If I hear these one more time......

Goodness, what a lot of hate there is on here, and such dogmatism too.

Since accepting that language evolves naturally and that grammar changes to reflect that (albeit more slowly) , I have to own up to now preferring many of the newer words and expressions frequently complained about on here, as opposed to their older - often, dare I say it, rather outdated - equivalents! But maybe that's just me. (See what I did there, deliberately starting a sentence with 'but'?

I have just received an email from a clothing company saying, "Should OF worn this today".
Since when was "of" a past participle?

My tolerance doesn't stretch to misuse of apostrophes. After my last post, I went to the active threads page where I spotted a title that really bugs me!

I wrote this poem recently for a WI Competition which sums up how I feel. I tried to add in my concerns about apostrophes but I couldn't quite make it fit.

Whinging

I know I whinge on many topics
Don't get me started on strong narcotics.

Do not address me as gender neutral
I'm a 70 year old woman who once was youthful.

My time is kept to a daily schedule
I hate the use of the US sckedule.

'Top of the hour' and 'back in the day'
Are annoying expressions I never will say.

I ignore all the adds for a happy Winterval
Christmas for me is a holy festival.

Polical correctness is an ongoing nightmare
I'll say what I want and challenge you there.

I'll whinge and I'll moan and continue to groan
These words I'm sure will be etched on my stone.

youtu.be/_sdtVTtaDdw

Oh yes nankate, " back in the day "! Everyone says it now and I really hate it! Back in what day?? Dreadful!

'Defiantly' instead of 'definitely' - and that usually spelt 'definately''. always makes me giggle at someone standing on the white cliffs of Dover hair blowing in the wind shaking
a fist at the Fokkers overhead.....

Using ground and floor as if they are the same thing! The suspect was thrown to the floor, if this happened outside it's the ground not the the floor!!!

What about saying "pacific" instead of "specific"? I heard a newsreader say that the other day.
I also had a colleague who would say "sequins" instead of "sequence".

I agree Marydoll and there was no excuse for a news reader. My other pet hate is 'tumeric '
It's tuRmeric people.

Cerstificate?

Golly......when read collectively, we sure come over as a load of grumps. However, if we just have one pet hate each I suppose that's not so bad.

'definately' is just poor spelling but 'defiantly' is in a class of its own . It really amuses me when it's an obvious error for 'definitely' as it so completely changes the meaning of what is being written..

I failed completely at Latin at school so I don't think that theory holds water. However, I have been a voracious reader ever since I learned and I think that makes a huge difference because, until quite recently, books were written in correct and grammatical English. Speaking and writing really use two quite different methods of expression, informal and formal. If people rarely encounter the latter it's not surprising that they use the former. And, if they don't see a written word correctly spelled, many, many times how are they going to be able to see that they've spelled it completely wrongly? (My Y7 English teacher will be rotating in her grave at 'going to be able' )

As for people who come onto a PEDANTS' thread to tell us off for being pedants...words fail me...

First world problem. Let go of small things which really don't matter. Life too full of horror to get worked up about such trivia.

I already have much bigger things to get worked up about, so I figure that qualifies me take a break, by discussing the trivial.

Not getting worked up thecatgrandma-it's just one of life's irritations. Being concerned about the big stuff doesn't preclude small stuff being annoying.

Sorry to be pedantic but "gotten" is English and was in common use at the time the English colonised North America. It remained in common parlance on that side of the water but, here, it was gradually overtaken by the shorter form: "got".

I welcome its return to these shores because one of my pet loathings is the abbreviation of everyday words for no good reason, e.g.: comfy, cardy, uni for comfortable, cardigan and university. This sounds childish and is completely different from the natural spoken elision which results in "would've", for example. What really pushes up my blood pressure, though, is the misuse of "regular".
"A cup of tea, please".
"Is that regular or large?"
AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHH!!

Its fine, scribbles. It is the pedant's corner, after all. I never realised that 'gotten' is English.

It's seems when anyone is asked a question
, the reply always begins with SO...... The other is how the TV is saying the word year. Has anyone else noticed?

I agree MaizieD this thread is for pedants so leave us alone to gripe.
I'm reading a book now where formerly and formally have been confused. Also reign and rein. Grrrrr

Yes, we're pedants and proud of it!

I'm sorry to see that the distinction between 'disinterested' and 'uninterested' seems to be being ignored. It seems to me that it's a useful bit of language that we're in danger of losing.

'Gotten' is still in use (as in, it didn't go away, rather than it has recently come back) in some accents/dialects in this country. Doric in the north-east of Scotland for example.

Bbevan, you're spot on about the weather forecasters IMO. 'The overnight period' seems to appear on the local forecast every day. What's wrong with 'tonight' or 'overnight'?

Love these threads where so many of my own gripes come up! Thank you, all you fellow pedants.

"up for grabs" is my pet hate

You is the same for singular and plural. There is no such word as youse! It drives me mad. As does def in ate ly instead of def in ite ly!! There. I got that off my chest!!

Has anyone noticed the way some young people speak these days.? They seem to speak from the back of the mouth, not moving their tongue. Thus they say words like Yas for yes. It is an affectation , but not a pretty one

As if it's too much trouble to move their lips?