Grammar Discussions

[codash1099]

Low and behold !!
Arrggghh

"Your" and "you're". "Aisle" and "isle". "Lose" and "loose".
Arrggghh indeed!

 

[OzEire]

I saw a then/than mix up from one of the regular contributors to this thread. Extremely hard to say nothing. But nothing was said, not less because I get them wrong regularly.

I was guilty of that offense* recently, but in my defense* it was autocorrect what done it, yer honor*. Send me to gaol/jail, I'll be all right.

 

[Captain Halliday]

And then there is the more prevelant "Take Patty and Myself" I reckon "Myself / yourself" gets misused about 99 times out of 100

Asked by a checkout operator today "how are you?", I replied with "good thanks, yourself?" I blame reading this thread before going shopping.

 

[codash1099]

Asked by a checkout operator today "how are you?", I replied with "good thanks, yourself?" I blame reading this thread before going shopping.

"How are you?" is one of those questions that is rarely answered truthfully.

 

[Foreigner]

Compliment / complement


and


Lay and lie

 

[Deleted member]

"How are you?" is one of those questions that is rarely answered truthfully.

I usually I say " well thank you".

 

[Foreigner]

I usually I say " well thank you".

Too often we hear "I'm good" though it may grammatically be correct. IMO, it doesn't ring right.


PS: Consider the answer is "I'm not good." Unwell or not a good (person)?

 

[anat0l]

"How are you?" is one of those questions that is rarely answered truthfully.

Apparently in England it is considered not so good form if you actually answer the question. A small bow or asking back, "How do you do?" (the more common incarnation of the question) is commonplace.

In many other cultures, in a formal environment or people you don't know well, it is better to answer in the affirmative (or the most subdued affirmative you can offer), as is socially acceptable. Being "honest" as such can come across as cold or rude, even if you genuinely haven't been having an excellent day at all.

In Australia, I find you can be as honest as you want, but keep it short - no one wants to hear you gloat or rant on for more than thirty seconds.

 

[anat0l]

Too often we hear "I'm good" though it may grammatically be correct. IMO, it doesn't ring right.

Grammatically, it works, though it may be more comfortable if you hear it without the contraction, "I am good".

Consider the answer is "I'm not good." Unwell or not a good (person)?

Depends on the context; it could also mean the person is not feeling their best or in a good state of mind (this is not necessarily illness). A follow-up question usually clears things up.

 

[Foreigner]

Grammatically, it works, though it may be more comfortable if you hear it without the contraction, "I am good".



Depends on the context; it could also mean the person is not feeling their best or in a good state of mind (this is not necessarily illness). A follow-up question usually clears things up.

I get it, colloquial English.

 

[Deleted member]

Too often we hear "I'm good" though it may grammatically be correct. IMO, it doesn't ring right.


PS: Consider the answer is "I'm not good." Unwell or not a good (person)?

When I'm feeling particularly cheeky, if anyone responds to "how are you" with "I'm good" I have been known to reply with "good at what"?

 

[Deleted member]

I had ( no longer due to a misunderstanding on her part) a friend in the UK. She was quite positive about how much smarter she was than everyone else. One day, after enduring her appalling written grammar for some time, I said, if you are going to proclaim how intelligent you are , you really need to stop saying, "me and X went shopping today".
Her response was. " I know how to talk proper when I have to, I just don't bother socially"! ...... There are none so blind !!!

 

[wooley]

A restaurant on the esplanade in Cairns has this cracker...

 

[Foreigner]

And another one:

 

[anat0l]

I had ( no longer due to a misunderstanding on her part) a friend in the UK. She was quite positive about how much smarter she was than everyone else. One day, after enduring her appalling written grammar for some time, I said, if you are going to proclaim how intelligent you are , you really need to stop saying, "me and X went shopping today".
Her response was. " I know how to talk proper when I have to, I just don't bother socially"! ...... There are none so blind !!!

She is ironically onto something there. People who seem to have perfect grammar all the time can be portrayed (pejoratively) as toffee nosed, "grammar naz_s" (as it were) or other similar "tall poppy" terms. It doesn't have to be outwardly profound or as if one eats a dictionary for breakfast every morning, but the fact it sounds flawless can count socially against you.

That said, even in casual speech, her error is not something which is common to let on that you're not perfect, though I can see many people saying the same thing. Is it worth correcting them on the spot? Not really, except perhaps our self-proclaimed grammatical-intellectual lady here

And another one:

It was too long to say, "All others will be frog-marched out of here."

 

[Foreigner]

Dictionary.com 'word of the day' is yestreen.

Rhymes with latrine!

Never heard of this. Somewhat archaic.

 

[whatmeworry]

This was good.

[video]https://youtu.be/hMAHah_QNz8[/video]

 

[JessicaTam]

She is ironically onto something there. People who seem to have perfect grammar all the time can be portrayed (pejoratively) as toffee nosed, "grammar naz_s" (as it were) or other similar "tall poppy" terms. It doesn't have to be outwardly profound or as if one eats a dictionary for breakfast every morning, but the fact it sounds flawless can count socially against you.

That said, even in casual speech, her error is not something which is common to let on that you're not perfect, though I can see many people saying the same thing. Is it worth correcting them on the spot? Not really, except perhaps our self-proclaimed grammatical-intellectual lady here



It was too long to say, "All others will be frog-marched out of here."

I think I resemble that remark. Although I will be the first to admit that I am far from perfect (grammatically, that is).

 

[Deleted member]

As am I.
However most of us get a pass mark I suspect

 

[medhead]

A restaurant on the esplanade in Cairns has this cracker...

View attachment 49603

Probably a victim of the best education Joh could buy. Like me.