Among Friends

[MacDUFF]

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@SunValley wrote:

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@MacDUFF wrote:

As a proud and long time member of the Internet Grammar Police...

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@MacDUFF "long term" is, in this instance, a compound modifier and should be hyphenated. Lol. Truly, I love your post!

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Hi @SunValley...I wondered about that and should have double-checked!  You are probably correct, but, I really thought it was all one word...?

[MacDUFF]

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@handygal2 wrote:

Here's another: It's the misuse of "l" versus "me." Bear with me here!... Take the sentence "She gave it to me." That's simple enough. But add another person, and it gets all messed up for so many. "She gave it to him and l" is so commonly said, and so WRONG. It's "She gave it to him and ME." Lol.

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@handygal2

I can do this in my head quickly thanks to a beloved high school English teacher:

She gave it to me (correct).

She gave it to I (incorrect).

She gave it to him (correct).

Therefore "she gave it to me and him."  Either that or "she gave it to us!"  LOL.

Sometimes, I only know something is correct simply because it sounds correct.

I'm trying to think of an exercise we used to do in class where you...deconstruct (?) sentences...or something...I've heard plenty of people throughout the years say they hated this exercise.  It has a name, durn it, but I can't think of it.

[chickenbutt]

I remember being told something like that.  If you take one of the people out of the sentence, does that sound right?

The problem is that to a lot of people these days, it sounds just fine.

I cannot fathom that, but whatever.

If you take 'me and him went to the store'.  Clearly, that is as wrong as it could possibly be.    'Me went to the store'?   'Him went to the store'?   

Nooooo.   You're making my ears bleed.  

[MsLomo]

MacDuff,

In elementary school, our teachers called it "diagramming" sentences. Some people call it "parsing" sentences. I loved it! I still remember drawing the horizontal line, writing the subject on the left, etc. (I won't continue for fear of torturing people who disliked this exercise. lol)

[SunValley]

Hi @MacDUFF; it's hyphenated. Lol

i too appreciate posters using correct grammar and punctuation. Its purpose is to promote communication, but I don't think it's my place to correct others (except in this light-hearted instance). I also know that for some posters English is a second language. I am here to enjoy conversation and learn a thing or two, not put the hammer down on a grammar mistake, which we all make. Your recognition of those who impressed you is perfect.

[Lucky Duck]

MacDuff, thank you for introducing me to "execrable".  I had to look it up.  I'm not sure I will ever use that word but if I do, I will use it correctly.

[SunValley]

I blame autocorrect for a lot of grammar nonsense.

[handygal2]

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@MacDUFF wrote:

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@handygal2 wrote:

Here's another: It's the misuse of "l" versus "me." Bear with me here!... Take the sentence "She gave it to me." That's simple enough. But add another person, and it gets all messed up for so many. "She gave it to him and l" is so commonly said, and so WRONG. It's "She gave it to him and ME." Lol.

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@handygal2

I can do this in my head quickly thanks to a beloved high school English teacher:

She gave it to me (correct).

She gave it to I (incorrect).

She gave it to him (correct).

Therefore "she gave it to me and him."  Either that or "she gave it to us!"  LOL.

Sometimes, I only know something is correct simply because it sounds correct.

I'm trying to think of an exercise we used to do in class where you...deconstruct (?) sentences...or something...I've heard plenty of people throughout the years say they hated this exercise.  It has a name, durn it, but I can't think of it.

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@MacDUFF: That method sounds familiar to me. I learned that you put a word (or words) in parentheses in your mind, to help determine the correct pronoun to use. For example: 

She gave it to him and (to) me.

She is younger than l (am young). (Although most people would say "She is younger than me.") 

l also remember learning that when you have "me" and someone else in a sentence, the "me" always goes last, so it would be "him and me," just as it is always "he and l," b/c "l" also always goes last.

[lolakimono]

@MacDUFF

I am just thrilled to see "grammar" spelled correctly. 

[MsLomo]

I work as a writer/editor. It's easy to make a mistake, and it's easy to miss a mistake when proofing. Language rules are complicated; it also depends what style (AP, APA, Chicago, etc.). There's a lot to learn and remember. I am constantly checking Merriam-Webster (online). I am always learning something new.

P.S. @MacDUFF, you are correct that the adjective "longtime" is one word (per Merriam-Webster).    I don't think I realized that before I checked M-W tonight!