Grammar Police (What ticks you off?)

[Calboner]

The very angry teacher sent him home.
versus
The very-angry teacher sent him home.
. . .
Why might "very-angry" be unacceptable while "second-highest" might be preferred?

That's difficult to explain, but I will venture to say that the phrase "very angry" is different from the others because it is not a compound adjective. "Very" is an adverb, so that "very angry" is just an ordinary adjectival phrase.

The exception to this exception is the use of "well" and "ill" as components of adjectival phrases. They are adverbs too, but it is common to write "well-done steak" and "ill-gotten gains." According to the Chicago Manual of Style, as I recall, they belong to a special category because they are monosyllabic adverbs.

 

[328982]

The smaller-than-average elephant fits into Fuzzy's bathroom.
versus
The smaller than average elephant fits into Fuzzy's bathroom.


The second-highest floor.
versus
The second highest floor.


I sent her a thank you note
versus
I sent her a thank-you note.


The very angry teacher sent him home.
versus
The very-angry teacher sent him home.


Which ones are acceptable?
Why might "very-angry" be unacceptable while "second-highest" might be preferred?

Is it also to do with avoiding possible ambiguity? Second highest could be read as second [and] highest rather than second-highest?

 

[Hairylegs]

Irregardles...

 

[Fuzzy_]

"A person needs to protect theirself"

versus

"People need to protect themselves"

What's a good alternative? Why isn't 'theirself' acceptable?

'Themself' seems to be the wrong case and doesn't seem to be a word, unlike 'themselves'.
'His self' / 'Ones self' works but how do you pluralize it? E.g., "People need to protect their selves seems fine," but wouldn't this also make the first sentence above acceptable?

 

[Calboner]

"A person needs to protect theirself"

versus

"People need to protect themselves"

What's a good alternative? Why isn't 'theirself' acceptable?

'Themself' seems to be the wrong case and doesn't seem to be a word, unlike 'themselves'.
'His self' / 'Ones self' works but how do you pluralize it? E.g., "People need to protect their selves seems fine," but wouldn't this also make the first sentence above acceptable?

Nonsense. The reflective suffix attaches to the object pronoun, not the possessive pronoun. And it is a suffix, not a noun. The reflexive form of the third-person plural pronoun is "themselves."

 

[Fuzzy_]

"Henry looked unkept with his neckbeard."

versus

"Henry looked unkempt with his neckbeard."

Is there much difference in meaning? Why do so many spellcheckers flag "unkept"?

 

[185248]

This is a Tick. + 1 = Ticks. I don't know if it would Ticks me off to have more than one blood sucker on my body?

The English language is so full, engorged of itself.

 

[Calboner]

"Henry looked unkept with his neckbeard."

versus

"Henry looked unkempt with his neckbeard."

Is there much difference in meaning? Why do so many spellcheckers flag "unkept"?

I don't understand what "unkept" is supposed to mean, at least not in that context. A disorderly beard is unkempt. The literal meaning is "uncombed" (cf. German "ungekämmt").

 

[185248]

 

[Mercurygirl]

Apparently sticklers for proper grammar are bad people.

... Especially if you're older, educated, wealthy, and white.

Wonder what she's really trying to say?

 

[FRE]

Apparently sticklers for proper grammar are bad people.

... Especially if you're older, educated, wealthy, and white.

Wonder what she's really trying to say?

Why? Do you have trouble with her British accent? Don't you like the way she says "ah tall" instead of "at all"?

 

[ActionBuddy]

Why isn't "unshaved" a 'proper' word in English?... Why must we use "unshaven"?

 

[ActionBuddy]

"Henry looked unkept with his neckbeard."

versus

"Henry looked unkempt with his neckbeard."

Is there much difference in meaning? Why do so many spellcheckers flag "unkept"?

Frankly, Fuzzy, I can't imagine someone under the age of 30 using either word, these days... But, good question.

 

[FRE]

Frankly, Fuzzy, I can't imagine someone under the age of 30 using either word, these days... But, good question.

"Unkept" is the opposite of "kept". An unkept man is a man who is not being kept by someone.

 

[ActionBuddy]

"Unkept" is the opposite of "kept". An unkept man is a man who is not being kept by someone.

Well, that describes me!... ... And, my unruly goatee is unkempt.

A/B

 

[Big_Dick_Bottom]

So the annoyance in my life which is doubly aggravating because I hear it on NPR all the time (and they should know better) - is a relatively new phenomenon where people are saying 'right' at the end of almost every other sentence when explaining something. It's the equivalent of 'you know' or 'you know what I mean'.

I mean, you know, that's annoying - right?

 

[ActionBuddy]

Agreed... It is so presumptuous and annoying. It's as if by adding the word "right" as a question, means that the speaker assumes that you either agree with what they said or at least understand what they are talking about, despite no explanation. It is right up there with "Valley Girl Speak"... Right?

"You know what I mean, right?"

No!... I don't!... Explain yourself!

 

[Big_Dick_Bottom]

..yeah, but really it's just a filler word when perhaps a couple of seconds of actual silence would have been better...

 

[FRE]

..yeah, but really it's just a filler word when perhaps a couple of seconds of actual silence would have been better...

There are other fillers like "ah", "err", etc. that are annoying.

When I was a member of Toastmasters, when we gave speeches there was an "ah" counter. We learned to speak without using "ah" and other annoying fillers.

 

[jpk338]

Hot water heater....why would you want to heat water that is already hot. It's a water heater. and before anyone says anything, These came from a professor at Yale and one from Cullowhee University.
One more "Me and my boyfriend".."It's My boyfriend and I"