# damn the teacher who decided "me" was a dirty word **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 20, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811 "2011-12-20T03:55:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/21 "2011-12-20T15:41:05Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Language is alive, dusty books do not determine the prerogative of living things. Excellent point! Please do me the honor of wearing this genius cap. (Note that as a bearer of the Living Language, I have decided that “genius” should now be spelled “DUNCE,” replacing the antiquated form found in dusty dictionaries.) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/22 "2011-12-20T17:30:20Z")
The only thing worse than being pedantic is being pedantic and wrong, or possibly being pedantic and fat. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/23 "2011-12-20T17:38:05Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > My favorite is when I get corrected for: > > ME: “You can give that to John or me.” > SmartAss: “John or _I_ … .” I think I might enjoy that (possibly a little too much), because if they’re mistakenly correcting _me_, then it is ON! Time to have a discussion about how if you remove John from the sentence, you wouldn’t say, “You can give that to I.” I heartily endorse this Pitting - it’s one of my current peeves, too, the ridiculous over-use of “myself.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/24 "2011-12-20T19:04:01Z")
Just what _is_ wrong with using the standard possessive form on an indefinite object? People keep _saying_ it’s’s wrong… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/25 "2011-12-20T19:17:20Z")
I always forget to do it when we have these threads, so I’m going to read this one AFTER I point out that there is never an excuse to say “comfterble.” Nails on slate… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/26 "2011-12-20T19:23:28Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Just what _is_ wrong with using the standard possessive form on an indefinite object? People keep _saying_ it’s’s wrong… What, like… _its_? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/27 "2011-12-20T19:28:38Z")
That’s the result of native speakers not learning the rules of the language from dusty old books, but through living examples and everyday use. The grammarians struggle to impose order on language, but the native speakers resist it because the language works fine for them. English has tons of technical intricacies, but we don’t learn the names for them or the full rules because we don’t learn the language through a book. If you ask a native English speaker to write a sentence demonstrating the Present Perfect Continuous verb tense, you’ll get blank stares most of the time. They then say things like “What have you been up to?” without knowing it’s an example of Present Perfect Continuous. Ultimately the grammarians will lose this fight, but it’s kind of fun to watch them shovel sand against the tide. I just wish it wasn’t so hard on people learning English as a second language. They may look to native speakers as a source of information on the language and the reality is most don’t know the rules explicitly, just implicitly. So they can’t give guidance in the way the learner needs it. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/28 "2011-12-20T19:32:59Z")
I ain’t got nobody that I can depend on, just me, myself and I. \<–Grammarian nightmare? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/29 "2011-12-20T19:35:56Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > My favorite is when I get corrected for: > > ME: “You can give that to John or me.” > SmartAss: “John or _I_ … .” _“Oh, I forgot, John’s on vacaton this month. Just give it to I.”_ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/30 "2011-12-20T19:38:29Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Just what _is_ wrong with using the standard possessive form on an indefinite object? People keep _saying_ it’s’s wrong… Now you’re just being difficult… ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/31 "2011-12-20T19:54:51Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I always forget to do it when we have these threads, so I’m going to read this one AFTER I point out that there is never an excuse to say “comfterble.” > > Nails on slate… Next, could you go after people who prounounce the name of the second month as “Feb-yoo-ary”? ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/32 "2011-12-20T20:00:23Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > They then say things like “What have you been up to?” … That should be, “To what have you been up?” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/33 "2011-12-20T20:44:37Z")
Nowadays, often condensed to “what up, homie?” ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/34 "2011-12-20T20:52:58Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > The only thing worse than being pedantic is being pedantic and wrong, or possibly being pedantic and fat. Luckily, people that are both fat and pedantic are invariably correct. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/35 "2011-12-20T22:20:28Z")
Me Am, Myself Said. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/36 "2011-12-20T22:36:22Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > Next, could you go after people who prounounce the name of the second month as “Feb-yoo-ary”? I guess you could, but you’d be wrong. That is the [more popular](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/february), and thus correct, pronunciation, at least in American English. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/37 "2011-12-20T22:55:54Z")
Okay, how about “realator,” then? I watch a lot of real estate porn, and this is my nails-on-chalkboard mis-pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/38 "2011-12-20T23:41:06Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > My favorite is when I get corrected for: > > ME: “You can give that to John or me.” > SmartAss: “John or _I_ … .” Oh, yes, I work with a couple of those. SmartAss: “John or _I_ … .” And I reply: “Oh, really? Are you seriously telling me you want to use the Subjective Case when dealing with a Direct Object?” SmartAss: “Uhhh…?” And I quickly walk away, before they can see me gloating. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/39 "2011-12-21T00:02:43Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > My favorite is when I get corrected for: > > ME: “You can give that to John or me.” > SmartAss: “John or _I_ … .” Val Kilmer demonstrates the proper way to respond to an incorrect grammar correction in [Kiss Kiss Bang Bang](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kgx3-1OFZk&t=0m35s) (warning: language). ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811/40 "2011-12-21T00:57:03Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I always forget to do it when we have these threads, so I’m going to read this one AFTER I point out that there is never an excuse to say “comfterble.” That’s pretty darn close to most pronunciations (/ˈkʌm.ftɚ.bəl/). Do you hypercorrect and pronounce it how it’s spelled or something? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-teacher-who-decided-me-was-a-dirty-word/606811.md?page=3)