Top 10 grammatical errors that make you look stupid

[Black Bandit]

This came in the mail recently, thought I should spread the BDOTGNZA. It's for the greater good I tell ya. :yes:
These are the words we spell correctly (therefore the friendly spell checker misses them) but use incorrectly.

1. Loose for lose
No: I always loose the product key.
Yes: I always lose the product key.

2. It's for its (or god forbid, its')
No: Download the HTA, along with it's readme file.
Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.
No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.
Yes: The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again.

3. They're for their for there
No: The managers are in they're weekly planning meeting.
Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.
No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.
Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it.

4. i.e. for e.g.
No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., AdAware).
Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., AdAware).
Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example." And a comma follows both of them.

5. Effect for affect
No: The outage shouldn't effect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn't have any effect on users.
Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.
Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:
No: The outage shouldn't impact any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.

6. You're for your - MY PET PEEVE AND FREQUENTLY SEEN ON KB :pinch:
No: Remember to defrag you're machine on a regular basis.
Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis.
No: Your right about the changes.
Yes: You're right about the changes.

7. Different than for different from
No: This setup is different than the one at the main office.
Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office.
Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office.

8. Lay for lie
No: I got dizzy and had to lay down.
Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down.
Yes: Just lay those books over there.

9. Then for than
No: The accounting department had more problems then we did.
Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did.
Note: Here's a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you don't need a then. Then is implicit, so it's superfluous and wordy:
No: If you can't get Windows to boot, then you'll need to call Ted.
Yes: If you can't get Windows to boot, you'll need to call Ted.

10. Could of, would of for could have, would have
No: I could of installed that app by mistake.
Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake.
No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.
Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

Do you have any of your own pet peeves? :done:

[scumdog]

Mr H would agree - but you're casting pearls before swine in a lot of cases.

[James Deuce]

Describing current activities with a past participle.

"Sat there in the corner."

I hate Coronation St.

[NighthawkNZ]

Do you have any of your own pet peeves? :done:

yes... usually reading the pet peeves list of grammical errors...









I can spell... I just can't type. :innocent:

[riffer]

Do you have any of your own pet peeves? :done:

Sure. A biggie is the irritating habit of apostrophising plurals, e.g., "I bought some cd's."

And I have no idea if you make an verb out of the noun "apostrophe"

[Big Dave]

>>Do you have any of your own pet peeves? <<

People who get peeved about other people's grammar.

Or

No my peeves outgrew the yard so I had them put down.

or

I tried to get new ones - but they guy said i couldn't get no re-peeve.

or

Quoting someone else's peeves - peeve dropping.

or

re-peeving oneself, re-peeving oneself,







wait there's more.

[Deviant Esq]

Text speak on an internet forum is a pet peeve for me. You've got plenty of space, might as well use it to make yourself look less stupid. But there are heaps more that aren't on your list... use of "alot" - there is no such word, it is "a lot". People get "bought" and "brought" crossed up a lot as well. It's all about the letter R in that case - "buy - bought; bring - brought." Easy.

And let's face it, nobody's much good with apostrophies.

Still, people on KB get all pissy when you start talking about spelling and grammar, so it's best not to talk about it.

[James Deuce]

And let's face it, nobody's much good with apostrophies.

Or even apostrophes.


Still, people on KB get all pissy when you start talking about spelling and grammar, so it's best not to talk about it.

Interesting, isn't it?

"I dont care what you thinc of my speeling und gramma, but u can get fukked."

Bit of an over reaction if you don't care, isn't it?

[Deviant Esq]

Or even apostrophes.
People aren't very forgiving when you make an honest typo either! :nya:

[James Deuce]

Always lecture from a position of strength, padawan.

[Drunken Monkey]

Do not start your sentences with "And", especially in a thread about correct grammar.

[onearmedbandit]

Do not start your sentences with "And", especially in a thread about correct grammar.

Not so. And, to prove my point go to this link (http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/conjunctions_lessons.htm). Backed up here (http://www.gpuss.co.uk/english_usage/start_sentence_conjunction.htm)
as well.


Whilst it is acceptable to use "And" or "But" to start a sentence, this practice should be limited and only used for effect and impact. If you find yourself using them too often, you should consider changing the style of your writing.

[BAD DAD]

There's nothinK wrong with my grammar, but somethink wrong with my spelling don't you think?

[McJim]

Disrespect is not a verb. This is my pet hate at the moment.

You can 'not respect' someone but you can't disrespect them. However if you must you can offer then your disrespect.

Surely if something belongs to "it" you must write "it's"

The dog wagged it's tail.
The dog wagged its tail. Suggests that more than one it got wagged. The tail is an appendage. Like the dog chewed bones tail. :rofl:

I also get pissed off with people who can't pronounce the letter R.

Car becomes Kah, Far becomes Fah. R is not meant to be silent. some pome with a speech impediment a couple of hundred years ago started a trend and a lot of dummies followed it.

Heigh ho

[Lorax]

Orientated vs Oriented.
Pisses me off. The correct term is oriented. Orient is the verb (eg "to orient something"), not oriented, but through incorrect usage it has made it's way into dictionaries...

Somethink.
I don't know where the k comes from. Definitely not Karori, Fendalton or Remuera. Think the k in these words is being made in big factories in lower class suburbs. Um... low decile schools? Oh snap!

Literally.
When people use this to emphasise something that actually isn't literal
Friend: "Like, it was soooo funny I was literally pissing my pants"
Me: "But did you actually urinate in your pants?"
Friend: "Nah, but you know what I mean"
Me: "Yeah, but since you didn't actually piss your pants, you can't say you literally pissed your pants can you? Because if you say you literally pissed your pants, it means you fucken did ok? Piece of shit. Don't waste my time."
Then I smack him in the face, sweep his legs out from under him, smash a potplant on his head then give him the Peoples Elbow to teach him some god damn grammar. Piece of shit.

[onearmedbandit]

Noice way to treat your friends. :lol:

[gijoe1313]

I done proper speak good, it never did me no harm to mind my p's and q's and with them hoity-toity apostrophes' even! I never done nothing to anybody about correcting them on there grammar like. I was over their one day, watching my friend get dumberer, and I just had to do sumthink about it you know?

Sez I "Yous' want's to watch out fer that there mistake, their aint' nuffink no worserer then doing it all wrong like thats'!." And the cheek of it all, wuz he ain't never no thanked me fer all that effort Ive' putted into there learnings!
Just goe's to show you dat try'n to do good things' fer peoples, just ain't never worth the time!

[Big Dog]

Then I smack him in the face, sweep his legs out from under him, smash a potplant on his head then give him the Peoples Elbow to teach him some god damn grammar. Piece of shit.

Literally or figuratively?

[Trudes]

to, two, too, all different words meaning different things, they are not interchangeable!

[McJim]

to, two, too, all different words meaning different things, they are not interchangeable!

You forgot tutu.

e.g., She too took to two tutus!

[McJim]

I done proper speak good, it never did me no harm to mind my p's and q's and with them hoity-toity apostrophes' even! I never done nothing to anybody about correcting them on there grammar like. I was over their one day, watching my friend get dumberer, and I just had to do sumthink about it you know?

