Why Grammar Matters: A Place To Discuss Matters Of Grammar

[Bort]

"You know what I'm saying?"

The movie "We're the Millers" makes a whole running joke out of that phrase and it's hilarious.

[Shannon L.]

 

Not that I follow any, but I cannot listen to any interview given by a hip hop artist or rapper. Every other sentence is followed by "You know what I'm saying?". No I don't know what you're saying.

Oh yes.  I also hate "ah-ight?"  (or however you want to spell it). 

 

 

I want to add "baby bump" to this list. I hate that phrase with every fiber of my being. I've only heard this phrase being used by adults; not teens, but adults. Why? This isn't the 1950s any more. We can say the word pregnant on tv. It has become trite and never have I thought it was cute. ymmv

Yep, this one, too.  I forgot to add it.  I've also never found it cute.

[shapeshifter]

For us:

[ABay]

"You know what I'm saying?" is often run together and the first time I heard it said that way, I wondered who is Noam and what does his being sane have to do with this conversation?

[VillaVillekulla]

"You know what I'm saying?" is all Butters to me.

 

[yourpointis]

VillaVillekulla I must forward that clip to my niece since she is a big South Park fan. All credit going to you of course. : ) 

[Qoass]

My first exposure to "a'ight" was  by Randy Jackson, that judge/"mentor" on American Idol who speaks as well as he dresses.  I swear he was trying to make fetch happen every year because after that there was, "You SLAYED it!" which went on to infect the populace.  (Or, "You sleighed it!" which made me giggle every time I saw it on a chat page.)  I could tell their ratings this year when AI couldn't get "chamber" to become a thing no matter how hard they tried.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Qoass

[Neurochick]

When I started reading this thread, I thought it was borderline racist and classist.  However, I've been thinking about this:  When Berry Gordy started Motown, he hired people to teach his artists how to speak properly so they wouldn't sound ignorant when interviewed.  Today, it's all about "keeping it real."  Nobody really seems to care about grammar.  I think it's terrible when I hear newscasters use improper grammar, I mean come on.  But, it seems that's the way it is today.  

Edited August 25, 2014 by Neurochick

[ShuFace88]

My pet peeve is sports announcers exclaiming "He got a lot of heighth on that jump".  The word is height!  Yes, length and breadth are words but heighth is not.

 

I was watching Alex Wagner on MSNBC the other day and she began every interview question with "Let me ask you this".  The guest agreed to come on your show for an interview.  I don't think you need to ask his permission before every question.

 

House Hunters is a great source of material for this thread.  Historical details instead of historic and "these windows let in lots of natural sunlight" are two that make me pull my hair out.  I'm pretty sure all sunlight is natural.  Many buyers also use need and want interchangeably, as in "we'll need to replace these cabinets".  No, you want to replace the cabinets because you don't like them even though they are completely functional.

 

One that my husband gets on me every day for is "I've got" (or she's got or they've got) as in "I've got to go to the store".  The correct wording is "I have to go to the store".  "I have got" is just redundant.  I hear this one all the time on TV.

[Sandman87]

I dug up an old motivator that I posted at TWoP a while ago, and it's relevant to this discussion. It's a shot of an announcement that we ran back when I worked at the local community access channel, and it was just so bad that I had to make fun of it. How many boneheaded mistakes can you spot in this one sentence? I never let our video editor live this one down.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Sandman87

[Neurochick]

I dug up an old motivator that I posted at TWoP a while ago, and it's relevant to this discussion. It's a shot of an announcement that we ran back when I worked at the local community access channel, and it was just so bad that I had to make fun of it. How many boneheaded mistakes can you spot in this one sentence? I never let our video editor live this one down.

 

Goodness, wrong from the first word.

[Portia]

Miss-pernuncing nuke-lar is something of a tradition amongst our commanders in chief.

I'm glad you gave us that link. Even though it drives me crazy, I've always illustrated the pervasiveness of "nuke-u-lar" with the example of Jimmy Carter . . . who was, interestingly enough, a nuke-u-lar engineer.

 

I've told students that "so" is an acceptable way to begin a sentence when you're telling a joke. "So, a rabbi and a priest walk into a bar . . . ."

[Cobalt Stargazer]

This is about grammar//pronunciation, but it isn't really safe for work, so listen with caution.

 

 

[potatoradio]

 

I could tell their ratings this year when AI couldn't get "chamber" to become a thing no matter how hard they tried.

 

Dare I ask? I don't watch the show, but I'm trying to imagine the possibilities for the doomed word. "You chambered and fired that song!" "We'll have to chamber our discussion, judges." "That just blew the robes right out of my chambers!" I have a headache now.

 

 

 

for those of us with longer lifetimes, before super there was neat and keen.

