Suggestion Box

[PamfromCT]

There was a time when I did concentrate on perfection in speech and writing.  Unfortunately, that desire for perfection left me when I left college for the world I joined.  Nowadays I concentrate on what people convey, the meaning of which sometimes confounds me, and makes me so very sad.

Selfishness and loss of character bother me immensely.  Poor grammar, not really.

[amyb]

@on the bay Lol...yep, I can relate on all.

It's somewhat generational...but some things just shouldn't change...because it all gets so sloppy and lazy and dopey sounding, Imho.

I do agree with you on the "I" thing...sometimes it would just sound awkward. But sometimes she was right...haha...she'd say.."you wouldn't say 'me am'?!"  Technically, she was correct according to what my teachers had also taught, with that "me am" thing...

I'm always paying attention to on-air personalities, newscasters etc...lots of sloppy use of the language out there now...sometimes just plain grammatically incorrect, and their jobs are in tv communications!

Lol...by now someone's eyes here are crossing for sure...but count me in as one of the "word nerds."🤓

[CalminHeart]

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@achat wrote:

I often hear hosts and company reps misuse less. Today the company rep for a beauty product said less lines and less wrinkles. Less is used when an item can be measured: less flour, less love, less hate, less orange juice.  If something can be counted, but not measured fewer is used rather than less: fewer baked goods, fewer loving people, fewer hateful tweets, fewer oranges. I do believe lines and wrinkles are counted not measured; however, the intensity of lines and wrinkles is measured: fewer lines, less intense lines.

I just want my favorite shopping network to be the best it can be.

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My dad has PhDs in English and History. I always had him review my papers for grammar, etc, before turning them in.  

Dad once said to me....  Not everyone has the same aptitude and same education. Not everyone has perfect grammar. Different parts of the country have their dialects.  It's not nice to nitpick at them. Accept people and their grammar as they are.

[violann]

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@on the bay wrote:

@violann -

Did you mean to say that scholars of English do not care about the  structure and form of English?

That doesn't seem to make sense?

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The study of the structure and form of English language as introduced by the OP is done from a historical, not functional perspective. 

The structure of English Grammar as we learned it is no longer formally taught as part of typical secondary school curriculums.

[walkingal]

@achat  I like your post, and thank you for pointing out the grammatical errors.  I like to think people would appreciate being corrected so they don't continue making the same mistakes.  But thatj's me -- I always enjoyed English in school, including diagraming sentences.  The schools I attended put a great deal of emphasis on our English classes.  It was challenging and we had a lot of homework, and why would I want to have wasted everything I put into it back then.  

[depglass]

I love these grammatical  discussions.  I remember when I first joined the board over 10 years ago I pointed out something.  The reply was "You're kidding, right?"  I didn't know whether the person agreed with me or thought I was wrong.  I was so intimidated I didn't dare answer.  Well, those days are over. no one has to be afraid to express their opiions, unless they run afoul of the board police, that is.  

[D Kay]

How do you "measure" love and hate? (as stated in the post)

[Peaches McPhee]

I had grammar drilled into me in school, so misuse grates on my ears.  But, not everyone suffered through grammer drills as a kid, so they probably don't hear it the way I do.  

[red&curly]

IMO doesn't bother me unless they are mean or cussing at me.

[Kachina624]

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@achat wrote:

I often hear hosts and company reps misuse less. Today the company rep for a beauty product said less lines and less wrinkles. Less is used when an item can be measured: less flour, less love, less hate, less orange juice.  If something can be counted, but not measured fewer is used rather than less: fewer baked goods, fewer loving people, fewer hateful tweets, fewer oranges. I do believe lines and wrinkles are counted not measured; however, the intensity of lines and wrinkles is measured: fewer lines, less intense lines.

I just want my favorite shopping network to be the best it can be.

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@achat.  How pray tell does one measure an emotion like love or hate?