Author Topic: Grammar that makes you cringe  (Read 834851 times)

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #900 on: 16 July, 2010, 10:38:48 pm »
Complaining about pop lyrics is a good way to earn respect on this thread ;)
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #901 on: 16 July, 2010, 11:36:13 pm »
'haitch', of course.  Seems to be standard with every sales / service agent these days.

Did you see That Mitchell & Webb Look this week? It'll still be on iPlayer if you missed it. You'll love it.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #902 on: 19 July, 2010, 11:52:51 am »
Grrrrrrr

On today's Evans site:


Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #903 on: 19 July, 2010, 12:13:50 pm »
Complaining about pop lyrics is a good way to earn respect on this thread ;)

Never having heard of the perpetrators is a better one.  O:-)
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Steve Kish

  • World's No. 1 moaner about the weather.
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #904 on: 19 July, 2010, 01:07:44 pm »
Grrrrrrr

On today's Evans site:



Evans ian't not never been the same since Gary Smith sold it on! ;D
Old enough to know better!

jane

  • Mad pie-hating female
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #905 on: 19 July, 2010, 01:31:39 pm »
The thing that is really getting to me at the moment is 'should of'.

I don't have a problem with the written 'should've' but where did this abomination come from?
People writing the way they speak.  Since they cannot pronounce or enunciate correctly they write incorrectly as well.  I too hate all the would of, could of, should of etc.

We will soon be writing about "anuvah exampoo of bad spellun".  The poo ending amuses me.  People cannot seem to pronounce words ending in le these days, and so people becomes peepoo.  Makes me  :sick:
This is a charming stage most young children go through when they begin to learn to write and spell, with basic phonic skills and before they learn the difference between standard and non standard English.  Non standard English (NSE) is fine- it's various forms add richness and diversity to the language and have done for centuries. The version of NSE you describe  may not be the way you speak but so what- who is to say which version of English is the right one? The problem with NSE is that it's situationally, culturally and  geographically specific.  So , obviously, we all need knowledge of standard English as well as our own form of NSE and we need  to learn when it's appropriate to use it and not appropriate to use our NSE.   I would agree, some people seem to struggle with this.

Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #906 on: 19 July, 2010, 02:58:43 pm »
Grrrrrrr

On today's Evans site:



Evans ian't not never been the same since Gary Smith sold it on! ;D

Shouldn't that be "Evan's"?

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #907 on: 25 July, 2010, 05:10:09 pm »
From my Thumbs Up brand Tube Repair Kit:

Remove foil from the patch and apply on injury, stitch down thoroughly.

It's bad translation not grammar, and it makes me laugh rather than cringe, but this seems the best thread for it.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #908 on: 25 July, 2010, 05:16:34 pm »
Lucy Mangan is on my laminated list. Here's one reason.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #909 on: 25 July, 2010, 05:32:06 pm »
She's wrong about less and fewer though. There's all the difference in the world between "less difficult problems" and "fewer difficult problems". Did we cover that already?

Giraffe

  • I brake for Giraffes
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #910 on: 26 July, 2010, 08:39:58 am »
Farm where I get my eggses has put up a sign giving the date when the eggs were picked and their use-by date. After that info it has:

Please recycle boxes[1]
Keep in a cool place[2]

[1]Why not reuse them?
[2]Do the boxes go off if warm?
2x4: thick plank; 4x4: 2 of 'em.

LindaG

Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #911 on: 26 July, 2010, 08:45:35 am »
The thing that is really getting to me at the moment is 'should of'.

I don't have a problem with the written 'should've' but where did this abomination come from?
People writing the way they speak.  Since they cannot pronounce or enunciate correctly they write incorrectly as well.  I too hate all the would of, could of, should of etc.

We will soon be writing about "anuvah exampoo of bad spellun".  The poo ending amuses me.  People cannot seem to pronounce words ending in le these days, and so people becomes peepoo.  Makes me  :sick:
This is a charming stage most young children go through when they begin to learn to write and spell, with basic phonic skills and before they learn the difference between standard and non standard English.  Non standard English (NSE) is fine- it's various forms add richness and diversity to the language and have done for centuries. The version of NSE you describe  may not be the way you speak but so what- who is to say which version of English is the right one? The problem with NSE is that it's situationally, culturally and  geographically specific.  So , obviously, we all need knowledge of standard English as well as our own form of NSE and we need  to learn when it's appropriate to use it and not appropriate to use our NSE.   I would agree, some people seem to struggle with this.

Yes.  Most of our regional dialects have been standardised, or have died out altogether, and we are poorer for it.  IMO.

HTFB

  • The Monkey and the Plywood Violin
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #912 on: 26 July, 2010, 10:37:11 am »
Oh, golly. I've just received a fundraising letter from a university---with an internationally respected publisher attached, too.

It's entitled "Oxford Thinking. And Doing." and the punctuation only gets worse. There are nine pages of captioned pictures which have full stops at the end of all, and only, those phrases which aren't actual sentences. There's a letter signed by the V-C telling me "We are becoming one world. Our world." 

