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Is it possible to resist correcting incorrect grammar?


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1 hour ago, bluebell said:

Proper grammar, and the way language should sound, are not always the same thing.  As someone else has already pointed out.  :D 

Sometimes it actually sounds as if it was spoken terribly. 😖😲

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1 hour ago, mfbukowski said:

It is.

Also,  suppose your neighbor down the block decides to re- roof his own roof, and did fine on the tear-off, he's down to plywood.

 He starts the 1st course of shingles at the top of the roof, just under the cap

He hasn't finished it yet

 What would you do?

Take a video and post it on YouTube, I could probably make a pretty penny, that would get a couple million views.🤣🤣

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55 minutes ago, AtlanticMike said:

Take a video and post it on YouTube, I could probably make a pretty penny, that would get a couple million views.🤣🤣

 Maybe you  ought to rethink that.

Should the grammar correctors do  Something like that to your grammar?

I was trying to set up an analogy, and was hoping you would say you would correct his mistake and help him learn something 

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4 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

 Maybe you  ought to rethink that.

Should the grammar correctors do  Something like that to your grammar?

I was trying to set up an analogy, and was hoping you would say you would correct his mistake and help him learn something 

Ok. I'm sorry sir, I understand what you were getting at, I'm joking a little to much today.  So yes, I would not only get out and help him, but I would pull a couple of guys from a crew and help him start over. I would have a couple guys strip everything he laid while trying to save as much as possible. While they're stripping, I would help him start rolling out felt, explaining that working from the bottom up is the number one rule in roofing. I would help him lay his roof out by showing him how to pop lines, get his starter strip correct and show him how to stagger his rows  correctly. I'd atleast stick around to help him with atleast 3 or 4 bundles to make sure he was understanding. Personally, because I've done this this in the past, I would let him borrow one of my nail guns and a compressor, I would even give him a box of nails. That way, I could sleep really good that night. Helping someone do something like that is better than any sleeping pill.

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1 hour ago, AtlanticMike said:

Ok. I'm sorry sir, I understand what you were getting at, I'm joking a little to much today.  So yes, I would not only get out and help him, but I would pull a couple of guys from a crew and help him start over. I would have a couple guys strip everything he laid while trying to save as much as possible. While they're stripping, I would help him start rolling out felt, explaining that working from the bottom up is the number one rule in roofing. I would help him lay his roof out by showing him how to pop lines, get his starter strip correct and show him how to stagger his rows  correctly. I'd atleast stick around to help him with atleast 3 or 4 bundles to make sure he was understanding. Personally, because I've done this this in the past, I would let him borrow one of my nail guns and a compressor, I would even give him a box of nails. That way, I could sleep really good that night. Helping someone do something like that is better than any sleeping pill.

That's great!

But see, that's the point of those who help you with English in most cases.

I am sure some want to help, others may not care and others want to make fun.

 But you have to assume the best among most people, especially here.

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1 hour ago, mfbukowski said:

That's great!

But see, that's the point of those who help you with English in most cases.

I am sure some want to help, others may not care and others want to make fun.

 But you have to assume the best among most people, especially here.

Yes sir, I'll keep that in mind from now on. What bothers me is when the grammar correction comes after a snide remark, almost as if someone is just continually jabbing you. And I'm not just talking about since I've been on here, its throughout a lot of older post. But, I'm not resistant to change, if I'm wrong I apologize, its always made me feel better when I apologize, I dont hold grudges, life's to short. And honestly  if that's all I have to complain about on here, then I'm probably a lucky guy. I like to make friends so I'll take this opportunity to say sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.  Personally I just want to learn and laugh while I'm doing it. So if someone's intention is to help me with my grammar, message me and tell me to calm the hell down, and I will. Honestly, I can take constructive criticism, that's what private messaging is for.

    Also though, all my post are from a phone, sometimes I'm in a truck, sometimes I'm on a roof. So no spell check. 

