Compliment VERSUS Complement

When talking about two lenses that go well together, such as the EF 24-70L and the EF 70-200L, almost everyone say:

"these two lenses compliment each other".

Now, it's been years since I've been to grade school... but I could've sworn the proper word should be "complement".

But I swear to god, 100 times out of 100, people use the word "compliment". In fact, I have never even seen a single person use the word "complement". I'm not trying to be nitpicky, but this is making me doubt my sanity, or at least my grasp of the english language. Perhaps I'm wrong? Are these lenses supposed to compliment each other the way I would compliment my wife? When nobody's watching, do these lenses tell each other how shiny they are, what a nice hood they have, and so forth?

• because that's the only effect (not affect) it will have.

But come now, surely you don't have to suffer nearly so many "complements" as you, I, and the rest of us, have to suffer "your" where "you're" is called for, or "there" where "their" or "they're" is required. These errors will continue to frustrate we anal types until the proverbial cows come home. Grin and bare it.
--
http://www.pbase.com/mmcculloch

Sometimes it seems like whole countries get that one wrong.

--
Fujifilm Finepix S5200

This is certainly an issue close to my heart but it may be for slightly different reasons to yours.

Poor grammar, spelling or the incorrect use of a particular word, does annoy me as there is no apparent good reason why it should be so, other than laziness.

However, especially in the informal attitude of such a forum, I am quite prepared to give this a lot of latitude because we cannot know age, level of education, how tired someone may be, etc.

A significant problem arises when, despite use of good English and carefully selected words, the meaning is misinterpreted. Or, indeed, when one infers a meaning of another's post, applying the correct definition of the words they use, to discover, after a subsequent reply, that they meant something completely different. Such occurences are frequently observed when perusing the threads.
It is in these cases that temperatures so often rise and very quickly!

Consequently, I think it in everyone's interest to apply better English, or to understand more, before they attempt to dismiss or challenge the opinions of others.

Ultimately, the sole purpose of language is to convey meaning to another, so if it fails to do so because of mis-use the causes need to be addressed, but we mustn't get bogged down in the minutiae of specific words if the meaning is still accurately understood. Pedantry has its use, but we must take care so it doesn't become a weapon of the bully.

lukewarm said:

Are these lenses supposed to
compliment each other the way I would compliment my wife?

Click to expand...

You ought to both compliment and complement your wife.

You sure know, that posters here are from many countries... where english (especially writen) is not very common. So, for example, my english is way from being perfect -still, I'm quite sure that most here understand what I'm trying to say. And I find very nice if someone correct me of my wrong used term or even whole sentence -as long it's polite.

It happens often here that a lens is written as "lense" (which is not correct, as I learned here). Still, I'm very happy if someone from Romania helped me with his/her poor english

Wish you all the best,
Bogdan

PS: Well, I live in country you maybe never heard of it. So I can't even imagine how many mistakes I've made in this writting
--
My pictures are my memories
http://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/

I "no my grammer ain't perfect", but these two examples when used the wrong way are like fingernails on a blackboard to me.

On the other hand, I also understand the worldwide coverage of this forum and just go with the flow so to speak. I am sure if I tried to converse in German the grammar police in Germany would have a field day.

My signature below reflects other things that bug me too.
--
Bob

Use the preview feature before you post your message to see if you any words or letrs out. You can check your links to see if they work too.

I've been bemused about the misuse of using "loose" in place of 'lose' i.e., "it makes me loose my sanity." Is this some kind of multinational thing also? If not, then where did it come from?

Bogdan, there is nothing wrong with your English. IMO, often people who don't speak English natively are more precise than people who speak English natively. I'm guessing because they need to concentrate on the language more. (Maybe?)

Wayne

hbx2004 said:

You sure know, that posters here are from many countries... where
english (especially writen) is not very common. So, for example, my
english is way from being perfect -still, I'm quite sure that most
here understand what I'm trying to say. And I find very nice if
someone correct me of my wrong used term or even whole sentence -as
long it's polite.
It happens often here that a lens is written as "lense" (which is
not correct, as I learned here). Still, I'm very happy if someone
from Romania helped me with his/her poor english

Wish you all the best,
Bogdan

PS: Well, I live in country you maybe never heard of it. So I can't
even imagine how many mistakes I've made in this writting
--
My pictures are my memories
http://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/

Click to expand...

. . . I will. You have it right. Use the word "compliment" if you are giving praise. Use "complement" if you are talking about things that go together well.
--
http://www.pbase.com/cbeck

One does not achieve success by being at the right place at the right time, but rather by being ready when the right place and time present themselves for your inspection.

My pet peeve is placing a period or comma outside the final quotation marks. Two examples:

lukewarm said:

"these two lenses compliment each other".

Click to expand...

Bob Stothfang said:

I "no my grammer ain't perfect", but these two examples when used
the wrong way are like fingernails on a blackboard to me.

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/cbeck

One does not achieve success by being at the right place at the right time, but rather by being ready when the right place and time present themselves for your inspection.

Bogdan,

hbx2004 said:

You sure know, that posters here are from many countries... where
english (especially writen) is not very common.

Click to expand...