Sez I "Yous' want's to watch out fer that there mistake, their aint' nuffink no worserer then doing it all wrong like thats'!." And the cheek of it all, wuz he ain't never no thanked me fer all that effort Ive' putted into there learnings!
Just goe's to show you dat try'n to do good things' fer peoples, just ain't never worth the time!

Spoken like a true South Auckland english teacher!. :rofl: Laughing my farken arse off buddy.

[Blackbird]

The only thing that REALLY gets to me is is something that even so-called journalists on the TV news screw up , and they of all people should know better. That's the incorrect use of "disinterested". E.g "the MP fell asleep in the debating chamber because he was disinterested". He fell asleep because he was uninterested FFS! Disinterested means unaffected by self-interest, or impartial.

Pedantic rant over, I'm off shopping:bye:

[Donor]

England speaked gud is kewl...

[Templar]

The dog wagged it's tail.
The dog wagged its tail. Suggests that more than one it got wagged. The tail is an appendage. Like the dog chewed bones tail. :rofl:


Is it not supposed to be "The dog wagged its' tail."?

[MisterD]

Describing current activities with a past participle.

"Sat there in the corner."

I hate Coronation St.


:Oi: Nowt wrong wi' that lad. It's perfectly acceptable Northern English dialect.
We conjugate that verb differently:
I'm sat
He's sat
.
.
I was sat etc etc


(Still hate Corrie though, for the record)

[Deviant Esq]

Is it not supposed to be "The dog wagged its' tail."?
Nup. The apostrophe in "it's / its" is only used to show that there is a letter / are letters missing - there are no letters missing there because it is a possessive in this case - and there are never any letters tacked on the end of "its" in any case. So the correct usage (however funny McJim thinks it looks... :bleh:) is "The dog wagged its tail."

[scumdog]

I also get pissed off with people who can't pronounce the letter R.

Car becomes Kah, Far becomes Fah. R is not meant to be silent. some pome with a speech impediment a couple of hundred years ago started a trend and a lot of dummies followed it.

Heigh ho

Not down here sunshine, - the buggers add the letter 'r' to words that don't even HAVE an 'r' - and add more to the ones that DO!!!

"Yerr, I seen thirrrteen or fourrrteen mallarrd drrrakes in the yellerrrr willeerrs overrr at the rriverrr on Thurrrsday so I drrove into town and brroughrt a new RRemngton"

[gijoe1313]

Spoken like a true South Auckland english teacher!. :rofl: Laughing my farken arse off buddy.

Now that is a truly terrifying and fulsome prospect, which fills me with a sense of foreboding dread on an enigmatic scale! It is as if, a large patch of the neurons in my cranial space has undergone a depreciating surge of frenzy in its urge to transubstantiate that piece of information into a dark hole. All the better to preserve my sanity and mental well-being (which, as you know, was never quite all there to begin with!)

And as for me being a southern antipodean educational professional of human offspring in their formative teenage chronological existence, I have found that conversing with them in this manner of interminable terminology leaves much to be desired.

The more I do so, the more schadenfreude I garner - especially when I lash my charges with spelling tests (which, seem to be passe now - I am a relic of the old schooling system).

Cast your occular terriblis over this small encapsulation of the fecundity of words, with which I torment my beholden and captive audience through year 10 to year 12 :

authenticity (NCEA isn't)
bourgeoisie (those Kbers who know what all these words mean)
curmudgeon (only applicable to select KBers like Ixion, Hitcher, et. al)
dissemination (this always draws forth a giggle and "he said semen!")
exhilaration (what a student feels when he gets 11 out of 10 for Mr.Joe's spelling test)
feasibility (try juxtaposing this word next to NCEA)
gubernatorial (this way, we could actually shoot some of our politicians)
homogeneity (this always draws forth a giggle and "he said homo!")
instantiation (the board of trustees of schools seem to be filled with chimps, monkeys and other wildlife, sadly, representative of schooling with the metaphor as a zoo nowadays)
jeopardise (any chance of a fair and equitable education delievered across the whole of NZ)
kaleidoscope (what students incoherent answers and replies tend to be, the whole spectrum that makes one, weep, gnash and on occasion, yell for joy)
labyrinthian (the mind of a teenager at 8.50am)
masquerade (some students look twice as stupid as they appear to be)
necessity (is when I defenestrate a student to save our gene pool)
onomatopoeia (what students say when I wallop them with a thick dictionary)
paraphernalia (what I confiscate from students on a daily basis and turn into the police)
questionnaire (what I would love to give to some parents, but know it is a waste of time and paper since they have less faculties than their offspring)
reconnaissance (what my students do to see if Mr.Joe is in "one of those moods")
sacrilegious (that a student should actually study, practice and write a stunning piece of prose)
troglodyte (I refer to many of my class members as such)
unanimous (in my thoughts that too many little oiks aren't practicing spelling!)
visualisation (a day where all people of the word will use the Queen's English and not use the American "z" in their spelling!)
withdrawal (what happens to a student when I get done with them)
xylophone (what I play on student's heads when they misbehave)
zephyr (when students have been eating baked beans for breakfast)

Thank you dear audience for putting up with the cynical and post-withdrawal symptoms of being out of the gated community we loosely term "school". I shall endeavour to retardate my musings to a more informal KB manner. :done:

[gijoe1313]

Not down here sunshine, - the buggers add the letter 'r' to words that don't even HAVE an 'r' - and add more to the ones that DO!!!

"Yerr, I seen thirrrteen or fourrrteen mallarrd drrrakes in the yellerrrr willeerrs overrr at the rriverrr on Thurrrsday so I drrove into town and brroughrt a new RRemngton"


I see you've been hobnobbing with the hoi-polloi of Invercargill again I see! :whistle:

[Flatcap]

Nup. The apostrophe in "it's / its" is only used to show that there is a letter / are letters missing - there are no letters missing there because it is a possessive in this case - and there are never any letters tacked on the end of "its" in any case. So the correct usage (however funny McJim thinks it looks... :bleh:) is "The dog wagged its tail."


How about "The dog wagged his or her tail"...that's lovely flowing prose, and values her/him as a loved pet.

[gijoe1313]

How about "The dog wagged his or her tail"...that's lovely flowing prose, and values her/him as a loved pet.

Or the tail wagged the dog as a tall tale of how a tale about a tail shouldn't be tallied!

[Krusti]

I don't need grammatical errors to make me look stupid. I was born that way.

That's why I joined a stupid biker forum. :yes:

[Beemer]

The addition of unnecessary apostrophes or the misuse of them irks me - one of the chain stores has an ad on tv at the moment for a sale of women's, children's and infant's clothing. The first two are correct because those words are plural, but the third one should be infants' because they are referring to more than one infant!

The misuse of the words weather, whether and wether in print are another case in point. Most illiterates seem to think there is only one word - and it's spelt wether... and they look sheepish when you point out their mistake!

