A thread dedicated to those with terriblegrammaritus who require help with those apostrophe, spelling and punctuation c**k ups.
Here's an article that confirms there are other grammar enforcement officers in this world other than our own Hardy. ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22403731
P.s. Feel free to tear my own grammar etc to shreds.
It's hardly a crime to go bonkers when some posters don't seem to know the difference between it's and its and also there and their and they're.
Surely it's just as easy to spell something right as to spell it wrong!
Take time out to check the spelling and then there will be no rows. I don't think anyone ever got pulled up on a mis-placed comma in the middle of a sentence.
Misplaced doesn't need a hyphen - just saying! :P
Feck off!
The split infinitive causes me no angst, in fact "to boldly go" definitely sounds better than "to go boldly" or "boldly to go". The gradual disappearance of "whom" I can live with and I've even enjoyed a full night's sleep after seeing "may" and "might" mixed up but I'm still a stickler for the good old apostrophe. I still can't fathom the thinking process when someone writes "Try our new range of ice-cream's" as spotted just last week.
A couple of weeks ago I read on the BBC Sport website a report on a Newcastle Utd game under the headline "Undiscipline cost us - Pardew". This remained even after my query as to whether it should be "Indiscipline". Maybe they were reporting what Pardew said verbatim as he comes across as a dozy twonk.
"Should of" and its related forms want to make me hack my own head off with a blunt, rusty knife.
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 13, 2013, 01:00:24 PM
It's hardly a crime to go bonkers when some posters don't seem to know the difference between it's and its and also there and their and they're.
Surely it's just as easy to spell something right as to spell it wrong!
Take time out to check the spelling and then there will be no rows. I don't think anyone ever got pulled up on a mis-placed comma in the middle of a sentence.
Con Houlihan: "A man who will misuse an apostrophe is capable of anything"
QuoteCon Houlihan: "A man who will misuse an apostrophe is capable of anything"
Con Houlihan was never wrong!
(http://www.apostropheabuse.com/wp-content/uploads/tdomf/4086/apostrophe-sign.jpg)
Quote from: AQMP on May 13, 2013, 02:01:27 PM
The split infinitive causes me no angst, in fact "to boldly go" definitely sounds better than "to go boldly" or "boldly to go".
I agree. It was a rule that never made sense and led to the concoction of awkward phrases, as you say. I think it's been dropped by most manuals of style at this stage.
Quote"Should of" and its related forms want to make me hack my own head off with a blunt, rusty knife.
:D Indeed. You'd of to wonder.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46856000/jpg/_46856178__45108851_sign_226-1.jpg
Sorry, but I don't know how to post images. A classic from Newry.
(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46856000/jpg/_46856178__45108851_sign_226-1.jpg)
Probably a Violet Hill graduate that designed that one.
Punctuation is important.
Charlie Haughey said.
"I have done the State some service"
when he meant
"I have done the State. Some service!"
Quote from: omagh_gael on May 13, 2013, 12:38:21 PM
A thread dedicated to those with terriblegrammaritus who require help with those apostrophe, spelling and punctuation c**k ups.
Here's an article that confirms there are other grammar enforcement officers in this world other than our own Hardy. ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22403731
P.s. Feel free to tear my own grammar etc to shreds.
One has to be careful, cautions Patrick Wilson, founder of the Tutor Crowd, which works with young people. "There's a danger people can be too judgemental."Pat is also a master of the understatement.
Yes, because it's wrong to exercise judgement.
Quote from: armaghniac on May 13, 2013, 03:09:04 PM
(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46856000/jpg/_46856178__45108851_sign_226-1.jpg)
Probably a Violet Hill graduate that designed that one.
Punctuation is important.
Charlie Haughey said.
"I have done the State some service"
when he meant
"I have done the State. Some service!"
Let's eat Grandma.
Sorry ...
Let's eat, Grandma.
QuoteOne has to be careful, cautions Patrick Wilson, founder of the Tutor Crowd, which works with young people. "There's a danger people can be too judgemental."
Shouldn't he have said "There's a danger that people can be too judgemental."
What really gets my wick is when people talk of
wreckless tackles. Just because there wasn't a wreck, doesn't mean that it wasn't dangerous.
Or being left on tenderhooks.......
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 13, 2013, 03:15:29 PM
Or being left on tenderhooks.......
That's ok in my book depending on how you frame the term.
My name is AZOffay and I'm a comma-addict. Sometimes, unbeknownst to myself, I insert commas all over the place, whether they are needed, or not. It must make my, often rivetting, otherwise, contributions very hard to read. I usually insert commas where I would be pausing, in a spoken sentence.
