As I speak to you and read your posts quite often I actually don't know a great deal about you something I have been meaning to ask is are you retired? The reason I ask is how you refer yourself to a old boy all the time!
QUOTE: Because of my age and the time I went to school the only thing that bugs me is poor grammar and lousy spelling. I was educated during Maggie Thatchers "Incomprehensible" School period! I think that the phrase in that quote could be rephrased to be grammatically correct? Starting a sentence with 'Because' has always been frowned upon, but not strictly wrong, but "the only thing that bugs me is poor grammar and lousy spelling doesn't sound right. Maybe "the only things that bug me are poor grammar and lousy spelling" would make more sense? Pedantry rules OK!
I generally try to use good grammar and spelling however as soon as I left school the texting era was in full swing and I find myself sometimes writing a reply and missing off letters etc I wish I had been just a little before that time then posting would be easier if I was set in my ways! Having said that even though I am not that old some of the stuff I read on here even I can't understand due to not being up with lingo! Yeah man!
Well done SaintDon13 I put those errors in to see if you were awake yet and please note any future errors will have beeen placed to weed out any the other pedants.
I start threads if I find something that people would find interesting or something that should be discussed. I feel a bit of a responsibility to keep the forum going..if everyone was shy no conversations would get going. I am pleased when a thread keeps going because then I know it was pitched right. Hate it when a thread gets lots of hits but no comments...the shame, the shame (luckily usually someone takes pity and replies).
Guilty, I thought you might have put that in to find out the pedants and so I didn't want to see you disappointed, we have a lot in common, I join the ranks of the retired in September and live in Swaythling, (but I always say Bassett because it sounds posher!), the one thing that really gets me going is the phrase "would of" when they mean "would have", it is so common these days I reckon it must be taught like that in schools. Also those players that keep saying "like" and "you know" in every sentence, I just cannot stand intolerance. I ignored the three "e's" in been and the other gaffs as I suspected they may not have been the result of total incompetence, but inserted delibiritlelee.
I remember my teacher hated the words 'off of'...as in gets off the bus (correct) or gets off of the bus (incorrect). I still spell some words with a 'z' where most have now switched to an 's'
I have a major problem in that when I get a wee bit enthusiastic about a subject, my fingers on the keyboard tend to ignor what my brain is telling them to write, worse when you intend to correct someone only to make a load of mistakes oneself. What is most important is that the poster gets their opinion across whether they are right or wrong, it all adds to the discussion, personal abuse because you don't agree is a total no, no.
Some people take offence if someone disagrees with them even if they've done it quite politely. If someone gets aggressive or just plain rude, I generally just ignore them as arguments on a forum seem to degenerate more quickly than if the discussion was in a pub where body language could be read.
I would like to take this opportunity to ask Godders his opinion of the current fashion of saying something is "concerning" when what they actually mean is that it is "a cause for concern" or "worrying". I must admit I find this practice highly annoying. "Concerning" means "regarding" or "relating to" or "about" and any dictionary, on-line or printed, will confirm this. I work with several people who find it impossible to use this word in the correct way and it is driving me up the wall!
I love the pub analogy. Round where I live now there are loads of bars and other such rubbish. Fine for a drink and something to eat but useless for banter. Luckily I have found a classic old style pub where football banter is the mainstay of conversation. That said, much as my Blue and Red friends take an interest in all things Southampton, and ask knowledgeable stuff about players and so on, it's quite understandable that we discuss Everton's signings or Liverpool's chances of winning both cups. I really feel I miss out on actually chatting about Saints. Get it at matches, of course, but this forum is my pub. So what beer does it serve?
Annoying as some grammatical errors are, you must remember that English is a living language. Meanings change with time and always have done.
I'm absolutely fine with that Fran, I can even interpret my children's text-speak! I just find that for some reason using "concerning" incorrectly sets my teeth on edge. No idea why.
I hate the use of 'less than' when the correct form is 'fewer than', but then find myself doing it, which probably means that 'less than' will be the accepted form in the next generation.
As a teenager I use to get annoyed if people referred to a football team as singular in a grammatical sense, i.e., "Southampton is a really good team." I always believed that it should be "Southampton are a really good team," as there are multiple people in the team, and thus making it plural. It bugged me for years that. The doctor cured me in the end.
I hate to tell you, fats, but team is singular. Southampton players are plural, but Southampton team is singular.