Loose/lose and choose/chose are two that are also confused quite often - if I had a dollar for every time I came across sentences like "call this number if you want to loose weight" I'd be rich!

Bought/brought are another two words that most people think are interchangeable.

My mother adds an 'h' to certain words like heighth so it sounds like she has a lisp!

Complimentary and complementary are the two words most people can't differentiate between. I saw two instances of the wrong use in the local paper last week - one in the editorial! - so there's no hope.

One of the grammatical errors that REALLY annoys me is this: "I could OF done that" - NOOOOOOO! It should be "I could HAVE done that"!!! Don't get me started on "gonna" either... used often by tv 'journalists' and the like.

[yungatart]

I have a lot of pet peeves!

I sometimes cringe when I see the appalling spelling and grammar on here, but most of what irks me has already been covered.
A large part of the problem, as I see it, is the lazy way that Kiwis speak...e.g., could've (spoken) translates to could of (written).
It doesn't help when we have English teachers who cannot spell, teaching children who also cannot spell.

And, while we are on the subject, can someone please enlighten me as to why one can't write in capitals at Year 12 level, when it was acceptable to do so at Year 11? It seems that correctly written English in capitals is an automatic fail, but one could "achieve" if one's spelling and grammar is incorrect, as long as it is written in lower case, with appropriate upper case usage e.g., proper nouns, beginning sentences etc.

[terbang]

Saya Ingrish tidak bagus..!

[scumdog]

Saya Ingrish tidak bagus..!

Bloody show-off, acting the kambing again!

[terbang]

Kambing Gila..

[Virago]

"Waive" and "Waver" are two totally different words, but apparently completely interchangeable......:no:

[Beemer]

I'm doing a writing, sub-editing and publishing paper through Massey and the spelling and grammatical errors in the course material have to be seen to be believed. In a section about sentence length is the following gem: "If you have to read a sentence more than one [should be 'once'], it is probably too long." Another section required students to correct any errors they found in five sentences (some did not have any errors) but one sentence they said had no errors in fact did! It was: "The Ross dependency is administered by New Zealand." The word dependency should have been capitalised - I didn't get marked down for correcting it, but that was listed as being error-free!

When I was in the seventh form (god knows what they call it now!) I was classed as 'bright' so one of the 'benefits' of that was being forced to help third formers with their remedial reading. I lasted one session before refusing to go again because we were not allowed to correct the students if they made any mistakes! So if they read "the quiet brown box lent over the lazer green frog" instead of "the quick brown fox leapt over the lazy grey dog" then that was fine. I'm sorry, but how the hell is that going to help them learn to read properly?

I got good grades for some subjects at school (and it's the same with my university study - an A for things I am good at and a C for those I am not!) and don't accept this namby-pamby system where you get rewarded for trying, but not necessarily achieving. Why should someone who works hard and does all the course work receive the same recognition as someone who doesn't even bother or just doesn't have the skills to pass? It's a fact of life that not all of us can grow up to be a brain surgeon or a fighter pilot. It doesn't mean that all those people who work in retail or fast food don't have any brains, merely that to get the really top jobs, you DO have to be better than the rest of the field.

[rainman]

My pet peeves (apart from your/you're which I seem to come across daily at the moment) are:

Number/Amount: A large amount of people were at the event. Aaarghh.
Less/Fewer: There were less people there than last time. Ditto.
Good/Well: How are you? I'm good. Well, possibly, but that isn't what I'm asking...

I've just come across this site (http://www.drgrammar.org) (www.drgrammar.org), which has a good FAQ page. Rather unfortunate site motto though, given the announcement on the front page!

[Lorax]

Double superlatives.

eg "The most coolest", "It was the most awesomest movie ever"

I smack these people in the face too. Literally (or was that figuratively??).

[Bass]

"Yerr, I seen thirrrteen or fourrrteen mallarrd drrrakes in the yellerrrr willeerrs overrr at the rriverrr on Thurrrsday so I drrove into town and brroughrt a new RRemngton"

You can always tell a Southland girl by the way she rolls her R's

[Flatcap]

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" .


However in using wholly correct grammer one sounds like an inbred toff, so one bastardises one's vocabulary so one doesn't get a kicking.

[Big Dave]

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" .


However in using wholly correct grammer one sounds like an inbred toff, so one bastardises one's vocabulary so one doesn't get a kicking.

Oh! No. I would never stoop to using the vernacular or take short cuts in my day to day speech. fukin A.

[Ixion]

,,
Surely if something belongs to "it" you must write "it's"

The dog wagged it's tail.
,,
Not so. "its" here is neither a genitive pronoun nor a contraction. It's a possessive adjective. You wouldn't write hi's tail. Confusion arises because the stem of the adjective ("it") happens to be the same as the pronoun. We have no pronoun "hi" so we don't get confused on that one. Comparison with the Latin is interesting.

A similar and very interesting argument is the use of "their" to refer to the singular "Anyone who thinks their interests are affected".



The more I do so, the more schadenfreude I garner

Schadenfreude is a german term meaning "pleasure taken in the misfortune of another". I do not think that is what you meant.

[Ixion]

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" .


However in using wholly correct grammer one sounds like an inbred toff, so one bastardises one's vocabulary so one doesn't get a kicking.

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors which make one look stupid"

[Virago]

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors which make one look stupid"

I vote for "Top 10 grammatical errors to make one look stupid".

For that matter, is it pronounced "styoopid" or "stoopid"?

[Ixion]

Woohoo.:woohoo: Pedant war

Where's Mr MikeL when we need him.

[Blackflagged]

Bet you guys ,have exciting parties.

[Black Bandit]

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors which make one look stupid"

Ah, the which/that debate. MS Word always insists on correcting such a sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors which, make one look stupid" or change the sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" and it drives me nutty! Why, oh why does it want to put a comma in there??? Also are there rules regarding the correct use of which and that?

Please enlighten me dear sirs. :mellow:

[Virago]

Bet you guys ,have exciting parties.

I used to, but no longer sell Tupperware.....

[Big Dave]

I used to, but no longer sell Tupperware.....

Don't tell me you went stale on it.

[Flatcap]

More accurately, the title of this thread should be "Top 10 grammatical errors which make one look stupid"

Ixion, I agree entirely with your correction.

I would suggest a further amendment:

The top 10 grammatical errors which make one look stupid.

[Ixion]

Possibly. The addition of "The" makes the statement more prescriptive, I think. The original allows for some debate as to which errors fall into the "top 10". Addition of "The" makes the list definative. I would actually prefer "Ten common grammatical errors which make one look stupid".

[MacD]

Woohoo.:woohoo: Pedant war

Where's Mr MikeL when we need him.

Well I saw him at the pub last night... :drinkup:

[pzkpfw]

Since people are adding spoken language to this thread:

"The singer preformed her song."

Bah! Everybody on T.V. does that!

[Flatcap]

One one my key pet hates (of which there are many) is the incorrect use of meantime and meanwhile.

Starting a sentence with "Meantime the police are...." or even worse saying "In the meanwhile the police are...". Our American friends are the worst at this.

This annoys me, yes it does.

