Correct (American) grammar

[trysail]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ( Part I )

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The NPR Grammar Hall of Shame

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/30/372495062/the-npr-grammar-hall-of-shame-opens-with-i-and-me

We asked for nominations for "most misused word or phrase," and they came pouring in. Weekend Edition listeners and NPR.org readers have many gripes about the grammar gaffes they see and hear every day.

From nearly 450 story comments, 500 emails and more than 900 Facebook posts we received in December, we identified 275 separate nominees. Here's a top-10 countdown of the most frequently mentioned:



10. Not answering "thank you" with "you're welcome." This one's probably more about etiquette than grammar. But responses such as "no problem," "sure" or "thank you" go against what many in the NPR audience say were taught.

9. Saying someone "graduated college" instead of "graduated from college." A college graduates a student, not the other way around. The "from" makes a big difference.

8. The chronic misuse of "lay" and "lie." Remember, you lie down to sleep after laying your book on the bedside table. Also, tell the dog to "lie down" and sing "Lie Down Sally."

7. Referring to anything as "very unique." Either it's unique or it's not.

6. Claiming something "begs the question." You almost always mean it "raises the question." Aristotle would not know what you are talking about.

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[Disgustipated]

You sure do quote NPR a lot considering you hate them.

 

[chillywilly2]

I definetly go along with 10 and 2

when someone says thankyou..you're welcome...not a hick response like no problem

and everybody is practicing not saying ummm and they have gone to.. so...when they are asked a question by an interviewer...drives me nuts

also, "good question" before they answer...I didn't ask you if its a good question, just answer it

 

[Tathagata]

The whole "So.." thing is maddening.
I've been places like a museum and the guide will start the tour with " So..this painting..."
Also my wife works for a huge company and often when one of the VP's get up to speak he ( or she) will start with " So..."

The one I didn't see on the list was " Or No"?
Growing up the question was " Would you like a bagel or not?"
Now it's " Would you like a bagel or no?"

Fuckers

 

[Mr Noone]

As with so many things, it's a question of time, place and situation. If somebody stops me on the street for a light and says, "Thanks, man", I think "No problem" is a perfectly adequate response.

The Irish say "so" quite a bit, but usually to end a sentence. "Horrible weather we're after having, so." "Did you enjoy your tea, so?"

 

[DesEsseintes]

I was always taught it was very non-U to say 'pleased to meet you' on first being introduced to someone: on the grounds, as my grandmother pointed out tartly, that one scarcely knows at that point whether it will prove to be a pleasure or not! I always say 'How do you do?', but I am made to feel positively antediluvian by some people.

 

[Tathagata]

As with so many things, it's a question of time, place and situation. If somebody stops me on the street for a light and says, "Thanks, man", I think "No problem" is a perfectly adequate response.

The Irish say "so" quite a bit, but usually to end a sentence. "Horrible weather we're after having, so." "Did you enjoy your tea, so?"

I always say "You're welcome" to women.
Guys I match the "formality" they use.

Well no one minds it at the end of a sentence...so

 

[rimmy]

The whole "So.." thing is maddening.
I've been places like a museum and the guide will start the tour with " So..this painting..."
Also my wife works for a huge company and often when one of the VP's get up to speak he ( or she) will start with " So..."

The one I didn't see on the list was " Or No"?
Growing up the question was " Would you like a bagel or not?"
Now it's " Would you like a bagel or no?"

Fuckers

I'm guilty of the So thing. I've even started a few threads like that.

 

[Kitty]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT




The NPR Grammar Hall of Shame

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/30/372495062/the-npr-grammar-hall-of-shame-opens-with-i-and-me

10. Not answering "thank you" with "you're welcome." This one's probably more about etiquette than grammar. But responses such as "no problem," "sure" or "thank you" go against what many in the NPR audience say were taught.

9. Saying someone "graduated college" instead of "graduated from college." A college graduates a student, not the other way around. The "from" makes a big difference.

8. The chronic misuse of "lay" and "lie." Remember, you lie down to sleep after laying your book on the bedside table. Also, tell the dog to "lie down" and sing "Lie Down Sally."

7. Referring to anything as "very unique." Either it's unique or it's not.

6. Claiming something "begs the question." You almost always mean it "raises the question." Aristotle would not know what you are talking about.

