A Group of Baboons Is Not a Congress

A Group of Baboons Is Not a Congress A popular meme contains a picture with several baboons playing in the snow captioned: Did you know that a large group of baboons is called a Congress? As the meme goes on to explain: We are all familiar with a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese. However, less widely known is a pride of lions, a murder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), an exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a parliament of owls. Now consider a group of baboons. They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not ... a Congress! I guess that pretty much explains the things that come out of Washington! The meme does explain one thing: The person who posted or sent it does not know what a large group of baboons is called. It’s a ‘Troop’ National Geographic says, baboons form large troops, composed of dozens or even hundreds of baboons, governed by a complex hierarchy that fascinates scientists. According to the Oxford Dictionaries list of proper terms for groups of things, organized gatherings of kangaroos, monkeys, and baboons are all called â€Å"troops,† while the only group called a â€Å"congress† is Congress.   An Expert Weighs In In an email to PolitiFact, Shirley Strum, director of the University of Californias Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed that a group of baboons is known as a â€Å"troop.† â€Å"I have never heard the term congress used for a group of baboons! she wrote, adding, I would prefer to be governed by baboons than the current Congress! They are more socially committed, abide by the golden rule and are generally nicer people. Baboons are socially sophisticated and incredibly smart and among primates, no species is as dangerous as humans. Only baboons who have been spoiled by humans feeding them are dangerous and are never as aggressive as humans. The Point The point the meme is trying to make is that the U.S. Congress has pretty much degenerated into a largely ineffectual collection of lifetime professional politicians, typically  trusted by only 10% of the American people, that spends more time arguing, running for re-election and on vacation than it does tending to its real job of carrying out the legislative process in a way that helps Americans happily pursue life and liberty.   In 1970, for example, the troop called Congress passed its very own Legislative Reorganization Act, which among other things â€Å"required† both the House of Representatives and the Senate to take the entire month of August off every year unless a â€Å"state of war† or â€Å"emergency† exists at the time. The last time Congress decided to take a break from its break was in the summer of 2005 when lawmakers returned to Washington just long enough to pass legislation authorizing aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina. But the fact remains that a gathering of baboons is not a congress.

Definite Articles in Spanish

Definite Articles in Spanish A definite article, called an artà ­culo  definido  in Spanish, makes a noun refer to a particular item or items of its class. In English, the definite article  is the. In Spanish, there are five ways to say the. The four most common Spanish definite articles are  el, la, los and las in Spanish. A fifth, less frequently used definite article,  lo,  is sometimes appropriate. Definite articles are also sometimes referred to as definite determiners.  Spanish and English have different rules as to when a definite article is needed or can be omitted. In general, Spanish often uses a definite article in cases where English does not. For example, the English sentence, Mr. Brown is rich, does not have the definite article the. The same sentence translated into Spanish would be, El  seà ±or Brown es ​rico.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹In Spanish, the definite article, el, is used. Agreement in Number and Gender In Spanish, number and gender make a difference. Is the word plural or singular? Are you referring to a male or female or masculine or feminine word? The Spanish definite article must agree with the gender and number of the noun that follows it.   Masculine Form of The The masculine form of the is el if referring to one item, the singular form of the word. For example, the cat is el gato. The masculine and plural form of the, if referring to more than one item, would be los libros, meaning, the books. Feminine Form of The To say the when referring to a singular item that is considered a feminine word, for example, the word door in Spanish is considered a feminine word, puerta. A  speaker would say, la puerta, for the door. To pluralize the word, when referring to more than one door, the proper form of the definite article is, las  puertas. Use of Lo to Mean The Lo  can be used as a neuter, meaning not gender specific, definite article before an adjective to make an abstract noun.  For example,  lo  importante, translates to mean, the important thing, or that which is important. Contraction Using El English has many uses of contractions, such as isnt for is not   or theyre for they are, blending two words together to impart meaning. In Spanish there are only two official contractions in the entire language and they both involve the definite article, el.   The words a el form the contraction al.   For an example, Ella va al auto, means, She is going to the car. A Spanish speaker would literally say, Ella va  a el auto. The contraction al works more smoothly in this case. The words de el form the contraction  del. An example,  El libro es del profesor,  which literally translates to mean, the book is of the teacher, or more smoothly translated, the book is the teachers. The contracted form of  al  usually means to the and  del  usually means of the.