I can't take the looser losers anymore!

Doggie Daddy

Veteran Expediter
I don't have time to learn how to use words properly, as I am busy learning entirely new words to use incorrectly.

As a matter of fact,I just learned a new word today, it's witchadidja. As used in a sentence: You didn't bring your pickup truck witchadidja? :D
 

jaminjim

Veteran Expediter
:mad:I can't take it anymore.:mad:

LOSE is the opposite of win or gain.
LOOSE is the opposite of tight.
Why can't you get that right? Why? Why? Why?

And while I'm at it, it's THEIR, not THIER, and you use the article "an" when the next word starts with a vowel OR A VOWEL SOUND, as in, "AN mp3 file."
Oh no, I just used that word in a post two days ago. I sent you over the edge didn't I?
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
"It's a forum, sharing and learning is the idea behind it and as long as a person gets their point across I'm good with it."

You just illustrated my biggest one. Person is singular and their is plural. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

It's known as the "singular their" and along with the pronomimal generic masculine (his) has been in widespread use since the last 1300's. The alternative in the above sentence is "as long as a person gets his point across," or "as long as a person gets her point across," or "as long as a person gets his/her point across."

The "plural their" is Latin. The "singular their" is Old English, and since the mid-1800's also conforms to anti-sexism language and views. The "singular their" (etc.) is not an innovation, but old established good usage. So now the anti-sexism and the traditional English usage go hand-in-hand, and those who object to "singular their" can really find little or no support from history, linguistics, or the aim of inclusive language.

From Dictionary.com:
their
—Usage note
Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone (Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either sex (painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.): Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice. Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she, or she or he) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs: Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his) right hand. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them.

Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used: All who agree should raise their righthands. All writers know that their first books are not likely tobe bestsellers.



From the Oxford English Dictionary

  • Their 3. Often used in relation to a singular sb. or pronoun denoting a person, after each, every, either, neither, no one, every one, etc. Also so used instead of `his or her', when the gender is inclusive or uncertain. Cf.
    • 13.. Cursor M. 389 (Cott.) Bath ware made sun and mon, Aiþer wit þer ouen light.
    • c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) l, Iche mon in thayre degre.
    • 14.. Arth. & Merl. 2440 (Kolbing) Many a Sarazen lost their liffe.
    • 1545 ABP. PARKER Let. to Bp. Gardiner 8 May, Thus was it agreed among us that every president should assemble their companies.
    • 1563 WYNGET Four Scoir Thre Quest. liv, A man or woman being lang absent fra thair party.
    • 1641 BEST Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 126 Holes, of that bignesse that one may thrust in their neafe.
    • 1643 TRAPP Comm. Gen. xxiv. 22 Each Countrey hath their fashions, and garnishes.
    • 1749 FIELDING Tom Jones VII. xiv Every one in the House were in their beds.
    • 1771 GOLDSM. Hist. Eng. III. 241 Every person... now recovered their liberty.
    • a 1845 SYD. SMITH Wks. (1850) 175 Every human being must do something with their existence.
    • 1848 THACKERAY Van. Fair xli, A person can't help their birth.
    • 1858 BAGEHOT Lit. Studies (1879) II. 206 Nobody in their senses would describe Gray's `Elegy' as [etc.].
    • 1898 G. B. SHAW Plays II. Candida 86 It's enough to drive anyone out of their senses.
 

jaminjim

Veteran Expediter
Because I can't type and my spelling is dependent on my wonderful Mac computer, I try to keep what I say short and to the point. Needless to say my grammar is way worse than my typing.
 

RoadKing06

Expert Expediter
I personally pick out grammatical errors also, but I don't feel this is the place to point them out for ALL to see. In my opinion pointing out the errors in the way people speek, or type, or spell while posting their thoughts, is rude. I feel this leads to people not wanting to share their ideas with the rest of the people in this forum. If they don't share their ideas, we all lose.
If you can't handle people's grammatical mistakes, then don't read them, or be polite enough to point the errors out to them in a pm. Not everyone has the gift of great understanding of the proper usage of the English language.
This of course is my opinion. When you point out the errors publicly, basically you are telling that person and everyone else who reads your post, that the original poster is stupid. No one likes to be thought of as stupid. You also let the original poster know that you think you are smarter than he is. This is just like school days. There is a right and a wrong way of informing someone of his mistake. A little kindness goes a long way.