[MacD]

Ah, the which/that debate. MS Word always insists on correcting such a sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors which, make one look stupid" or change the sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" and it drives me nutty!

Arrgghh! Don't get me started on MS Word Grammar Checker or even the Spell Checker and the default setting of the "US English" dictionary. Just turn the grammar checker off.

I must admit however that I have never quite understood the appropriate use of "that" and "which" with relative clauses. It seems to be quite open to debate and personal style these days.

One thing that really grates for me is the use of momentarily to mean "shortly", as in "the plane will be landing momentarily", as commonly heard on US airlines. I always want to stand up and yell "but I want to get off"!

[Daffyd]

Ah, the which/that debate. MS Word always insists on correcting such a sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors which, make one look stupid" or change the sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" and it drives me nutty! Why, oh why does it want to put a comma in there??? Also are there rules regarding the correct use of which and that?

Please enlighten me dear sirs. :mellow:

Blame Abraham Lincoln for the MS cockups. He decreed that the US would simplify spelling so that a word was spelt (spelled) as it sounded.
The early settlers (particularly in the South) were mainly farmers/ranchers eg., simple folk without a lot of booklearnin'. So old Abe thought he would make it easier for them. (Come to think of it, it sounds a lot like NCEA).

[gijoe1313]

Schadenfreude is a german term meaning "pleasure taken in the misfortune of another". I do not think that is what you meant.

But it is dear sir! I thoroughly enjoy the groans and arrghs I hear issuing forth from my earstwhile charges when they are about to take their spelling test. I gleefully make a big play of how well people have done ... or not... I castigate them for their simple mistakes, I haul them over the coals for not looking up the definition of said words and write them into their books!

This term is now readily bandied about my class and outside in the school commons. "Hahah! I got more than you on that test!" "Now... you're just schadenfreuding me!"

Other teachers have complained how some of their students are now discombobulating them in their classrooms with advanced use of interminable vocabulary ... "You've been talking with Mr.Joe again haven't you?" "Mr.Joe, could you please refrain from allowing your class to learn words I don't know! I'm only a mathematics teacher!"

(e.g. My earnest canine companion has consumed my post-school endeavours recorded on processed fibrous wood products is a firm favourite of some of my students ... )

The schadenfreude I garner from listening to the pleas of my suffering colleagues is part and parcel of my personal paen to making peoples lives more surrealistic.

[Lorax]

I's a teacher too, but not as smart as you gijoe1313. Wow.

One of my other pet peeves [sp?!] is when people say "I'm going to try and do that." As opposed to "I'm going to try to do that"

[Big Dave]

more surrealistic.

I'll take the fish for five.

Or Surreal.

[gijoe1313]

I's a teacher too, but not as smart as you gijoe1313. Wow.

One of my other pet peeves [sp?!] is when people say "I'm going to try and do that." As opposed to "I'm going to try to do that"

The fact that we are teachers show we are both complete loony bins ... who'd want to be a teacher? :eek5:

And I bet you are twice as smart as I am twice as dumb in things you are prepossessing in abundance! I am currently studying the finer rudimentary skills in animal husbandry, as it seems it is a more apt and directly applicable school to what passes for the fauna in classrooms these days! :oi-grr: :msn-wink:

[Big Dave]

I don't know the rules of grammar... If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.
David Ogilvy (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/davidogilv103081.html)

[gijoe1313]

I'll take the fish for five.

Or Surreal.

I take it you like kipling? I would never know since I have never kippled! For the rish I reccommend the frying flish with a tich of tumultous somersault of spoonerism, this may make the parson piss the most.

For dessertations, a deserter of fine discernment for your delectable digustation for just desserts is a di rigeur dalliance into domitable deferments into deciding what to dine on!

I will happily post this to Timbuktu via way of Abu Dhabi so you can have your fish by five months!

(and don'cha hate verbosity in a voluminous way? Oi vey! I should be so lucky! I'll get the meshhuginah outta here before I turn into a goyim!)

[Flatcap]

I don't know the rules of grammar... If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.
David Ogilvy (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/davidogilv103081.html)

That is just laziness. People should aspire to something more than the everyday and mundane

[Big Dave]

On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!

Spike.

[Big Dave]

That is just laziness. People should aspire to something more than the everyday and mundane

You could never accuse Mr Ogilvy of that.
Entirely the opposite.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/david_ogilvy.html

[Pixie]

The emergent inability to pronounce "women" in NZ english pisses me off.
Even Howard Broad recently spoke of apologising to some individual "woman" that,apparantly,covered the whole of New Zealand.

It's pronounced "wimmin" you fat wally!

Of course it ceases to matter if ,like many, you refer to men and women as males and females.Male and female what? Dogs? cats?

[Pixie]

No one seemed to mention the embarrassment caused by writing to your folks and telling them you "Helped your Uncle jack off a horse"and not "Helped your Uncle Jack, off a horse"

[Virago]

No one seemed to mention the embarrassment caused by writing to your folks and telling them you "Helped your Uncle jack off a horse"and not "Helped your Uncle Jack, off a horse"

Okay, joke:

Reading class at school, all kids reading quietly at their desks.

Liitle Timmy puts his hand up. "Miss, what does it mean in this book when it says "Robin Hood tore his leather?"

"I don't know, Timmy." said the teacher. "Can you read the whole sentence?"

"Okay." said Timmy. "Robin Hood tore his leather jerkin off."

[Hitcher]

The BDOTGNZA blesses you all!

[Beemer]

Ah, the which/that debate. MS Word always insists on correcting such a sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors which, make one look stupid" or change the sentence with "Top 10 grammatical errors that make one look stupid" and it drives me nutty! Why, oh why does it want to put a comma in there??? Also are there rules regarding the correct use of which and that?

Please enlighten me dear sirs. :mellow:

According to my style guide: That is not an exact synonym for which and who. It is used when the antecedent subject is related to a class, group, or species.

He was the greatest sportsman that I had ever seen.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

The following sentences demonstrate the difference between which and that.

In two of the experiements, which I supervised, the results were positive. (The meaning is "I have supervised two experiments; in these two experiments the results were positive.")
In two of the experiments that I supervised the results were positive. (The meaning is "I have supervised experiments; in two of them the results were positve.")

[idb]

Aaaahhh................apostrophe's!!!!

[Hitcher]

Aaaahhh................apostrophe's!!!!

Gahh! Thud.

[idb]

Gahh! Thud.

Whats' the matter?

[Hitcher]

Please. Make it stop.

[Big Dave]

Whats' the matter?

The force is strong in this one.

Now 'drive home' the advantages'

[Hitcher]

Ngngngngngngng

[Sniper]

Ngngngngngngng

The BDOTGNZA being swamped?

[Big Dave]

Ngngngngngngng.......pong.

[Hitcher]

The BDOTGNZA being swamped?

Yes. We need a sniper...

[idb]

Ngngngngngngng

Im' only joking.

[Sniper]

Yes. We need a sniper...

I can spare the hungry midgets with sticks. Unfortunatly all other resourses are being used on Steve selling his GSXR and reposting the ad over and over.


