[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by notcynical *
**
Don’t worry, they still use adverbs–just in the wrong places. For example: “The Redskins aren’t playing very aggressive today because the team has so many injuries. You have to feel BADLY for them.”
This is something that REALLY gets on my nerves!! No one ever says that they feel “happily” or “goodly” for someone else, so why they should feel “badly” for them is anybody’s guess.
One of the ones I’ve seen that is common, but really shouldn’t be, is the replacement of the word “an” with “and” as in, “I ate and apple today.” I know I made fun of this typo in an earlier thread (or as some would say, and earlier thread), but it bears repeating. I know a few web page designers who make that mistake all the time. Why is this so prevalent? “An” and “and” are two of the most common words in the English language, and their meanings are completely different! I really hope that this particular typo is just the unconscious result of people getting their neural pathways mixed up while they’re typing, or thinking a few words ahead, instead of genuine confusion about which word to use.
I worked at a residential treatment center and some rebellious young punk wrote ‘Satin Rules’ on his arm with a pen. This attempt to be defiant backfired, of course, when staff were not only laughing about it, but running to tell other staff members so they could laugh about it.
Another common mistake I see on Pagan sites is ‘alter’ instead of ‘altar’. Blargh!
P.S. This is my 100th post. Wheeee!
Golly-wolly, I would prefer to dance with a man who enjoys dancing, but it sometimes happens that no one asks me. Or asks the friends I’m there with, all wishing a guy would ask. But the luck of the draw is this: there are more straight women wanting to dance than there are straight guys comfy with dancing. So, when the chair-dancing is killing us, we start dancing with each other. And once we do so, we feel goofy, and club-like, and defensive of each other. We are a little teensy weensy bit hurt that no male has asked. But we are definitely not lesbian.
-Sue
Sorry to quote myself, but what the heck was the thread I was responding to? Something jumped in-between.
Sue
Damn, I read that really, really slowly three times to find all the subtle typos and grammatical errors which you were surely pointing out for us…
Okay, this has been bugging me for some time, so I’d like some of my fellow grammar Nazi’s input 
(Oh! There’s one. Imput instead of input twitch)
I was recently at the Boston aquarium, and there is a sign there that discusses the evolution of fish. It is one of the very last displays in the aquarium, if you are progressing up the spiral, for any of those who live in Boston or nearby and want to verify. It’s on the fifth level and it is at the very, very end, tucked into a corner.
Anyway, I was reading this sign and it made something similar to the following statement (i.e. I know that the portion concerning the perceived grammatical error is accurate, however the superfluous stuff around it I cannot recall):
“These fish have evolved, and though living in the same area they are all different. For example, fish A: it’s evolved triangular fins to help its aerodynamicity.”
Again, I can’t vouch for the technical accuracy of this - I saw it in February and I failed to take a photo of it. However, it irked me; “it’s” means “it is”, and that is clearly incorrect - “it is evolved triangular fins” makes no sense. It was obviously the intent to say, “it has evolved triangular fins” - which, while dodgy usage of the word “evolved” (in my book), is at least accurate.
“It’s”, however, should not be used to mean “it has”. I know it is done in speech often - not by me, I’m far too anal! - but, does anyone know if it is actually correct? It disturbs me that I might have found a grammatical error in a museum of all places.
That should be “grammar Nazis’ input”, as the sentence is plural. Would have caught that on a preview if I’d actually clicked on that button this time
Caiata, does that mean you wouldn’t use the word “he’s” as a shortened form of “he has”? So you wouldn’t say something like, “Oh no, he’s done it again”? Because as far as contractions go, I can’t see anything wrong with treating “has” the same way we treat “is”.
I’ve always said “He did it again,” in that particular situation … so as to avoid the desire to say “he has” as “he’s”.
It’s easy to do in speech but I most certainly avoid it whenever writing, because somehow I got it into my head that it’s not correct usage of the contraction. Whether or not I am right about that, I do not know, which is why I asked.
None of my business, A P, but I guess you meant to post here?
The tree was struck by lightening.
and tenants when you mean tenets
Ah, yes. Thanks!
-Another
Another vote (or should that be “Another’s vote”?) for using the contraction for ‘has’. Doggone! Where’s my dictionary? It’s usually right here! Ah, yessss – in the dining room, by the Pictionary game.
OK, it doesn’t specifically address “has”, but it mentions “I’ve”. I’ve been away, he’s been away, she’s been away, it’s been away, they’ve…
So I say, if “I’ve” is OK, why not “he’s”?
-Another