   I like stories so here's a funny story. Last week I was on a peak of a roof typing, instead of work, sorry wifey😁, had my hoody on obviously because it's cold and I start to feel ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping on the back of my head. And it was my guys shooting nails at me so I would stop typing on here. So if you've ever wondered why you sometimes get roofing nails in your tires, its probably from roofers playing around with nail guns😁

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8 hours ago, bluebell said:

Proper grammar, and the way language should sound, are not always the same thing.  As someone else has already pointed out.  :D 

If it’s the one I’m thinking of, the example used was “It is I” (correct) vs. “It is me” (incorrect). To me, the former expression is the one that sounds proper, while the latter sounds dissonant. Same with “It is he” vs. “It is him.”  Maybe it’s because I long ago attuned my ear to the correct usage. 
 

Another example of something incorrect that has, through frequent use, come to “sound” correct is the improper use of “myself.” It is a reflexive pronoun that should be used almost always as a direct object that reflects back on the subject of the sentence, as in “I like myself” or “I washed myself” or “I have trained myself.” 
 

Problem is, some folks try too hard to sound proper or formal and they actually end up using “myself” improperly. For some reason, they are averse to using “me,” the object form of the personal pronoun, and they incorrectly insert “myself” instead. Perhaps they think using “me” instead of “myself” makes them sound like hayseeds or rednecks and they feel insecure about it. 
 

So, such a person might say, for example, “The team is composed of Sarah, Jason and myself,” when it is perfectly fine (and, in fact, good English) to say, “The team is composed of Sarah, Jason and me.” 
 

If you have the time and patience, I’ll share yet another example. 
 

A widely violated grammatical convention pertains to the word “bad” when it is used as a predicate adjective. Far too many speakers and writers, again self consciously trying too hard to sound proper or literate, incorrectly use the word in it’s adverb form, “badly.”  Thus, they would say, “I feel badly about that.” They have said it and heard it said that way for so long that they are surprised (if not resistant) to learn that is not proper English. The proper expression would be “I feel bad about that.”

The reason for this is that the verb feel (along with its cousins that refer to the senses, such as looks, tastes, sounds and smells) is a linking verb. It is called that because it links the subject with its predicate adjective.

Speakers and writers get confused by the placement of the word bad after the verb feel in “I feel bad about that” and think it should be an adverb (badly) that modifies the verb feel. They fail to realize that it is in reality an adjective that modifies the subject of the sentence, I. 

Thus, when Ralph says, “I feel bad,” he is describing his state of wellness, not a deficiency in his sense of touch.

 

 

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3 hours ago, AtlanticMike said:

Yes sir, I'll keep that in mind from now on. What bothers me is when the grammar correction comes after a snide remark, almost as if someone is just continually jabbing you. And I'm not just talking about since I've been on here, its throughout a lot of older post. But, I'm not resistant to change, if I'm wrong I apologize, its always made me feel better when I apologize, I dont hold grudges, life's to short. And honestly  if that's all I have to complain about on here, then I'm probably a lucky guy. I like to make friends so I'll take this opportunity to say sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.  Personally I just want to learn and laugh while I'm doing it. So if someone's intention is to help me with my grammar, message me and tell me to calm the hell down, and I will. Honestly, I can take constructive criticism, that's what private messaging is for.

    Also though, all my post are from a phone, sometimes I'm in a truck, sometimes I'm on a roof. So no spell check. 

   I like stories so here's a funny story. Last week I was on a peak of a roof typing, instead of work, sorry wifey😁, had my hoody on obviously because it's cold and I start to feel ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping on the back of my head. And it was my guys shooting nails at me so I would stop typing on here. So if you've ever wondered why you sometimes get roofing nails in your tires, its probably from roofers playing around with nail guns😁

I think you have a good heart!

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9 hours ago, strappinglad said:

Written errors I can live with. The verbal like language like that like I like have to like listen to like on  like Utube drives me like crazy, and like it's a short drive, like. That and " upspeak " oy vey !!

Is it the verbal usage or just the repetition?

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11 hours ago, strappinglad said:

Written errors I can live with. The verbal like language like that like I like have to like listen to like on  like Utube drives me like crazy, and like it's a short drive, like. That and " upspeak " oy vey !!