Im' only joking.
Shit stirring?? :bleh:

[Hitcher]

Im' only joking.

There's a midget with a stick on his way to see you right now. He has no sense of humour.

[TerminalAddict]

nobody has mentioned bought/brought

"look what I brought from the shop"
TA: "did you bruy that did you?"

"I bought my wet weathers along, just incase it rains"
TA: "How much did they cost you?"
"about $30"
TA: *bangs head*

* nobody ever understands this when I ask *

[peasea]

nobody has mentioned bought/brought



Yes they did, page one.

"People get "bought" and "brought" crossed up a lot as well. It's all about the letter R in that case - "buy - bought; bring - brought." Easy."

[Hitcher]

Hoof hooves
Roof roofs
Poof pooves

Hough nough broughn cough.

Go easy on me or I'll sioux.

[Big Dave]

Go easy on me or I'll sioux.

lit a gate a weigh succour.

[Sniper]

Hoof hooves
Roof roofs
Poof pooves

Hough nough broughn cough.

Go easy on me or I'll sioux.


lit a gate a weigh succour.

Oh dear, now this thread is moving into dangerous territory

[idb]

I dismantled my bike in January.
I think that it had been mantled incorrectly at the factory in the first place.
I finished remantling it last week.

[Big Dave]

I dismantled my bike in January.
I think that it had been mantled incorrectly at the factory in the first place.
I finished remantling it last week.

Are you gruntled?

Change that:

feckin' ducatis - told ya.

[Sniper]

At any stage were you gruntled?

If they may fun of you whilst you were gruntled, would they dis-gruntle you?

[Hitcher]

I am whelmed.

[Sniper]

I am whelmed.

Con tent leigh whelmed?

[idb]

Are you gruntled?


I was disgusted for a while but after I calmed down I managed to get regusted again.

[Big Dave]

I was disgusted for a while but after I calmed down I managed to get regusted again.

Custard, what custard - are you a trifle deaf?

[Hitcher]

On a more serious note: led and lead.

When pronounced the same way, the latter is the heavy metal, Pb.

There is there for a big difference in what's meant by saying that somebody is easily lead versus easily led.

Lead is also pronounced "leed", as in "where you lead I will follow". It may pay to seek clarification if somebody slips you a note asking you to "Please take the lead".

[judecatmad]

That is just laziness. People should aspire to something more than the everyday and mundane

Where I work, we have all been sent on a 'plain English course' in recent months. It's to help make our customers feel comfortable and in familiar territiory when they receive a letter from us. The fact that we are aiming at the lowest common denominator really rankles, but who am I to doubt the mighty at the top?

So...we are to use first names in our letter headings (that pisses me off no end - we're an insurance company for goodness' sake. There should be no familiarity in formal correspondence, IMHO), we are to use short, sharp sentences to avoid confusion (hell, if you can't understand a letter we're sending you, you don't have much hope understanding your Life/Trauma/Income Protection policy) and we are to avoid using unfamiliar terms and words (unfamiliar to who? Unless we establish the level of education of each and every client to avoid confusing some and insulting the rest, we're on to a loser right from the off).

One of the comments the lady taking the course made was that we were to avoid the use of 'adjacent' as many people are under the impression that it means 'opposite'. And that is my problem, why?

*sigh*

I'm no egg-head but the dumbing-down of the English language, in order to make those who have been through a sub-standard education system feel like geniuses, is just plain insulting to the rest of us.

[idb]

Where I work, we have all been sent on a 'plain English course' in recent months. It's to help make our customers feel comfortable and in familiar territiory when they receive a letter from us. The fact that we are aiming at the lowest common denominator really rankles, but who am I to doubt the mighty at the top?

So...we are to use first names in our letter headings (that pisses me off no end - we're an insurance company for goodness' sake. There should be no familiarity in formal correspondence, IMHO), we are to use short, sharp sentences to avoid confusion (hell, if you can't understand a letter we're sending you, you don't have much hope understanding your Life/Trauma/Income Protection policy) and we are to avoid using unfamiliar terms and words (unfamiliar to who? Unless we establish the level of education of each and every client to avoid confusing some and insulting the rest, we're on to a loser right from the off).

One of the comments the lady taking the course made was that we were to avoid the use of 'adjacent' as many people are under the impression that it means 'opposite'. And that is my problem, why?

*sigh*

I'm no egg-head but the dumbing-down of the English language, in order to make those who have been through a sub-standard education system feel like geniuses, is just plain insulting to the rest of us.

Top rant!
What's the point of teaching kids the other stuff if they can't communicate?

[ManDownUnder]

Yes - My theory is that communication is is subject to a type of Darwinism - ideas will live or die by their ability to be successfully transmitted from source to destination.

The use of English (written or spoken) is simply one of the many potential roadblocks.

I'm not going to dumb down the language I use for the sake of others. I'm me and (according the SWMBO) I speak like a dictionary. I think like one too but I don't tell her that.

Sometimes I have to be aware of my audience and simplify the language used to ensure what I say is received intact - albeit with 25 extra words in the sentence. If someone doesn't understand then... FFS ASK!

My typing is ATROCIOUS (don't tell me you didn't notice) and my spelling's not too flash either. Shame, but then I can't really be arsed doing anything different on KB. You guys know and love/hate me for who I am. No biggy.
JCM I have no doubt the Marketing/Psyche types in house have concluded that using first names etc will personalise the correspondence and endear you and the company (read "Brand") to the punters. It'll piss a few off (like you and I by the sound of it) but there's an overall nett gain.

Kind of.

Anyway - I'm off track - it's the Darwin side of things I wanted to throw into the thread. Without the ability to accurately convey complex concepts, there is only so much progress humanity will make. And sticking to the lowest common denominator doesn't really help... sometimes.

[Big Dave]

but who am I to doubt the mighty at the top?


None of us are as stupid as all of us.
Look for another gig.

[mstriumph]

I'm English by birth, antecedents, upbringing and schooling.

And, verily, mes Bros., i say unto you lot .......... English is a means of communication, a living, changing, EVOLVING thing and NOT the set-in-concrete, exclusive, "there's only ONE way to make a bed" iconic nonsense that some people try to make it.

No, i don't say that there are no 'rules' - but the major, OVERRIDING rule, the 'biggie of all biggies' is "communicate" - groups of people use english differently to do that - f'rinstance i don't understand one phrase in ten of 'gansta rap' but obviously they do ....... and PART of what they are communicating anyway is that they differ from people like me ........... and they communicate THAT very well - i understand that message perfectly.:yes:

i love language - the taste, texture and flavour of words ....... but, although i say that the rules are anything i need to make them at any given instance to get my point across, one thing i DON'T do is think i have any exclusive right to dictate to others what they can and cannot do in their OWN communications.

here endeth my 2centsworth ...... or twopenceworth if you will
[not allowing for variations in rates of exchange, goods and services tax or any other 'fact' that may get in the way of a good saying]

[MisterD]

Yes - My theory is that communication is is subject to a type of Darwinism - ideas will live or die by their ability to be successfully transmitted from source to destination.

