I can more or less forgive people being interviewed live when they make small grammatic errors. If you are faced with a sudden question and are trying to get your point across you might often have to rephrase what you were saying and do not quite get it right. This is not acceptable in written work.
As for written stuff, the like of which we some times get on GN, with no proper word spacing and commas between words, I despair.*the words are crammed together. with,dots, and no.word.spacing.this'makes.the.written'post unreadable.*
Added to this there is often no paragraphing. Faced with a post with the words crammed together as described, I CBA to read it, if the poster CBA to write it properly in the first place.
Like, I was well, like listening like, to this like, chap on Radio 4 like, I think he was like, called Jay Brave like, and I just wanted to like, throw the radio like, out of the like window, like, but I didn't, I just like, turned it off. aaarrgh. How about someone being very pacific about something!
I have to mute Beth Rigby whenever she appears on Sky News; she is incapable of pronouncing 'ing', e.g. "Mrs May is goin' to Brussels next week and will be presentin' her views on....." It's very annoyin' !!
Sorry janeA I don’t know about tautology, and I’m unsure as to ending sentences with a preposition . We didn’t do grammar in any depth where I went to school. I know what sounds wrong, so maybe I do follow the grammar rules but probably instinctively not knowingly.
I'm with you all, the English language is beautiful, has its own rules and history and all these diversions are reducing the quality. The French mind, why shouldn't we.
My pet hate is less as in less people instead of fewer.
In Bradley Walsh’s case I imagine he uses ‘you was’ deliberately. Incidentally both ‘you was’ and ‘you were’ are in the past tense, even though acceptably used in this context as a future wish.
It’s a strangely delicious language and as I’ve said on another similar thread - bring it on. I love all the intricacies and subtleties.
There is no single standard of ‘correct’ grammar. There are only standards which you disrespect at the risk of inviting social disapproval. If you want to seem like someone of high status, use ‘you were’. If you’re not bothered, either because you just aren’t or because you already have high status, use ‘You was’, like the British industrialist and peer Alan Sugar did, on the UK version of The Apprentice.
If we are talking about the written word, then "of" when it should be "have" really does grate!
When it comes to the spoken word, I can sort of turn a deaf ear when talking to people, but when I hear some people in positions of responsibility (I can think of one person on TV who is a headmaster) who say "somefink" or "free fousand" it does make me a bit
I have my tin hat on standby, as no doubt there will be some comments along the lines of its not slovenly speech, more regional pronunciation.
Fount instead of found is the one that's driving me nuts lately . We( gs and I) do rock painting and on the facebook group where you can show and tell your finds it is increasingly common to see fount this on way to ??? Gggrrr