I helped my uncle Jack off his horse.

I helped Uncle Jack off his horse.

I helped my uncle jack off his horse.

Capitalization matters:

I helped my Uncle Jack off his horse.

i helped my uncle jack off his horse.

See?

How many of you would mind if I hang at the route just upwind of you and start unleashing my bowel gasses? Sometimes before a climb I like to power up with my favorite 7 bean chili - it's full of carbs, protein, and the power of thunder. Sometimes I worry about damaging my harness but all my online research suggests farts are really not corrosive to synthetic fibers. And they are NOT carcinogenic either - so really, if people are okay with tobacco and other smoke floating around the wall - they should be thankful when I'm only blowing ass gas in their faces. I used to walk away to release my inner odors away from others at the wall, but I figure if smokers don't mind engulfing me in their second-hand smoke, then they certainly shouldn't mind sucking up my digested bean gasses.

I helped my Uncle Jack off his horse.

I helped my uncle, Jack, off his horse.

I helped my uncle jack off his horse.

Jay

All of these are correct, but your first sentence, and OAHM's, is just plain weird and unnecessary.

I helped my uncle, Jack, off his horse. (this means that there is more than one uncle and you are identifying Jack, specifically).

I helped my uncle Jack off his horse. (you only have one uncle, and his name is Jack)

I helped my uncle jack off his horse. (yeah, we get it)

I helped Uncle Jack off his horse. (you helped, specifically, a man you call "Uncle Jack.")

I helped my Uncle Jack off his horse. (correct and same as the above, but very weird. why use this when you can use the above without using "my?")

For example:

I called Mom the other day.

I called my mom the other day.

I called my Mom the other day.

All three are correct, but that last one is odd and redundant. The capitalization assumes that the speaker is talking about his or her mother, so "my" is not needed. If, say, someone calls someone "Mom" and it isn't that person's mother, then there needs to be greater clarification, and that, in my opinion, is best done in more than one sentence.

I think you're projecting your local experiences (and the silence of some) into a global statement.

This isn't 1963, there are several orders of magnitude more climbers than you could possibly know, let alone speak for.

If there are two people named Jack hanging out in the paddock, each of which has a nephew there, I might want to differentiate that I am talking about my Uncle Jack. I really like my Uncle Jack, so much that I capitalize the title Uncle, as a bit of poetic license. My Uncle Jack is the man.

I don't like him so much as to help him jack off his horse, though.

All of these are correct, but your first sentence, and OAHM's, is just plain weird and unnecessary.

I helped my uncle, Jack, off his horse. (this means that there is more than one uncle and you are identifying Jack, specifically).

I helped my uncle Jack off his horse. (you only have one uncle, and his name is Jack)

I helped Uncle Jack off his horse. (you helped, specifically, a man you call "Uncle Jack.")

I helped my Uncle Jack off his horse. (correct and same as the above, but very weird. why use this when you can use the above without using "my?")

You're definitely wrong about that one. If anything, that construction implies that there is only one uncle, Jack, you could be talking about. It is equivalent to the wordier, "I helped my uncle, whose name is Jack, off his horse."


That in no way implies that you only have one uncle. Consider: "I helped my uncle Jack off his horse, then I helped my uncle Bob off his horse."


That form is only reasonable when you are addressing a sibling, or at least another family member, unless you are a child incapable of understanding that Jack isn't everybody's uncle.


Explained above.

Here's the rule:

"Capitalize family titles like mother, uncle, or grandfather when they stand alone or are followed by a personal name. Example: I'm planning to call Mother this evening. However, do not capitalize family titles when possessive words like my or your precede them. Example: I'm planning to call my mother this evening. The exception occurs when the words uncle, aunt, or cousin are used with a first name, forming a unit. In this case, the family title should be capitalized, even when preceded by a possessive. Example: I'll call my Uncle Ron to see if he is coming for Christmas."¹

Jay

¹ http://www.accu-assist.com/...p_capitalization.htm

Thank god we're hashing this out.

Don't stir the pot. It's God.

Jay

i agree that climbers under the influence of drugs or alcohol are more likely to make a mistake or bad choice that may endanger themselves, their partners or other climbers close by.......i propose the establishment of "f#&ked-up only" climbing areas: if that's your thing, you can climb with your peers and not hide it; if you choose to stay sober, you can climb knowing a bong or whiskey bottle isnt going to get dropped during the pass by the party above you

L
Also, and more importantly, I feel that as a steward of a sport already rife with access issues, It's a climber's responsibility to act in accordance with state and federal laws while at the crag. We're dealing with enough problems gaining the trust of landowners country-wide-- why give them another reason to deny access? And in general, I would posit that people who own large tracts of land in rural locales tend to trend conservative.

How many of you would mind if I hang at the route just upwind of you and start unleashing my bowel gasses? Sometimes before a climb I like to power up with my favorite 7 bean chili - it's full of carbs, protein, and the power of thunder. Sometimes I worry about damaging my harness but all my online research suggests farts are really not corrosive to synthetic fibers. And they are NOT carcinogenic either - so really, if people are okay with tobacco and other smoke floating around the wall - they should be thankful when I'm only blowing ass gas in their faces. I used to walk away to release my inner odors away from others at the wall, but I figure if smokers don't mind engulfing me in their second-hand smoke, then they certainly shouldn't mind sucking up my digested bean gasses.

You're definitely wrong about that one. If anything, that construction implies that there is only one uncle, Jack, you could be talking about. It is equivalent to the wordier, "I helped my uncle, whose name is Jack, off his horse."


That in no way implies that you only have one uncle. Consider: "I helped my uncle Jack off his horse, then I helped my uncle Bob off his horse."


That form is only reasonable when you are addressing a sibling, or at least another family member, unless you are a child incapable of understanding that Jack isn't everybody's uncle.


Explained above.

Here's the rule:

"Capitalize family titles like mother, uncle, or grandfather when they stand alone or are followed by a personal name. Example: I'm planning to call Mother this evening. However, do not capitalize family titles when possessive words like my or your precede them. Example: I'm planning to call my mother this evening. The exception occurs when the words uncle, aunt, or cousin are used with a first name, forming a unit. In this case, the family title should be capitalized, even when preceded by a possessive. Example: I'll call my Uncle Ron to see if he is coming for Christmas."¹

Jay

¹ http://www.accu-assist.com/...p_capitalization.htm

Personally I'd rather not have it around. My employment requires periodic drug testing, .

No time to respond in detail now, but you're correct on some and misleading on others.

Don't stir the pot. It's God.

Jay