 

Hmm. Wonder if there was an outcry when "neat" became "neato"! I hated it even as a kid who didn't learn no grammar rulez yet. Does not appear the cutsey version of neat made it into Webster's, though.

 

I don't know if this is a Midwestern quirk, but we are also guilty of not-really-ending sentences with "so." As in, "We're having party and soooooo...." Is it because we're all too scared to ask the actual question ("will you come?")? It's frickin' annoying. Ask me a question. I can't always tell what the implied question is and I'd like to give the right answer.

 

Fresh from the Great Food Truck Race: "I guess our stragedy is...." I hope she was just really tired or something.

 

 

[ZaldamoWilder]

 

Fresh from the Great Food Truck Race: "I guess our stragedy is...." I hope she was just really tired or something.

 

Well, is it a breakfast truck?  I mean, she could've meant the saddest quiche ever and we're the ones who are struggling with it. 

 

Yeah, ok, I know.  I'm going.

[Qoass]

potatoradio, American Idol introduced "The Chamber" in season 13:  a small room in which contestants stood waiting for a green light to go on before they stepped out before the judges to audition.  There was a camera in there of course to capture everyone's flopsweat but mostly it just looked like an elevator car without the excitement of Solange and Jay-Z...

 

I don't mind people beginning sentences with "So" but I really hate it when television hosts take questions from people who call in and the caller starts with, "Yes...".  Unless the host asked you a yes-or-no question, try "Hello".  It's much more polite.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Qoass

[galax-arena]

I've noticed that I tend to overuse the word "actually" a lot, actually. Sigh. 

[Gudzilla]

I want to give credit to the few on TV that still care.

1. Sterling Archer - He literally knows when to use literally. 

2. Stannis Baratheon - He knows when less is fewer.

3. Judge Judy - She knows um is not an answer.

 

This is not from TV, someone in a forum said another poster should be put down like a rabbit dog.

That sounds like one of the last animals I'd want to see put down.

[LADreamr]

 

 

This is not from TV, someone in a forum said another poster should be put down like a rabbit dog.

That sounds like one of the last animals I'd want to see put down.

 

I wouldn't want to see it put down, either.  But I would like to see it.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I'm sure there are people who hate when people say they're "over" something. I don't have a problem when they're talking about something they used to like (e.g. "I'm over Taylor Swift"), it's when they're talking about something nobody ever liked (e.g. "I'm over being lied to") that bugs me. There was a time when you were okay with being lied to?

[Bastet]

"You're over me?  When were you under me?"

 

Ah, back when Friends was tolerable.

 

I'd venture to say no one speaks correctly 100 percent of the time, so I take no issue with the occasional grammar faux pas and find it a nice touch if a character for whom it makes sense makes a number of small, common errors.  But when well-educated, articulate and deliberately precise characters speak in ways that make clear the writer simply screwed up, it bothers me.  Case in point: C.J. and Sam on The West Wing.  Two adorably pedantic characters will not naturally engage in the following exchange:

 

Sam:  Where'd you get the bathrobe?

[C.J.'s assistant]: The gym.

Sam: There are bathrobes at the gym?

C.J.: In the women's locker room.

Sam Seaborn: But not the men's.

C.J.: Yeah.

Sam: Now, that's outrageous. There's a thousand men working here and 50 women.

C.J.: Yeah, and it's the bathrobes that's outrageous.

 

For its message, it's an in-character - and terrific - conversation.  And while any number of characters might say, "There's a thousand men ...," Sam Seaborn would say, "There are a thousand men ..."  And C.J. Cregg would follow suit by saying, "Yeah, and it's the bathrobes that are outrageous."

[shapeshifter]

This is not from TV, someone in a forum said another poster should be put down like a rabbit dog..

LOL! Does the poster think that when others say "rabid dog" that it refers to a cross between a canine and a rodent? Perhaps the poster thinks the expression is anti-cross-species breeding? I did know someone who swears chihuahuas are the result of breeding rats with dogs. I don't think so.

The current episode description for Motive, taken from thetvdb.com was

A major case from the past resurfaces; Angie thinks her and Cross should come clean.

I just registered so I could fix it.

[slensam]

I'm sure there are people who hate when people say they're "over" something. I don't have a problem when they're talking about something they used to like (e.g. "I'm over Taylor Swift"), it's when they're talking about something nobody ever liked (e.g. "I'm over being lied to") that bugs me. There was a time when you were okay with being lied to?

Yeah, I'm so over being stabbed in the eye with an ice pick.

[potatoradio]

I will do my best not to judge, because I'm sure my conversations have included plenty of moronic, ignorant statements, but I fear for the fate of humanity when I overhear people being over social issues or historical tragedies. "I'm so over the whole race thing." "I'm so over rape." "I'm so over gay marriage." "I'm so over feminism." "I'm so over Vietnam."

