Grammar rant

And their insistence on calling a zed a zee!
 
I agree with the OP and others who would like reasonable standards of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

This and any other internet forum relies on the written word so we should do all we can to write effectively. A request for advice is more likely to get a useful response, or indeed a response at all, if it is phrased in a way that a reader can understand easily.

Poor grammar, spelling or punctuation can all detract from understanding and reduce the chances of a helpful reply. However, I think many of us work through many of the errors and try to give an answer. At some point, however, I will just stop trying to extract the meaning and give up.

If someone is unaware they have problems with grammar they are not going to do anything about them but I think there is very little excuse for poor spelling. Spell checkers are included many applications and browsers, so I don't know why there is so much incorrect spelling, especially as it often involves common words.

Some of the rules of punctuation may not be understood by everyone(myself included), but the use of full stops and capital letters is basic and I think these errors are simple laziness.

However, the lack of punctuation is sometimes a result of people who do not understand posting on here is not the same as talking to another person. Punctuation in speech is automatic but it needs to be actively included when writing; otherwise the post is a stream of consciousness.

Moving away from grammar, spelling and punctuation, layout and content are also important.

If I see a single block of about 15 lines of text, I'm not going to read it; splitting it up really helps the reader.

The content is also important. It needs to include everything that is relevant to the question. Sometimes information is omitted from a question because the questioner did not know it was important, but asking why a photo you have taken has not come out well, but not including the photo is not very helpful.

Dave
 
Tringa said:
I agree with the OP and others who would like reasonable standards of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

This and any other internet forum relies on the written word so we should do all we can to write effectively. A request for advice is more likely to get a useful response, or indeed a response at all, if it is phrased in a way that a reader can understand easily.

Poor grammar, spelling or punctuation can all detract from understanding and reduce the chances of a helpful reply. However, I think many of us work through many of the errors and try to give an answer. At some point, however, I will just stop trying to extract the meaning and give up.

If someone is unaware they have problems with grammar they are not going to do anything about them but I think there is very little excuse for poor spelling. Spell checkers are included many applications and browsers, so I don't know why there is so much incorrect spelling, especially as it often involves common words.

Some of the rules of punctuation may not be understood by everyone(myself included), but the use of full stops and capital letters is basic and I think these errors are simple laziness.

However, the lack of punctuation is sometimes a result of people who do not understand posting on here is not the same as talking to another person. Punctuation in speech is automatic but it needs to be actively included when writing; otherwise the post is a stream of consciousness.

Moving away from grammar, spelling and punctuation, layout and content are also important.

If I see a single block of about 15 lines of text, I'm not going to read it; splitting it up really helps the reader.

The content is also important. It needs to include everything that is relevant to the question. Sometimes information is omitted from a question because the questioner did not know it was important, but asking why a photo you have taken has not come out well, but not including the photo is not very helpful.

Dave
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Good heavens. Please refer to post #31 :)
 
Btw, I don't know many English words and when I am reading this forum I often face new ones. I am starting to look them up in my dictionary and can't find any, because lots of Brits make plenty of mistakes...
 
Nod said:
truebutsometimesitshardtogetame aningfrombadlyspaced or punctuated(nottomentionmispleld)posts. That's an extreme example I know but there have been distressingly close real ones. Text speak has its place - on mobile 'phone SMSes where the message's length in characters is limited. In real life, proper spelling and grammar is appreciated.
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There shouldn't be an apostrophe at the start of the word phone.
 
kevin0410 said:
There shouldn't be an apostrophe at the start of the word phone.
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Yes, there should. Apostrophes are used to denote omitted letters - in the case of 'phone, the tele - phone means sound with tele meaning distant. I'll admit that the apostrophe is generally omitted these days but it should really be there. BTW, neither variant gets flagged up as wrong in Word's spell checker.
 
I'm all for language evolving (with the exception of text speak) and on a forum it's not the end of the word but a few things niggle me....

affect/effect
there/their/they're
your/you're

I know I can understand what people mean (mostly)
 
'Bin' for' been' gets me angry:annoyed:
Where have you bin today!!!
 
