Offending or Offensive

Forums: Grammar, English, Esl, Offensive, Verb
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Okay, here's my question:

Me and somebody else have this argument, and we really cant figure out who of us is right(Which means, I think I am right, and she thinks she is)...

Person A: OMG!!!
Person B: What now???
Person A: if you go over a smiley with your mouse...
Person B: it explains what it represents...
Person A: LIKE I DONT KNOW THAT THATS LAUGHING!! SONOFFABITCH!!
Person B: So what you're saying is... you think they wrote it because you wouldn't be able to figure it out by yourself and you're offended by it, although I'm assuming you're joking...?
Person A: no...
Person A: seriously..
Person A: i think its offending..
Person B: Okay, I usually wouldn't do this, but...
Person B: *offensive

So, we are arguing like all day if it is right to use "Offending", or if I should have used "Offensive".

So, if anybody could help us, we'd be very happy,

Kind regards,
Person A Smile

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Type: Question • Score: 5 • Views: 2,592 • Replies: 8

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View best answer, chosen by mislukteguppie

First things first--I and somebody else have . . . etc.

I would not argue that "offending" is wrong, but it certainly would not be common usage among native speakers of English. Native speakers would say "offensive."

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@mislukteguppie,

the answer should be: offensive

You (or some person) may have done an act that has offended (verb) me

but the act or thing is offensive (adj).

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@Setanta,

Thank you very much!

1 Reply

@mislukteguppie,

You're welcome

0 Replies

A vocaublary issue: offensive is really too strong a word to describe the feeling you get when something obvious is explained to you e.g. a pop-up saying what a smiley represents. A native speaker is more likely to use words like irritating or annoying.

I am irritated by the squeaking gate.
I am annoyed that you took my car without asking.
I am offended by racist remarks.

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Could mean . . .

Person A: I think it's an offending thing to do.
Person B: Okay, I usually wouldn't do this, but...
Person B: It is an offensive act.

But I agree, most would use offensive.

1 Reply

@PUNKEY,

Quote:

But I agree, most would use offensive.

"Offending" has a wider meaning than "offensive" does. It can mean giving offence, law-breaking, causing a problem.

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@Setanta,

Quote:

Me and somebody else have this argument,

Quote:

First things first--I and somebody else have . . . etc.

Setanta, as usual, doesn't know what he is talking about.

Quote:

http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/media/1994_01_24_thenewrepublic.html

Grammar Puss

...

Probably no "grammatical error" has received as much scorn as "misuse" of pronoun case inside conjunctions (phrases with two parts joined by [and] or [or]). What teenager has not been corrected for saying [Me and Jennifer are going to the mall]? The standard story is that the object pronoun [me] does not belong in subject position -- no one would say [Me is going to the mall] -- so it should be [Jennifer and I]. People tend to misremember the advice as "When in doubt, say 'so-and-so and I', not 'so-and-so and me'," so they unthinkingly overapply it, resulting in hyper-corrected solecisms like [give Al Gore and I a chance] and the even more despised [between you and I].

But if the person on the street is so good at avoiding [Me is going] and [Give I a break], and even former Rhodes Scholars and Ivy League professors can't seem to avoid [Me and Jennifer are going] and [Give Al and I a chance], might it not be the mavens that misunderstand English grammar, not the speakers?

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Offending or Offensive

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