Grammar Police Gazette

[facthunter]

To not be uptight you don't have to have verbal diarrhea.. Relax and be past tense.. Nev

 

 

[nomadpete]

I'm beyond tense.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Like the bloke who visits the psychiatrist... "You gotta help me, doc! Every night I have the same dream... first, I'm a teepee, then I'm a yurt..."

 

Doctor: "That's easy. You're two tents!"

 

 

[coljones]

You are partially correct. Both the 2nd Person singular and 2nd Person plural forms in the past tense of the verb to be are "you were". The 1st Person singular past tense form is "I was". So the use of "I were" is a grammatical inexactitude.

Your statement " Female version "If you were a carpenter" sung by Joan Baez. Same error. " is incorrect. Cheers.

 

 

[old man emu]

Your statement " Female version "If you were a carpenter" sung by Joan Baez. Same error. " is incorrect. Cheers.

Judgement in favour of the Defendant. Case dismissed.

 

 

[coljones]

Judgement in favour of the Defendant. Case dismissed.

That's the trouble with justice in Oz. The NAZI getting to the judiciary to pervert the course of justice.

 

 

[old man emu]

That's the trouble with justice in Oz. The NAZI getting to the judiciary to pervert the course of justice.

On Appeal: Upon examination of the evidence it is clear that the reported decision is incorrect. Let the Record show that the correct judgement is to be in favour of the INFORMANT. The allegation of perversion of Justice is dismissed "No Case to Answer."

 

 

[Bruce]

Both my grammars were terrible and I wish there were special police for them.

 

 

[old man emu]

I feel sympathy for your grampas.

 

 

[red750]

An expression that annoys me is "Not available all stores." If it's not available all stores, it's not available. Period They mean "Not available some stores."

 

 

[old man emu]

Here is something to mull over.

 

There is an interesting construction involving the verb "to go" and a subsequent action which is dependent on the doer initiating an action. This construction has two forms:

 

1. I will go and ...(do something). e.g. I will go and get a spanner.
    
   
2. I will go to ...(do something). e.g. I will go to get a spanner.
    
   

 

Is one of these correct and the other incorrect, or is there a subtle difference in the meanings, such that, in their place, both are correct?

 

 

[Marty_d]

I think both are correct, at least in common usage. In fact the second would sound slightly strange to a native English speaker I'd think. Unless you're using it with the addition of the destination, eg "I will go to Bunnings to get a spanner", "I will go to the tool shed to get a spanner" etc.

 

In reality the second is probably "more correct" than the first, but the first would be far more common.

 

 

[spacesailor]

I would always say " I will go AND get a spanner ".

 

Maynot be correct, but it,s understood.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

You could say, I'm going .. to get a (proper) spanner, in a situation where you have decided you can't do it without one. Nev

 

 

[old man emu]

I think that the "go and get ..." is the Present Tense usage. To my mind it reflects a dropping of some words whose use would be redundant in a conversation. If expressed fully, I imagine the form would be "I go and I will get ...."

 

The second form gives a reason for going, "I am going (in order) to ..." I am going to

 

There is also the Future tense sense of "to go" ; "I am going to travel by train"

 

 

[nomadpete]

Many dropped words.

 

The intent is to convey....

 

I will go (to a tool shop nearby and when I get there I will buy) and get a spanner.

 

Just a case of common lazy language. Something we need a grammar police to stamp out.

 

 

[octave]

Dropped words are very common in many dialects. My family and relatives were all born in Yorkshire. Some of my older relatives would say I'm going t shop.

 

But then as my 91-year father says

 

Yorkshire Born, Yorkshire Bred, Strong in't arm and weak in't head

 

 

[coljones]

Here is something to mull over.

There is an interesting construction involving the verb "to go" and a subsequent action which is dependent on the doer initiating an action. This construction has two forms:

 

1. I will go and ...(do something). e.g. I will go and get a spanner.
    
   
2. I will go to ...(do something). e.g. I will go to get a spanner.
    
   

 

Is one of these correct and the other incorrect, or is there a subtle difference in the meanings, such that, in their place, both are correct?

OME, you have to stop this practise of wandering around castrating mosquitoes!

 

 

[pmccarthy]

There’s is also the interesting application of the verb “to go” which involves “go and get....”

 

 

[old man emu]

I thought that fixing bee's knees was entomological orthopaedics. I had to start castrating mosquitoes after I got a bad case of the DDTs.

 

 

[old man emu]

There’s is also the interesting application of the verb “to go” which involves “go and get....”

Obviously you refer to the Passive Voice of the verb akin to Norwegian dialectal fukka "copulate,"

 

 

[facthunter]

Bye Bye, Cop u later. Nev

 

 

[Bruce]

That old man river, " he must know something but he don't say nothing" deserves a visit from the grammar police.

 

 

[octave]

That old man river, " he must know something but he don't say nothing" deserves a visit from the grammar police.

 

 

[red750]

Old thread, but more appropriate than Gripes.

 

It really upsets me when people use "seen" instead of "saw".

 

eg. I seen an old man in the street....