Grammar that makes you cringe

[citoyen]

Not long before the 2012 Formula One season kicks off and then we'll be subjected once again to abject cretinism...

The difference this season is that no one will be watching.

d.

[mattc]

... and "Rosberg is pitting to have his front nose changed".

No, this is the big question mark ?.  What you're referring to is the "big question".  And how many noses has Rosberg's car got?

Maybe they don't mean the car.

@IanH:
Could I interest you in "Neobadisms" ?

[clarion]

Attended a conference today.  One of the speakers was from KPMG, but was quite good nevertheless.

Unfortunately, there were some good ones I wrote down from his slides:

In NHS Wards under the direction of high performing ward leaders, experienced 40% less drug errors

A consortia in the Midlands...

Sheffield a achieved a 7% greater reduction in CVD death rates in its deprived communities

What might decision this mean for your practice?

[Ian H]

@IanH:
Could I interest you in "Neobadisms" ?

No.

[Andrij]

[citoyen]

Are bacteria, like data and media, to be considered singular now? There was a woman on the radio this morning talking about how some babies in some hospital were found to have "a bacteria" on their skin.

d.

[Wowbagger]

Are bacteria, like data and media, to be considered singular now? There was a woman on the radio this morning talking about how some babies in some hospital were found to have "a bacteria" on their skin.

d.

That depends upon what your criteria is.

[billplumtree]

..."Rosberg is pitting to have his front nose changed"....
And how many noses has Rosberg's car got?  I think you'll find there's just the one.  At the front.

That reminds me.  "Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

[hubner]

"Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

Err...do you mean "forks" is wrong?

[billplumtree]

"Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

Err...do you mean "forks" is wrong?

*very best Paddington Bear hard stare*

And how many noses pairs of forks has Rosberg's car a bike got?  I think you'll find there's just the one.  At the front.

[hubner]

"Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

Err...do you mean "forks" is wrong?

*very best Paddington Bear hard stare*

And how many noses pairs of forks has Rosberg's car a bike got?  I think you'll find there's just the one.  At the front.

So has my bike, it's got a pair of forks at the front.

[Wowbagger]

I think you'll find that Woolly's bike has two pairs of (front) forks. The pair he's broken and the pair that DHL have lost somewhere near Santiago.

[Ian H]

"Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

Err...do you mean "forks" is wrong?

*very best Paddington Bear hard stare*

And how many noses pairs of forks has Rosberg's car a bike got?  I think you'll find there's just the one.  At the front.

So has my bike, it's got a pair of forks at the front.

Mine's got a fork with two blades.

[hubner]

"Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

Err...do you mean "forks" is wrong?

*very best Paddington Bear hard stare*

And how many noses pairs of forks has Rosberg's car a bike got?  I think you'll find there's just the one.  At the front.

So has my bike, it's got a pair of forks at the front.

Mine's got a fork with two blades.

Those forks on my bike also has two fork blades.

[Ian H]

"Front forks".  On this very forum.  Please, just don't, eh?

Err...do you mean "forks" is wrong?

*very best Paddington Bear hard stare*

And how many noses pairs of forks has Rosberg's car a bike got?  I think you'll find there's just the one.  At the front.

So has my bike, it's got a pair of forks at the front.

Mine's got a fork with two blades.

Those forks on my bike also has two fork blades.

Oh. You've got one of those.

[billplumtree]

Oh, for forks sake...

[Jasmine]

Are bacteria, like data and media, to be considered singular now? There was a woman on the radio this morning talking about how some babies in some hospital were found to have "a bacteria" on their skin.

d.

This makes me cringe for a different reason as well as the one you've highlighted.  The babies were found to have a bacterium on their skin?  Just the one? Bloody hell, that's some serious diagnostic kit they must have there.  The concept of the individual when talking about bacteria is very fuzzy indeed.  Most places measure the number of colony forming units of cultivatable strains, rather than cells.  That's before we even get to the non-culturable strains.  Without the context, it is difficult to know what this woman was trying to say - maybe the babies had a particular strain of bacteria.

I suspect Citoyen would like me to say bacterium here, but yes, in most scientifc uses, the term 'bacteria' is used for 'bacterium', except when refering to an individual cell.  The concept of bacteria being singular is 'difficult'.

[citoyen]

I suspect Citoyen would like me to say bacterium here, but yes, in most scientifc uses, the term 'bacteria' is used for 'bacterium', except when refering to an individual cell.  The concept of bacteria being singular is 'difficult'.

Not really, I understand what you're saying but she could have avoided the problem by rephrasing her sentences.

To be fair, she was using the singular to highlight the fact that she was talking about a particular strain of bacteria, but because she hadn't thought through her words properly, she ended up with very awkward phrasing. I don't want to be too harsh either - it was an "as live" report from the hospital and put together on the hoof, so she wouldn't have had much time to refine her prose.

It did grate though!

d.

[mattc]

I don't want to be too harsh either - it was an "as live" report from the hospital and put together on the hoof, so she wouldn't have had much time to refine her prose.

Well quite! A lot of people here will jump to criticise someone giving possibly their first ever live media interview, as if they are critiquing a piece of coursework. Get some perspective folks.

(I take a similar view on 'web' news items - they're about as permanent as dragonflies, so really not worth the editor sweating over - but I suspect many will be less forgiving than me I me. )

[clarion]

Are bacteria, like data and media, to be considered singular now? There was a woman on the radio this morning talking about how some babies in some hospital were found to have "a bacteria" on their skin.

d.

That depends upon what your criteria is.

What a strange phenomena.

[clarion]

'Front forks' is correct. You'll find mentions of 'rear forks' in old writing about bikes.

[Ian H]

'Front forks' is correct. You'll find mentions of 'rear forks' in old writing about bikes.

Nope, or rather only colloquially. 'Forks' is short for fork blades, of which there is a pair at the front. At the rear you do have two pairs of tubes meeting at the dropouts.

Edit: and I'm feeling terribly pedantic pointing this out.

2nd edit: but I still think I'm right.

[clarion]

Tough.  It's a traditional usage that predates your parents' birth.

It's where the frame forks to accept a wheel.

[Wowbagger]

What a strange phenomena.

A phenomenon. Many phenomena. I remember learning this when Sir Clement Freud correctly challenged a contestant on Just a Minute.

It was an ironic post in response to my using "criteria" as a singular. Besides, look what happened to Clement Freud.

[Cudzoziemiec]

'Front forks' is correct. You'll find mentions of 'rear forks' in old writing about bikes.

Nope, or rather only colloquially. 'Forks' is short for fork blades, of which there is a pair at the front. At the rear you do have two pairs of tubes meeting at the dropouts.

Edit: and I'm feeling terribly pedantic pointing this out.

2nd edit: but I still think I'm right.

If your frame has wishbone-type seatstays then they, too, fork.