Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
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Latest Posts : Pet Peeves
I cringe whenever I hear the way Brits say: ‘the company ‘are’ or ‘the school board ‘are’ voted in by the parents. What is really frightening to me is that Americans are starting to use the same construction. My research tells me that Brits treat collective nouns as plural, while in the USA we consider them singular. ‘School Board’ is singular. ‘School Boards’ is plural.
Is anyone annoyed by “double words,” such as: Were you happy happy? Was it fixed fixed? Do you know how to type type? Now, here’s a doozy: “He’s in his office office.” What in the heck does that mean? I’d appreciate your feedback.
Just how screwed has our language become?
Why do we hear phrases like:
“If he gets in contact with you”
when there are simpler and more meaningful phrases like:
“If he gets in touch with you”
or
“If he contacts you”.
Why do people have this predilection with “get” or “got”?
Not content with using “roading” as a noun meaning “the provision and building of roads” the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has now introduced another example of why suits should not be allowed to write signs.
A stretch of motorway on the north side of Auckland is being widened and there is a forest of signs proclaiming “3 laning project in progress”!
GRRRR GNASH GNASH!! :)
I came upon this on their website: “The Senior Management Team at Fettes College have day to day responsibilities for the running of The College. They meet regularly throughout the year and feedback to staff and Governors as appropriate.”
Leaving aside the rather Germanic employment of capital letters on some, but strangely then not all, of the nouns in this statement, and the wholly gratuitous ‘as appropriate’ tacked on to fill up some space, I find most irksome the use here of ‘feedback’ as a verb. I would use two words: ‘feed back’ (a compound verb), or I would insert a verb and say ‘provide feedback’ (noun + verb). In fact I would much prefer to avoid this ugly expression altogether and use a term such as ‘report back to’ or ‘report to’. Am I alone in finding this whole thing rather disappointing for a major British school?
It’s like the sign at Gatwick airport which directs passengers to do something along the lines of ‘check-in here’ where what is meant is ‘check in here’ because ‘check in’, being what you do, is a compound verb, and ‘check-in’, being the name of the place where you do it, is a noun.
It is very elementary grammar, as taught to me at about the age of eight, noun! verb! and I find it almost incredible that a renowned Scottish public school can be so sloppy, and that a major airport in England, an English-speaking country, does not proof-read what is to be painted in huge letters on its walls.
On the other hand, one’s reaction to seeing in Phnom Penh, in Cambodia, the “PRINCESSS HOTEL” in huge pink neon lights ranged in a column above the door, has to be mirth, and wondering what the extra S cost the management. It is not as though they could not afford an apostrophe, as in the foyer are life-size photographs of a number of these estimable ladies, so the ‘princesss’ are plural. So it was an ‘e’ which proved beyond budget, then, or a proof-reader. But that of course is forgivable, as it is not in an anglophone country.
I’m not usually a peever, but I do make an exception for business buzzwords. A recent survey in Britain found that many office workers felt ‘management-speak’ to be ‘a pointless irritation’. Up to now my least favourite has been ‘going forward’, an expression Lucy Kellaway at the Financial Times campaigned against when it first appeared, but to no avail: everyone uses it now, from Obama to Beckham. But the one that I’m increasingly noticing is ‘reach out’.
Apart from its physical meanings, my dictionary gives this meaning for ‘reach out’:
reach out to somebody - to show somebody that you are interested in them and/or want to help them - “The church needs to find new ways of reaching out to young people.”
Which is fine. But increasingly it seems to be being used simply to mean ‘contact’, especially on tech sites, for no good reason that I can see other than trendiness. Some examples:
‘If you would like any other suggestions or need help with transitioning your current Google Reader RSS feeds, please reach out to a Library’
‘Wired has also reached out to Google for additional comment.’
‘If you want to follow up, feel free to reach out to me by phone.’
I know I’m just an old fuddy-duddy, and these expressions are harmless, but they do niggle a bit. Any comments? Or anyone for Buzzword Bingo?
It’s one I had not encountered before moving to NZ. Now I hear it and read it almost daily. Yet a Google seach shows 843,000 hits for NZ out of a total of 267,000,000 so it is obviously not restricted to the antipodes.
My beef is with titled vs entitled. It seems that it is now acceptable to use entitled in the place of titled. For example: Jane won the contest so she was entitled to the winnings. This is correct. Jane wrote a book and it was entitled ‘How to win at the lottery’ In my opinion, the book was not entitled to anything. The misuse of the word is very widespread and supposedly the meaning has now been officially changed.
Biggest pet peeve: anything that “changed history.” You cannot change what has already happened. It is over and done with. Even if you go back in time and make changes, you have not changed history, because now it never happened the original way. The original events never happened, became “the past,” and were therefore never history! The only history at that point is the one that did take place as a result of changes being made. There is only one history, regardless of sci-fi movies’ time travel themes, etc., and that is why every form of the phrase “to change history” drives me crazy!
Latest Comments
“if he were alive, he would be” vs. “would have been”
- adambosler1988
- October 17, 2024, 8:44pm
“if he were alive, he would be” vs. “would have been”
- adambosler1988
- October 17, 2024, 8:41pm
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Predilection with “get” or “got”
- Riki104
- October 15, 2024, 10:00pm
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Advocate/advocacy
- Riki104
- October 12, 2024, 8:15am
It’s fascinating to see discussions about the nuances of advocacy in a professional setting! From my perspective, advocacy can indeed encompass encouraging clients to take proactive steps in their care. For instance, using phrases like "the care support provider provided advocacy in encouraging the client to participate in therapy" emphasizes support in promoting positive actions. If you’re looking for a fun and innovative way to enhance your experience while engaging in a rewarding activity, check out https://1-win-token.com/bn/. This platform allows you to earn tokens through simple tasks, blending gaming with earning opportunities!
"badly miscalculated" — double negatives?
- Riki104
- October 11, 2024, 10:26am
I can definitely see where you're coming from, and it’s always interesting to break down language like this. The point you make about double negatives adds an extra layer to how we perceive statements, and the way "badly" and "miscalculated" come together does feel like a tricky mix. But when it comes to expressions like this, clarity often takes precedence. If you're in the mood to dive into some exciting activities while reflecting on language intricacies, I recommend checking out https://1winbookmaker.top/bonuses/. They offer great opportunities that could keep your mind engaged, whether you're exploring games or looking for ways to make your free time more thrilling!
Initialisms and Quotation Marks
- Jamiel
- October 10, 2024, 5:44pm
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The use of SO in "the same manner or to the same extent as aforementioned; also"
- Riki104
- September 22, 2024, 11:13am
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Is a definite article (the) necessary for "most"?
- Riki104
- September 22, 2024, 11:11am
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The use of SO in "the same manner or to the same extent as aforementioned; also"
- Riki104
- September 22, 2024, 11:10am
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Past perfect with until
She didn’t realize that she was addicted to nicotine until she had smoked ten cigarettes a day.
This is because the past perfect tense "had smoked" is used to show that the smoking occurred before the realization. So, her smoking ten cigarettes a day happened first, and her realization of being addicted happened later.
Both sentences are grammatically correct, but they emphasize different sequences:
"She hadn’t realized that she was addicted to nicotine until she smoked ten cigarettes a day."
This suggests that the lack of realization (not knowing she was addicted) continued until she reached the point of smoking ten cigarettes. The not-knowing came first.
"She didn’t realize that she was addicted to nicotine until she had smoked ten cigarettes a day."
Here, the past perfect "had smoked" clarifies that she smoked the cigarettes before her realization.