1. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2010
    Messages:
    6,541
    Likes Received:
    4,776

    bad grammar - share your experiences!

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Mckk, Nov 1, 2013.

    I just read this in the comments section of a blog:

    "I went on to explain how my uncles wife was adopted by his family and that my aunt was her husbands adopted brother."

    I can't make heads or tails of it personally lol. Anyway, it's just pretty much the most poorly written thing I've read anywhere in a good long while, so thought I'd share :D

    Anyone else come across hilariously bad grammar recently? :D Looking for "Panda eats shoots and leaves" kind of stories lol.
     
  2. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Not recently, but I think I'll always remember hearing a woman on the radio say something to the effect, people don't think we're smart but "we are articulated".
     
    Mckk likes this.
  3. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2010
    Messages:
    6,541
    Likes Received:
    4,776
    I gotta admit, I had to look that up... oops.

    And after looking it up, I can't stop giggling :D :D
     
  4. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    It's more obvious to one's ear than on paper. ;)
     
    Mckk likes this.
  5. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2010
    Messages:
    6,541
    Likes Received:
    4,776
    @We Are Cartographers - it's true ESL individuals tend to have a much better grasp of grammar. My husband's Czech and he spoke very little English even at the age of 17 - he learnt properly when he was thrown into the deep end and moved to England with his family, and subsequently went on to study at an English university. Now I have a far larger range of vocab than he does (which I only discovered because he was reading my fiction and finding he didn't understand things like, say, twirl), but when it comes to written grammar, he's way better. Whenever someone asks me to proofread a letter or something else for official purposes, I always think they'd be better off asking my husband. He's also much better at writing formally than I am. Probably because the type of English he practised most in is academic English, what with reading scholarly papers and writing dissertations.

    I find advanced ESL people quite fascinating sometimes. I'll never forget one of our first dates. My husband's English is near perfect nowadays - it's certainly advanced enough that he managed a psychology masters in the UK. So we were talking, and somehow or other I was telling him how much I love cashew nuts. He looked at me and asked, "What's that?" So I said, "You know, the nut that looks like a crescent? Like the moon?" And he shook his head and said, "No. What's a nut?"

    He knew words like psychosomatic, and he didn't know nut. It's just mind-boggling. Of course it's down to exposure. Some of my Czech students can hold normal conversations with me and not know the word "pear".

    Lol re "in which" :D My own pet peeve is "should of / could of / would of" lol. It just looks so... horrible.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice