General Chat

Bob, don't know if you have been in to Morrisons lately, but Bob saw a sign CD's and DVD's he even pointed it out to them. Ros

Slightly off subject. But my pet hate is the misuse of words like should, shall, could, can etc. The number of times should is used when shall is intended! Bob

While we are about it let’s not forget the use and misuse of the quotation mark. I saw a sign on a shop window in Birmingham which said: “BARGAINS” FOR SALE To me this means exactly the opposite of what I assume the shopkeeper was trying to say. (Should misuse have a hyphen?) Bob

Sorry...just remembered as I clicked 'add message'...each evening I read the 'hatches, matches and despatches' in our local newspaper and the number of times 'aunty' appears beggars belief................I know this isn't grammar...but it is toe curling............

At work today I heard the following - 'Was you on your own yesterday.....' 'I lent it off me mum......' and written.....'we are all been extra careful....' But what annoys me most of all, on television, radio and in life in general is the missing 'T'......a girl at work her boyfriend is Sco.....(Scott)...just one example from many hundreds.....

When i was at primary school we had a book called, first aid in english. It taught you all the nouns, verbs, where to put commers, full stops etc. BRING IT BACK!! Bad grammar drives me mad. Why does my daughter say, ' she goes to me , i goes to her. It's not goes it's said. GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRR. Jo.

It makes me mad when I here the words 'number' and 'amount 'or 'fewer' and 'less' used in the wrong way. Louise

Another common mistake is to use it's when it should be its for possession. This is the exceptional case. Janice

Bob, I prefer the last example. You know it makes sense. LOL Jan

At least you can spell the word!! Yes, I do think it matters....an application for a job littered with spelling/grammar mistakes could be the difference between getting an interview or not, nobody wants to appear illiterate. Lily

I would guess the lack of punctuation in legal documents is to avoid changes in meaning which could be achieved by subsequent, surreptitious insertion of a comma. Whether such documents actually make sense - ah, that's a different matter! I agree with most of what CB says but the survival of regional dialects suggests to me a certain lack of fluidity, rather than an indication of this fluidity. Unfortunately, these days of mass communication is leading to the gradual erosion of these dialects - the LOSS of dialects is an indication of the fluidity. In days gone by, dialects were (to a large extent) preserved by geographical features - ranges of hills and rivers - but in these days of broadcasting, these barriers have been broken down.

Bob, One example that always amuses me is the song title 'What is this thing called love?' Often used by comics with a comma after 'called'. I think the proper use of grammar is important in official correspondence and speech, but I can't see that one should need to bother about split infinitives, where the apostrophe is or isn't, etc, in everyday exchanges. We all use the vernacular and colloquialisms - I think the most important thing is to make ourselves understood, and English is such a fluid language (diversity of regional dialects, for instance) that it evolves constantly. Fings ain't wot they used to be, mate! I've read and written a great many official and legal letters and found the lack of punctuation, which is supposed to assist with clarification of meaning, leads to ambiguity - but then it gives legal bods something to do, doesn't it? I must admit that I'd have paid a lot more attention to the works of Shakespeare, when I was at school, if it had been presented in modern English. I found it too convoluted by half. CB >|<

Many of today's teachers have been taught English by teachers who themselves had little instruction in grammar.

My 7 year old grandaughter was staying with me for the weekend, and, when she was doing her writing homework, she was telling me about apostrophes. I was astonished! I didn't think children were taught punctuation now, let alone in Infant school. She knew when to use them too. When a letter is missing - let's instead of let us, don't instead of do not, and so on, and when something belongs to someone - Emma's pen or Grandma's cup. I tried to catch her out by writing Emmas a beautiful girl, but she soon put me right. I was amazed, even my 20 year old son wasn't taught punctuation in Primary school. Sue xx

Bob 206719. Sorry. Off topic> Is not your 'Eats,shoots and leaves' the punchline to a rude joke about pandas??

The English language can so often be taken the wrong way. One instance is:- I re sent your email. I resent your email. World War 3 could be started with that one. June (worst subject at school - grammar)

I have a red t-shirt with the a woman without her man etc - different version front and back. Whenever there are any discussions about grammar, correct use of English etc. I remember my father's story about a man who came into his dad's shop to complain. He said: 'You ain't been and gorn and dun it like as 'ow as wot as I said'. Nell

Eats, shoots and leaves, Eats shoots, and leaves. Eats, shoots, and leaves.

Steve The point is that both examples are correct - but with entirely different meanings. Bob

Bob Why, cannot both examples be correct? Surely it all depends in which context either one is used. Steve