I wonder if there are languages without the "filler" words. "Like" and "you know" also drive me nuts. I would like to be able to do a stenographer transcript for kids sometimes and show them that if you white out their filler words, they have little to say. :) 

German has "also," which can mean several things (none of which are English "also"), but it's sometimes a filler word like our "um." Some missionaries develop a bad habit and overuse it because they hear it so much. Imagine English-learners intentionally inserting "uh" or "um" all the time. :) 

German also has a "de-intensifier," mal, which is inserted to subtly not be as intense with the literal meaning. We tend to do this with tone. 

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12 hours ago, strappinglad said:

Written errors I can live with. The verbal like language like that like I like have to like listen to like on  like Utube drives me like crazy, and like it's a short drive, like. That and " upspeak " oy vey !!

Me too!

When my daughters speak to me that way, as in:

"I had to go over there, and like, buy the bread, and then..."

I might ask them "And how precisely was going over there 'like' buying the bread? Let's see... well both involve physical movement, both involve having a psychological, mental desire to perform a physical movement, and then there is the aspect of..."

I don't know why but they love me anyway 

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On 1/14/2021 at 4:01 PM, mfbukowski said:

 Maybe you  ought to rethink that.

Should the grammar correctors do  Something like that to your grammar?

I was trying to set up an analogy, and was hoping you would say you would correct his mistake and help him learn something 

Your roofing analogy is actually a very good one. 
 

I’m no master tradesman — far from it — but I grasp immediately without having to have it explained to me why you start at the bottom of a pitched roof to lay shingles and not at the top. If you started at the top and overlapped going down, the rain would flow in under the shingles, the opposite of what you want it to do, which is to run off the shingles. 
 

I consider that the functional equivalent of grasping intuitively, without needing a university education, why “could of” and “would of” and “should of” are not good English. 
 

It seems so self-evident that a one-time correction ought to be sufficient for most people. Yet there are some, like a poster on this board (not Atlantic  Mike, but someone else), who have persisted in it even after it has been mentioned to them. That’s when it becomes not just a lack of awareness, but obstinacy, akin to the behavior of Bob Crockett on another thread where he repeatedly mangled the name of Brent Hall after having been corrected multiple times. 

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11 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Your roofing analogy is actually a very good one. 
 

I’m no master tradesman — far from it — but I grasp immediately without having to have it explained to me why you start at the bottom of a pitched roof to lay shingles and not at the top. If you started at the top and overlapped going down, the rain would flow in under the shingles, the opposite of what you want it to do, which is to run off the shingles. 
 

I consider that the functional equivalent of grasping intuitively, without needing a university education, why “could of” and “would of” and “should of” are not good English. 
 

It seems so self-evident that a one-time correction ought to be sufficient for most people. Yet there are some, like a poster on this board (not Atlantic  Mike, but someone else), who have persisted in it even after it has been mentioned to them. That’s when it becomes not just a lack of awareness, but obstinacy, akin to the behavior of Bob Crockett on another thread where he repeatedly mangled the name of Brent Hall after having been corrected multiple times. 

Sometimes it will be obstinacy. Sometimes one is so used to it that one correction won't automatically change it.  

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3 minutes ago, Rain said:

Sometimes it will be obstinacy. Sometimes one is so used to it that one correction won't automatically change it.  

I suppose that’s true. In this case, though, it was exasperating because the poster immediately took up with it again in the same thread as though in deliberate disregard. 

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39 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Your roofing analogy is actually a very good one. 
 

I’m no master tradesman — far from it — but I grasp immediately without having to have it explained to me why you start at the bottom of a pitched roof to lay shingles and not at the top. If you started at the top and overlapped going down, the rain would flow in under the shingles, the opposite of what you want it to do, which is to run off the shingles. 
 

I consider that the functional equivalent of grasping intuitively, without needing a university education, why “could of” and “would of” and “should of” are not good English. 
 

It seems so self-evident that a one-time correction ought to be sufficient for most people. Yet there are some, like a poster on this board (not Atlantic  Mike, but someone else), who have persisted in it even after it has been mentioned to them. That’s when it becomes not just a lack of awareness, but obstinacy, akin to the behavior of Bob Crockett on another thread where he repeatedly mangled the name of Brent Hall after having been corrected multiple times. 

