Subject: Grammar, Grammar, Grammar!
Posted by: Lochalsh
Date: Sep 07 10
What error in grammar disturbs you most, gives you a fingernail-across-chalkboard sensation? For me, it's "for you and I." Would a person ever say "Oh, is it for I?" No? Then why would that same individual say "for you and I"?
Stop me before I start in on the nominative vs. accusative stuff! :)
Posted by: Lochalsh
Date: Sep 07 10
What error in grammar disturbs you most, gives you a fingernail-across-chalkboard sensation? For me, it's "for you and I." Would a person ever say "Oh, is it for I?" No? Then why would that same individual say "for you and I"?
Stop me before I start in on the nominative vs. accusative stuff! :)
295 replies. On page 1 of 15 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
salami_swami 
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For me, I do not like it when I hear people say "a apple" or "a error". It is AN, people! ;-) Reply #1. Sep 07 10, 10:00 AM |
WesleyCrusher
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I gues's for me its when an easy sentence has it's apostrophes' misplaced. (sic) Reply #2. Sep 07 10, 10:47 AM |
Anton
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Not so much grammar, but it annoys me to no end when people post like this and they are not writing a poem or lyrics. I loathe it so much. What is the point? Reply #3. Sep 07 10, 11:06 AM |
Emma058
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I agree the misplacement of apostrophes. Reply #4. Sep 07 10, 11:09 AM |
lesley153
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Another one that has my inner pedant screaming is "different to" used to mean "different from" and, even worse IMHO, "it differs to" used to mean "it differs from." Apparently this is not regarded as grammatically incorrect, and I don't know why not, because it deprives us of the very specific meaning of different to. "She looks different to me" = I think something about her has changed. "She looks different from me" = we don't look anything like each other. Reply #5. Sep 07 10, 11:49 AM |
Lochalsh
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Lesley, I've seen "different to" recently, but only in UK materials. I just figured it was a Briticism. Reply #6. Sep 07 10, 11:57 AM |
| lesley153
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Oh dear. :( There is no hope for us. Reply #7. Sep 07 10, 12:01 PM |
| Lochalsh
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Oh my, Lesley. :( As consolation, I'm sending you a ghoti, perhaps a Scottish salmon? (Ah, cousin George!) Reply #8. Sep 07 10, 12:04 PM |
Cymruambyth
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My biggest grammar bugbear is the fact that it is not taught in our schools nowadays! When I was teaching, I'd start the first class of the year with an announcement that we were going to parse some semtences and then write a precis. The startled looks on the faces of my (adult) students told me that they hadn't a clue what I meant! Other bugbears: The use of the reflexive program, as in "If you need more information, please talk to myself." I have been known to return such missives with a margin note pointing out that I cannot speak to yourself; only you can speak to yourself! The increasing number of instances in which a lot is written alot, and all right becomes alright. The substitution of I for me, as in "Harry invited George and I to join him for a drink." The use of less for fewer and vice versa. The fact that people don't know the difference between affect and effect. Sentences that end with a preposition! There are more, but my brain is tired and I can't think of them at the moment. Reply #9. Sep 07 10, 12:52 PM |
| lesley153
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A ghoti will be most acceptable, thank you. With cucumber and mayonnaise? or vinegar and chips? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've just read this on a chocolate bar wrapper, which I can't possibly have eaten if I didn't buy it this morning, can I? "By taking out 15% saturated fat from our (brand name) bar it now has 35% less saturated fat than the average of the top 25 chocolate brands per 100g" Apart from the painful subject/object confusion, this is an astonishly mangled sentence without a full stop. It takes a lot of skill to write this badly. I think it beats "this is available by writing to" - but only just. Reply #10. Sep 07 10, 12:59 PM |
| Lochalsh
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Lesley: With cucumber and mayonnaise? or vinegar and chips? ________ I just assumed you were eschewing the chewing of fried ghoti. Hey, about ghoti roti? :) _________________________ Back to grammar: "I'm upset about you going" is marginally correct, but I much prefer "I'm upset about your going." Of course, saying "I'm upset [that] you're going" gets rid of that pesky possessive-gerund dilemma! (It's just not pedantic enough. ;-) ) Reply #11. Sep 07 10, 1:49 PM |
jonnowales
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"Sentences that end with a preposition!" Isn't this an issue of style rather than grammar? Many sources, including Fowler's 'A Dictionary of Modern English Usage', suggest that the need to end a sentence with a preposition isn't actually a need at all! I must admit to avoiding ending a sentence in such a way as often as I can simply because it sounds nicer but I have ended many a sentence in a controversial manner. ;) My view on language is that it is a means of communication...the academic pedantry came much later. If I can understand what a person is saying then it doesn't matter if they have made a grammatical mistake that only some students of English Language would notice. That said, my views on grammar (as seen by the further/farther thread) aren't exactly the norm. Reply #12. Sep 07 10, 1:58 PM |
| jonnowales
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There should be a 'not' thrown in up there somewhere...the grammarians should be able to see where! ;) Reply #13. Sep 07 10, 1:59 PM |
| Lochalsh
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Jonno, you see, I *am* an academic, and I *am* a pedant. :) I agree with you that communication, however rendered, is the key, but we do have to keep some standards, or we'll be back to the Tower of Babel. u no wut i mean? Reply #14. Sep 07 10, 2:04 PM |
PatsyNYC
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People who say "me and my friends went out" instead of "my friends and I went out." People who don't know the difference between and "it's." The former is possessive and the latter is a contraction of "it is." People who don't know the difference between there, their and they're. People who say "like" 19 times in every paragraph. People who say "you know" as often as they say "like." So it's like, you know, I could like go on and on, you know, but, like, you know, it's like getting late, and I have to, like, start making dinner, you know? Reply #15. Sep 07 10, 2:23 PM |
| PatsyNYC
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Whoops! The second paragraph should start "People who don't know the difference between 'its' and 'it's.'" Reply #16. Sep 07 10, 2:27 PM |
| jonnowales
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I agree, but surely there is a world of difference between capital letter usage (such as in your example) and some grammatical rule which very few people are aware of? English will still be a great language in centuries to come, I doubt people using "myself" incorrectly poses a threat to that. Inside the arts/humanities/languages leaning ivory tower it does matter but for the vast majority of people, speaking a first language is intuitive and the rules of grammar don't need to be learned in their entirety. Strange how I still understood your slang sentence ;) Reply #17. Sep 07 10, 2:29 PM |
| jonnowales
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I'd like to ask what you make of the preposition at the end of sentence issue though Lochalsh? Is it something you follow? Is it actually a rule? And how are plebs like myself/me/I supposed to know the difference if grammarians disagree? :D Cheers, Jon Reply #18. Sep 07 10, 2:45 PM |
| Lochalsh
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At least in the U.S., where we don't have a quasi-regulatory body like the Real Academia de la Lengua in Spain, good grammar is defined by the consensus of educated speakers of the language in this country. As I said before, we have to have standards, somehow, somewhere. As far as prepositions are concerned--hmm, that's a question up with which I shall not put. :) jonno, are there any specific solecisms that bother you? Reply #19. Sep 07 10, 2:54 PM |
| honeybee4
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It bothers me a little when someone says "could of" instead of "could have". Reply #20. Sep 07 10, 3:10 PM |
295 replies. On page 1 of 15 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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