A Remedial Grammar Lesson

[dong20]

A whoopin is what happens to you when someone beats the daylights out of you.

I thought whoopin' was a particularly nasty type of cough...:tongue:

 

[D_Bob_Crotchitch]

Sigh. I once spoke with perfect diction. A lady from England thought I was European by birth, and had studied with a linguist. I had a mild stroke. It was the end of my speech and grammar skills. Plus, I like to hear the local expressions. It is like local foods. It all adds to the culture. If'in ya don't like it, I'll give ya whooplash.

 

[Northland]

This seems to be necessary.

it's = it is.

its = possessive

they're = They are.

their = possessive

there indicates location, as in "over there."

To is a preposition. (A sentence should never end with a preposition.)

Too is used in place of "in addition," "also," or "as well," et cetera and also indicates that something is to an excessive or marked degree, as in "too little," "too many," or "too much."

Who is used as a subject.

Whom is used as an object.

For example:

Correct: Who has the biggest penis?

Incorrect: Who shall I show my penis to?
Correct: To whom shall I show my penis?

I could keep going, but those are some of the more important points.

Seemed like a good time to bring this back up.

 

[Principessa]

Seemed like a good time to bring this back up.

Isn't it frightening how many people graduate high school without mastering these fundamentals of language?!

Another pet peeve of mine is the incorrect usage of further vs. farther.

Though very few people bother with the difference these days, there is a traditional distinction:
farther applies to physical distance,
further to metaphorical distance.
You travel farther, but pursue a topic further.



​

 

[silvertriumph2]

Oh, that's beautiful! You have no idea how good it is for we women who have been here for a long time to finally be getting some decent reinforcements. We have been highly outnumbered for a long time, I had almost forgotten clits existed.

The glorious and wonderous CLIT shoud never be forgotten nor slighted, but worshiped
from near and far....

 

[BigDallasDick8x6]

How about people who say "spear" instead of "sphere."

Some spelling tips --

Not "seperately" but "separately." Remember the 2 A's separate the 2 E's.

Stationary -- not moving
Stationery -- letterhead
The way to remember this is one ending in -ERy is what you use to send a lettER

Accommodate has 2 m's. Many people remember to double the C but forget to double the M. Sorry, I don't have a memory trick for this. Just do it.

And now for 3 of my pet peeves --

Principal vs. principle
Many people already know that the principal of your school is your pal. The other spelling therefore is for a fundamental tenet (not tenant!). But what about the part of your loan that isn't interest? I'm in banking and I see this wrong all the time. It isn't principle, it's principal. If you remember that the principal of your school is your pal, and the principal is the most important person in the school, then you can remember that the principal is the more important part of the loan (vs. interest).

And why does everying "impact" something?? "How will this new regulation impact our operations?" The Weather Channel says "Traffic conditions impacting our area." What ever happend to "affect?" It is a perfectly good word: " How will this affect us?" or "Traffic conditions affecting our area." Impact should be reserved for meteor collisions. Just another example of bad words driving good words out of use.

And finally -- Less is wayyyyyyyy over used. The word more has two opposites -- less, and fewer. The word fewer has all but disappeared from common usage. Use "less" when you are referring to undifferentiated objects and "fewer" to refer to discrete (not discreet) objects. So there are fewer cars on the road, not less cars. There is less traffic however. Traffic is thought of all together not separately, whereas cars are individual items. Fewer snowflakes = less snow accumulation.

And don't even get me started on the people who say "mute" point instead of "moot" point. Arrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Or as Joey on Friends used to say, a "moo" point. "It's like a cow's opinion -- who cares?" Damn he was cute. Cute and dumb is one of my weaknesses.

Thanks for listening. I feel better already. (Gee, I hope I didn't make any typos!)

 

[Principessa]

Foreign Words and Phrases.
Foreign words and phrases shouldn't become a bête noire, but, ceteris paribus, English sentences should be in English. Clarity is the sine qua non of good writing, and the overuse of such words just confuses your readers — satis, superque. Remember, Allzuviel ist nicht gesund. Besides, there's nothing worse than trying to impress and getting it wrong. When it comes to foreign phrases, chi non fa, non falla. (Das versteht sich von selbst.)


:redface: I've been guilty of injecting the occassional French or Latin phrase into my posts here. I still maintain that this is okay, as I am not fluent in either language and do not write entire posts in a language which I know only a handful of people can read.

Seriously folks, I know it's cool to meet someone on here who also speaks your language but take it to PM. Don't go back and forth in a thread speaking only French, Cantonese, Spanish, or German. It's rude.

 

[silvertriumph2]

I know this is off thread.

I am in the south right now, AL to be exact. I am from the north, and some of the southernisms are quite funny. The first time I heard, "I'm a fixin....", I asked the guy if it was broken. Another one I like is, "I'm gonna carry him to the store." I also like the plural of y'all, all y'all. I have also discovered folks down south do not push buttons, they mash them. They do not go to Wal-mart, but instead go to
Wal-marts.

I do enjoy the pace of life here....do the police issue speeding tickets? It seems to me as if there is no hurry to get anyplace, and gosh if the store clerk asks how you are doing....they want to really know.

I love the cute southern girls with the accents too, even if they are difficult to sometimes understand.

I'm originally from GA, but graduated from Auburn University. One of my research papers
was "Southern Colloquialisms and their Derivatives." I have tried to find a copy of this
paper, but it eludes me at this moment.