5. Ongoing confusion over "who" vs. "whom." Grammar Girl's "quick and dirty trick" is this: "When you're trying to decide whether to use 'who' or 'whom,' ask yourself if the answer to the question would be 'he' or 'him.' " If it's "he," use "who." If it's "him," use "whom." Yes, that means the song's title should be "Whom Do You Love?"

4. "Literally." We are ... tired of hearing that word, especially since the thing we say is "literally" happening often isn't. Are you literally starving or just hungry?

3. Using the word "impacted" as a synonym for "affected." Some uses just shouldn't wander over from the business world into everyday life, the audience says.

2. "So." Please, please stop starting sentences with that word!

1. "I" and "me" — the most-complained-about misuse.

So your point is...?

 

[lemonbread]

I always do the so thing. And I start sentences with but. And and... Sometimes I misplace commas. But I always get their, there, and they're right! So that's something. - Ugh, I used so again!

Certain things bug me, like people saying seen instead of saw. You didn't seen something, you saw something. Perhaps you have seen something. !but the have is required.

And some people say borrow in place of lent. Like I borrowed him my pencil. That bugs me too.

 

[rimmy]

Things that bother me:

Paid instead of bought. So I paid him a drink.

Good instead of well. Actions are done well not good.

The word irregardless. UGH!

 

[trysail]

It's an excellent list:

http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=63790875&postcount=1​

It deserves a bump.

Every now and then (it's unbelievably rare), NPR does something useful other than make noise, whine, promote their political views and spread climate propaganda.


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[trysail]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ( Part II )

​

The NPR Grammar Hall of Shame

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/30/372495062/the-npr-grammar-hall-of-shame-opens-with-i-and-me

We asked for nominations for "most misused word or phrase," and they came pouring in. Weekend Edition listeners and NPR.org readers have many gripes about the grammar gaffes they see and hear every day.

From nearly 450 story comments, 500 emails and more than 900 Facebook posts we received in December, we identified 275 separate nominees. Here's a top-10 countdown of the most frequently mentioned:





5. Ongoing confusion over "who" vs. "whom." Grammar Girl's "quick and dirty trick" is this: "When you're trying to decide whether to use 'who' or 'whom,' ask yourself if the answer to the question would be 'he' or 'him.' " If it's "he," use "who." If it's "him," use "whom." Yes, that means the song's title should be "Whom Do You Love?"

4. "Literally." We are ... tired of hearing that word, especially since the thing we say is "literally" happening often isn't. Are you literally starving or just hungry?

3. Using the word "impacted" as a synonym for "affected." Some uses just shouldn't wander over from the business world into everyday life, the audience says.

2. "So." Please, please stop starting sentences with that word!

1. "I" and "me" — the most-complained-about misuse. In an "NPR Grammar Hall of Shame," those little words would be the first entrants. We received more than 30 messages just about them. How many times a day do you hear someone say "she and me" instead of "she and I"? Or, even worse, "her and me"? It's as if Peter Pan's Lost Boys have taken over. (If you don't get that reference, listen to "I Won't Grow Up" and Wendy's failed attempts to get the lads to say "not I" instead of "not me.")

The Chicago Manual of Style offers a simple way to stop yourself from making a common "I vs. me" mistake: "Read the sentence with the personal pronoun alone." For instance, as the Manual suggests, many people would mistakenly say that the test we've created is "simple for you and I." But think about it: Would you say the test is "simple for I"? No, you would say the test is "simple for me" — and you should say it would be simple for "you and me."

Patricia T. O'Conner, author of Woe Is I, The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, notes in her book how important it can be to choose correctly. " 'Trixie loves spaghetti more than I' means more than I do," she writes. " 'Trixie loves spaghetti more than me' means more than she loves me." O'Conner and her husband, Stewart Kellerman, blog at Grammarphobia.



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[FGB]

Deep East Texas will Still give you (cause) a headache!

 

[Mr_Neb]

And get the idioms right too.

It has become popular to say, "I'll be out of pocket" when you mean are referring to being unavailable.

"Out of pocket" means an expense that you are paying for, as in, "my insurance didn't cover all of my doctor's bills. I was out of pocket $100."

"Out of touch", not "out of pocket."