Among all this horrorshow syntax the opening sentence of the letter, "Today, the defining struggle in the world is between relentless growth and the potential for collaboration" is almost invisible, but deserves honorable mention for tendentious vacuity.

Surely, surely, decent grammar is one of the first requirements for professional curmudgeon-squeezers?
Not especially helpful or mature

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #913 on: 26 July, 2010, 10:44:34 am »
Quote
"Today, the defining struggle in the world is between relentless growth and the potential for collaboration"

Astonishing. That is a true masterpiece of corporate bullshit.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

iakobski

Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #914 on: 26 July, 2010, 10:51:32 am »
Did anyone else see the new series of "That Mitchell and Webb Look" last night ? They had a brilliant sketch where a boss in an office lost it and shot anyone who made a grammatical or pronunciation error. 

I've just had to sit through a meeting where someone kept saying "illegible" where she meant "eligible". About 25 bloody times.

No-one shot her though.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #915 on: 26 July, 2010, 10:57:05 am »
Lucy Mangan is on my laminated list. Here's one reason.

Quote
In reality, not splitting infinitives regularly results in ruined rhythms and altogether unhappier sentences. I tend not to split them, because I can't face justifying myself to all those who would complain, but I state here for the record that I adhere to the rule primarily out of sloth and cowardice, not out of moral principle.

Unfortunately she shot herself down in flames there, as she should have practised what she preached:

Quote
I tend to not split them

 :)
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #916 on: 26 July, 2010, 11:07:50 am »
Unfortunately she shot herself down in flames there

Really? Are you sure? Do you want to read that again?

If I were looking for something to pick on in that paragraph, it would be her use of "regularly"...

Quote
In reality, not splitting infinitives regularly results in ruined rhythms and altogether unhappier sentences.

Halley's comet appears in our skies regularly - every 76 years. Is that what you mean, Mangler? Or do you mean "often"? In your defence, at least you didn't use the inexpicably popular "on a regular basis".

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #917 on: 26 July, 2010, 11:08:40 am »
Surely the "to" after "tend" is part of the infinitive that follows it, in this case "to split". So she followed her own advice, as I see it: she opted for the better rhythm, and doesn't have to justify herself (except to Rogerzilla).
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #918 on: 26 July, 2010, 11:10:54 am »
Unfortunately she shot herself down in flames there

Really? Are you sure? Do you want to read that again?

If I were looking for something to pick on in that paragraph, it would be her use of "regularly"...

Quote
In reality, not splitting infinitives regularly results in ruined rhythms and altogether unhappier sentences.

Halley's comet appears in our skies regularly - every 76 years. Is that what you mean, Mangler? Or do you mean "often"? In your defence, at least you didn't use the inexpicably popular "on a regular basis".

d.

Quote
In reality, not splitting infinitives regularly3 results in ruined rhythms
Quote
3 Just kidding again – "frequently".
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #919 on: 26 July, 2010, 11:15:13 am »
If I were looking for something to pick on in that paragraph, it would be her use of "regularly"...

Hmm. The original article has a footnote here explaining that her use of "regularly" instead of "frequently" was ironic. OK, I'll let her off this time.

[edit: crossposted with Cudzo]

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

HTFB

  • The Monkey and the Plywood Violin
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #920 on: 26 July, 2010, 11:17:26 am »
Quote
"Today, the defining struggle in the world is between relentless growth and the potential for collaboration"

Astonishing. That is a true masterpiece of corporate bullshit.

d.

Oh, and there's more. I feel a submission to the Eye coming on.
Not especially helpful or mature

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #921 on: 26 July, 2010, 11:42:52 am »
Unfortunately she shot herself down in flames there

Really? Are you sure? Do you want to read that again?
OK, she says she tends not to split them, but her principal* argument is that she'd really like to.  I suppose you could read it either way.


*I was going to type "principle" here as a subtle troll, but thought better of it  ;D
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

RJ

  • Droll rat
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #922 on: 26 July, 2010, 01:03:02 pm »
Very principalled of you  ;)

rower40

  • Not my boat. Now sold.
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #923 on: 26 July, 2010, 06:15:06 pm »
Hmm. The original article has a footnote here explaining that her use of "regularly" instead of "frequently" was ironic. OK, I'll let her off this time.
For those who struggle with "regular" and "frequent":
The UK railway station with the most REGULAR train service is Fishguard Harbour.  A train at 0300 each day, and another at 1500 each day - Monday to Sunday.  That means a train every 12 hours.

By no means frequent.
Be Naughty; save Santa a trip

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Grammar that makes you cringe
« Reply #924 on: 26 July, 2010, 07:53:04 pm »
Hmm. The original article has a footnote here explaining that her use of "regularly" instead of "frequently" was ironic. OK, I'll let her off this time.
For those who struggle with "regular" and "frequent":
The UK railway station with the most REGULAR train service is Fishguard Harbour.  A train at 0300 each day, and another at 1500 each day - Monday to Sunday.  That means a train every 12 hours.

By no means frequent.


Indeed. Wound up partner big time when he told me I should clean my teeth regularly so I told him I'd do them every year.  ;) ;D :demon:
He didn't see the joke.
(TBF I'd crashed out without my customary nocturnal toothscrub.)