Member Avatar for Agilemind

In many cases "should of" and "should've" sound almost indistiguishable (same for any case of *******d've). Perhaps we should just adopt phonetics for writting....

Member Avatar for blackmiau

Or maybe use grammar properly (or try to) instead of lazying out? :)

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

What I can't stand is empty-headed people, with nothing to offer but the urge to throw a dictionary at their faces.

Now we're talking vocabulary. When it comes to vocabulary I am more annoyed by people who pepper their speech with $50 words and/or jargon. These people speak to impress, not to inform.

When I hear someone with a 4th grade education say "I seen it with my own two eyes" I am more forgiving than when I hear the same from someone with a college education. When I hear "That's just between you and I.", I positively cringe.

Member Avatar for blackmiau

Reverend Jim, you got what I was trying to say. Sometimes I think in Portuguese, then type in English and get my ideas confused in the process.

When I hear "That's just between you and I.", I positively cringe.

That's one of the differences in language. I cringe on similar situations. Let's see if Google can clear it up, since I can't find a proper way to explain...
d315cb92ce0a83cb104c39618ffa69f1

Edited by blackmiau
Member Avatar for Stuugie

In the famous Lennon song, in the second stanza, strofe he sings: Imagine there's no countries Why is it not Imagine there are no countries poet freedom?

It's not just poetic freedom, it may also have to do with fitting the words into to the song properly along side singing them in the timeframe needed within the context of the song (run on sentence I know). On paper, it makes more sense to write "there are no countries" but singing it is completely different.

Member Avatar for Stuugie

Words like they're, can't, they've, and the likes are not wrong and to impose that they are is, in my opinion, wrong.

Member Avatar for Agilemind

"there are no countries"

Thinking about it this is a little weird grammatically, because 'no countries' isn't really plural, no countries is zero countries not more than one country.

Its equally valid to say "there is not even one country".

Zero is weird.

Member Avatar for ddanbe

Zero is weird

Zero has always had that status. Just think of a DIV by zero error on your computer for example.

Member Avatar for mattster

Nothing worse than bad grammar, simply just makes the person look like an idiot. My Mum always used to stop us and make me and my brothers say everything again if we couldn't word things properly. I wish parents could take that up again!

Member Avatar for mattskills

Me Dnt no wat u tlkin bout

Member Avatar for mattster

I'm not surprised.

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

You may want to take this quick quiz on whether you are using common phrases correctly. I don't mean to brag (actually, I do) but I got a perfect score.

Member Avatar for mike_2000_17

I got 16/21, which is not too bad. In the five I missed, two were expressions I had never heard before and involved words I didn't even know (e.g., pang), then one of them I just went for the grammatically correct option while the correct expression was grammatically incorrect (as expressions often are), and the other two mistakes were toss-ups and I learned something (e.g., I never thought an Irish folk dance made any sense in that expression!).

Edited by mike_2000_17 because: note
Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

I think pang comes from the old English, ang which means pain. This is also where we get hangnail from. It was originally ang nail which makes more sense. At least as I recall.

Member Avatar for blackmiau

I got 14. Never heard most of those expressions before.

Member Avatar for ddanbe

I got 11/21. The only English I come in contact with is here at Daniweb, MSDN, Wikipedia etc. and some computer and math books. I could not read an English novel without a dictionary! At least it is more than 50%. :)

Member Avatar for Agilemind

I got 18, two of the ones I got wrong I knew I didn't know which was correct there was only one I thought I knew the answer but it was wrong: wrecked vs wreaked

Member Avatar for <M/>

I got 21/21 on the first try... which is hard believe due to the fact that I avoid much of the grammar rules when typing in message boards/texting. Also... all those questions were ridiculously easy, at least for me it was.

Well... my grammar is gooder, and that is why I am taking AP Lang next semester because I am one of the bestest in my english class ;)

commented: You're killing me. You know that, right? +0
Member Avatar for happygeek

If the root of pang is ang, then that would also explain the derivation of angst. You learn something new everyday. Actually, I learn lots of new things everyday and it's what makes me get out of bed in the morning.

Member Avatar for <M/>

Actually, I learn lots of new things everyday and it's what makes me get out of bed in the morning.

And that is what puts me (and my peers) back to sleep and not due to the fact that we don't like learning but it is because we have to wake up early (before 7 and function on minimal amounts of sleep like I am right now) and go to school...

Member Avatar for happygeek

I am in the office by 5.30am during the week (up at 5am), and by 8am at weekends, and have not had a good nights sleep for months (medical problems). Kids today, don't know you are born :)

Member Avatar for <M/>

I am in the office by 5.30am during the week (up at 5am)

I can relate, sorta... I have to walk my dogs that early but normally I get pretty drowsy by the time I get to school.

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim
commented: I heard this yesterday, excellent song and great message in my opinion! +0
commented: Hilarious - well found +0
Member Avatar for diafol

19/21. Some of those were a bit dodgy. 'J' words flummoxed me.

The jig/gig is up. - got it wrong
I jibe/jive with that - never heard of it - got it wrong, but on reflection I knew the wrong answer, but I chose it anyway - how freaky.

commented: I just knew you'd appreciate the video. +0
Member Avatar for <M/>

@diafol, i got a perfect score on it on the first try... i still haven't heard anyone say any of those terms even to this day...

Member Avatar for diafol

still haven't heard anyone say any of those terms even to this day...

We may have heard of them, but we may have heard people using the wrong saying, thereby exacerbating the problem. Some sayings have become parodies through their misuse, deliberate or otherwise, e.g.

"The world's your lobster". I even say it, but it's difficult to know who is using it as a (lame by now) joke and those who are using it in good faith. Heh heh.

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

I just finished reading a James Patterson book in which he described a shirt as having a "random pattern". Is it just me or is it impossible to be both?

Edited by Reverend Jim
Member Avatar for mike_2000_17

You're right, that makes no sense when you think about it. You should either say that "it's random", or say that "it has no discernible pattern". It's only when I was trying to edit down a paper (to a conference with a page limit) that I realized how a lot of expressions are redundant or self-contradictory.

But then again, a pattern can be random, but something random cannot have a pattern. Mind. Blown.

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

I don't see how something can have a random pattern. A pattern implies order and random implies a total lack of. Unless, of course, you want to buy some patterned wallpaper (for example) and you don't care which so you pick a pattern at random in which case (I suppose) you could say you have a random pattern.

By the way, my last post should have said "shirt", not "short". It has been corrected.

Edited by Reverend Jim
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