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#11
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Grammar peeves
"Bastette" wrote in message
... Adrian wrote: (Person A: "Your stupid." Person B: "My stupid what?" ) Yes, it's misuse of apostrophes that's really irritating to me. I know, its so annoying when people don't pay attention to English and it's rules. -- Joyce A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead. -- Leo Rosten LOL! -- Joy A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere. - Groucho Marx |
#12
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Grammar peeves
"Bastette" wrote in message
... Judith Latham wrote: my pet peeves a- "Can I?" instead of "May I?" Guilty as charged. I have a friend who, when I say "Can I have another piece?" always answers, "Yes, you may." Thank you, Mrs. Krabopple. "Brought" instead of "Bought" That's an unusual one - never heard it. As in, "Look at this shirt I just brought"? Maybe that's more common in the UK. "Regular" instead of "Normal" I would see those two as pretty interchangeable in many contexts. What bothers you about it? "Lend" instead of "Borrow" Another one I've never heard. As in, "Can I lend some money from you?" And people understand that? I haven't heard that, but I have heard, "Can you borrow me a pen?" This is one reason why, although I can get quite irritated by my particular peeves, I don't think there's a logical basis for it. Why does one bother me and another is fine? Why do I choose to continue committing my own errors, even when I know they're wrong? Because they *sound* better to my ears. Enough other people do it that I don't hear it as an error. So, unless someone is an English professor and their speech is impeccable, and they react the same way to other people's misuses no matter what they are, I think language peeves are highly idiosyncratic. -- Joyce I deffinitely agree with that. One thing that bothers a lot of people is ending sentences with a preposition. There are times when it sounds awkward not to do so. I was very pleased to hear the linguist, Richard Lederer, say that in those cases, it is correct to do so. A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead. -- Leo Rosten I love this! In fact, I'm stealing it. ;-) Joy |
#13
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Grammar peeves
Joy wrote:
Another one I've never heard. As in, "Can I lend some money from you?" And people understand that? I haven't heard that, but I have heard, "Can you borrow me a pen?" It makes sense, I guess, if the asker wants someone to go borrow a pen from someone else, and then lend it to him/her. This is one reason why, although I can get quite irritated by my particular peeves, I don't think there's a logical basis for it. Why does one bother me and another is fine? Why do I choose to continue committing my own errors, even when I know they're wrong? Because they *sound* better to my ears. Enough other people do it that I don't hear it as an error. So, unless someone is an English professor and their speech is impeccable, and they react the same way to other people's misuses no matter what they are, I think language peeves are highly idiosyncratic. I deffinitely agree with that. One thing that bothers a lot of people is ending sentences with a preposition. There are times when it sounds awkward not to do so. I was very pleased to hear the linguist, Richard Lederer, say that in those cases, it is correct to do so. Two things I've stopped worrying about a ending sentences with a preposition and splitting infinitives. However, I don't do either one when writing manuals or any other formal writing. If that writing represents my employer, then I'd rather err on the side of conservatism. A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead. -- Leo Rosten I love this! In fact, I'm stealing it. ;-) Be my guest. I stole it from someone else. -- Joyce Who ever thought up the word "Mammogram"? Every time I hear it, I think I'm supposed to put my breast in an envelope and send it to someone. -- Jan King |
#14
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Grammar peeves
Bastette wrote:
Adrian wrote: (Person A: "Your stupid." Person B: "My stupid what?" ) Yes, it's misuse of apostrophes that's really irritating to me. I know, its so annoying when people don't pay attention to English and it's rules. Was the extra apostrophe in its, a deliberate mistake? I think that's why you put the smiley. -- Adrian |
#15
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Grammar peeves
"Bastette" wrote in message ... Christina Websell wrote: My ex-manager could never grasp the difference between their, there, and they're. It used to drive me mad if I got an email from her saying "Their is something I would like to discuss.." Aargh! The difference between using I or me is easily sorted. Remove the other person from the sentence and you'll see what you should use. We were so firmly instructed at school in English language. We had lessons in it every day. Well, except for your ex-manager, I guess. She was a bit younger than I ;-) probably the rules in school had relaxed by then. They relaxed so much even later that sometimes I despaired at the level of literacy in English language that was achieved by some 16 year olds. I coached my 2 much younger brothers and they are now both almost perfect in English. They did not appreciate it much at the time but they do now as they have good jobs. I taught them to read from the age of 3 by using flash cards. By the time they went to school at 5 they were way ahead and continued to be so. They could also tie their shoelaces and use a knife and fork correctly, oh, and tell the time to the nearest quarter hour. Tweed |
