Real World Event Discussions

Grammar Rocks

POSTED BY: maugwai
UPDATED: Saturday, October 30, 2004 01:32
VIEWED: 19692
PAGE 1 of 8

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 1:28 PM

Okay, so that I don't go nuts and start correcting the grammar of every post I see and really piss people off, I decided to put all my general grammar observations in one post. This way, grammar nerds can vent, and non-native English speakers - and for that matter, grammar-challenged English speakers - can learn a thing or two about the language. I know we had a similar pet peeve thread not too long ago, but I thought it was time for a review.

1) a lot (not alot)
2) An apostrophe means only two things - posession or contraction - never to pluralize. To pluralize, you add and "s" or "es" as in "dogs"
3) Stop putting quotes around everything! As in "God" bless America. That implies that you do not actually believe in God. Okay, maybe that's one I saw on a bumper sticker and not here, but still. It's annoying.
4) The assault weapons band was repealed, not appealed.


Feel free to add your own grammatical errors at will.



"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 1:36 PM

Ooh, ooh, may I? <-- look how proper I am!

5) Your/You're The latter is used as a contraction of "you are." That's the only time you use it.

6) Further/Farther Further is degree, as in "I must push myself further to win." Farther is distance. "Go a little farther down the road."

7) Like alot, alright is a non-standard use of "all right." That means, it looks weird when it's used a hundred times in a large, professional novel by, say, author Laurell K. Hamilton, scourge of proper spelling and grammar believers everywhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My office! Burgled! Plundered! Purloined! Ha ha ha...loins."

-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 2:16 PM

Where do I start? :) I teach high school English and I am convinced the Internet will be the death of the English language. All the various misuses of "their/there/they're". Oh yeah, and people who write "should of" instead of "should have".

Simply evil.

-Taylor

Uncharted Outlaw!
"The secret is understanding time."
See my Firefly Store: http://www.cafepress.com/NorCalRiviera

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 2:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by maugwai:
2) An apostrophe means only two things - posession or contraction - never to pluralize. To pluralize, you add and "s" or "es" as in "dogs"

Corollary to (2): Possessive "its" has no apostrophe.
it's = it is
its = belonging to it

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

NOTIFY: N  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 3:17 PM

Can't help it...

WILLOW:Why would anybody want to...oh.

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 4:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by maugwai:
Okay, so that I don't go nuts and start correcting the grammar of every post I see and really piss people off...

Heck, I do that all the time. I do it in the Gunrunners RP, and for every post I reply to. Just because the person who initiated the post is using bad grammar doesn't mean I have to. A girl has to have her principles, right?

In fact, if I sinned grammatically, let me know!

Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 4:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by maugwai:
Feel free to add your own grammatical errors at will.



not really a grammar thing, but the phrase "i could not care less." most often, people seem to write or say "i could care less". i feel this is not as strong a statement (though not necessarily incorrect). this phrase is most often used to imply that something is so utterly unimportant to you that it ranks as the absolute, dead last thing on your mind. thus, there is nothing else that you care less about. so saying, "i could care less" says that there IS something else you care less about and the topic at hand is NOT the bottom of the list. it seems natural to think that "i could not" or "i couldn't care less" is the more appropriate statement.

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Channain:
Quote:

Originally posted by maugwai:
Okay, so that I don't go nuts and start correcting the grammar of every post I see and really piss people off...

Heck, I do that all the time. I do it in the Gunrunners RP, and for every post I reply to.

Channain, Channain, Channain.... A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.

NOTIFY: N  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 10:21 PM

The error that most gets my dander up is not very often a printed mistake but in conversation. Double negatives " I don't got no more bannanas." If you don't got NO bannanas then you have SOME! Also a local pronunciation of ASK- as AXE. "she axed me to go with her" It makes me literally cringe.

She understands, she doesn't comprehend

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hell's Kitchen
Channain, Channain, Channain.... A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.

See, that's the good thing about practicing good grammar in other situations. When you screw up like that, those who don't know any better can't see it. On the upside, at least I spelled it "to" and not "two" or "too"... hey is there a "teux"? And if so, did I just swear?

Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

NOTIFY: Y  | REPLY  | REPLY WITH QUOTE  | PERMALINK  | TOP  | HOME