User talk:PollyErn53

Unnecessary words or grammar.

You appear to be making some good grammatical fixes in places, but inserting unnecessary words or grammar in others. For example, we do not refer to numbered state routes as "The State Route 42", or to universities like McGill as "The McGill University". BD2412 T 11:57, 4 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. Will be mindful of these in future. PollyErn53 (talk) 09:10, 6 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Date styles

Hello. Most countries in the world use the date style Day Month Year. Where there's a close national tie to a country that uses an alternative style - primarily the United States - that's a reason to change that to Month Day Year. You did this on Keith Prosser who's very, very British and has no obvious connection to the US. So I've reverted it - can I suggest you take care with this. It'll cause all sorts of stress otherwise. It might make sense to review your other edits and check you've not done the same thing anywhere.

Canadians can use either style - I think the standard is that we don't change it if it's already consistent in an article for them. Blue Square Thing (talk) 20:12, 4 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, thank you for pointing out this. I had earlier been sticking to the American Style. Since both British and American styles are correct, I agree it comes down to the article context/ history.

Will be careful in future. PollyErn53 (talk) 09:13, 6 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"At" vs. "in"

There is no grammatical issue with using "at" to refer to the location of persons or places relative to cities or towns, particularly when the precise location relative to the physical or legal boundaries of the city is indefinite or irrelevant. The Oxford English Dictionary says of "at" that it is used with the names of all cities, towns, and small islands—with the supposed exception of London—and until recently it was more commonly used than "in". It is certainly more versatile, since it can mean "in, around, or in the vicinity of", and thus applies equally well to someone or something inside or just beyond the city limits, or nearer that place than to any other distinct location; the same is not true of "in".

You will find "at" commonly used in historical writing, particularly in the field of classics, and especially with respect to Rome (possibly an effect of translating the locative case in Latin writers; modern grammars translate Romae as "at Rome"). And since people are highly mobile, it is appropriate and preferable to use "at" when their precise location is both indefinite and irrelevant—the members of a a family will have lived at various places over long spans of time, and perhaps moved well beyond the boundaries of the city—and when Caesar was at Rome, he could have been anywhere in or around or nearby; "in" implies a certainty that would be incorrect for much of the time.

People have become used to using "in" even for situations where it is less appropriate than "at". This in no way makes it a better choice, or makes "at" incorrect or inappropriate, even in situations where "in" would be correct. However, where "at" has been applied to the name of a city or town, it is likely a deliberate choice based on the precise location of the person or thing being either indefinite or irrelevant (or both). P Aculeius (talk) 12:21, 12 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hey thank you for pointing that out. Will be mindful of the nuances. PollyErn53 (talk) 20:12, 13 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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