No you couldn't HAVE (1 Viewer)

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Dec 27, 2003
1,982
#1
Ok first off let me state that I admit to being a bit of a linguistic purist if not a grammar nazi.

Secondly I want you to bear in mind that English is only my third language after Italian and French, and that in spite of this I do my best to write it in the clearest and most accurate way I can. This isn't much of an achievement, considering that English spelling, grammar and usage is a piece of cake compared to French and to a certain extent Italian.

Even so, I understand that spelling mistakes can occur here and there. What makes the vein on my neck bulge however is to see NATIVE English speakers - I couldn’t stress enough on the NATIVE part - repeatedly commit the most outrageous errors (as opposed to typos or willingly modified text spelling).

Here are a couple of the monstrosities I have come across :

- the use of the contracted form "you’re" in lieu of the possessive pronoun "your". Anyone who has made it past third grade must have learned that a pronoun defines and/or replaces a noun (hence the "pro" in "pronoun"). In the sentence "your grammar can be improved", the possessive "your" defines "grammar" and there is no way a VERB could replace it. Can’t you see that ?? The same goes for "it’s" and "they’re" which I see all to often used instead of "its" and "their". Sometimes "their" is also confused with the adverb "there". A gross albeit slightly less scandalous error. The Oscar for the most appaling mistake in this category has to go to the use of the averb and verb "how are" to say "our". ex : "How are spelling is terrible". :yuck:

-The use of the abominable "could of", "would of" and "should of" in lieu of the conditional tense "could/would/should HAVE". Let’s start from the beginning. The modal verb "can" becomes "could" when used in the past tense. But just like his cousins "would" and "should", "could" can also serve as an auxiliary verb in the conditional tense. By definition, an auxiliary verb supports another verb. NOT a conjunction, which is what "of" is. Ex : "Had I known my auxiliary verbs, I would have used the conditional tense properly".

I can’t really think of other blatant mistakes at the moment and lack time to further search the forum, but if you find some more, post them here. Hopefully this thread will serve as a reference guide for the non native English speakers and optimize communication on the forum.
 

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Slagathor

Bedpan racing champion
Jul 25, 2001
22,708
#2
I says t'ya nuuune of 'tall mahtters if yer frum Holland and all d'English yu've ever spoken is the dialect of luvburra. D'yu no wha I men? :cap:

:D

Translation:
"Let me tell you that none of it matters if you're from Holland and all the English you've ever spoken is the dialect of Loughborough. Do you know what I mean?"
 

Daddi

Cuadrado is juan hell of a derby king!
Oct 27, 2004
7,900
#17
I dont wanna read so much text, coming from a Milan-fan :D
fill me in guyz, whats this thread about? :)
 
Apr 12, 2004
77,165
#20
++ [ originally posted by Kaiser Franco ] ++
The same goes for "it’s" and "they’re" which I see all to often used instead of "its" and "their".
Should be "too," not "to." No?

Also, one should mention the fact that "alot" is not a word, it is spelled "a lot," two words. Unless talking about a certain amout of something allowed. E.G., an allotted amount of time.
 
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