My opinion again here.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
 

BigRed32771

Expert Expediter
Are we all board,or is it bored?I know what it is,do you?I've been out of school for almost 50 years.I drive a truck for a living,not write an editorial in a newspaper,or in this case a forum.Does it really matter if the guy is a looser or he is just loose?For most people,you can write a sentence and leave out the vowels,or even misspell the words and still be able to read the sentence.My truck is in the shop getting motor work done,and yes I am bored.Only thing good,I don't have to drive in this lousy weather.

My mother made much the same point about avoiding driving in the recent weather as she was trying to see the silver lining around the fact that my truck has been in the shop since December 27 except for about 4 days. As this fact relates to this thread, I'm with Nightcreacher...bored. We really can't even leave the house much to do anything because we keep hoping the shop will call and say the truck is ready to pick up. So, hoping that no one takes it personally, I thought I'd throw my little grammatical peeve into the hopper.
 

jj214

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Teacher: "Josephine, give me a sentence beginning with I."
Josephine: "I is ..."
Teacher: "No, Josephine. It's always 'I am...' "
Josephine: "OK. I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
 

chefdennis

Veteran Expediter
jj214 wrote:

Teacher: "Josephine, give me a sentence beginning with I."
Josephine: "I is ..."
Teacher: "No, Josephine. It's always 'I am...' "
Josephine: "OK. I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."

LOL, now i need to clean up the keyboard of my laptop...:D

and I still haven't heard what Amonger is going to do since he "can't take it anymore"....:rolleyes:
 

AMonger

Veteran Expediter
I personally pick out grammatical errors also, but I don't feel this is the place to point them out for ALL to see. In my opinion pointing out the errors in the way people speek, or type, or spell while posting their thoughts, is rude. I feel this leads to people not wanting to share their ideas with the rest of the people in this forum. If they don't share their ideas, we all lose.

OR, perhaps it would lead to those people to improve their literacy level, whether writing, or
(sic)ing.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
Mostly, it just makes them resentful, feeling that they've been made to 'look stupid'.
The misspelled [actually, the wrong word] 'effecting' on the intro to the Women's Forum has driven me nuts for years, lol. Apparently, it can't be edited.
My feeling is that a private msg is a better way to point out a misspelling, unless you want to make someone look stupid - and I confess, I have once or twice. ;)
 

EnglishLady

Veteran Expediter
OR, perhaps it would lead to those people to improve their literacy level, whether writing, or (sic)ing.


OR

the more they post on here, the more it will help them.

But they won't post at all if they are continually going to get nitpicked.

As long as you can make out the gist of the post, thats what counts IMO.

The more they post the better they will get :D
 

Dreamer

Administrator Emeritus
Charter Member

The misspelled [actually, the wrong word] 'effecting' on the intro to the Women's Forum has driven me nuts for years, lol. Apparently, it can't be edited.



DOH!!!!!!!

Ahem..... a certain Admin with egg on face has now corrected said spelling error!

Thank you Miss Cheri!


Dale

(Sitting in corner with pointed hat on!)


Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
 

ebsprintin

Veteran Expediter
To be frank, I think a majority of the spelling/grammar corrections are done in jest by the jester bantering type. Other times it's in the heat of battle when the written word was a miswrite that misdirected a discussion onto an unintended path, because the miswrite created a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding because of poor writing or poor reading--when is the last time that happened on this forum. In this business I look at literacy as a tie breaker--two equally qualified, super-experienced candidates; one is literate, and the other is not--I'll go with the literate candidate. So we come here to this forum to air our ignorance about trucking, so we can inprove ourselves, but language skills is taboo? This is a language based medium, so why set the standard at "maybe getting the gist" of what someone is saying?

eb
 
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