I'm good with apostrophes, though :D
(http://media-cache-ec3.pinimg.com/550x/d9/da/a3/d9daa308826140df49a934aba5a0a8b1.jpg)
Quote from: AZOffaly on May 13, 2013, 03:31:27 PM
My name is AZOffay and I'm a comma-addict. Sometimes, unbeknownst to myself, I insert commas all over the place, whether they are needed, or not. It must make my, often rivetting, otherwise, contributions very hard to read. I usually insert commas where I would be pausing, in a spoken sentence.
I'm good with apostrophes, though :D
Bloody comma-ner.
I prefer Comma-nist
One of my pet hates is the misuse of "literally" instead of "figuratively". "Jaysus, when they scored my head literally exploded." No it didn't. Your brain might have alright.
Always liked these
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/47924000/jpg/_47924499_roadsigns3.jpg)
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/47924000/jpg/_47924500_roadsigns4.jpg)
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/47924000/jpg/_47924497_roadsigns1.jpg)
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/47924000/jpg/_47924496_roadsigns5.jpg)
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on May 13, 2013, 03:26:58 PM
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 13, 2013, 03:15:29 PM
Or being left on tenderhooks.......
That's ok in my book depending on how you frame the term.
Eh - the phrase is actually correctly tenterhooks BC, that was my point.
Or am i missing something in your post?
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 13, 2013, 04:30:47 PM
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on May 13, 2013, 03:26:58 PM
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 13, 2013, 03:15:29 PM
Or being left on tenderhooks.......
That's ok in my book depending on how you frame the term.
Eh - the phrase is actually correctly tenterhooks BC, that was my point.
Or am i missing something in your post?
Maybe too subtle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenterhook)
Quote from: AZOffaly on May 13, 2013, 04:15:48 PM
One of my pet hates is the misuse of "literally" instead of "figuratively". "Jaysus, when they scored my head literally exploded." No it didn't. Your brain might have alright.
Jamie Redknapp:
"The ball literally gave him a haircut."
"Alonso and Sissoko have been picked to literally sit in front of the back four."
"He's literally just eaten the fourth official."
"Scholes has such a great footballing brain. He'll see a picture in his head and literally paint it in front of you."
"Center forwards have the ability to make time stand still. And when Chopra got the ball, it literally did just that."
"He's literally sold the defender a dummy"
'These balls now - they literally explode off your feet.'
"The crowd behind the goal are literally going insane."
This also deserves an honourable mention:
"Steven Gerrard makes runs into the box better than anyone. So does Frank Lampard."
Quote from: AQMP on May 13, 2013, 02:01:27 PM
.
"Should of" and its related forms want to make me hack my own head off with a blunt, rusty knife.
+1.
It really gets to me that educated people come out with that so often in these parts.
Is it a Nordie thing ? :P
Another grammar thread. Yawn. You'll have the lot of us slipping into a comma.
I'll be content if Hardy resists the urge to perform colon-oscopies. Just want to be sure he keeps his ellipsis away from my dangling modifier.
Quote from: Rossfan on May 13, 2013, 05:57:34 PM
Quote from: AQMP on May 13, 2013, 02:01:27 PM
.
"Should of" and its related forms want to make me hack my own head off with a blunt, rusty knife.
+1.
It really gets to me that educated people come out with that so often in these parts.
Is it a Nordie thing ? :P
No. It's a free stater thing.
Should of bean Hardies' skool a gramer.
Quote from: ONeill on May 13, 2013, 08:27:45 PM
Should of bean Hardies' skool a gramer.
What'd you do to his Gramma?
Who is da best at der gramer? tk da test den.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512744
Quote from: omagh_gael on May 14, 2013, 12:18:45 PM
Who is da best at der gramer? tk da test den.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512744
4 out of 10 and TBH, two were multiple guess answers!!
Quote from: johnneycool on May 14, 2013, 01:06:03 PM
Quote from: omagh_gael on May 14, 2013, 12:18:45 PM
Who is da best at der gramer? tk da test den.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512744
4 out of 10 and TBH, two were multiple guess answers!!
I just finished this too! 5/10 - Promising Pedant.
QuoteWho is da best at der gramer? tk da test den.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512744
6/10 with a couple of pure guesses.
I gave it my best shot. Thought long and hard, contemplated each option and said each answer out loud to see which one sounded the best.
I got 1/10! 8)
Do you tutor Hardy?
QuoteDo you tutor Hardy?
Do you mean to ask if I tutor Hardy or did you mean "
Do you tutor, Hardy"?
9/10 (Grammar Guru), just be grateful I don't do a Hardy on the lot of you! ;)
7/10. One a pure guess.
A handsome 7/10 including 1 guess. I'd like to think I would never be a pedant. Grammar rules are supposed to be there to help us communicate more clearly, not to confuse us, catch us out or give smug arseholes a chance to be smug arseholes.
