[Misc] Question for fellow grammar pedants out there.

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

To quote myself... 'Lord' Sugar.... For a clearly intelligent man he speaks like a half-wit.

Reading the post properly is an indicator of intelligence, unless you were taking the mick.. (in which case, my apologies)

well, I have him on ignore, so visionary, cultural lightening rod, comic genius, or ****, you decide

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Amo
Amas
Amat
Amamus
Amatis
Amant

I gave up Latin after one year to do German, HGSG in the 60s.

Nice to see that you still share the love

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

Now here's a thread you don't often get to see on the BBS...

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

We were shown how to conjugate a verb in Latin. In English, we were shown nothing. That was HGSB in the 70s.

Sum, es, est, summus, estis, sunt.

FFS.

I think that depended on who your English teacher was. Willie Pope was very thorough on grammar. If you had Jack Liddell for Maths, Willie Pope for English and Ross for Latin, you were sorted.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wguF9N0x9do

Great track from a superb album. The pronunciation of the band's name, though, is not as it first appears.

http://www.bandnameexplained.com/2013/05/was-not-was-band-name-meaning.html

 

[OzMike]

Most, like the ones I sometimes do, are usually down to the damned auto correct which puts in what it thinks you mean and goes unnoticed.
Bloody nuisance.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I think that depended on who your English teacher was. Willie Pope was very thorough on grammar. If you had Jack Liddell for Maths, Willie Pope for English and Ross for Latin, you were sorted.

Lawrence for English GCE (he mocked us science stream students for a year) and Bennett for Maths A level (only interested in the Oxbridge swats).

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Lawrence for English GCE (he mocked us science stream students for a year) and Bennett for Maths A level (only interested in the Oxbridge swats).

Ah, Old Bill Lawrence who famously introduced the classic phrase into the English language “Television? Educational innit?”
I had several fallings out with him over the years, particularly when I refused to run in the house cross-country match on a matter of principle.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

To quote myself... 'Lord' Sugar.... For a clearly intelligent man he speaks like a half-wit.

Reading the post properly is an indicator of intelligence, unless you were taking the mick.. (in which case, my apologies)

My point really is you're implying that people with poor grammar are stupid, apart from the odd one like Lord Sugar.

Proper grammar is not a measure of intelligence and anyone that deems to think this could be challenged themself.

Think about that one.

 

[McTavish]

A student said to me 'I wish I was dead.'
I replied 'That's a terrible thing to say. It's I wish I were dead.'

Nice use of the subjunctive.

 

[Gazwag]

This thread reminds me of Peter and Jane books

don't remember these though

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Harold old man, I know it's impossible for you but open your eyes and your brain and stop being such a bitter man. Are you still posting under Lever

 

[Gazwag]

 

[Brovion]

Not just football. Team sports generally - presumably on the grounds that there are a number of players in the team, so that in terms of I; you; he/she/it; we; you (plural) and they, they come in the 'they' (or maybe for the fans the 'we') category - i.e. Sussex [they;we] weren't able to bat out the whole day; Red Bull were outpaced by Ferrari and Mercedes.
Individual sports are different - i.e. Vettel was in the grand prix until his engine conked out, Ian Botham was a good cricketer, etc, etc.

It is a bit of an anomaly though.

Indeed. Blame the Americans with their insistence (as it's one country) that you should say 'The United States is', not 'The United States are'. (Lincoln indeed claimed that the Civil War was fought over that very principle!)

As has been pointed out we say things like "Chelsea have the ball in their half", not "Chelsea has the ball in its half". And "Crystal Palace? They're shit!" not "Crystal Palace? It's shit!" I have noticed a worrying trend though recently to use the singular when referring to teams, someone during the cricket World Cup said "England has played badly." It's just wrong.

 

[Brovion]

Nice use of the subjunctive.

Yeah. I'd use the subjunctive if I were you..

 

[Goldstone1976]

Punctuation: the difference between a sentence that's well-written and a sentence that's, well, written.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

How on earth can you call Lord sugar a half-wit?

Grammar is not an indicator of intelligence at all.

My point really is you're implying that people with poor grammar are stupid, apart from the odd one like Lord Sugar.

Proper grammar is not a measure of intelligence and anyone that deems to think this could be challenged themself.

Think about that one.

Okay... I've had time to think about it - and no matter what, I still come to the same conclusion.

Throughout my life and in my own experience, poor grammar (both speech, and written) has been an indicator of lower intelligence. Note - I said in general - and I did not say 'stupid'.

There are exceptions, and always will be - but I'm moderately sure that anyone in recruitment who sees job applications and CV's littered with poor grammar and/or spelling will not be thinking 'Potential M.D. material, right here..'

I am happy to be reasoned with, flamed, or chastised. Fill your boots.

 

[monty uk]

Mr Ross, to you sonny.

To be fair, the best teacher I ever had. 'I'm not here to teach you facts, I'm here to teach you how to think'.

OK, y'*******, I was there 69-76. If you were in my class, and are not [MENTION=37530]monty uk[/MENTION] in disguise . . . .

No he's not. Only one of me - but some would say that's too many. Have emailed. Saturday?

 

[dazzer6666]

Punctuation: the difference between a sentence that's well-written and a sentence that's, well, written.

I thought it was the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

No he's not. Only one of me - but some would say that's too many. Have emailed. Saturday?

Email reply sent