User:Durova/Wikidurova

Wikidurova

My contributions tend to be substantial writing for existing pieces. Wikipedia wouldn't be quite so large if more people were like me, but it would have more good pieces. I founded Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Middle Ages task force. I'm an informal member of the typo team and part of the harmonious editing club.

View my To do list. Don't be shy: chip in!

Usage preferences

Singular they

The singular they has been good enough for William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, William Makepeace Thackeray, and George Bernard Shaw. I minimize my use of it in formal settings but I consider it good grammar.

Split infinitive

Split infinitives are often weak syntax, but some sentences are hard to construct without them. I reserve the right to use them occasionally.

Pronoun whose antecedent is a possessive

Rules against this are pedantic and silly.

Preposition stranding

Preposition stranding is better known as ending a sentence with a preposition. This is standard construction in several Germanic languages and was standard in English until some eighteenth century grammarians invented a rule against it. They tried to impose Latin sentence structure but got their Latin wrong. If this rule borrowed from Latin properly then prepositions would also be banned from the final position in subordinate clauses. The whole notion deserves to be scrapped.

Serial comma

I regard serial commas as optional. I use them.

Regional spelling and punctuation

My native idiom is United States English. Per Wikipedia guidelines I follow precedent on articles that use Commonwealth or British English. If I make a mistake in good faith please correct it in good faith. When I create new articles I use United States English unless the topic demands another variant, such as a biography of a Welsh person.

Inclusionist/deletionist

I'm a neutral party who specializes in uncovering articles that aren't what they seem so be. I sniff around for hoaxes, dubious nominations, and notable subjects that fail to cite legitimate press coverage. Sometimes I nominate articles that slipped past the initial screening.

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I read and write German reasonably well: more on the level of Der Stern than the Frankfurter Allgemeine. I manage to read academic French and understand Midlands dialect Middle English.