tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post427579700101495120..comments2024-03-20T08:32:25.794-04:00Comments on Dept. of Nance: Today's Top Ten List: Hateful English Language ErrorsNancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-8262708024346600992015-09-04T16:54:14.172-04:002015-09-04T16:54:14.172-04:00Nance and J - if you plot the sentence, you will n...Nance and J - if you plot the sentence, you will not have to make the politically correct error. Use a plural subject!<br />All students must bring their lunch. Or, wait, should that be lunches? <br />Picture Mary G running screaming through the night.MARY Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178370815712313585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-35390604614549673352015-09-04T16:50:57.797-04:002015-09-04T16:50:57.797-04:00I guess I would have been equally embarrassed. My ...I guess I would have been equally embarrassed. My wretched 12 year old grandkid corrects my grammar from time to time, whenever she can catch me. I think it is a game. But my worst personal error is saying 'liberry' for 'library'. So did my father - tin ears seem to run in the family, sometimes. Sure skipped the grandkid's generation, although I can catch either of my daughters slipping on something on a regular basis, causing me to ask myself what I did wrong raising them.<br />Comfort yourself that your written English is impeccable. I can't even do that.MARY Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178370815712313585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-72432361027361111962015-08-30T16:57:03.040-04:002015-08-30T16:57:03.040-04:00J@jj--But, "their" is plural. It is far...J@jj--But, "their" is plural. It is far more egregious to imply that he or she is a group. Simply use "he or she" or the objective "him or her" or the possessive "his or her": Each student must bring his or her lunch. <br /><br />Is "I could care less" accepted in an ONLINE sort of dictionary of idioms? Which one? It may be listed as colloquial or substandard, but it's still not acceptable TO SMART PEOPLE LIKE READERS HERE.<br /><br />Affect and effect are constant challenges to so many people. Complicating this is "affect" the psychological term, which is a noun, and "effect" used as an infinitive verb(al), such as "It was difficult for the substitute teacher to effect any real change in student behaviour."Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-65574813190781907232015-08-30T12:09:13.562-04:002015-08-30T12:09:13.562-04:00I guess I'm a product of the too-PC early 90s,...I guess I'm a product of the too-PC early 90s, because I prefer to err by saying their than calling a woman a man. It's a conscious decision that I make, though. <br /><br />I have a darling friend with bad grammar, and it does sometimes hurt when she types loose when she means lose, or says 'me and my friend'. I'm a crummy speller, though, so I try not to hold myself above anyone if I can manage it.<br /><br />I dislike "I could care less", and REALLY dislike the fact that in the dictionary, they both mean the same thing, when of course they shouldn't. I am a big fan of the oxford comma. Life gets confusing without it.<br /><br />A current frustration is effect vs affect. My boss uses the wrong one all of the time. I have to let it go, because it is not my job to correct my boss's grammar. But it's difficult.Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00653383372182667361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-60875527771632723322015-08-29T18:34:26.742-04:002015-08-29T18:34:26.742-04:00Mary G--I share your woe, especially on the Newly ...Mary G--I share your woe, especially on the Newly Accepted Usage Of They, Their, Them For Indefinite Pronoun Or Unclear Gender Antecedents. I made the "between you and I" error briefly in conversation yesterday with my retired English teacher aunt. Corrected it in the same breath. She, of course, interrupted me to thank me for doing so but only after expressing shock that I committed it at all. Sigh. I was mortified. <br /><br />I love you, too. XXOONancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-28685640907947848512015-08-29T17:43:00.317-04:002015-08-29T17:43:00.317-04:00Believe it or not, Canadian accepted punctuation w...Believe it or not, Canadian accepted punctuation when I was learning to write was NOT to use the Oxford comma. It seemed logical to me to do it, but generated a lot of red pencil on what I turned in. And I still don't use it if I don't proofread.<br />My screamers I think you know. 'Fewer' and 'less'. So often fried on the radio or TV. Subject case after a preposition. "Give it to David and I". You can have a PhD (in science) and still blow this one. Subject/preposition agreement, often blown away by the politically correct attempt not to use the masculine to cover both. Rather than say 'he or she', the sensitive darlings make it plural. "Each student must have a lock on their locker.'<br />I won't go on.<br />I love you, I truly do.MARY Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178370815712313585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-49132141528032222472015-08-28T22:19:41.274-04:002015-08-28T22:19:41.274-04:00Ally Bean--Oh, please find any speech or televisio...Ally Bean--Oh, please find any speech or television ad by The First Lady and you will. (re #5)<br /><br />Your pet peeves: 1. This is such a juvenile pronunciation that any adult speaker sounds downright silly saying it! 2. My uncle said worsh and gorsh (for gosh). Also poleesh (polish) and mayzhure (measure). My mother says Michikan for Michigan, and that makes me absolutely want to tear my ears off.Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-11999351151724339812015-08-28T22:15:17.923-04:002015-08-28T22:15:17.923-04:00phoebes in sf--I'm not sure why or when the Ox...phoebes in sf--I'm not sure why or when the Oxford Comma ever became optional. I'm going to research it and then start a campaign to mark that date--if there is a Date Certain--as a Day That Shall Live In Infamy. If it can be attributed to A Person, I am vaulting him/her to the top of my Should Be Smacked List.<br /><br />Re: it's/its--admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery and redemption.Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-74388038261428514342015-08-28T22:12:10.273-04:002015-08-28T22:12:10.273-04:00Bug--Then/than is another one that trips a lot of ...Bug--Then/than is another one that trips a lot of people up. I don't see it too terribly often, but when I do...ouch.<br /><br />STOP IT IMMEDIATELY re: #10. Please.<br /><br />I want to think that the whole Loose/Lose thing is what made you stop Weight Watchers. Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-29917183325450026962015-08-28T11:41:37.905-04:002015-08-28T11:41:37.905-04:00Then/than - Just today saw someone I respect a lot...Then/than - Just today saw someone I respect a lot (and who is smarter than I am) use "then" when she meant "than." Sigh. <br /><br />I think that I myself said #10 incorrectly recently - and in fact, I'm pretty sure that I WROTE it somewhere. At the time I thought, "Hmmm - this doesn't look quite right..." But I went and did it anyway :)<br /><br />Back when I was really into Weight Watchers I used to belong to a group on one of the message boards. Loose/lose was SUCH a huge problem there! I felt like WW should have just put a large note on every webpage: You have a screw loose if you use "lose" incorrectly! The Bughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07509037206264761261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-88066716651681330182015-08-28T09:35:46.860-04:002015-08-28T09:35:46.860-04:00Oxford comma is my big buggaboo. As you say, just ...Oxford comma is my big buggaboo. As you say, just use the damn thing! I must admit that sometimes I have problems with "it's" and "its". I really do. phoebes in santa fehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10083814964836187823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-24175939369482924282015-08-28T07:15:55.624-04:002015-08-28T07:15:55.624-04:00#5 I've never heard anyone say, so I'm fas...#5 I've never heard anyone say, so I'm fascinated by it. <br /><br />My two pet peeves: 1) it is "library" not LIE-BERRY; and 2) it is "washing machine" not WORSHING MACHINE.<br /><br />Honestly...<br />Ally Beanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17017098395188176477noreply@blogger.com