The State of Georgia was founded in 1733 by the English General Oglethorpe and his settlers. The English that they brought with them
still included many medieval English words and expressions. Many of
them were still in usage well into the 20th century, and even today can still be found in the rural areas of Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama. These words and expressions were correct and proper during the time of Oglethorpe, and are still considered proper by many today.
Including me...LOL

In old English, a lot the endings of words were silent. I don't remember the ME origin of the word "fixin", but it means to "begin, start or to do" something. This would be used as ...I'm fixin(g) to go to town...or, I'm
fixin(g) to take a bath.

The same word is used for preparing food, or for food itself..such as..I'm fixin(g) dinner..or, I'm putting the fixin(g)s on the table.

I remember when a paper bag at the grocery store was called a "poke", a ME word for bag. It is still used today in Georgia. It comes from the "Poke Bonnet." Think of the hats that were worn by the women on the covered wagons headiing West...or the bonnets worn by the women in "Gone With the Wind." A Poke was a large bonnet with a large protruding brim and a full, gathered bulbous head covering in the back, with a ribbon that tied under the chin. When women went out in the fields to collect fruit and vegetables, or to the market, they would hang their bonnets over their
arms and put the collected items inside....the Poke therefore became a "bag." When I first went north I asked the grocery clerk if I could have a double poke....(meaning a doubling of the paper bag)...she called the manager...LOL

The word "sustah" for sister, is from the ME systir or the OE sweoster or suster. I still say "sustah" although I've been in NYC for many years.

These are just a few examples, but I think you know what I mean. It may sound quaint and funny when you are from somewhere else, but at one time it was correct and proper. I think it still is.... There are lots of words that I find funny in NYC. The ones that get me are "draw-Ring" for drawing, "carmel" for caramel.

All our differences, accents, and customs, make us the wonderful, exciting, and diverse people that we are. That I like!!!

 

[MarkLondon]

And anywhere on the west coast. In the midwest it's pop.

Good grief. In south Wales, land of my childhood soda is pop too. As an adult in London I'm not aware of any generic term, we're more specific: "would you like a coke (with which to my anoyance, a lot of people include Pepsi), lemonade, Dr Pepper?" But my two favourites are Cream Soda and Dandilion and Burdock.

 

[MarkLondon]

I remember when a paper bag at the grocery store was called a "poke", a ME word for bag. It is still used today in Georgia. It comes from the "Poke Bonnet." ... When I first went north I asked the grocery clerk if I could have a double poke....(meaning a doubling of the paper bag)...she called the manager...LOL

Good grief. The only example of this left in England is the saying "You wouldn't buy a pig in a poke" meaning that you wouldn't buy something already in a bag, or hidden, you'd want to examine it first.

 

[transformer_99]

it's = it is.

its = possessive

I mess that one up frequently in my posts, Oh well, it was a 50/50 chance right or wrong anyway. Sorry it bothered you so much. Let it go before it consumes you.

 

[silvertriumph2]

Good grief. The only example of this left in England is the saying "You wouldn't buy a pig in a poke" meaning that you wouldn't buy something already in a bag, or hidden, you'd want to examine it first.

LOL
We still say that too...
Man, old sayings die hard, don't they?

 

[BigDallasDick8x6]

it's = it is.

its = possessive
I mess that one up frequently in my posts.

Here's the way I was taught to remember when to use which one --

The apostrophe can show possession or a missing letter. A missing letter is considered more important to indicate, so it's (with apostrophe) is used for "it is," and its is used for the possessive. I mixed them up frequently until I learned that memory trick. Just FYI if it's of any interest.

 

[BigDallasDick8x6]

A couple more --

Passed vs. past. I once saw a sign that said "You have just past [name of business]." Someone must have told them about it because a couple weeks later they changed it to passed. "Past" of course refers to time, and "passed" refers to space/distance.

I haven't seen this in writing, but I'm hearing "incidences" a lot. Incidents and incidence are pronounced the same, which I think is part of the confusion. Plus, they are both synonyms for "occurrence." Here's my explanation, but I'm sure it can be improved upon. Incident means occurrence in the sense of a happening. A border incident between two countries for example. Incidence means frequency of occurence -- such as the incidence of cancer in a family. The plural of incident is incidents, not incidence or incidences.

Back to apostrophes -- I'm seeing a lot of plurals with apostrophes! "There were a lot of car's on the road." Or "We went to several store's." Not sure why this is happening but it's getting worse. Some people add an apostrophe every single time they add an s, even those it's to make a plural, not a possessive, form of a word.

 

[Penis Aficionado]

What's that?

It isan apostrophe!

 

[deleted213967]

My favorite faux-pas is the (already noted above) confusion between Principal and Principle...

...but in the context of a formal job description:

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills required
Principles Only.

Oh the irony!

 

[MarkLondon]

Back to apostrophes -- I'm seeing a lot of plurals with apostrophes! "There were a lot of car's on the road." Or "We went to several store's." Not sure why this is happening but it's getting worse. Some people add an apostrophe every single time they add an s, even those it's to make a plural, not a possessive, form of a word.

In the UK this is known as the "greengrocers' apostrophe" (I hope I placed that one correctly!) as it was most commonly seen on vegetable-sellers' handwritten signs e.g. "Carrot's 20p/lb". But it's spreading here too.

Something I've started noticing recently is "Advanced Notice" instead of "Advance Notice". E.g. Advanced Notice: this station will be closed tomorrow.