And yet many if not most of the commonly misused words here are by native speakers. There/their and to/too ("didn't buy the camera because there price was to high") seem to be at the top of the list.

Anyway... from the way I see some people writing in Portuguese, this seems to be a worldwide phenomenom.

--
Best regards,

Bruno Lobo.



http://www.pbase.com/brunobl

Brunobl said:

Brunobl said:

You sure know, that posters here are from many countries... where
english (especially writen) is not very common.

Click to expand...

And yet many if not most of the commonly misused words here are by
native speakers....

Click to expand...

Yes, now I see what you (and some others) mean. Must be basic education issue... too bad that this happens too often (my county included).

For me, it's a pleasure to read english language if it is written correct and with a grammar as big as possible -so I can learn it -simply because I like foreign languages

Have a nice day,
Bogdan
--
My pictures are my memories
http://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/

Congratulations, you've just discovered that Internet forums are a hyperactive breeding ground for sloppy grammar, poor syntax, and worse spelling. Correct usage would be "these two lenses complement each other." From the American Heritage Dictionary:

"Complement and compliment, though quite distinct in meaning, are sometimes confused because they are pronounced the same. As a noun, complement means 'something that completes or brings to perfection' (The antique silver was a complement to the beautifully set table); used as a verb it means 'to serve as a complement to.' The noun compliment means 'an expression or act of courtesy or praise' (They gave us a compliment on our beautifully set table), while the verb means 'to pay a compliment to.'"

Since a lens is an inanimate object, it cannot offer praise or admiration, so it can't "compliment" another lens, but it can enhance or complete - "complement" - another lens.
--
2cats



'The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it knows you are afraid of it.'--James Beard

In my experience, non-native english speakers are more likely to use correct spelling and grammar than a native speaker. (Yours is quite good)

I'm glad this forum attracts a more intelligent crowd than some other (non-photography) forums I visit. Some of the native english speakers on those forums are completely incomprehensible.

--
Joe

Any perceived rudeness, condescending tone, or insults are not intended, but rather the result of my inability to properly express myself with the written word.

NW Charlie,

Sorry about the misplaced comma, I was just trying to highlight my attempt at grammatical humor. Next time I will use italics instead and avoid the inside/outside the quotes issue.

Can I even do italics in this forum?

--
Bob

Use the preview feature before you post your message to see if you any words or letrs out. You can check your links to see if they work too.

... I'd like to add (limiting myself to just stuff I see on DPR):

affect/effect

bokeh (there shoud not be an 'h' at the end, and the correct Japanese term is bokeaji)

Adding apostrophes to acronyms to make them plural e.g. CD's should be CDs (though I'm guilty of that once in a while out of a bad habit). Apostrophes should only be used when the acronym is pronouced as in "NATO's forces"

Calling ' ' a backslash instead of a slash. '\' is the backslash character.

a/an - Decision to use a or an is based on the pronunication, not the spelling, of the word it modifies. "A european" and "an mp3 player" are grammatically correct.

critique/criticize - critique by definition requires an in-depth analysis. Simply saying "i like it" or "it's horrible" is not a critique.

Imitiate/emulate - imitate is copying any behavior. Emulate is copying only bahavior that is considered positive.

"if it was..." - The clause begins with if, so it is a conditional clause. The correct tense of the verb is "were."

Nauseated/Nauseous - if you say "I am nauseous" that doesn't mean you feel like throwing up. It means you have a quality that causes others to throw up. I laugh whenever someone says something along the lines of "The new camera makes my nasuseous."

principal/principle - "Principle" refers to law or doctrine. "Principal" refers to the whatever has the greatest importance such as the principal in your loan or the principal of a school.

Quantum leap - Technically, this should refer to small unexpected changes - not huge changes. Adding Latin language support to a camera is more of a quantum leap than adding a plethora of changes.

Whet/wet - You whet your appetite, not wet it. Whet refers to the process of sharpening a blade.

And the one I hate the most - VIRII

That word is not the plural form of virus. It correct term is viruses. If you say virii around anybody in the medical or life sciences profession, you will be laughed at. The common belief is that virus is similar to octopus or catus and the -us should be dropped and replaced with -i to make it plural, but "virii" doesn't follow that pattern. "Viri" has a different meaning altogether (vir is Latin for man, viri is the plural form meaning men). So only use "virii" if you want to sound like you're trying to sound intelligent but are actually ignorant.

I'm feeling better now.

--
Joe

Any perceived rudeness, condescending tone, or insults are not intended, but rather the result of my inability to properly express myself with the written word.

NW Charlie said:

lukewarm said:

"these two lenses compliment each other".

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

The way lukewarm wrote it is entirely correct for British/Commonwealth English.

--
Andy
http://www.caerphoto.com/

Another one that drives me nuts is when were and where get transposed.
--
Bob

Use the preview feature before you post your message to see if you any words or letrs out. You can check your links to see if they work too.

if so, one might very well imagine that, had they had the ability to do so, thay would compliment each other =)

It could also be a miss in the proof reading?
Nah, that never happens, mankind is known for perfection...



Cheers
--
Anders

Some of my pictures can be seen at;
http://teamexcalibur.se/US/usindex.html

event photography and photo journalism