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Demonstone's and Flaubert's English Grammar for Demonlanders 101

Neil Crompton
in Melbourne Demons

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I cringe at "I could care less", which indicates that the speaker has at least some level of care.

Surely "I couldn't care less" (I have no care) is what they mean.

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    11 minutes ago, Winners at last said:

     

    I'm just warming up.

    Same, Bingers. I’m a bona fide logophile, word nerd, grammar nazi, whatever the title. 

    Just a few of my pet hates:

    who’s/whose 

    born/borne

    everyday/every day

    (somebody slap me)

    loath/loathe

    A while/awhile 

    Stationary/stationery

     

    And anyone apart from cockneys who pronounces ‘th’ as ‘f’ 😡

     

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    11 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

    I cringe at "I could care less", which indicates that the speaker has at least some level of care.

    Surely "I couldn't care less" (I have no care) is what they mean.

    ‘That’s a whole nother thing’. 
    I’ve not seen it written. But I hear it all the time. 

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    There's no such thing as "prior opportunity".  You either had an opportunity to do something or you didn't. There's no prior.

    Edited by one_demon

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    "Forward planning" is also a tautology.  You can't plan retrospectively.

    Another bugbear of mine (and we can probably blame Kurt Cobain!) is people thinking that "never mind" is one word.

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    As this thread seems to have branched out into words / terms not exclusively used on DL I'd like to know how the hell people over here decided that the surname Strachan should be pronounced as Strawn. 

    Also the Elgin Hotel in Hawthorn should be pronounced with a hard 'g' . I grew up 50 miles from the town Elgin. Lord Elgin was the guy that pilfered the Greek sculptures known today as the Elgin Marbles. 

    Edited by Rab D Nesbitt

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    Elgin saved the marble friezes that were mostly smashed and laying around the acropolis. If it hadnt been for his love of art the friezes would have been lost forever. The Greeks weren't interested in a pile of rubble. 

    They are interested today because of the tourism/money factor.

    Typical .

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    On 7/23/2022 at 6:34 PM, Demonstone said:

    I would also advise that posters don't use a big word when a singularly unloquacious and diminutive linguistic expression will satisfactorily accomplish the contemporary necessity.

    At this stage, I should put my hand up and confess that I sometimes use big words that I don't know the meaning of in an attempt to sound more photosynthesis.

    Sesquipedalians (hope I spelt it correctly) do my head in🤯

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    What about...."between you and I"  etc.

      And..........He said it to "you and I"   .

    It's becoming so commonplace to misuse the first person pronoun, that I fear it will become acceptable grammar.

     

     

    Edited by Jumping Jack Clennett
    embarrassing typo

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    25 minutes ago, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

    What about...."between you and I"  etc.

      And..........He said it to "you and I"   .

    It's becoming so commonplace to misuse the first person pronoun, that I fear it will become acceptable grammar.

     

     

    What's the correct use here:

    "I am tall, but my brother is taller than..."

    Is it "I am" or "me"?

    I'm not being tricky - I don't know the answer. That's why I'm asking Demonland. It seems to better at grammar and spelling than any other available resource.

    And what about Viney? (Added solely to include a football reference to ensure the thread remains allowed on this board.) 

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    3 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

    What's the correct use here:

    "I am tall, but my brother is taller than..."

    Is it "I am" or "me"?

    I'm not being tricky - I don't know the answer. That's why I'm asking Demonland. It seems to better at grammar and spelling than any other available resource.

    And what about Viney? (Added solely to include a football reference to ensure the thread remains allowed on this board.) 

    I am tall, but my brother is taller than me.

    And as for Viney, I daresay he’s taller than me, too. 😁

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    27 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

    I am tall, but my brother is taller than me.

    And as for Viney, I daresay he’s taller than me, too. 😁

    WCW, just saw a post of yours in another thread, and have a question:

    - do you make minced meat out of them? or

    - do you make mince meat out of them?

    Or because they are Pies, who GAF, as long as they are dead meat?

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    2 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

    ‘That’s a whole nother thing’. 
    I’ve not seen it written. But I hear it all the time. 

    Americans.

     

    They have alot to answer for.

     

    😉

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    I've noticed that many players use "myself" instead of "me".

    For example, they'll say something like "The coach had a word with myself about kicking for goal".

     

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    11 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

    WCW, just saw a post of yours in another thread, and have a question:

    - do you make minced meat out of them? or

    - do you make mince meat out of them?

    Or because they are Pies, who GAF, as long as they are dead meat?

    I always go with minced meat as opposed to mince meat. It’s the same with iced coffee. Many say ice coffee. 

    And I’m all for sticking with dead meat. ❤️💙

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    25 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

    Or because they are Pies, who GAF, as long as they are dead meat?

    It's a challenge not to be condescending to Collingwood supporters.

    On the off chance any Magpie fans are reading this thread, "condescending" means to talk down to.

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    1 hour ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

    I am tall, but my brother is taller than me.

    And as for Viney, I daresay he’s taller than me, too. 😁

    It should more traditionally be “I”, as you are effectively saying “my brother is taller than I am…” 

    i.e. “he is taller than I am”

    hence “he is taller than I…”

    but “me” seems to be the more commonly used these days. 

    https://onlinewritingtraining.com.au/than-i-versus-than-me/

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    • Thanks 1
    12 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

    I've noticed that many players use "myself" instead of "me".

    For example, they'll say something like "The coach had a word with myself about kicking for goal".

     

    Yes, it is a worrying trend. And not just by footballers.

     

    1 hour ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

    What's the correct use here:

    "I am tall, but my brother is taller than..."

    Is it "I am" or "me"?

    I'm not being tricky - I don't know the answer. That's why I'm asking Demonland. It seems to better at grammar and spelling than any other available resource.

    And what about Viney? (Added solely to include a football reference to ensure the thread remains allowed on this board.) 

    There is an easy answer to work out whether it should be "I" or "me". Say the sentence removing the other person's name ... e.g If it's "Abercrombie & I" just repeat the sentence deleting "Abercrombie &" ... Same with "Abercrombie & me". Try it ... 

    https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/when-to-use-i-or-me-in-a-sentence.html

     

     

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    11 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

    It's a challenge not to be condescending to Collingwood supporters.

    On the off chance any Magpie fans are reading this thread, "condescending" means to talk down to.

    It doesn't mean a prisoner going back to jail, which is what I'm sure they'd be thinking.

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    • Like 1
    • Haha 4
    3 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

    Same, Bingers. I’m a bona fide logophile, word nerd, grammar nazi, whatever the title. 

    Just a few of my pet hates:

    who’s/whose 

    born/borne

    everyday/every day

    (somebody slap me)

    loath/loathe

    A while/awhile 

    Stationary/stationery

     

    And anyone apart from cockneys who pronounces ‘th’ as ‘f’ 😡

     

    Incorrect use of:

    Set up vs setup 

    in line vs inline 

    Also:

    “Im going to lay down for a while” should be lie down. You can lay a towel down to lie on, but you don’t lay down. 

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