 

Oh, really? Social issues are not diseases. You do not get over them. You may be tired of hearing about them, fighting about them, talking about them, understanding their complexities, etc., which is perfectly understandable, but you should specify that. Otherwise, you really sound like a sh*tty human being.

 

From the teevee: a word I really hope doesn't catch on. "Rewilding." From Top Chef Duels. Because, in the land of hipster, picking herbs and berries is not adequately described by the word "gather" or "pick" or any of the other perfectly fine variations one can locate in any thesaurus. Nope. If you are a hipster and you pick berries for din-din, you are "rewilding" yourself. Maybe, while you walk in the woods, you'll also get over yourself? Maybe?

[Sandman87]

It's not exactly grammar, but lately it seems like there's been an epidemic of people on TV who make statements that end with a rising tone that makes it sound as if they're asking a question. Nothing new of course, but it makes me wonder whether or not they're sure about what they're saying: "I saw the guy who robbed the bank? He was about six feet tall and was wearing a mu-mu? I got a picture of him with my cell phone? He said he was going to kill me?"

 

If you are a hipster and you pick berries for din-din, you are "rewilding" yourself.

I have a suggestion for something that they can do with themselves, and it isn't "rewilding."

[Bastet]

It's not exactly grammar, but lately it seems like there's been an epidemic of people on TV who make statements that end with a rising tone that makes it sound as if they're asking a question.

 

That may be a side effect of so much television programming being filmed in Los Angeles; unfortunately, there are a fair number of young-ish people here who speak that way. 

[galax-arena]

It's not exactly grammar, but lately it seems like there's been an epidemic of people on TV who make statements that end with a rising tone that makes it sound as if they're asking a question.

Never go to Australia.

 

[One Tough Cookie]

I'm freakin' loving this topic.

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist! :)

[ABay]

Never go to Australia.

I didn't need another reason...

 

 

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist! :)

Thank you! I've been waiting for a chance to use this line forever: The person who says "Sorry, I couldn't resist" has told 2 lies. Ha!

Edited August 29, 2014 by ABay

[Sandman87]

I'm freakin' loving this topic.

Which reminds me: McDonald's and their "I'm lovin' it" campaign? I don't care what they do behind closed doors with their burgers and fries, but I don't want to know about it. You would think they'd have learned a lesson from their very brief ad campaign from several years ago that used the tag line "A double cheeseburger for $.99? I'd hit that!"

 

Never go to Australia.

I try to avoid places where the trees want to crush and burn everything around them like a rampaging horde of woody barbarians.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I love this thread, too.   I was going to reply to this:

 

I want to give credit to the few on TV that still care.

1. Sterling Archer - He literally knows when to use literally.

2. Stannis Baratheon - He knows when less is fewer.

 

but I think it is a worthy enough topic to have its own thread.  Anyone?  Or should we overwhelm the "TV Star Crushes" thread?  (I admit it, I might adore a character who speaks well more than your above average looking tv star.)

[dargosmydaddy]

 

This is not from TV, someone in a forum said another poster should be put down like a rabbit dog..

That might have been an embarrassing brain cramp rather than the person actually thinking rabid= rabbit. I know I have a tendency to substitute similar sounding words when I'm typing fast.

 

Or maybe not... I once had a student (and I teach high school mind you) write a sentence about vicious "pipples." I finally figured out she meant "pit bulls," and corrected it on her paper. She was all like, "Really?!?" when she got it back; she really thought these dogs were called pipples.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 

Or maybe not... I once had a student (and I teach high school mind you) write a sentence about vicious "pipples." I finally figured out she meant "pit bulls," and corrected it on her paper. She was all like, "Really?!?" when she got it back; she really thought these dogs were called pipples.

In the movie Zorro, the Gay Blade, (if you haven't seen it, correct the situation immediately) George Hamilton's character had a very pronounced Spanish accent, and when he first meets the woman Lauren Hutton was playing, he was telling her about "the pipples, who are like ships in the field."

Edited August 30, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[ABay]

Cobalt Stargazer, that's the first thing I thought of on seeing "pipples"!

And, please, save me from your hideous dog!

[backformore]

My pet peeve - I had discussed this on TWOP, and I have noticed it happening more and more.  Heard first on The Amazing Race,   now the usage has spread to other shows:

 

"Her and I's "   Also "Him and I's "  Usually referring to a relationship. 

 

As in:  "this competition has been good for her and I's relationship."

"I feel Bob and I's relationship is on shaky ground." 

 

I can't recall which reality talent  show I saw it on, but a young woman said she LITERALLY had a butterfly in her stomach.  I wanted someone to ask if she had swallowed a caterpillar.

 

I'm actually so happy to have found this thread. like, literally.  

