What are your pet peeves re English usage?

Steve 41oo wrote:

"We have bad, worse and worst. "

and worsted. Its suitable for a Scotsman.

Stop it, Steve . . . you're kiltin' me . . .

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Nice definition of a Conservative Setanta.

But I would have thought that a curious man might have been more interested in an explanation of-

Quote:

It might have been a joke Clary. Not in very good taste I'll admit but I can see how I might have chosen it if I were Mr Naughtie.

if he wished to really get some serious kiltin' in.

Still- you're probably wise to have played the long hop and left the fast fizzer alone.

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Steve 41oo wrote:

"We have bad, worse and worst. "

and worsted. Its suitable for a Scotsman.

Burns' Night falls on Friday, as do a lot of Scotsmen.

Have you got your haggis in?

We will be in Edinburgh, toasting the Immortal Memory.

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then you will,actually eat an haggis? (I assume the h is silent).

I am always confused by the proper indefinate article that preceds a word that is (or is not) starting with a vowel sound.

an historian

a eulogy

a yuanjiiangite

an herb

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Most people I know say-

an 'istorian

a yulegy

a juangonnabite????

and

an 'erb. Like wot you is fm.

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farmerman wrote:

then you will,actually eat an haggis? (I assume the h is silent).

I am always confused by the proper indefinate article that preceds a word that is (or is not) starting with a vowel sound.

an historian

a eulogy

a yuanjiiangite

an herb

That's always one that irritates me, because, of course, most 'Mericans simply use "a" and never "an" before a noun beginning with "h." Personally, having learned French, i have gotten into the habit of referring to the pronunciation of the "h" in a word for my decision. So, i would say an historian, but a heavy-weight. I think this is one of those areas in which one is on one's own.

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I think nowadays in this country it is a bit unusual, and a bit old-fashioned, to say an hotel or an historian.

I met with an hooligan and I dealt him an heavy hit with an hammer.

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

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Quote:

met with an hooligan and I dealt him an heavy hit with an hammer.

ENry Iggins lives an es teachin me ta tawlk right Very Happy

German is similar in the "H" sound at the head of a word, except for the Germans it sounds like one is hocking a loogie.

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Jeeze . . . "an hooligan" is obviously incorrect.

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But a cockney would say "an 'ooligan". Fashions change- I'm not sure if it's a matter of right or wrong.

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I'm sure very little in language is a matter of right and wrong. Let's hope that jackass JTT doesn't read that, though. He constantly preaches that there is no right and wrong, as he rushes in to tell everyone else why they are wrong and he is right.

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Re: its and it's
Ailsa, you said this on page one:

ailsagirl wrote:

So "It's a beautiful day" is correct, while
"The bear hurt it's paw" is NOT.
ailsa

I've had some confusion with this in my days. Perhaps you (or someone else) could tell me where I am in err.

Here is how I currently think the grammar is supposed to be:

It's blue.

Where is its counterpart.

She's tightening the bolt.

Johnny's got the blues.

Johnnys sitar is black.

The bear's in pain.

The bears paw will heal.

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Re: its and it's

rainkeeper wrote:

Ailsa, you said this on page one:

ailsagirl wrote:

So "It's a beautiful day" is correct, while
"The bear hurt it's paw" is NOT.
ailsa

I've had some confusion with this in my days. Perhaps you (or someone else) could tell me where I am in err.

Here is how I currently think the grammar is supposed to be:

It's blue. Correct. Contraction of "it is."

Where is its counterpart. Correct. Pronoun.

She's tightening the bolt. Correct. Contraction of "she is."

Johnny's got the blues. Correct. Contraction of "Johnny has."

Johnnys sitar is black. Wrong. "Johnny's sitar "(possessive).

The bear's in pain. Correct. Contraction of "bear is."

The bears paw will heal.

Wrong. "Bear's paw " (possessive).

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Ailsa's been gone from here since 2004.

But she left us with a good thread, bless her.

Smile

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Re: its and it's

Roberta wrote:

Where is its counterpart. Correct. Pronoun.

Johnnys sitar is black. Wrong. "Johnny's sitar "(possessive).

The bears paw will heal.

Wrong. "Bear's paw " (possessive).[/quote]

I now see what has been confusing me.

I thought the words "its" and "bears" were of the same.
Its paw will heal.
The bear's paw will heal.

"Its" does not get an apostrophe because it is only a pronoun.
"Bear's" does get an apostrophe because it is a noun.

That had baffled me for far too long. Thank you Roberta. Very Happy

Thank you McTag.

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Setanta wrote:

I'm sure very little in language is a matter of right and wrong. Let's hope that jackass JTT doesn't read that, though. He constantly preaches that there is no right and wrong, as he rushes in to tell everyone else why they are wrong and he is right.

I'm afraid that the jackass is you, Set. I've never said that there is no right and wrong in language. It's a testament to your comprehension skills that, after all this time, you still don't have a clue what it's all about.

What's wrong are all the nonsensical peeves that fill this thread. Peeves that are simply repeats of other people's prescriptive peeves. You'd think that after being wrong so often that you'd at least attempt to bring yourself up to speed on how language works.

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Setanta wrote:

Jeeze . . . "an hooligan" is obviously incorrect.

Setanta wrote:

I'm sure very little in language is a matter of right and wrong.

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Re: its and it's

rainkeeper wrote:

"Its" does not get an apostrophe because it is only a pronoun.
"Bear's" does get an apostrophe because it is a noun.

Wrong. "He" is a pronoun and you wouldn't say "hes a man"... and if you were saying "It is lovely out", you would say "It's lovely out"... so you have to think again.

Go to this page: http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000227.htm

Its or It's?

Its is the possessive pronoun; it modifies a noun.

It's is a contraction of it is or it has.

Incorrect: The mother cat carried it's kitten in it's mouth.
(Possessive pronoun, no apostrophe)

Correct: The mother cat carried its kitten in its mouth.

Correct: I think it's going to rain today.
(Contraction of it is)

Correct: It's been a very long time.
(Contraction of it has)

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Of course. Thank you Mame.
I put the webpage in my favorites folder. Smile

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Recently I heard of a small family feud. I believe one family had a handicapped child, so their rivals put a sign in their yard that read, "Caution: Retard's in Area."

Rather than addressing the insensitivity directly, the article focused on attacking the choice of grammar. Something like, "What idiots. They don't even know the difference between plural and possessive."

This bothered me, as the sign might rightly have been a contraction of "retard is."

Regardless, it was an underhanded attack considering there were legitimate political concerns to address.

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What are your pet peeves re English usage?

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