Lynton said:
I'm all for language evolving (with the exception of text speak) and on a forum it's not the end of the word but a few things niggle me....

affect/effect
there/their/they're
your/you're

I know I can understand what people mean (mostly)
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The only person on my ignore list is someone who's posts I have to read multiple times to make sense of, so I'd rather not read them at all. I'm not going to name any names though :D
 
Eye dun bin two fined yew err sea sore.
 
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Sorry, could not resist.
 
Nod said:
Yes, there should. Apostrophes are used to denote omitted letters - in the case of 'phone, the tele - phone means sound with tele meaning distant. I'll admit that the apostrophe is generally omitted these days but it should really be there. BTW, neither variant gets flagged up as wrong in Word's spell checker.
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You're wrong.

While your theory is sound, words that are shortened versions of longer words such as photo, phone and plane are words in their own right and should not use an apostrophe. If you study mainstream media and press, you will never see photo' 'phone or 'plane written as such.
 
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I just wrote a birthday card for my sister whilst watching TV. I managed to spell fantastic as 'fantantistic'. Obviously it was all because I was paying too much attention to Hunted, but I have a feeling she won't allow me to hear the end of that one!
 
Of instead of have, truck instead of lorry or juggernaut (yes, I'll admit to being a bit eccentric over that), and, worst of all, invite instead of invitation. I actually remember the first ever time I heard that - to my horror it was Charlotte Green on the Today Programme speaking about "invites" to the Queen Mother's 100th birthday celebrations.

I am also in the camp which regards 'phone, 'bus and 'cello as correct, if slightly old-fashioned.
 
AllyB999 said:
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Sorry, could not resist.
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It works for me, amazing!!
 
Gazamonk said:
It makes no grammatical sense at all. Is this confined (as it appears to be) to England alone ? Am I the only person who has noticed this?
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It happens everywhere. Australia is especially lazy.

DorsetDude said:
Lose and bloody 'loose' is the one I hate.
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Headline in a newspaper over here this week: "Local election results, the winners and loosers." :gag:

That was a local paper, but the 'big guys' are just as bad down here. The amount of nonsensical grammar and number of spelling mistakes that find their way into print (don't even bother trying to make sense of their online content) is crazy.

The one I always spot on here is "photo's". OK, you could argue it's a contraction of photo[graph]s, but I'm pretty sure they mean one photo, two photos.

Oh, and photograph, photographer and photography are different words. Some people seem to forget that.

I've been asked to photography an event, they said they want twenty photo's. :bonk:
 
Jayst84 said:
The one I always spot on here is "photo's". OK, you could argue it's a contraction of photo[graph]s, but I'm pretty sure they mean one photo, two photos.
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You are right. photo's is the possesive of a photo. It is not the plural of photo (although some incorrectly use it as such), that would be photos. The possesive of multiple photos is photos'.

If photo's could be either a plural or a possesive then it would be ambiguous. So, you don't use an apostrophe on the plural of an abbreviation. No one writes photo' for the singular, just as no-one writes piano' or that they have two piano's when they purchase a second pianoforte.
 
Its the use of 'innit' and 'like' that makes my **** boil at the moment. I was sharing a lift with two guys and one finished his question to the other with the term 'innit like innit'. I began to check my pockets for anything stabby or something suitable as a cosh to club the ignorant sod to death with, when his friend replied with 'yeah like, innit'. At which point I decided all hope was lost. :(
 
I often (and annoyingly) add a 'ly' onto the end of people's sentences.

for example, "stop driving so quick....ly"

however, I had to put up withi ridiculous words in the north east like...Telt!
WHAT IS THAT!? "so I telt them"....no you didn't!
it's not colloquial...it's just wrong! :p
 
sigh! 1st world problems

nobody likes a grammar nazi
 
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DizMatt said:
I often (and annoyingly) add a 'ly' onto the end of people's sentences.

for example, "stop driving so quick....ly"

however, I had to put up withi ridiculous words in the north east like...Telt!
WHAT IS THAT!? "so I telt them"....no you didn't!
it's not colloquial...it's just wrong! :p
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On a similar note, what the hell is "ream" :thinking:
 
Ream is to open up a hole to a larger size using a reamer.

