next point.
Let me walk you through this and hopefully you will understand. (I doubt it, but you never know)
I was asking the question. Is Noah Brown the steal of the draft? I wrote it in a Headline format. My use of the word "the" was to signify him being the singular steal of the draft for us, the Dallas Cowboys. Not for the entire NFL.
Skreeetttcch!!! Brakes applied.
First, no, that's not what the headline states or implies. I used to write headlines and have them written for me. And I was taught you make the headline as accurate as possible albeit brief. Your statement would be interpreted by many - if not most - as talking about the
entire draft. If you were talking about the Cowboys alone, you should have used the prepositional phrase
for the Cowboys, i.e., Noah Brown: Steal of the draft
for the Cowboys? That is more accurate, if indeed what you're saying is true, and I have my doubts.
Second, what's so funny about this is you criticized me for not communicating effectively, but you apparently don't understand basic forms of grammar and how they're applied in language. "
for the Cowboys" is a
KEY prepositional phrase needed to understand your thought. Without it, the average person would interpret the headline to mean the
entire draft.
Third, the explanation you're now giving isn't what you said in your initial response to me. I guess after a few days you thought you found an
excuse. Fortunately, some of us know the appropriate use of language.
This was confirmed later when another poster mentioned (I'm paraphrasing here) this conversation was happening on 31 other team boards and I replied with they are probably right. Because I'm sure every team had a player that will end up being a steal of their draft.
But the poster was saying that every team board is talking about a player they drafted as "the steal of the draft" not just the "steal of the draft
for their team."
Nice try twisting what was said to fit your belated explanation/excuse.
See the term Draft can be used to signify the entire NFL Draft, ie: "The Draft is on tonight" or it can be used to signify a specific teams selections, ie: "we had a great draft".
Please stop. The context of your sentence defines "the draft." In the first example, we know that the "draft" being talked about is the
entire draft because the entire draft was on television, not just an individual team's draft. In the second example, the pronoun
"we" defines what is being discussed in the sentence. But
YOUR headline
DOES NOT give enough information to understand it any way other than it applying to the
entire draft.
You're trying to con a grammarian.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
My contention that your comprehension skills are of below average ability have been confirmed moreover by the fact that every other poster on this board seemed to completely understand the post and topic, except you.
So, if everyone can comprehend the post, except you, is it my communication or your comprehension?
Sigh.
Follow the bouncing ball of logic.
1. My initial comment was based on your headline.
2. You got offended by my comment about your headline and my hyperbolic statement about Jerry Rice.
3. The discussion disintegrated from there.
Whatever yours or other posters' point beyond that, I have no idea. So if they support you or don't isn't really my concern.
You merely had to say, "Tyke1doe, I didn't mean the entire draft but just the steal for the Cowboys." Problem solved. But you did not. Instead, you took offense and started talking about how I'm not communicating effectively - an ironic statement considering how you're
NOW trying to explain what you meant.
Second, consensus does not determine correctness. At one point in American history, consensus supported slavery. Pointing to what
everyone does or what most do is not the sole way to determine right or wrong.
Third, my point beyond my definition of steal was a grammatical one. And I am
absolutely, unequivocally, emphatically correct as it relates to the use of the article
the, the inappropriate and incomplete nature of your headline and the use of the phrase
"the steal of the draft". Ask any English teacher, professor, PhD candidate and they will tell you the same thing I've told you. Now, whether you or your friends understand this is another matter. But I am
absolutely certain of my position on this.
But you seek validation from consensus, which, in the case of this board, can be fickle and bias. I seek validation based on established truth, in this case, the appropriate use of grammar and language and the analytical way we would determine who or what determines "the steal of the draft."
Maybe next time, you should be a bit more careful with your headlines/language and less sensitive to criticism.