9/10. I'm a failure :(
9/10. The brother caught me out.
Yours,
A former smug arsehole.
Quote from: Hardy on May 14, 2013, 03:04:12 PM
9/10. The brother caught me out.
Yours,
A former smug arsehole.
I was caught out by Hilary as well.
AQMP...still an arsehole, just not as smug. ;)
Missed the brother one too and that annoyed me. The other two I missed I didn't have a notion about them. I was never taught anything about split infinitives, imperatives or any of those other technical terms and I would have thought I got a fairly good education.
Yep, was the brother that caught me too, feckin' androgynously named git! :)
Quote from: Hardy on May 14, 2013, 03:04:12 PM
9/10. The brother caught me out.
Yours,
A former smug arsehole.
Serves ya right.
I got the one about the brother but ya won't hear me boasting about it.
AQMP, thanks for the warning about Hilary.
4/10.
My guesses were bad, considering only 3 options, so not too hot on the probability either.
Quoteso not too hot on the probability either.
You probably have Mayo luck.
5/10
Quiet happy with that. ;)
Quote from: armaghniac on May 14, 2013, 05:22:55 PM
Quoteso not too hot on the probability either.
You probably have Mayo luck.
Thankfully they didn't count the wides.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/936360_456502391104715_1623372092_n.jpg)
7/10. Some of those questions were tough!
Now tell truth. Who had ever heard of Gerund?
Quote from: Denn Forever on May 14, 2013, 08:15:20 PM
Now tell truth. Who had ever heard of Gerund?
Absolutely never heard that term before but got the question right!
Quote from: Denn Forever on May 14, 2013, 08:15:20 PM
Now tell truth. Who had ever heard of Gerund?
Probably depends on how you'd be taught foreign languages, but heard and saw it plenty during my schooldays (and beyond).
Quote from: armaghniac on May 14, 2013, 01:59:45 PM
6/10 with a couple of pure guesses.
Same here.
I'm still not resigning as grammar nazi though.
9/10, missed Hilary!
Quote9/10, missed Hilary!
Effing swot.
socanwekeep allthe contrarybollix's onthispage while the restofusdiscussGAA
The anti-grammar faction discusses GAA (http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1187943)
The Mayo contribution to the thread could be 'Eats Shoots and Misses'.
Quote from: Hardy on May 15, 2013, 12:06:16 PM
The anti-grammar faction discusses GAA (http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1187943)
Do you know Hardy if you grew the beard a bit and changed your dress sense.... :P
Quote from: Hardy on May 15, 2013, 12:06:16 PM
The anti-grammar faction discusses GAA (http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1187943)
Uslter Scots?
Quote from: magpie seanie on May 14, 2013, 02:42:56 PM
7/10. One a pure guess.
Seven for me too, two best guesses.
I have been here so long now in the States I spend half my time using the irish way and half the yankee way, you know, dropping the U etc.
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on May 15, 2013, 01:45:07 PM
Quote from: Hardy on May 15, 2013, 12:06:16 PM
The anti-grammar faction discusses GAA (http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1187943)
Do you know Hardy if you grew the beard a bit and changed your dress sense.... :P
I'd have to improve the dress sense a good bit, in fairness.
Of course, even capitalization slips can be serious (so watch out lawnseed). e.g. There's more than a subtle difference between "I helped your Uncle Jack off a horse" and "I helped your uncle jack off a horse."
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/grammar-vigilante-secretly-corrects-bristol-street-signs-1.3034747
'Grammar vigilante' secretly corrects Bristol street signs
A self-confessed "grammar vigilante" has been secretly correcting bad punctuation on street signs and shop fronts in Bristol for more than a decade. The anonymous crusader carries out his work in the dead of night using the "Apostrophiser" - a long-handled tool he created to reach the highest signs.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the BBC that correcting rogue apostrophes is his speciality.
He uses stickers, rather than paint, to cover up errors. "I do think it is a cause worth pursuing. I have felt extremely nervous and the heart has been thumping," he told the BBC. But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place," he said.
Quote from: dec on April 03, 2017, 07:03:52 PM
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/grammar-vigilante-secretly-corrects-bristol-street-signs-1.3034747
'Grammar vigilante' secretly corrects Bristol street signs
A self-confessed "grammar vigilante" has been secretly correcting bad punctuation on street signs and shop fronts in Bristol for more than a decade. The anonymous crusader carries out his work in the dead of night using the "Apostrophiser" - a long-handled tool he created to reach the highest signs.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the BBC that correcting rogue apostrophes is his speciality.
He uses stickers, rather than paint, to cover up errors. "I do think it is a cause worth pursuing. I have felt extremely nervous and the heart has been thumping," he told the BBC. But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place," he said.
