RIP prepositions?

I heard on the TV an American say " the crew were unboarded"
It took me a moment or too to realise he meant "disembarked".

Dropping prepositions has been the norm in popular English in many regions, and for a very long time.

Cossy

Where I live (in Essex) so many people appear to have stopped using “the” and “to” so they “go shops” “go Spain” “go Doctors” I cannot bear it, it sounds like gibberish!

That's extraordinary!
Depends whether I am talking or writing. Many people use shortcuts when they are talking.
I'm a tedious old stickler when I'm writing.
I still use the apostrophe.
My texts are usually grammatically correct( rather what I believe to be grammatically correct ).
Boring Old Twit. com

Yes indeed, many announcers and journalists on the tv and radio say different to, it drives me crackers, supposed to be educated people who went to Red Brick universities.

There are so many changes since we were young.
Sociolinguistics is an interesting topic.

GrammarGrandma

Ok, but "away" isn't a preposition; it's an adverb. (See my name)

It is indeed, and can also be an attributive adjective (an away match)
“Away from” is however a multi-word preposition and “give away” a phrasal verb.

I shudder at 'outside of' & similar. We don't say 'above of', etc. I was taught that no preposition was needed after those and that using one was bad English. See: dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/outside

I think this shortened form of speaking arose from texting. You were only allowed a certain number of characters in each text so superfluous words were dropped.

People don't seem to contact each other any more. They always reach out. The only time I reach out is when the remote has shuffled to the other end of the sofa.

Ok, but "away" isn't a preposition; it's an adverb. (See my name)

Re euphemisms for death and dying: my late mother used to talk about, 'When I become an estate.'

I'm bit of a pedant and have just heard a youngster on radio talking about a recent experience. I counted at least six instances of 'like'. Spoiled her otherwise interesting rendition! Why do they do this?

I hadn't noticed this, but I certainly do not ever do this myself, as far as I know. Was very thoroughly grounded in English Language as opposed to English Literature at school, plus Latin, and French, which also require a good grounding in grammar, all at A level.
But Jacky B, when you say "And one that has confused me in recent years is "sorry for" rather than " sorry about", you are (presumably) using the prepositions correctly, as the phrases have different meanings, depending on which one you use.
MY bete noire is "MY BAD"

polnan

I have forgotten any "grammar" I was taught at school, but this thread strikes a chord with me! is that grammatically correct..
what really bugs me is,,, me and her.... I was taught to always put the other person first.... when did it change?

all this is said with a smile, as language evolves, so I understand

Sometime in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, judging from the children I have taught in the three last decades of my teaching life, who had never been taught that it is polite to mention yourself last in these kind of sentences.

The reason they did not know it was that their parents had not be taught it either.

They thought it very odd when I insisted on "Jane and I were playing" in preference to "me and Jane were playing" on two grounds the one being politeness, they just could not see that it was impolite or arrogant to think yourself more important than others, the other reason being that even their generation considered it incorrect to say " me was playing""!

I cringe every time a politician says they "took the decision". You don't take a decision, you make one!

grandMattie

And, yes, all these ridiculous euphemisms for dying. Both my husband and son died recently, I didn’t “lose” them, they didn’t just pass away (unless one adds “to a better place”. As for some people saying my chaps are “late”. Huh!🤔

My late father in law - is OK though.

grandMattie

How about “I wrote him and he didn’t reply”? Probably, I would have done better to “write TO him”!

Brought up in Scotland we always said “TO him” - the omission of “to” is much more common in England. I remember being totally puzzled by phrases like “Give it me” or “I gave it her” (although “I gave her it” sounded fine - something similar to Dative before Accusative ?

But does it matter?

Aveline

'Different from' seems to have mutated to 'different to'. We were always taught 'different from' but 'similar to'.

This has occupied my DH and I for fifty years 😁. We shout at the radio in unison.

And, yes, all these ridiculous euphemisms for dying. Both my husband and son died recently, I didn’t “lose” them, they didn’t just pass away (unless one adds “to a better place”. As for some people saying my chaps are “late”. Huh!🤔

How about “I wrote him and he didn’t reply”? Probably, I would have done better to “write TO him”!

OldEnough2noBetter

A lot of the changes are because American English has polluted the river, as it were. The Americanisation of English helped by television and media increased exponentially due to the Internet. Younger generations continue to adopt US spelling, pronunciation and usage.

I grieve for my dead loved ones.
I park the car.
I beat someone fair and square when I win; I do not 'beat out' the competition; that's something one does with grouse, is it not?
Different from is English. Different than is US. Different to is just wrong.
Something impacts on me. If it impacts me, it means I need a laxative.
If I pass, it's because I can't answer a question on Mastermind. When I kick the bucket, I shall pass away.

You will die, pass away to where? go away? where to? why can't we say what happens, we die. It is very confusing for children and people with dementia and indeed elderly people when we don't speak properly. We need to normalise speaking about death so it is not such a taboo subject.

Does 'watching on' grate on others? I always used to just watch.

I hate it when "to be" is missed out of a sentence e.g. 'It needs done' 'it needs painted' - so often heard on the "Homes under the hammer" programme by a female presenter. Please say "it needs doing... needs painting" ....etc. or "it needs TO BE done, needs TO BE painted ! Drives me crazy. Rant over 😡

A lot of the changes are because American English has polluted the river, as it were. The Americanisation of English helped by television and media increased exponentially due to the Internet. Younger generations continue to adopt US spelling, pronunciation and usage.

I grieve for my dead loved ones.
I park the car.
I beat someone fair and square when I win; I do not 'beat out' the competition; that's something one does with grouse, is it not?
Different from is English. Different than is US. Different to is just wrong.
Something impacts on me. If it impacts me, it means I need a laxative.
If I pass, it's because I can't answer a question on Mastermind. When I kick the bucket, I shall pass away.