Edited August 30, 2014 by backformore

[dcalley]

It's not exactly grammar, but lately it seems like there's been an epidemic of people on TV who make statements that end with a rising tone that makes it sound as if they're asking a question. Nothing new of course, but it makes me wonder whether or not they're sure about what they're saying: "I saw the guy who robbed the bank? He was about six feet tall and was wearing a mu-mu? I got a picture of him with my cell phone? He said he was going to kill me?"

Keeping this to TV, a sociology professor studied uptalk on Jeopardy. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jimmy Kimmel made a game of "upspeak" here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI2WPSaMNzI

[Bastet]

I was at my parents' house last night and my mom had some crime show on in the background.  A student at a well-to-do private high school said:

 

"Me, her and Bobby were in the same class."

 

Unfortunately, I should probably congratulate the writer for the verisimilitude.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Bastet

[walnutqueen]

Feelin' good was good enough for me, good enough for me & Bobby McGee.  :-)

[zillabreeze]

The daytime court shows are overrun with litigants that try to use words they don't understand.

"Basically" is used to start way too many sentences.

Today a witness on People's Court said " your honor, I am here to dispute the truth". Bwhahaha, damn I am easily amused!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Today a witness on People's Court said " your honor, I am here to dispute the truth". Bwhahaha, damn I am easily amused!

So they were basically (sorry!) going to tell a bunch of lies?

 

Here's another one. It is not eXpresso. EXpresso sounds like a mode of travel. ESpresso is a hot caffeinated beverage served in tiny cups.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[zillabreeze]

Cobalt it only gets worse when someone orders A panini with their eXpresso. Panini is the plural for panino.

[legaleagle53]

Feelin' good was good enough for me, good enough for me & Bobby McGee.  :-)

While that's a technically correct use of the objective case (the example in the post to which you were responding, however, wasn't), it still violates another rule of grammar that dictates that whenever a form of "I" is used as part of a compound subject or object, it always comes last in the subjective or objective phrase ("good enough for Bobby McGee and me").

[walnutqueen]

While that's a technically correct use of the objective case (the example in the post to which you were responding, however, wasn't), it still violates another rule of grammar that dictates that whenever a form of "I" is used as part of a compound subject or object, it always comes last in the subjective or objective phrase ("good enough for Bobby McGee and me").

 

That would literally fuck up the song, though.   ;-)

[Bastet]

With three errors in a nine-word sentence, that little snippet of dialogue - "Me, her and Bobby were in the same class" - reminds me of something found in an elementary school workbook in one of those "Correct the following sentences" exercises ("She, Bobby and I were in the same class").  The TV was at the other end of the room and I was listening to the conversation around me more than the dialogue, but it was jarring enough to cut through.
 

[AntiBeeSpray]

So they were basically (sorry!) going to tell a bunch of lies?

 

Here's another one. It is not eXpresso. EXpresso sounds like a mode of travel. ESpresso is a hot caffeinated beverage served in tiny cups.

Weird Al mentioned about that in Word Crimes (Expresso -- there's no X in espresso).

[JTMacc99]

I sing "I have one fewer problem without you" in my head, because a little piece of me dies if I don't.

 

But I don't sing it out loud, as I've decided to keep my grammar police work in house. Only my children will be subjected to my desire to correct them.

[Qoass]

Well, according to Merriam-Webster, "one less" is the preferred usage which comes as great relief to me.  I don't think I'd want to sing "One fewer bell to answer, one fewer egg to fry" next time that song comes up on American Idol...

[AimingforYoko]

Here's another one. It is not eXpresso. EXpresso sounds like a mode of travel. ESpresso is a hot caffeinated beverage served in tiny cups.

I love him and think he's one of the best rock guitarists ever, but I definitely think Mark Knopfler is to blame here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VuE_COI8Pw

[ABay]

I'd take expresso back even further (farther?) to "Sugar Shack" from the 1960s: There's a crazy little shack beyond the tracks/And everybody calls it the Sugar Shack/It's just a coffee house and it's made out of wood/Expresso coffee tastes mighty good/That's not the reason why I gotta get back to that Sugar Shack.

 

Jimmy Gilmer, 1963.

Edited September 3, 2014 by ABay

[Wings]

I just discovered this thread!  I am in love. 

 

The misuse of the word proud bugs me.  

 

Proud- Feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated.

 

Frankie said he was proud Christine won a competition on Big Brother.  Heidi Klum constantly says she is proud of a contestant for doing a good job on AGT.. 

 

No, no, no.  You cannot be proud of someone for doing a good job unless you are closely associated with them.  It is not a word to use for random praise. 

 

I am proud of myself for searching this board for a thread on language and grammar!  ***puffs up**** 

 

faux pas

fō ˈpä,ˈfō ˌpä/

noun

an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation.

 

This is another misused word.  It applies to a social situation only, not just any mistake. It is a breach of manners or etiquette.

Edited September 4, 2014 by wings707