The Grammar Police Get Testy

[RhondaLea 3]

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and it's "Usage Panel" can kiss my grits.

Gotcha!!

Indeed you did.

Earlier today, I wrote a sentence that looked like word salad. Too many thoughts at once. Fortunately, I fixed that one before anyone saw it.

I've got another mistake in this thread--construction--but no one caught it.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[headoverheels 292]

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I've got another mistake in this thread--construction--but no one caught it.

rl

I don't understand the common use (and who wants to be common?) of the word "got," when it is entirely superfluous.

[RhondaLea 3]

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I've got another mistake in this thread--construction--but no one caught it.

rl

I don't understand the common use (and who wants to be common?) of the word "got," when it is entirely superfluous.

http://esl.about.com/cs/beginner/a/beg_havegot.htm

That's not it.

Edited to add: But you did make me laugh.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[NWFlyer 2]

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Have you ever read the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves? It's hilarious.

Oh, I love that book. I had a moment of perverse pleasure when I pulled that book out of my carry-on and set it on the airplane seat between me and my colleague. I went to the lavatory, and when I came back she looked at me and said "Uh, are you *really* reading a book about grammar and punctuation?"

I said, with great pride, "Yes, I am. I'm a total grammar geek and this book is supposed to be hilarious." Indeed it was. I think I devoured the whole thing on that flight (granted, it was a Miami-Seattle flight so I had plenty of time!).

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[PLFKING 3]

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IT'S NOT FUCKING HARD, DOUCHE BAGS.

If I close my eyes, it's almost as if Jess is back...(of course, it's harder to read that way too....).

And there's no "a" in definately, or in definatly either....or indefinately either.


Don

"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

[bob.dino 0]

I before E, except after fucking C.

[mnealtx 0]

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I before E, except after fucking C.

Or when sounded like "a", as in neighbor or weigh....

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[hookitt 0]

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I before E, except after fucking C.

Or when sounded like "a", as in neighbor or weigh....

And "weird"

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[Erroll 53]

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And "weird"

It is tongue - NOT tounge.
It is drogue - NOT drouge.

[McDuck 0]

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Earlier today, I wrote a sentence that looked like word salad. Too many thoughts at once. Fortunately, I fixed that one before anyone saw it.

I've got another mistake in this thread--construction--but no one caught it.

rl

See how far awe can get you? Enough time to correct mistakes before anyone knows and can berate you incessantly for it because you pinpointed one of their own ingrained, if incorrect, foibles.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[kallend 1,683]

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He's got much better at swooping
NOT
He's gotten much better at swooping

Both are ugly.

"He's become much better at swooping."

"His swooping's improved"

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Andy9o8 0]

Here's another one I keep seeing, usually in some reference to gear:

"Manufacture" is the verb. "Manufactures" is a conjugant of the verb.
The noun, i.e. one who does the manufacturing, is "the manufacturer", not "the manufacture".

The plural of "manufacturer" is not "manufactures", it's "manufacturers".

[wmw999 2,177]

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Both are ugly.

A grammar and language forum I used to frequent had a saying:

RWRATP

Real Writers Rewrite Around The Problem

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[BASE813 0]

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He's got much better at swooping
NOT
He's gotten much better at swooping

Both are ugly.

"He's become much better at swooping."

"His swooping's improved"

agreed, was just proving the point that the US mess of the the English language was worse than our own mess of our own language........

[LisaM 0]

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The only one that really gets me...

"'A Lot" is a lot better than 'alot'".

This one gets me as well! I drilled it into my son's head in first grade! He'll never get it wrong!

~ Lisa
~ Do you Rigminder?

[Andy9o8 0]

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..the US mess of the the English language was worse than our own mess of our own language........

Ehh, bullshit. The UK developed the beta version, and still doesn't really know what the hell to do with it. The US turned it into something useable.

[BASE813 0]

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Ehh, bullshit. The UK developed the beta version, and still doesn't really know what the hell to do with it. The US turned it into something useable

Now that is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time...

[j0nes 0]

alright geniuses, which is correct?

Josie went to the movie with Sally and me.

OR

Josie went to the movie with Sally and I.

Answer below
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The first is correct. The way to indentify the correct usage is to get rid of "Sally and" and see which makes more sense.

[RevJim 0]

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I before E, except after fucking C.

Yes! Elementary education right there! 1st period English class, followed directly with second period Science class...

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[Erroll 53]

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I before E, except after fucking C.

Yes! Elementary education right there!....

Isn't English just weird?

[RevJim 0]

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I before E, except after fucking C.

Yes! Elementary education right there!....

Isn't English just weird?

Eye prefer two call eat vierd.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[Stumpy 256]

"Maths" - contraction of Mathematics
"Sport" - ambivalence here - don't see the problem either way!
Whilst and While - both have roots in old english, both are correct, however very few people i know actually use the former.
Spelt vs Spelled - ditto
Truck vs Lorry mneh - we were here first!

Swearing? I once heard somone in the US say "Shit! I trod in a doo doo" doo doo?!?!?

Ass - like a donkey
Arse - the thing that doo doo comes out of

And our food sucks?! coming from an American?! ROFL!

LOL

I was always taught to never split infinitives or use a preposition to end a sentence with.

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[jimp 1]

Along with split infinitives, this also drives me nuts: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/they.html

[jakee 1,280]

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Along with split infinitives,

There is no such thing as a split infinitive in the English language.

The only people who ever thought there was in the first place were a bunch of stuck up oxbridge classicists wanting to make latin rules apply to a (blatantly) non romance language.



Oh yeah, I am a classicist (in training) so I'm allowed to say that we are stuck up

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Andy9o8 0]

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"Maths" - contraction of Mathematics

You mean "abbreviation". A contraction combines 2 or more words into one.

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And our food sucks?! coming from an American?! ROFL!

Oh, bite me. Anyhow, everyone knows the best American food is Chinese and Italian.