[rhema]

Ping

[snarks_when_bored]

Where's the onoma, rhema?

[IronJack]

Use of the subjunctive has almost disappeared in today's grammar.

Another construction that appalls me is "The reason being is ..." "Being" is the verb, not an adjective. "Is" is unnecessary (and, in Bil CLinton's case, ill-defined).

Or "The laundry needs washed." No, the laundry needs TO BE washed. Or the laundry needs WASHING. "Washed" is never a noun, so whatever the laundry needs, it must be some form of verb.

Don't even get me started on spelling ...

[x]

And then there’s this beauty: “Disraeli troops kill two Hamas fighters” including one implicated “in the June capture of an Disraeli soldier.”

Color me skeptical. It's a little hard to believe. ... But it's more than a little stirring that old Ben hasn't been entirely forgotten.

[CyberAnt]

That's because THEY DON'T TEACH SUCH RUDIMENTARY THINGS AS LANGUAGE anymore. Just like they don't teach the true history of America anymore.

What they teach is multi-culturalism and homosexual relationships .. the dumbing down of America.

[Freedom_Fighter_2001]

I wanna get me a huntin' license.

[mikrofon]

¿Por qué debemos preocuparnos de inglés?

[Paine in the Neck]

"The media is..."
"This data..."
"These phenomenon..."

[kitkat]

"Fewer and fewer Americans bother to discuss hypothetical or counterfactual circumstances using this verb mood."

Perhaps if the experts learned to express themselves more simply, hopeful students would improve their grammar.

The distinction between "was" and "were" is outmoded. The meaning, in either case, is clear. Why pressure the student with extra worries when there are egregious errors such as, "He gave the book to I"? Or, "Me and my wife went to the show."

Or perhaps they should start teaching grammar to the teachers. One teacher who wrote to a local paper to rebut the complaints about failing grades on teacher's exams, started her first sentence with these words, "I and my colleagues..."

[jude24]

A post talking about politicians mangling the English language, and not one mention of President Bush's legendary malapropisms? He may be many things, but an effective communicator he certainly is not.

[wtc911]

My pet peeve is 'people that'. Hannity is the worst offender with his 'people that support the troops'.

btw (webisms piss me off too) my six year old grandson corrects other kids' grammar on a regular basis.

[CaptRon]

Not exactly grammar, but I've recenlty noticed that more and more people pronounce 'the' before a word beginning with a vowel as 'thuh' rather than 'thee', as I was taught.

For example, "'thuh' Earth" rather than "'thee' Earth".

This always sounds childish to me, kind of like Valley Girl speech.

[freedom moose]

Someone attacked me on a thread once for typing MAC (as in PC) instead of Mac. They told me they were just sick of seeing such carelessness. I guess I'm part of the problem. ;)

[word_warrior_bob]

I don't know when "irregardless" became a word, regardless, I hear it a lot.

[Conservative4Ever]

I listen to the local evening talking heads here in SoCal. Sheesh.

[freedom moose]

OK grammar Freepers
Here are two questions that come up when I discuss English with friends:

If you were speaking you might say "People who post on Free Republic's idea of a good conservative candidate is..."
Now I know this is wrong, but it sounds OK if you're used to listening to (lazy) spoken English. But how can you say it correctly and make it not sound ridiculous? "The idea of a good conservative candidate of people how post on Free Republic is...." just doesn't sound right to me and the "of" makes it sound like a translation from a latin language to me "the friend of my sister" instead of "my sister's friend" is a common mistake here for English students.

OK, next question:
Making noise all night at the computer, I kept my wife awake.

The first part is called? A gerund phrase? I think I made that up, so what is it?

[Old Professer]

Boy, did you ever post this in the wrong place, as it was...

[rabidralph]

Great article. I struggle with some aspects of grammar and this is a great reminder for me to figure out my trouble spots.

[freedom moose]

In rather solemn article called "Prayer Service" on September 23 2001 on CNN.com I found this odd typo:

The Presentation of Colors was led by United States Navy Adm. Robert Natter, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, with the New York City Inter-Agency Uniformed Color Guard and the Port Authority of New York and Jew Jersey Joint Military Guard.

I still have it saved on my hard drive.

[gcruse]

" The English language is under fire..."

...and subject to hyperbole and false characterization. I'm surprised he didn't say "literally under fire" for emphasis.

The language is losing rigor because people are not fastidious in its use. That's not the same as being under attack.

My favorite peeves are the misuse of apostrophes in the 'its' formation, and the terminally stupid inability to differentiate between the use of 'him and me' and 'he and I.'