General Chat

Thanks for that, Gwynneth. I sometimes feel that my colleagues and I are trying to 'do a King Canute'! I try to point out that writing conventions are a little bit like road rules; if we keep reinventing them to suit us on an individual basis, we end up with a bl...y mess! Sue (in NZ) :-)

Hi Sue, Well said. I'm also a teacher as well as a Youth Theatre leader. I've yet to meet anyone with a spelling or grammar problem who doesn't wish his or her written English skills were better. The young people in my YT know better than to use text-speak if they text me. It's a running joke that text messages to and from me have to have punctuation and no text-speak abbreviations. They try to outdo each other in their use of flowery language and precise punctuation. I took the book you mentioned to my father, a retired English teacher, when he was in hospital and his hysterical laughter kept the entire ward amused for days. Few people write or speak perfect English, especially in informal situations, and we should always be tolerant of those with specific problems but we all have an obligation to try and ensure our listeners or readers understand what we are trying to say. That's why grammar and punctuation were invented. I know my written English skills are far from perfect but I do try to make myself understood, even if I fail miserably sometimes. Gwynne

I'm an English lecturer training primary teachers, so all these kinds of errors drive me batty on a regular basis! I hate the so-called 'argument' that language is dynamic so we have to change with the usage. I don't mind considered improvements, but change because of laziness, sloppiness, or people just plain getting it WRONG is infuriating! We all make the odd mistake when in a hurry, but for people who find spelling and punctuating difficult, practising by writing incorrectly (even informally) is a big mistake. If you haven't read it yet, get hold of Lynne Truss's book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves". It's hilarious and informative. We often moan about the mistranscribed errors on censuses etc. Think what horrors the future generations have in store, trying to decipher 2004 messages. Don't even get me started on text messaging! LOL! :-( Sue (in NZ)

Geoff, 'In' doesn't sound right does it? maggie

Language changes by about 20% in the course of 100 years - so the spoken English of the 1500s would be unintellible now. A dead language ? Speaking of unintelligible language, who is that creep on TV who refers to the Royal Horticultural Society as " dee orr haitch ess" Did anyone see Melvyn Bragg's TV programme on the origin of the English language ? Len

Maggie I don't think so, but now you've got me wondering whether or not it should be "of"!

Sorry to be pedantic Simon, but shouldn't it be 'Errors with Grammar'. maggie

Having only just found this thread. the one everyone has missed is PIN number. How I hate it!

THE WA'ER IN MAJJORKA, DON'T TASTE LIKE WOT IT 'ORTTA !!!!!!

My pet hate is when teenagers say, "I goes to him, don't do that " I always feel like screaming, you don't goes you said.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I FEEL BETTER NOW.

If it wasn't for people making these grammatical/syntactic errors, we wouldn't be able to feel so smug and superior! I don't like it on the news when they introduce each new item with "And..." When I was at primary school starting a sentence with and was almost as bad as using the word nice. nell

I find a lot of people say "arks" instead of ask.

I liked the story about "cloves". It is really how people tend to talk these days. I think they've never been corrected as children so they don't know any better! I "fink", I "fought" are commonplace. Mind you, as I said before, it happens in all languages. when I first came to the Netherlands and tried to listen to the language I always heard "benede". I thought what on earth is it. Anyway, in Rotterdam they are inclined to leave off the "n" making it sound completely different. Love, Sylvia xxx

wowee check all you grammatical scholars out!! in my humble opinion i like the fact that we have so many regional variations in our great language. if everyone was as perfect as some would have us, who would we judge?? like i said, just my opinion.

The use of "went" for "said" and "goes" for "says". Still, I suppose it shows a certain grammatical consistency.

My mother related a story to me, which happened to her last week in a supermarket. She was looking for ingredients for her Christmas baking and couldn't find the cloves, so she asked an assistant. He replied "Wot cloves? like jumpers and cardigans and stuff?" My mum laughed so much, she had to go outside.

Hi Val, Yes, the Dutch also have mis-appropriated words, and like to use too many English words in their language. Really like showing how good they are in English, although sometimes they use the wrong word in English. An example is "life" concert, when they mean "live" concert. Nobody's perfect I guess! Sylvia xxx

I have a few pet hates in the use of grammar as well - some already mentioned, some not. Can I - instead of May I - you are quite capable but are you allowed Bit of a solid - drop of a liquid - you cannot have a bit of water Under the circumstances - should be in the circumstances I can still hear my mother quoting at me : - "After if and wish it's were" - and not was of course How it can now be acceptable to start a sentance with And or But - I will never understand, And is a continuance - and if you start a new sentance you are not continuing and But is an interruption or argument - again how can you start with that. Also of course it is totally incorrect to have a comma and an and together - they both do the same job. As for pronounciation the thing I dislike even more than dropped T's and H's - is the way the majority of people say the letter H - it is spelt and pronounced AITCH - with no Hay sound at the front of it. Oh and of course the phrase "You Know" used at the end of most sentances - I long to scream at people - NO I DON'T KNOW Janet

Hi Bob, Thanks for that - I knew there would be a proper word. lol, Gwynne

Gwynneth Obviously - Spin Doctors