You know what Scott, I've had a change of heart. Reading through some of your past post when you corrected people on their grammar, in my mind, I saw an old man with a British accent, drinking tea with your pinky finger pointing to the sky🤣. But now, for the most part, I think you do it out of the goodness of your heart, trying to share your knowledge. So with that said, I like to learn, and I'm on here to learn about Mormonism, but I'm flexible, and if you feel like you have the time and you want to help me with my grammar, feel free, either out in the open so my progress can be seen, or through private messaging, if you choose to do so, either is fine with me. Thank you sir!

Edited by AtlanticMike
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1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Your roofing analogy is actually a very good one. 
 

I’m no master tradesman — far from it — but I grasp immediately without having to have it explained to me why you start at the bottom of a pitched roof to lay shingles and not at the top. If you started at the top and overlapped going down, the rain would flow in under the shingles, the opposite of what you want it to do, which is to run off the shingles. 
 

I consider that the functional equivalent of grasping intuitively, without needing a university education, why “could of” and “would of” and “should of” are not good English. 
 

It seems so self-evident that a one-time correction ought to be sufficient for most people. Yet there are some, like a poster on this board (not Atlantic  Mike, but someone else), who have persisted in it even after it has been mentioned to them. That’s when it becomes not just a lack of awareness, but obstinacy, akin to the behavior of Bob Crockett on another thread where he repeatedly mangled the name of Brent Hall after having been corrected multiple times. 

I think, if you're not on a discussion board like this for many years, you will probably not use perfect grammar. I think it comes with lots of practice. I don't think they aren't smart or inept, I just think they aren't use to using the grammar they learned in school. 

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4 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

I think, if you're not on a discussion board like this for many years, you will probably not use perfect grammar. I think it comes with lots of practice. I don't think they aren't smart or inept, I just think they aren't use to using the grammar they learned in school. 

You know what tacenda, I've forgotten alot of what I learned in school about grammar, so what you said is so true. Besides contracts for work, this is the most I've written in 20 years. And it sucks because my fingers dont like this tiny phone keyboard. 

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8 minutes ago, AtlanticMike said:

You know what tacenda, I've forgotten alot of what I learned in school about grammar, so what you said is so true. Besides contracts for work, this is the most I've written in 20 years. And it sucks because my fingers dont like this tiny phone keyboard. 

I credit this board for helping my ability to type a cohesive anything. I think it's helped immensely, so I guess it does help when someone like Scott corrects us. :) And I use a laptop mostly, so I can go and research my grammar and make sure it's correct. I'd be terrible if I had to type in stuff on my phone, it would be a pain. I think it's also helped for future work, or even in my daily life or job, the practice I get here.

Edited by Tacenda
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8 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

I credit this board for helping my ability to type a cohesive anything. I think it's helped immensely, so I guess it does help when someone like Scott corrects us. :)

I agree. Scott if your reading this, from reading your older post you have already taught me something. I thought contractions were something only pregnant women got🤣🤣🤣. I actually have a list of contractions on my phone now.

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1 hour ago, AtlanticMike said:

You know what Scott, I've had a change of heart. Reading through some of your past post when you corrected people on their grammar, in my mind, I saw an old man with a British accent, drinking tea with your pinky finger pointing to the sky🤣. But now, for the most part, I think you do it out of the goodness of your heart, trying to share your knowledge. So with that said, I like to learn, and I'm on here to learn about Mormonism, but I'm flexible, and if you feel like you have the time and you want to help me with my grammar, feel free, either out in the open so my progress can be seen, or through private messaging, if you choose to do so, either is fine with me. Thank you sir!

Thanks, Mike. 
 

I was going to mention to you I think you have a flair for writing and that you sell yourself short regarding your facility with the language. 
 

Also, I have great respect (and some envy) for those who are talented and skilled in technical and trade-related vocations. I think all of us could enrich our lives by seeking improvement in various arenas, not just those in which our abilities are the strongest. 

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