Have you read "The Selfish Gene"? Dawkins suggests an entity he calls a "meme" (prn meem) analogous to a gene, but the basic unit of an idea who's success is measured by their transmission from mind to mind, just as you say....sorry MDU, you were beaten to it.:second:

[ManDownUnder]

sorry MDU, you were beaten to it.:second:


Mate I'm just happy to be right for a change - it never happens at home...

[Virago]

Speaking of apostophies - It's almost embarrassing to be on the list of "Motorcycle Mentor's"......:shutup:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showgroups.php

[scrivy]

I tnhik msot ploepe on KB dn'ot crae too mcuh abuot garmatiacl eorors!!!

Or am I wrong?? :shit:

[Virago]

I tnhik msot ploepe on KB dn'ot crae too mcuh abuot garmatiacl eorors!!!

Or am I wrong?? :shit:

No, not really - but dyslexics like you can ufkc off!:laugh:

[Hitcher]

Or am I wrong??

Either that, or a newbie.

[judecatmad]

Ooh, one I came across last night: 'best time to call me is in the weekend'

Grrrrrrrr.......

[Dave Lobster]

My 2c worth.

Watching the news about that asain man knocked down by the bus. A policeman being interviewed about the events told us all about it IN PRESENT TENSE. FFS, the events have already happened. It is NOT still happening.

[idb]

Pedants are people too!!!!

[peasea]

I'm English by birth, antecedents, upbringing and schooling.

English is a means of communication, a living, changing, EVOLVING thing and NOT the set-in-concrete, exclusive, "there's only ONE way to make a bed" iconic nonsense that some people try to make it.

the major, OVERRIDING rule, the 'biggie of all biggies' is "communicate"

Bravo! I was thinking just that when I spotted your post. I was given a Webster's dictionary (thick mother it is too) for my 21st, nigh on thirty years ago. There are words in there that are hardly, if ever, used these days and there are some missing that are now used in everyday conversation. The English language is constantly changing, like it or don't.

[Biff]

I get pissed at perverted power freaks who complain about spelling and grammatical errors on motormacycle forums. This is a casual meeting place where slang is more than acceptable IMO. Those unable to accept this fact are dinnersores. Anal ones at that. Like a Megaborearse.

Oh, and adverts that put '!' evey fkinwhere they can. Twats.

[Joni]

Like a Megaborearse. :spudwhat:

:lol:

Moments like this make me realise why you are my mate!

[Ixion]

I get pissed at perverted power freaks who complain about spelling and grammatical errors on motormacycle forums. This is a casual meeting place where slang is more than acceptable IMO. Those unable to accept this fact are dinnersores. Anal ones at that. Like a Megaborearse.

Oh, and adverts that put '!' evey fkinwhere they can. Twats.

2rite m8 .

[idb]

I get pissed at perverted power freaks who complain about spelling and grammatical errors on motormacycle forums. This is a casual meeting place where slang is more than acceptable IMO. Those unable to accept this fact are dinnersores. Anal ones at that. Like a Megaborearse.

Oh, and adverts that put '!' evey fkinwhere they can. Twats.

I like !'s.

[Big Dave]

I like !'s.

!













.............01

[Hitcher]

The Midgets With Sticks, conscripted from Sniper's Vigilantes For Hire Ltd by the BDOTGNZA, are being briefed (how fitting) and deployed. Swift justice with be meted out.

People who generally refer to the English language "evolving" or who look to cover their own communications inadequacies with excuses like "detail not being important", are just sloppy or lazy. Or both. They probably don't believe in personal hygiene either, least it compromise their "individuality".

[Dave Lobster]

People who generally refer to the English language "evolving" or who look to cover their own communications inadequacies with excuses like "detail not being important", are just sloppy or lazy. Or both.

And, uneducatable.

[Biff]

And, uneducatable.

Yeah. Lazy uneducated linguistic bastards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_linguistics

[Hitcher]

Yeah. Lazy uneducated linguistic bastards:

I don't see anything in your Wiki reference that advocates giving up and allowing the roaming barbarian hordes with their TXT speak and absence of punctuation to have free rein.

English is a rich, diverse and expressive language. I don't see why those who treasure this should bow meekly to the masses with a working vocabularly of 50 words, none of which they can spell correctly or even agree to spell incorrectly.

Yes, language does evolve. But not at a pace set by Mr Nokia or the uneducated illiterati who walk amongst us.

[Dave Lobster]

English is a rich, diverse and expressive language. I don't see why those who treasure this should bow meekly to the masses with a working vocabularly of 50 words, none of which they can spell correctly or even agree to spell incorrectly.

Know what I mean, Kind of and Like??





Yes, language does evolve. But not at a pace set by Mr Nokia or the uneducated illiterati who walk amongst us.

Shuffle.. they shuffle amongst us.

[Biff]

I don't see anything in your Wiki reference that advocates giving up and allowing the roaming barbarian hordes with their TXT speak and absence of punctuation to have free rein.

Neither did I. But I saw this:


People who generally refer to the English language "evolving" ... are just sloppy or lazy. .

IMO people who have issues with other peoples 'grammatics' (yeah ... feel me evolve baby) in tinternet forums for one of the following reasons

1. They use their (often fake) command of the English language to bellitle others simply in an attempt to cover up for their own their own inadequacies
2. It's a power trip. A bit like a penis measuring contest.'I must be cleverer than you because I can spell' kinda thang.
3. They're out of touch with the real world, and not 'with it'
5. Where did 4 go?
4. Ahhh there it is.

[Ixion]

People who generally refer to the English language "evolving" or who look to cover their own communications inadequacies with excuses like "detail not being important", are just sloppy or lazy. Or both. They probably don't believe in personal hygiene either, least it compromise their "individuality".

iċ geþwærlecan clæne. Awende forbeodan ist. Heonan (http://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C4%93afods%C4%ABde)

[Joni]

Hmm... I hear a deep dark rumble in the sky.....

I think the point is that this is a biker site... who gives a damn who spells well or not... who cares who has a good command of the English language... in fact who cares who has good hygiene (eww!)... its not what brought us here, its the passion for riding/bikes/racing that is the crux of the matter.

If this was a gramatical society that would be another story.

Sorry, no Hitcher offence intended, I know each one of us has our pet peeves and this one is yours... but, ah well... you know.

:confused:

[Biff]

iċ geþwærlecan clæne. Awende forbeodan ist.

Germanicspeakenpoopinshizzer?

[Joni]

Germanicspeakenpoopinshizzer?Fuck you are so funny! my sides hurt... :lol:

[Dave Lobster]

I think the point is that this is a biker site... who gives a damn who spells well or not... who cares who has a good command of the English language... in fact who cares who has good hygiene (eww!)... its not what brought us here, its the passion for riding/bikes/racing that is the crux of the matter.



But when the illiterate people post, it takes twice as long to read and comprehend what they're trying to get across.

[Joni]

But when the illiterate people post, it takes twice as long to read and comprehend what they're trying to get across.Who gives a fuck... they are still bikers... just dont read it if you have an issue with it!