He's logically impaired, as is typical of those sort of people.
'But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.'
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place,"
Quote from: muppet on May 13, 2013, 05:05:38 PM
Quote from: AZOffaly on May 13, 2013, 04:15:48 PM
One of my pet hates is the misuse of "literally" instead of "figuratively". "Jaysus, when they scored my head literally exploded." No it didn't. Your brain might have alright.
Jamie Redknapp:
"The ball literally gave him a haircut."
"Alonso and Sissoko have been picked to literally sit in front of the back four."
"He's literally just eaten the fourth official."
"Scholes has such a great footballing brain. He'll see a picture in his head and literally paint it in front of you."
"Center forwards have the ability to make time stand still. And when Chopra got the ball, it literally did just that."
"He's literally sold the defender a dummy"
'These balls now - they literally explode off your feet.'
"The crowd behind the goal are literally going insane."
This also deserves an honourable mention:
"Steven Gerrard makes runs into the box better than anyone. So does Frank Lampard."
Sadly the word 'literally' is abused so often it may be time to redefine it. Definition will eventually catch up with usage. This is the fluidity of language.
An example of where this has already happened is using and understanding without question 'I see' or 'I get it' as a replacement for 'I understand'.
Are they not more like contractions which have entered the vernacular, and the full phrase or sentence would have been correct originally?
As in: "I see (what you mean)", or "I get (receive) what you are trying to say, clearly".
Neither are the most graceful.
But the use of 'literally' is almost the opposite of what the person means.
Quote from: AZOffaly on April 04, 2017, 09:22:29 AM
Are they not more like contractions which have entered the vernacular, and the full phrase or sentence would have been correct originally?
As in: "I see (what you mean)", or "I get (receive) what you are trying to say, clearly".
Neither are the most graceful.
But the use of 'literally' is almost the opposite of what the person means.
Yes, I think you're right. I'm just not sure that would hold up one hundred years ago. While they are not opposite they are not related either. To receive is different to understand. I can receive the information without understanding. However, understanding is assumed.
With the constant abuse of the word 'literally', fatigue has set in for me. I'm past the stage of voicing my corrections and am at the ignore stage. Perhaps it can be saved, but I have given up.
Quote from: Main Street on April 03, 2017, 07:20:20 PM
Quote from: dec on April 03, 2017, 07:03:52 PM
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/grammar-vigilante-secretly-corrects-bristol-street-signs-1.3034747
'Grammar vigilante' secretly corrects Bristol street signs
A self-confessed "grammar vigilante" has been secretly correcting bad punctuation on street signs and shop fronts in Bristol for more than a decade. The anonymous crusader carries out his work in the dead of night using the "Apostrophiser" - a long-handled tool he created to reach the highest signs.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the BBC that correcting rogue apostrophes is his speciality.
He uses stickers, rather than paint, to cover up errors. "I do think it is a cause worth pursuing. I have felt extremely nervous and the heart has been thumping," he told the BBC. But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place," he said.
He's logically impaired, as is typical of those sort of people.
'But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.'
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place,"
As has already been pointed out, he is a punctuation vigilante not a grammar vigilante. Hopefully this winds him up as much as the dodgy apostrophes.
Never mind apostrophe abuse; what about this?
(http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu206/Hardyarse/comma-abuse.png) (http://s648.photobucket.com/user/Hardyarse/media/comma-abuse.png.html)
Quote from: passedit on April 04, 2017, 10:08:17 AM
Quote from: Main Street on April 03, 2017, 07:20:20 PM
Quote from: dec on April 03, 2017, 07:03:52 PM
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/grammar-vigilante-secretly-corrects-bristol-street-signs-1.3034747
'Grammar vigilante' secretly corrects Bristol street signs
A self-confessed "grammar vigilante" has been secretly correcting bad punctuation on street signs and shop fronts in Bristol for more than a decade. The anonymous crusader carries out his work in the dead of night using the "Apostrophiser" - a long-handled tool he created to reach the highest signs.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the BBC that correcting rogue apostrophes is his speciality.
He uses stickers, rather than paint, to cover up errors. "I do think it is a cause worth pursuing. I have felt extremely nervous and the heart has been thumping," he told the BBC. But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place," he said.
He's logically impaired, as is typical of those sort of people.
'But the man maintained that he had not committed any crime.'
"It's more a of a crime to have the apostrophes wrong in the first place,"
As has already been pointed out, he is a punctuation vigilante not a grammar vigilante. Hopefully this winds him up as much as the dodgy apostrophes.
I was more referring to the glaring legal and rational shortcomings in his justification for his actions.
A dubious level of emotional intelligence is already assumed, seeing as he appears to take this activity so serious and without a trace of humour.