Grammar Pet Peeves

carolpetunia

carolpetunia

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Originally Posted by catcaregiver

So isn't that a perfect example of where not to use a serial comma? Using it would certainly change the meaning.
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Well... it's not a list in the first place. It's a reference to an old joke, and the point of it is that a panda bear "eats shoots and leaves" -- but if you throw in a comma, you get a panda bear with a gun, y'see...

You have to read the book to really appreciate the humor!
 
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annericebowl

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Originally Posted by catcaregiver

Well don't take what I said as gospel. I think "AnneRiceBowl" who originally posted about "a lot/alot" disagrees.
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LOL I slightly disagree with you.

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Just to chime in -- I'm a lifelong supporter of the comma-before-the-and, and I'll defend it to the dea... well, I'll defend it to some serious injury, anyway.
Whether a sentence could be misinterpreted without that "and" or not, it just reads better with it -- otherwise, the final two items in your list sound more closely related to each other than to the rest of the list. So I always include it.

Those of you who share my passion for the language would surely enjoy "Eats, Shoots & Leaves," the famous little grammar book by a very funny Englishwoman who takes grammar almost as seriously as AnneRiceBowl does...
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I will have to read this book.
 
carolpetunia

carolpetunia

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Originally Posted by catcaregiver

I know, that was kinda my point.
Hmmmm, I guess I'm missing something.
LOL
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Oh -- we're talking about two different places! I'm talking about the comma in the actual title ("Eats, Shoots and Leaves") ... you're talking about adding another comma, a serial comma as if it were a list, so it would be "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves." Which would be even more wrong... right? I get it now!
 
menasmom

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I do legal and corporate transcription for a living, and you wouldn't believe how many people say "like" and "you know" or "you know what I mean" when talking. Sure, I'm guilty of doing the "like" thing, but when you have to transcribe verbatim, it sure gets tedious!!
 
catcaregiver

catcaregiver

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Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Oh -- we're talking about two different places! I'm talking about the comma in the actual title ("Eats, Shoots and Leaves") ... you're talking about adding another comma, a serial comma as if it were a list, so it would be "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves." Which would be even more wrong... right? I get it now!
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Whew!
That's a relief! Now we're on the same page.
 
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kittkatt

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Ah, another one is the word "trying". Like Yoda said, "Do or do not. There is no try." Something that I keep telling myself is that I am not trying to lose weight, I am losing weight.
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Regarding the "I'm trying to" comment:

This doesn't bother me, and here's why..

Suppose, for example, you're making an effort to lose
weight, but aren't being successful at it. So
therefore, even though you aren't succeeding at it,
you're at least trying to do so. See what I
mean??

Just my opinion..


Originally Posted by AnneRiceBowl

I was born and raised in the Southern United States, and since I have moved away, I have been trying to lose the southern drawl and words like "y'all". I never used the word "ain't" because just the sound of it makes my skin crawl. Bad grammar makes my stomach cringe, grind my teeth, and my hair stand up on the back of my neck.
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See what I mean? You used the "trying to" statement in your above comments.


I'm not trying to pick on you, AnneRiceBowl:
I'm just "trying to" make a point.


~KK~
 
pookie-poo

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Hmmmm....I can't believe that no one touched this...

Orient as opposed to orientate. Orientate is not a word.
http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000245.htm

We have a lot of new nurses in our O.R. department. They are going through orientation. There are several nurses who say, "I'm orientating the new nurse, Cherie."


I'll say, "Actually, I believe you're orienting Cherie, not orientating Cherie." And then walk away. OMG!!! It makes my skin crawl!!!!

This is a hilarious page about 'orientate', among other things...
http://www.niquette.com/books/101words/orient.htm
 
carolpetunia

carolpetunia

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Ah, Pookie and Jcat... those last two posts warmed my heart! It's so nice to find a whole thread full of others who care about these things!
 
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lizsto1

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That is too funny you had to find that of all people on here!! I bet I made a few people cringe tonight!!!
 
carolpetunia

carolpetunia

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Okay, here's another one that drives me crazy: "Please stay on the line and your call will be answered in the order it was received."

AUGH! It should be, "your call will be answered in the order in which it was received."

This one has been perpetuated by every blasted phone-answering-system in the country... we'll probably never hear it done right again.
 
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erinandseamus

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I'm in grad school. In the class that just ended we had to do peer reviews. A woman submitted the most horrible work, riddled with grammar and spelling errors and none of her sources were cited correctly. I tend not to sweat things as much on forums, but I just could not believe she thought her work was acceptable for a graduate level class.

I haven't read "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" but I did read "Between You and I." Not really funny, but helpful.
 
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maija

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Originally Posted by KittKatt

And unfortunately, I've picked up the usage of "ain't" when I'm talking to someone since moving to Texas: when you constantly hear people saying it, it's easy to pick it up.
I know it ain't right..


~KK~
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ain't..


I remember, when I did use "ain't" once and my English teacher didn't like it
English is foreign language to me.

It was years ago. I was even worst (can I use that word in this?) in English than I'm today. So I did got a brilliant idea: I did copy sentences from backside of the Bruce Springsteen album for my English homework. I hadn't any idea that "ain't" was slang
 
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