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Guest Bilo

The 'Help with Correct Grammar' workshop thread

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Posted

I hate text speak and all that, but so what if some people make errors? It's a forum at the end of the day, I don't care as long as I understand what the post means.

Tongue in cheek?

However, you have to admit it's very off-putting to read posts that are just a grammatical car crash.

Posted

I disagree.

The use of "were" instead of "was" is a remnant of the subjunctive mood, eg "If I were a rich man".

As such, "If it were not for the referee, we would have won." is, for my money, perfectly acceptable.

Hmmm! I agree re. the subjunctive mood, but surely there's also an issue between the continuous and the finite verb form...

For me:

- "If it had not been for the referee, we would have won"

- "If it were not for the referee, we would be winning"

In fact, I intend to shout both phrases at the next match so as to assess the crowd response. I fully expect to be beaten up, like Mr. Logic of Viz fame!

Posted

That should be a capital I when referring to yourself. :thumbup:

Surely that "I" should be in inverted commas as you are employing reported speech, Flowwolf? :thumbup:

Posted

whilest i apluade the centiment this thread is having i have too say that sumtimes bilo dos get on his highhorse at the slittest provaction witch dos meen that most of the time we can safly ignor enything that we are finding to be read under his name that we of not read befor becuz rely it is jus bilos oppinnion nand bilos opinnion isnt wurth Jack most of the time i dont no why their is sew much fuss about witch is beter the way he spelt thins or if i am doing it beter or nor and weather it makes any difrence it is like wen hitler was all other the place and telling use all the rules and stuf like we had two do and stuf that was like what we shud be doing and what we cant be doing and we had too do it like hitler all the time abit like when i was at schol and the teachers all had there one ways of making use do stuf so won day it wud be like this and then the necks day it wud be like sumthing hels and that was very confussing four me clerely i shud have been edyucated mush beter so that i cud right proper and stuf becoz sumtimes i am righing on this fourum and i do feil like a complet bellend but not bellend sebstian becoz i think his words are very clevar he much has of a edyucasion what was so mush beter than the won witch i was recieving butt thought i of siad that i still think that i have moor brain than moosebreathe and flowolf even tough i respekt them verry mush and i do find that meny of they're points are sailiant ha ha i did read a dicsionery to find that word and it has ownly ben taking me fiveteen minuts to find sumthing that was himpresive so in shurt bascilly what it was what was what i was saying was that in sum ways i aggre with bilos thoughs on this but it rely doesnt help me verry mush sumtimes i think it his jus to late and that i am be oned redemshun ha ha i was looking agin and this time it took ownly me nein minuts in summerie someone kneeds top get a gripe on this peopl what cant speel right and cant do thier grammer corectly

Posted

STOP USING LITERALLY WRONG.

Stop using "wrong" wrongly! Although it is right to use "wrong" as an adverb with the verb "to be" (e.g. "you are wrong"), it is wrong to do so with the verb "to use" (a better usage would be "Stop using English wrongly"). In cultured English, "wrong" is more commonly used as an adjective, not an adverb, although it is also used widely as a verb and a noun ("You have wronged us and done us a wrong").

You should also place the word "literally" in inverted commas, as it is reported speech. Furthermore, stop shouting by using capital letters! If you feel the need to employ the imperative, you would be better advised to have recourse to the exclamation mark, a far more elegant device!

You did right to post as you did, though. It would have been quite wrong had you not done so - and were I not the pedant I am, I would not have been interested in responding.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Logic

p.s. +1 for an excellent post!

Posted

Stop using "wrong" wrongly! Although it is right to use "wrong" as an adverb with the verb "to be" (e.g. "you are wrong"), it is wrong to do so with the verb "to use" (a better usage would be "Stop using English wrongly"). In cultured English, "wrong" is more commonly used as an adjective, not an adverb, although it is also used widely as a verb and a noun ("You have wronged us and done us a wrong").

Sorry, Sir Alf, but it is an adjective in such a situation, not an adverb.

Posted

I disagree.

The use of "were" instead of "was" is a remnant of the subjunctive mood, eg "If I were a rich man".

As such, "If it were not for the referee, we would have won." is, for my money, perfectly acceptable.

Well I find it totally unacceptable .

We cannot allow such a poor standard of refereeing !! :angry:

:):thumbup:

Posted

I fvcking love pedantry. :)

This is clearly the best thread on Gen Chat at the moment.

Posted

If I am a Grammar Nazi, then this thread is "Downfall", it's April 1945 and things are not looking too hopeful in the bunker...

Posted

If I am a Grammar Nazi, then this thread is "Downfall", it's April 1945 and things are not looking too hopeful in the bunker...

Posted

Surely that "I" should be in inverted commas as you are employing reported speech, Flowwolf? :thumbup:

Correct. I wuz wunderin if anyone would pick that up, if I owned a hat I would surely take it off to you. :D :D Do you mean it should have "been" as in past tense ?

Posted

Hmmm! I agree re. the subjunctive mood, but surely there's also an issue between the continuous and the finite verb form...

For me:

- "If it had not been for the referee, we would have won"

- "If it were not for the referee, we would be winning"

Just ask Lamby. Surely he has uttered all conceivable variations of this.

Posted

Artist and artiste? Program and programme? (there is a red line under the second word)

I get confused with ' The one that did it' and 'The one who did it.' or similar when referring to who and that.

Posted

It is a workshop, so suggestions are welcome.

To/Too/Two

I have ______ balls.

I'm going ______ the pub again.

I don't fancy her, she has ______ many chins.

Excellent ! An exam. I think the answers are "big" and "down" for the first two. I think the third is a trick question as there is no missing word. I think it is actually a spelling mistake in "many" which should read "manly". Unless the spelling mistake is in "chins" and is supposed to read as "chips" ....... in which case I could be tempted to momentarily fancy the pants off her ! How did I do, how did I do, how did I do ???????????
Guest Col city fan
Posted

Good thread...

:thumbup:

Never ceases to amaze me how crap people's spelling can be.

Posted

Two that really wind me up are,

"Different than". No! It's "different from". I can let people off for saying "different to", though.

The other one is "waiting on". Grrr. It's "waiting for".

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