Reminds me of the Yoda condition I see occasionally in code.
If 5 = x Then

That should yield an error in most of today's compiliers. There was a time when
if x=5
could result in True in some languages, so
if 5=x
was used since the 5 can't be reassigned and would result in an error message.

Ancient Dragon said "When I was in school you would have gotten your knuckles smacked for saying "ain't" because "there's no such word"."

I think you should be informed that there is no such word as "gotten" in the Engish language either.

gotten -- past tense of get. See Marian Webster dictionary. And in the Oxyford Dictionary. The word dates back to Middle English, which was a few year before my time.

I loathe the word "brung" as in I brung the ball to you. I had a buddy many many moons ago that said that and other "close to real" words.

My contribution: The lady played the piano with broken legs.

I loathe the word "brung" as in I brung the ball to you. I had a buddy many many moons ago that said that and other "close to real" words.

"drug" as the past-tense of drag is another.

I loathe the word "brung"

You'd think it would be ok considering sing, sang, sung, ring, rang, rung, etc.

Song she sang to me
Song she brang to me

Play me by Neil Diamond

That one always grates on me when I hear it. So if you can't find a word to rhyme you can just make one up?

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You'd think it would be ok considering sing, sang, sung, ring, rang, rung, etc.

They're all irregular too. Neil Diamond grates on me period.

I think I'm not a fan of anything ung, it's all dung to me.

commented: What's brown and sounds like a bell? +0

They're all irregular too. Neil Diamond grates on me period.

when I first read that I read 'Neil Diamond grates on my period" for some reason.

Now for something that constantly irritates me, all those "apps"...
"There's an app for that", YUGH. Running an app on your tab? hmm.

These are technically not grammar issues but...

You should use "less" when talking about non-discrete quantities, and "fewer" when talking about discrete quantities. For example:
  1. This line is for 12 items or fewer.
  2. There were fewer than 20 people at the party.
  3. We have less than 3 days to complete the coding.
  4. I haven't weighed less than 200 pounds since I turned 50.

In the first two examples the units are discrete. You would never say there were 17.5 people at the party. In the last two, the units are non-discrete as you could conceivably say that you had 3.5 days to complete the coding.

"Since" refers to time. "Because" refers to reason.

In example 4 (above), since is correct because it refers to a time. However, instead of saying

Since I was in the neighbourhood, I thought I'd drop in.

You should say

Because I was in the neighbourhood, I thought I'd drop in.

You would never say there were 17.5 people at the party.

According to the US Census Bureau the average family is 2.5 people (link).

The average population per household now stands at 2.55, down from 3.67 in 1948.

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^^ In which case you'd use 'less'. I think the key point here is the word 'average'. You could create non-discretes from discretes with any number of stat functions.

I think RJ's statement still holds - as you can't have 17.5 people. You could however have an average of 17.5 people.

Lately I came on the following:
In order to do something, I etc.
or
To do something, I etc.
What is most commonly used, or is 'in order' just some sort of embellishment?

first usually is used to set conditions that have to be met for something to happen, second describes the event itself.

Of course the language is often so completely butchered that in reality many people use both interchangeably.

english is such a language that it keeps on changing and new words get added to it.
the idea of lanugage was communication not perfection ..but still we forget to communicate just to show perfection

@Reverend Jim: indeed interesting article.
A factory worker will pronounce the word unionized differently than a chemist . . .

I knew there were others out here where improper sentences make you cringe.

As upset ( or hurtful to one's eye.. ) as it might make one to see improper sentences,
politely bringing it to another's attention is preferable over how some have attempted
to correct others on the internet.

Telling someone to use a spellchecker isn't all appropriate especially with the following:

I went too the store two get to loaves of bread and too gallons of milk.

The above sentence won't ring up in a spell check.

The school system is faulty in not properly ensuring students learn to use english/grammar
in proper sentences and most merely do what they have to in order to pass to the next grade.

As for the news outlets, I believe many problems arose once they began laying off story editors
and relying on those who write the articles to double check their work.

Improper spelling, english, grammar etc.. in one opinion is not that great for business since there
are many, many grammar police still around. If I happen upon a site having misspelling or poorly
written sentences.. I politely point the errors out to the web master leaving it up to them to either
correct it or leave it be.

The word axe used in place of ask always shoots electric shocks through my bones.

You can ask me all you want, but if you want to axe me.....................

The school system is faulty in not properly ...

Not necessarily -- many kids won't learn, or just simply drop out of school. IMHO drugs in schools has a lot to do with the problem. How are kids supposed to learn anything if they are always high on drugs and/or gang members whose only goal is to make life a living hell for other kids/people.

@HarBeK Was your post sarcastic/ironic in its poor grammar?

@Ancient Dragon School performance/learning is most strongly associated with socio-economic status and the value the parents put on education. If the parents value education and are financially well-off enough that they can provide a decent home for their kids then they will push their children to do well and makesure they do their homework. If the parents are disengaged because of money issues, mental health issues, etc... then the kids won't care about school or learning.

Drugs and gangs are more symptoms of child poverty and unprepared/unequiped parents, not the main cause.

Drugs and gangs are more symptoms of child poverty and unprepared/unequiped parents,

I disagree -- if that were the case then wealthy movie stars such as Michael Jackson wouldn't be using drugs. Drugs are everywhere, not just in proverty strucken areas but also in schools of wealthy parents.

and most merely do what they have to in order to pass to the next grade

I've read too many reports of how students are passed from grade to grade regardless of their academic qualifications. I have first-hand experience with highschool graduates who are functionally illiterate.

@Agilemind in some ways yes but mostly when I run across those wanting to jump others in using a spell check which doesn't always catch misspelled words and covers little in working proper sentences.

Education is key and then you have those unintentionaly making mistakes - like you in places where your should be.. that firpin r key I have plenty trouble hitting hard enough and am usually typing too fast to catch the error. Even re-reading before posting one can overlook one thing or another.

Everyone tries to work things so fast in today's world it's no wonder a lot of mistakes are not caught beforehand.

I disagree -- if that were the case then wealthy movie stars such as Michael Jackson wouldn't be using drugs. Drugs are everywhere, not just in proverty strucken areas but also in schools of wealthy parents.

I agree on drugs (such a broad concept, even lots of adults abuse drugs) but that is not the case for gangs.

Is it
This book is of me
or
This book is of mine?
Or is it a "verb" thing, because I believe the following sentences are correct:
This book belongs to me.
This book is mine.

This book is of me

Only if the book is about you.

This book is of mine?

I have never heard that one.

This book belongs to me.
This book is mine.

both are correct and interchangable.

As AD said.

And,

This book is of mine?

That's definitely not correct, but you might say "This book is one of mine." (i.e., "mine" takes the place of "my books"). The "of mine" can also be used instead of "my", as in: "This book of mine is ...", instead of "My book is ...", but this is mostly archaic or lyrical (e.g., "Sweet child of mine").

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