#16
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Grammar peeves
"Adrian" wrote in message ... Bastette wrote: Starting a new thread so Tweed won't think we're all gossiping about her. Mike wrote: The mistakes that bother me the most are the use of SEEN where SAW would be correct and the incorrect use of THERE, THEIR, and THEY'RE. Grammar peeves are like... well, you know. Everybody has one. I certainly do. The writing mistake that bothers me the most is "could of, would of, should of." AAAAAAAgh! When I see that, it's like taking a popsicle stick and moving it back and forth along the edges of my teeth. You know how unpleasant that is. That's what it's like when I see that, it's a real visceral reaction. (Yeah, I know, they have medication for that... ) The other mistake I hate is "between John and I" and the like. I now see that construction in professional writing such as marketing brochures, so I guess it's "arrived." We're stuck with it - oh, god, NOOOO! Make it go away! Other writing errors: If you don't like the there/their/they're problem, you probably also hate your vs. you're mistakes. (Person A: "Your stupid." Person B: "My stupid what?" ) Yes, it's misuse of apostrophes that's really irritating to me. -- Adrian Egg's for sale here. No really, their are g. I have some spare atm. Tweed |
#17
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Grammar peeves
"Judith Latham" wrote in message ... I hate having to put " Yours faithfully" at the end of a letter no matter if I've put "Dear Sir/Madam" or "Dear Mrs Smith" I put "Yours Sincerely". You know very well that it's considered to be wrong! If you use Sir/Madam you should use "yours faithfully" to sign off and "yours sincerely" if you start Dear Mr/Mrs(anyname) Thank your lucky stars that you are not living in the early part of the 20th century when "I am yours respectfully" was common and a little bit further back "I am your humble servant.." Tweed |
#18
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Grammar peeves
Adrian wrote:
Bastette wrote: Adrian wrote: (Person A: "Your stupid." Person B: "My stupid what?" ) Yes, it's misuse of apostrophes that's really irritating to me. I know, its so annoying when people don't pay attention to English and it's rules. Was the extra apostrophe in its, a deliberate mistake? I think that's why you put the smiley. Yes, and the missing apostrophe ("its so annoying") was also deliberate. -- Joyce "Bacteria, with a few more bells and whistles." -- Bonnie Bassler, describing human beings |
#19
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Grammar peeves
Christina Websell wrote:
Yes, it's misuse of apostrophes that's really irritating to me. -- Adrian Egg's for sale here. No really, their are g. I have some spare atm. LOL. This reminds me of something a little different, which is the widespread misuse of quotation marks. Such as a sign in a guest house saying, "Please be 'quiet' after 10 PM". I would read that as, "Please be what some people call 'quiet' after 10 PM." Which doesn't tell you much, does it? I once saw a comedian who did a bit about that. She was in a supermarket aisle and saw a sign next to the radishes that said "radishes." So she moved it over next to the broccoli. -- Joyce "Bacteria, with a few more bells and whistles." -- Bonnie Bassler, describing human beings |
#20
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Grammar peeves
"Judith Latham" wrote in message
... In article , Bastette wrote: Judith Latham wrote: my pet peeves a- "Can I?" instead of "May I?" Guilty as charged. I have a friend who, when I say "Can I have another piece?" always answers, "Yes, you may." Thank you, Mrs. Krabopple. Yes, I have been known to react that way too. "Brought" instead of "Bought" That's an unusual one - never heard it. As in, "Look at this shirt I just brought"? Maybe that's more common in the UK. It may be a local thing. People seem to think they mean the same. "Regular" instead of "Normal" I would see those two as pretty interchangeable in many contexts. What bothers you about it? Regular to me means to occur at certain intervals, such as each day/week. Normal to me means the same as usual or most people. "Lend" instead of "Borrow" Another one I've never heard. As in, "Can I lend some money from you?" And people understand that? DH thinks this could be a local thing. People (not the more educated) around here seem to think these mean the same and so use the wrong one. This is one reason why, although I can get quite irritated by my particular peeves, I don't think there's a logical basis for it. Why does one bother me and another is fine? Why do I choose to continue committing my own errors, even when I know they're wrong? Because they *sound* better to my ears. Enough other people do it that I don't hear it as an error. So, unless someone is an English professor and their speech is impeccable, and they react the same way to other people's misuses no matter what they are, I think language peeves are highly idiosyncratic. I hate having to put " Yours faithfully" at the end of a letter no matter if I've put "Dear Sir/Madam" or "Dear Mrs Smith" I put "Yours Sincerely". Judith -- Judith Latham Stourbridge, West Midlands. UK. I usually just put "Sincerely". I'm not theirs. Joy |
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