I stand fully behind my 'phone - old fashionned, maybe but so was my education! As I said, these days, either is correct - I often (but not always) use the apostrophied (probably not a real word!) version.
 
I don't particularly like a Grammar Nazi (except on grammatical topics!), but that's only because they will doubtless have a better understanding of the language than I ever could. Someone who picks-up on every nuance of an error in any given thread will soon become friendless, however in threads like this one, I must admit to a secret admiration for the Grammar Fuhrer! I never enjoyed writing essays at school and hence I chose not to proceed beyond basic O-Level English. I can construct and punctuate a sentence, as well as noticing the mistakes of others, but I can't give reasoned argument about past-participles. prepositions, apostrophes or onomatopoeia!

I can't stand the manner of 'carefree writing' which is prevalent on some forums and this will doubtless make me a snob of some description. I have no desire to go about correcting the mistakes of others, but I do get a sense of the person at the other end from their writing skills, or lack-of. When I read an advert in (any) classifieds, I simply won't buy from someone who can't describe their article in a reasonable way. The implication in my mind being that if they are sloppy with language, then they will probably be sloppy with equipment.

So, if you want to sell something, think about your spelling, grammar and punctuation!
 
Nod said:
Ream is to open up a hole to a larger size using a reamer.
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Yeah sorry, I should have put that into context

What the hell is "ream" when used in Essex :lol:

EDIT: Or is it "reem", i have never seen it written down so don't know how it's spelt

EDIT 2: Looks like it is "reem", but i do like Urban Dictionary's definition :lol:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=reem
 
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crofter said:
Children are just not beaten enough at school, I'm afraid we are on a downward spiral.
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My feelings exactly, it all started to go wrong when they sent in that guy with the long blonde hair and big cigar to look after the little darlings:exit:
 
I was interviewed a few years ago (for an accounts position), by a young lady in her mid twenties. During the interview she used the following words/phrases:

Aks - instead of ask
Cashierering - instead of cashiering
"Would of" and "could of" - instead of "would have" and "could have"
I is - I am
Innit - at regular intervals in her speech, usually at the end of a question.

I resisted the temptation to correct her, and fortunately was not offered the job.
 
rpsmith79 said:
Yeah sorry, I should have put that into context

What the hell is "ream" when used in Essex :lol:

EDIT: Or is it "reem", i have never seen it written down so don't know how it's spelt

EDIT 2: Looks like it is "reem", but i do like Urban Dictionary's definition :lol:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=reem
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Erm in Essex it could cost you £20 depending on where you go, but the downside is you may also get your collar felt
 
FourRingCircus said:
I never enjoyed writing essays at school and hence I chose not to proceed beyond basic O-Level English. I can construct and punctuate a sentence, as well as noticing the mistakes of others, but I can't give reasoned argument about past-participles. prepositions, apostrophes or onomatopoeia!
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Just so you know, I am hopeless at writing essays and really struggled with both English Language and English Literature at school, to the extent that I failed my O-level in the latter.

At A-level I picked subjects on the basis that I would not have to write essays in any of them.

Or perhaps you weren't referring to me!
 
How about the phrase "May you"....

I was always taught that you don't say can I you should use may I but I've never head it used as may you.........until recently! We have a young lady in our office who is always using this word and to me it is being used incorrectly.

An example of her use of it is

"May you please trace a call for me" this is the one that gets emailed to me on a daily basis - it's driving me bonkers !

she uses this all the time even on the phone to customers, it sounds bloomin awful but can anyone confirm whether or not it is correct? 'cos I is confuzzed :D
 
onomatopoeia said:
Or perhaps you weren't referring to me!
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I was not specifically referring to you, certainly not in any derogatory sense.;)

I think my use of your user-name in the context of my sentence was probably sub-conscious from seeing it on the same page.:thumbs:
 
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