"must have" "at all" and "yeh - no"

No Annobel a grammar school in Trafford

Perhaps as well as the parents of young children teaching good manners to their offsprings, we also need a campaign to get the BBC and others in the media to clean up their acts?

We could start by suggest to the media starting with the BBC, that they all adopt the motto "Manners makyth man"

Cheers Brian

Pensionista is right to ask about how children come to be so bad mannered. We do have to teach them as little children, which we did, back in the early 1980s. But my friend back then was a Brown Owl at a local Brownie pack, and taught the little ones manners because they were not being taught by their parents. Their mothers were openly grateful, and not one of them showed any shame for not having taught them at home.

My two lads joined the Australian Army Reserve while at university. (The money was a big help to them) Their Dad, an ex-Able Seaman in the RN in England told them they couldn't join unless they went as officers. He assumed our working class background would prevent this, as it could have done back in our day in the UK: he didn't really want them in the armed forces. But they both got in, and went through Duntroon (our Sandhurst) together successfully, and were immensely grateful for all that training in manners. Some cadets had to be taught how to eat properly at the table! And I've read about firms sending their aspiring executives on etiquette and manners training courses!

It is just like the correct use of English: they can't do it unless they've been taught. There are so very many parents out there who have no idea about how to bring up children, and the sad truth is that most of them just don't give a damn.

I think that older people have always thought that young ones badly behaved and sloppy of speech.
I just think yeh/no is a particularly weird development.

"We were sat at the table." No! "We were sitting at the table."
"Me and John went to the cinema." No! "John and I went to the cinema."
"Mum gave it to my sister and I." No! "Mum gave it to my sister and me."

I could go on ....

BBC news presenters make me howl with fury when they make grammatical errors. If they can't get it right, what hope is there for our grandchildren?

So do some clergymen and politicians!

Irritated by 'kind of' ,'sort of' sometimes several times in one sentence. Even worse 'Kind of like'.

That sounds really bad for your stress levels jack

Oh don't worry JessM. My pulse rate only goes into orbit when I hear truly awful news, such as today's bulletin about the tragic death of six of our boys in Afghanistan. This waste of young life is absolutely outrageous and puts our petty pedantry into some sort of perspective.

oh well yes. so sad. and will it all make a difference in the long run... I am not convinced.
Enjoy shouting at the radio then.

jessM should there be a question mark after run?

or a dash even.
Not given to worrying about punctuation in informal communication myself.
Even in pedants corner.
There are too many occasions when i really must worry.

Did anyone note the lack of an apostrophe after Prisoners (in Prisoners' Wives, BBC One, last night)? It appeared to be an on-screen error as television guides (e.g. Culture) added an apostrophe. Who's in charge for heaven's sake?!

Most doctors' surgeries also omit the apostrophe (hence Doctors Surgery). Again, who is in charge?

Sometimes it makes one despair ...

Can be many doctors who all use the same room

Jack come on, brace up, as you implied yesterday, worse things happen at sea. Do you need to get out more? Markets are particularly good for spotting spelling and grammar mistakes I believe

I'm new to the Gransnet Forums (erm, as this is pedants corner, should that be Fora...?) I've enjoyed reading everybody so far, but had to jump in on this one. I wonder if the current fashion for 'yeah-no' grew from Little Britain, Vicky Pollard, 'Yeah, but no, but yeah', etc.

Aaargh, apostrophes! A local pub advertised 'Desperate Dan Pie's' until redecorated recently. Don't get me started!

I've never come across the 'yeah-no' expression, but the one we get all the time after waiting to be served (anywhere) is 'Are you all right there?'. How pointless is that? The correct response is apparently to ask for what you want to buy....

In a local TV news bulletin yesterday, the cameras zoomed in on a notice that said "Please sign our pettision"!

Gransnet Fora! Ha Ha! Blinko blinkin' brilliant!

anagram

Pressed wrong button. I was going to say, what I say is 'yes! I would like someone to serve me please. And then give them what my kids call my SMO look!(abit like a paddington stare but more so)

Yes, but even the checkout girls say it when you've got all your shopping moving along the conveyor belt.....it would be a bit churlish to reply "Yes, I am, please just get on with it" every time!

Another phrase which annoys me, and would do even more if I were on the receiving end, is "Can I get a (whatever...decaff latte supremo, perhaps)?". If I were serving them I'd be very tempted to say "No, you can't, that's my job!".

I cringe every time I buy a drink in Costa Coffee and they instruct me 'there you go!'

Carol all you need is for them to pat you on the head and show you to your seat and you are sorted.