Could of should of would of

Some things that seem to be bad grammar may be dialect derived from other languages many years ago.

My grammar may not be flawless and I wouldn't correct anyone's grammar or vocabulary in person, or online.

It does seem a shame that Gay is being publicly welcomed yet also restricted in that way, though.

What would Shakespeare have thought? ajanela
The pedants of the day would have been lining up to complain about Shakespeare.
..."Shakespeare invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original."
Pretty positive for the English language in the long term, don't you think?
I notice spelling and grammatical errors and admit that I sometimes hoik my judgeypants, I welcome regional variations and new vocabulary and think the most important thing of all is to have something interesting to say!

"I turned round and said ..." "then he turned round and said..." A long conversation between them would probably result in them both collapsing with giddiness.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

One was done in the 1600's and the other one was quite recent, but we understand them both.

The point is that I don't think it really matters now a days.

I have no objection to new words, or speech "markers". This is how I think language evolves, not dispensing with words. I know I'm a grumpy old woman, but I do find it annoying when I hear, " So, I'm like, " Hello" ", and she's like, " How are you?", and I'm like,"Great"......

( In Scotland, " I went" may be substituted for, " I'm like")

I didn't get your 'point' at all, Im68. They may both be 'communication' but they are completely different forms. We're discussing communication by means of words (written or spoken) here, not gestures or pictures.

And I have worked with many a child who would understand the picture/gesture far more easily than they would the Shakespeare.

Has anyone here read Ridley Walker? That's how I sometimes think language is going to end up

Ok here's a new one- got an e-mail saying someone would be in touch and she would " forward the information on next week." Now I think you can 'send on' or 'forward' information but not 'forward on'

I always understood that to say 'would of' and 'should of' is wrong wrong wrong! It is 'would HAVE', and 'should HAVE'.

And I am Very Old and Always RIGHT!!!!

Good grief what a picky lot you are. Loosen up! Many of these examples just do not matter if the meaning is completely clear.

Language changes over the years and there are regional dialects and speech patterns. We surely do not want to go back to RP (or estuary English.) Barth or bath. Parth or path.
Our local dialects and their grammar needs to be preserved (and generally comprehensible.) The more we listen the more we will get used to them.
Now't wrong wi' a dialect and does nowt really need an apostrophe? How many do not know what it means?

Estuary English isn't the same as RP!

'mince' beef. No, it's 'minceD'!

And while I'm at it, 'ice' tea. It's 'iceD, FGS! Though you don't see this one so much in the UK - in many other countries you see cans of the stuff everywhere. Yes, Liptons, I'm looking at you.

Oh, and 'worse' instead of 'worst' - I've just seen 'your worse fears' on a semi-official website.

What are you doing here, Nelliemoser, if you're not a pedant? Why not toddle off to Chat and leave us to enjoy our pernickety pickiness?

Almost exactly. Arrrgh It is either exactly or not. Hate to hear this on news bulletins

What really irritates me is to read posts from many of my former pupils who were in my class when they were 11 and are now approaching their thirties. It is immediately apparent that either a) none of them were listening, b) they all have short memories or c) I must have been a rotten teacher, since I frequently read 'it's instead of 'it's,' ' there' instead of 'their' and lots more basic errors that I know for a fact they were all well drilled in. I often hesitate between losing Facebook friends or correcting them. Seriously, though, I would never dream of interfering at this late stage.

My thoughts too witzend. I have noticed that the voice over on Sky says Haitch D not Aitch D and it drives me crazy every time .

Antonia, I do so agree with you, I think the social media phenomenom has a lot to answer for.

My DD got good grades in her GCSEs and certainly knew the difference between your and you're, for example. Now at 30 plus she seems to have forgotten most of what she once knew and in fact just laughs it off if I (tactfully I hope) attempt to remind her!

Her choice, I suppose, but I am a bit concerned about the GC.

What about wax jackets? It should be waxed surely.

If people are forgetting all this stuff and the world keeps turning, maybe it is not as important as we think. I know it can grate, because as children we would have been rapped over the knuckles with a ruler if we got it wrong; but does it really matter? I was discussing it with my son-i-l today and he shares my view that it ism about language development - and because of social media the changes are speedier and more apparent now.

The bottom line is: do we understand what this person wishes to convey, or do the grammatical errors stand in the way of understanding? If we understand the message, then maybe it does not matter.

Dialect is not the same as poorly understood, or used, basic grammar!

When people say/write 'should of'it is simply grammatically wrong whether it is spoken with a broad regional accent or within a dialect!

It is like the misuse of the verb 'to get' as in 'Can I get a coffee?' Yes you probably can but, if you are in a coffee shop you may not. It is the job of the barrista to 'get' your coffee! You may have one though.

The word 'have' is disappearing. The usual reply these days to a statement like 'I've got . . . ' is 'Oh, do you?', and variants. This is grammatical nonsense. 'Oh, have you?' makes sense.

When one says should've it sounds like should of! It is annoying. Also, "I was sat"

Yup - all strictly speaking grammatically wrong. But does it matter as long as we all understand the message?

How do they mark an English Language exam then? (presuming they still have them!). Just give full marks because the examiner actually understood what the candidate meant?

And why is 'Yup' becoming so popular on GN recently...?

The hardest part of any language is people really understanding what we are trying to communicate! Words are inadequate. I'm often misunderstood (sob!!?)

A roadside shop near the me has a sign reading "Holly reeves for sale".

Ouch!