[Humour] Could of and Should of: Who is to blame: The Poll

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Well, who is to blame for these aberrations?

  • Teachers: Must drill basics into kids. Offer a sacrificial teacher each time it happens

    Votes: 20 24.7%
  • Parents of the snowflake will not correct their kids variety

    Votes: 24 29.6%
  • Grammar Pedants who people now actively rebel against

    Votes: 7 8.6%
  • The offending person who should be auto-enrolled in National Service.

    Votes: 20 24.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 10 12.3%

  • Total voters
    81
  • Poll closed .






Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,683
The Fatherland
The teachers took the view that, while she was behind, it was within acceptable limits and they felt she'd catch up. We were definitely more concerned than they were.

And thanks for your congratulations, although I'd have to say my daughter really did do most of the work. I'm in awe of what she's achieved. She fried my brain when she showed me her Masters research. :lolol:
Thanks. I find education and potential and identifying potential fascinatng, this is the reason for my question. Whilst your daughter did most of the work, her upbringing and the support you gave was obviously a huge enabler.

Being super-nosey what does she study/will she study for a Phd? Please do not answer if you do not want to, I appreciate I'm being nosey and this is a public forum.
 


Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
14,883
Almería
If I say 'I am going to do something', both to and do should be pronounced the same.

Danny Pike and the horrid dim Sarah Gorrell both use 'ter'...

Really? That's quite unusual imo. People would often pronounce "to", as well as other propositions and auxiliary verbs, with what's known as a weak form.

For you, would both dos and the to be pronounced in the same way in the following sentence?

What do you want to do tomorrow?
 


jakarta

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
15,738
Sullington
Really? That's quite unusual imo. People would often pronounce "to", as well as other propositions and auxiliary verbs, with what's known as a weak form.

For you, would both dos and the to be pronounced in the same way in the following sentence?

What do you want to do tomorrow?
Yes
 


Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
14,883
Almería

I don't mean to be rude but are you quite sure? I'm trying to read it with each "o" in do and to pronounced as an oo (a long u) and it sounds bizarre :)

Would you also pronounce both haves the same in this sentence:

I have 2 already but I should have bought another.
 




schmunk

Why oh why oh why?
Jan 19, 2018
10,342
Mid mid mid Sussex
If I say 'I am going to do something', both to and do should be pronounced the same.

Danny Pike and the horrid dim Sarah Gorrell both use 'ter'...
‘That’s horrid.
Horrible, thought Susan. The word is 'horrible’. 'Horrid’ is a childish word selected to impress nearby males with one’s fragility, if I’m any judge. She knew it was unkind and counterproductive of her to think like that. She also knew it was probably an accurate observation, which only made it worse.

Terry Pratchett - Hogfather
 




jakarta

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
15,738
Sullington
‘That’s horrid.
Horrible, thought Susan. The word is 'horrible’. 'Horrid’ is a childish word selected to impress nearby males with one’s fragility, if I’m any judge. She knew it was unkind and counterproductive of her to think like that. She also knew it was probably an accurate observation, which only made it worse.

Terry Pratchett - Hogfather
I don't mean to be rude but are you quite sure? I'm trying to read it with each "o" in do and to pronounced as an oo (a long u) and it sounds bizarre :)

Would you also pronounce both haves the same in this sentence:

I have 2 already but I should have bought another.
I don't think there can be many ways to pronounce 'have' - if you are lazy the second one becomes 'should've' - rhymes with 'shove'.
 








Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
14,883
Almería
I don't think there can be many ways to pronounce 'have' - if you are lazy the second one becomes 'should've' - rhymes with 'shove'.

There is have with the a like in apple and the weak form with the a like the final sound in computer. The sound in the latter is known as the schwa and is the most common sound in the English language. It is indeed a "lazy" sound, pronounced with the jaw totally relaxed. It's not lazy to use it though. It's just English. Without weak forms it'd sound like we were speaking Italian.
 




Anger

Well-known member
Jul 21, 2017
535
Could of would of should of.
 


Hastings gull

Well-known member
Nov 23, 2013
4,652
“We was”, “I were” are equally annoying as is saying “haitch” instead of “aitch”

And of course “there”, “their” and “they’re”

When I used to mark A Level papers, it was staggering to see that there and their were perpetually being muddled ! It was a very frequent error.
 


dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
55,518
Burgess Hill
When I used to mark A Level papers, it was staggering to see that there and their were perpetually being muddled ! It was a very frequent error.
I used to see it all the time in formal reports being prepared for, for example, very senior business people or regulators that had already been reviewed by several members of staff. As soon as I came across any of these I'd stop reading and ping the report back to the author without reading any further. That'll learn 'em. :lolol:
 






Sid and the Sharknados

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 4, 2022
5,695
Darlington
I used to see it all the time in formal reports being prepared for, for example, very senior business people or regulators that had already been reviewed by several members of staff. As soon as I came across any of these I'd stop reading and ping the report back to the author without reading any further. That'll learn 'em. :lolol:
The head of my team (who generally approves my reports) happens to have really strong views on report writing and clarity. My favourite is when I get a report returned to me with a large section crossed out and the comment "reword" written on it with no context.
Given the number of reports I read that have been issued by other companies or teams within my company, this commitment to clear and concise English is clearly not typical of the industry.
I had to explain to somebody once that "all sentences should include two commas" was a nonsensical rule that she should definitely ignore.
 


W3D

I'm Thirsty
Apr 21, 2021
156
Worthing
Screenshot_2024-01-01-11-14-59-675_com.facebook.katana.jpg
 






Super Steve Earle

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2009
8,928
North of Brighton
Meanwhile, I was teaching a 14 year-old Japanese girl today and she was coming out with things like "irreverent", "aesthetics" and "incongruous juxtaposition" 🤯
Blimey. I'm surprised she even knew 'irrelevant' and 'anaesthetics', let alone misspelt them!
 


rippleman

Well-known member
Oct 18, 2011
4,988
When I used to mark A Level papers, it was staggering to see that there and their were perpetually being muddled ! It was a very frequent error.
At "A" level? Blimey!

When my daughter was 5/6 I went to a Parents Evening and was looking through her work. I noticed that she had been graded very highly for a piece of work (a story IIRC) which contained several uncorrected spelling mistakes. I questioned the teacher on why the errors hadn't been corrected and I can still recall her saying that they didn't like to correct spelling errors in case it upset or demotivated the child.

My daughter is 32 later this month and I doubt that much has changed.
 


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