They are still on topic aren't they? Most of the time anyway...

Ooops sorry.
:innocent:

[idb]

..........They are still on topic aren't they?...........

How do you know if you can't understand what they're writing?

[mstriumph]

........................

the masses with a working vocabularly of 50 words, none of which they can spell correctly or even agree to spell incorrectly.

Yes, language does evolve. But not at a pace set by Mr Nokia or the uneducated illiterati who walk amongst us.

- as opposed to that set by the elitist pedants who prefer a snails'pace to a walk? :innocent:

Language is not a thing, it's a process, a working tool of the masses ........... and, by definition, there are more of THEM than there are of either you or me, mr hitcher, sir

the 'brave little dutch boy who put his finger in the dyke and saved the day by holding back the torrent' only exists in childrens' stories, unfortunately ................

[mstriumph]

But when the illiterate people post, it takes twice as long to read and comprehend what they're trying to get across.

understand
what's WRONG with the word 'understand'?
using a more difficult word like 'comprehend' when there's an easy one like 'understand' may be to imply something you DIDn't intend .....

yes - i know - i do it lots ........ but I do it with malice aforethought!! :innocent:

[idb]

- as opposed to that set by the elitist pedants who prefer a snails'pace to a walk? :innocent:

Language is not a thing, it's a process, a working tool of the masses ........... and, by definition, there are more of THEM than there are of either you or me, mr hitcher, sir

the 'brave little dutch boy who put his finger in the dyke and saved the day by holding back the torrent' only exists in childrens' stories, unfortunately ................

Nobody expects everyone to speak like a linguistics professor but how could you hope to convey or understand complex concepts without a reasonable grasp of sentence structure, spelling and grammar?

[idb]

understand
what's WRONG with the word 'understand'?
using a more difficult word like 'comprehend' when there's an easy one like 'understand' may be to imply something you DIDn't intend .....

yes - i know - i do it lots ........ but I do it with malice aforethought!! :innocent:

Why is 'comprehend' more difficult?

[Big Dave]

And, uneducatable.

or uneducable.

I love irony.

[Big Dave]

Why is 'comprehend' more difficult?

?? - Not with you?

[idb]

?? - Not with you?

It was a reply to mstriumph's post Dave

[idb]

Am I typing too fast for you?

You proved my point!!

[idb]

Anyway, you put question marks at the start of the sentence....you can't do that....it's not allowed....everyone knows that....it's not allowed...stop it....please someone stop him...!!!

[Big Dave]

Anyway, you put question marks at the start of the sentence....you can't do that....it's not allowed....everyone knows that....it's not allowed...stop it....please someone stop him...!!!

Won't SOMEONE think of the children. !!!!!!!! <- Down boy.

[Ixion]

Tch. Squabbling is incompatible with incoherence. It's incoherence we're after here folks.

[mstriumph]

Tch. Squabbling is incompatible with incoherence. It's incoherence we're after here folks.

don't be WET Ixion .............


ooops, sorry :o - thought you said 'incontinence'

[Big Dog]

I often understand what was said but remain baffled when I try to comprehend the same sentence.

Is this a failure of mine to remain contemporary, or a failure of theirs to communicate?

My only real peeve in the area of grammar and spelling has nothing to do with pedantism or rules. It has to do with having to explain myself constantly to people who failed to grasp reasonable concepts.

It bugs me no end when I take the time to formulate an email / letter / fax and the recipient then calls me to explain language that was once a requirement for exiting the fourth form in favour of fifth.

I don't think that it is unreasonable to expect that when you do not understand a statement because of a word that you look up that word and learn its meaning.

I refuse to dumb down my business communications.
Yes it is slower.
Yes it is hard for an eight year old to read.
Yes I have had to import a English (AUS) dictionary on my work machine.

"Dumbing down" to the lowest common denominator makes you look unproffesional.
"Dumbing down" to the lowest common denominator makes your intentions ambiguos.

Remaining proffesional and providing a clear and present meaning results in less contacts on the same issue.
Remaining proffesional and providing a clear and present meaning results in higher customer satisfaction surveys.

Yes, I take twice as long to compose an email to a customer.

Is that worthwile if it means that that customer will need to contact your three or more less times?

Rant over.

[Dave Lobster]

Remaining proffesional and providing a clear and present meaning results in less contacts on the same issue.

Fewer, surely?

[Big Dave]

Rant over.


yeah nice - not really relevant to dicks bantering about motorcycles tho is it?

[Ixion]

Well, what do you suggest then? We haven't had a good discussion about lace doilies for a while? Or recipes. Always popular, a recipe discussion.

[Hitcher]

Ingredients
250g/9oz unsalted butter
375g/13oz caster sugar
rind of 2 oranges, grated
4 eggs
450g/1lb carrots, grated
150g/5oz almonds or pecans, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla essence
juice of 1 orange
250g/9oz plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp salt

For the icing:
225g/8oz full fat soft cheese, at room temperature
65g/2½oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
400g/14oz icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Grease a 23cm/9in spring-form cake tin.
3. Beat the butter, sugar and orange rind until they are light and fluffy.
4. Slowly add the eggs, beating well to incorporate each addition fully before adding more.
5. Fold in the grated carrot and chopped nuts.
6. Add the vanilla essence and orange juice.
7. Finally, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spice and salt together, then fold into the cake mixture.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared spring-form tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 45-60 minutes. The sides of the cake should be coming away from the sides of the cake tin and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.
9. To make the icing, cream the cheese and the butter together until smooth.
10. Add the icing sugar and vanilla essence, and beat until smooth. This frosting is rich thick and delicious.
11. Spread the icing generously over the top of the cake.

[Big Dog]

yeah nice - not really relevant to dicks bantering about motorcycles tho is it?

In a round about way it is.
How many times has someone replied to one of your posts having only read the first half?
Is this because you are taking too long to get to a point?
How often does someone clearly fail to comprehend your post despite clearly understanding each of your sentences?

[Ixion]

This is turning into quite a fascinating thread. Wait until the homonymic gentleman sees it! :dodge:

[Big Dog]

Fewer, surely?

Possibly, possibly the word I chose works.
Were I in the mood to debate this, I would need evidence that you were not just trying to be a master debater.

Looking back at my post I do have to ask, is that the best you can do?

[Hitcher]

is that the best you can do?

Bugger. I should have saved the rep for this post. Gold!

[Dave Lobster]

Possibly, possibly the word I chose works.
Were I in the mood to debate this, I would need evidence that you were not just trying to be a master debater.


Less when there is 'one' of something. Fewer when there is more.

For instance..

Less water in the glass.
Fewer bottles in the fridge.

The other way around doesn't make sense, does it?

[Big Dave]

In a round about way it is.
How many times has someone replied to one of your posts having only read the first half?
Is this because you are taking too long to get to a point?
How often does someone clearly fail to comprehend your post despite clearly understanding each of your sentences?

Rarely, but then, most of my posts don't have sentence-s.

[Big Dog]

Less when there is 'one' of something. Fewer when there is more.

For instance..

Less water in the glass.
Fewer bottles in the fridge.

The other way around doesn't make sense, does it?
So how does it work when each call comes in one at a time?
Is it fewer calls if you have you have one less?
(E.g. 1 call instead of 2)

I concede that "Fewer water in the glass" does not make sense.
Do you concede that "Less bottles in the fridge." is still true, if less poetic?

[Big Dog]

Rarely, but then, most of my posts don't have sentence-s.

If Hitcher had his way some of our sentences would carry sentences.

Nobody is beyond reproach.

[Big Dave]

Nobody is beyond reproach.

Cool - Just as long as I can stay ahead of salvation.

[MikeL]

Woohoo.:woohoo: Pedant war

Where's Mr MikeL when we need him.

As MacD said, at the pub. :beer:

Sometimes us pedant's just cant be bothered.

Bring back compulsory Latin in schools...

[Big Dave]

Bring back compulsory Latin in schools...

Deal - For some weird reason the synapses in the big dave cranium aligned in such a way that i 'got' latin. Algebra and French had me f***ed, but
<table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" width="720"><tbody><tr><td>Centurion:</td> <td> What is this then? Romanes eunt domus, "People called Romanes they go the house"?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian</td> <td> It-it says, "Romans, go home"!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> No, it doesn't! What's Latin for "Roman"? [grabs Brian's ear] Come on, come on!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Romanus!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Goes like?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Annus!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Vocative plural of annus is...?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Anni?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> [writes] Romani. And eunt? What is eunt?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> "Go"! Let-</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Conjugate the verb "to go".</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Ire; eo, is, it, imus, itis, eunt!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> So eunt is...?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Third person plural, present indicative. "They go!"</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> But "Romans, go home" is an order, so you must use the...?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td>The... imperative!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Which is...?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> I!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> [twisting Brian's ear] How many Romans?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> [yelling] I.. Plural, plural! Ite, ite!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> [writing] Ite. Domus? Nominative? But "go home", it is motion towards, isn't it, boy?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td>Dative, sir!</td> </tr><tr> <td>
</td><td>[The centurion promptly draws his swords and presses it against Brian's throat. Brian yells:]</td> </tr><tr> <td>
</td><td>No, not dative! Not the dative, sir! No! The... accusative, accusative! Domum, sir, ad domum!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Except that domus takes the...?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> The locative, sir!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Which is?</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Domum!</td> <!-- Actually, it's not, but I'll refrain from commenting that further. Wouldn't want to put our visitors to sleep, now, would we? ;-) --> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> [writing] Domum... -um [sheathing his sword] Understand?</td> </tr><tr> <td>
</td><td>[Brian nods eagerly]</td> </tr><tr> <td>
</td><td>Now, write it out a hundred times!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td> Yes, sir, thank you, sir! Hail Caesar!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Centurion:</td> <td> Hail Caesar. If it's not done by sunrise, I'll cut your balls off!</td> </tr><tr> <td>Brian:</td> <td>Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar and everything, sir!</td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" align="center">
~ FINIS ~</td> </tr></tbody></table>

[The Pastor]

Meat is murder.

This one pisses me off. You cannot murder an animal as the word murder exclusivly refers to humans.


mur·der
1. Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder), and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder).

[Hitcher]

I concede that "Fewer water in the glass" does not make sense.
Do you concede that "Less bottles in the fridge." is still true, if less poetic?
Less and fewer are used in terms of making comparisons between two points in time.

Use "less" if the matter in question cannot be counted, use "fewer" if it can.

Your example begs the question "Less than what?"

Less is more.

[Hitcher]

Meat is murder.

This one pisses me off. You cannot murder an animal as the word murder exclusivly refers to humans.


Technically you are correct, but anthropomorphists, such as animal rights activists, hold a completely different view. Bless them. Now where's my steak?

[The Pastor]

Technically you are correct, but anthropomorphists, such as animal rights activists, hold a completely different view. Bless them. Now where's my steak?

They are person-I-fi-ing animals, some are so far entrenched in this lie (animals are NOT humans) that they cannot understand the differance between a sheep and a school teacher(who eats meat, vegi/vegan humans are the superiour race after all).

[Pixie]

Germanicspeakenpoopinshizzer?

As Otto Von Gassit would say: Gefunkenscheissenkunzenprikzen

[Jimmy B]

Meat is murder.

This one pisses me off. You cannot murder an animal as the word murder exclusivly refers to humans.




"If God didnt want us to eat animals then he wouldnt have made them out of meat"

John Cleese

[idb]

"If God didnt want us to eat animals then he wouldnt have made them out of meat"

John Cleese

Mmmmmmmmmmm.....................balloon's......... ....!!!!

[Jimmy B]

As Otto Von Gassit would say: Gefunkenscheissenkunzenprikzen

Oor es zee Svedeesh cheff vuoold sey:

Germuneecspeekenpuupinshizzer?

Bork Bork Bork

[Mom]

I hope that I stop getting wound up about things like this thread starter.........


"Purposed new bike"

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=1021529&posted=1#post1021529

What is wrong with me???????

[Shadows]

I hope that I stop getting wound up about things like this thread starter.........


"Purposed new bike"

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=1021529&posted=1#post1021529

What is wrong with me???????

Maybe it was done on propose just to piss you off?

[Big Dave]

Maybe it was done on propose just to piss you off?

Never diss a mom.

[Mom]

Maybe it was done on propose just to piss you off?

Prehaps it was.............smarty pants

[rainman]

Tch. Squabbling is incompatible with incoherence. It's incoherence we're after here folks.

Or as a friend describes his mission: to spread "joy and confusion"...

[Biff]

Ngngngngngngng

Resistance is futile. You will be assimulated.

[Monkeyboy]

"Can I aks you a question?"

[Virago]

"Can I aks you a question?"

Yes, that one is only too common.

It should be "May I aks you a question?"

[Pixie]

Weasels and stoats are easily differentiated:
One is weasily identified as the other is stoatally different

[Biff]

That's Otter crap.

[Big Dave]

That's Otter crap.

I ferret may be. Badger can't be too sure.

[Mom]

Just found this little beauty..........*sigh*

"yeah same here expect i already know i ride like a cock, well more a dork...a 10 foot long whales penis...."

[Hitcher]

One wonders it it was a sperm whale.

[Black Bandit]

Hmm, this thread seems to have become a repository of grammatical misdemeanors, an archive even. :D Here's a good one:


Get a vfr400 they are better preformance wise and the difference between a rvf and a vfr in aspects of handeling is hardly noticeable if there is any difference at all the rvf just looks prettyer i got a vfr and it handles like a dream and how it corners is mostly up to the rider there is a problem with the vfr tho the pegs are too low it needs higher set peggs scrapes too much good rubber is always nice bridgestone bt014s wear quick tho otherwise 010s ive been doing track days on a shinko they are very average tyres

Do people hold their breath while typing? :killingme I certainly feel breathless after that sentence.

In the words of an esteemed KBer, "Gahh! Thud.".