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Easy Grammar Fix

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Snag Breac said:
OI, OI, OI, OI! A drunken rabble has run wild in this thread since I was here last.:eek: A very Prick of Posters!

And those collective nouns should read:

A Mewling of tigers
A Squawk of hawks
A Duster of eagles
A Nonentity of crows
A Tedium of Swans
A Lapping of cats
A Leg-Up of dogs
A Depression of blues, although a Tank of Blues is good too.:p:thumbsu:

And abit is NOT a word. It's a bit.
Click to expand...

A Sodomy of Blues.:thumbsu:

A Royal Commission of Dockers.
 

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They are quite a boring, nothing team.

No, I didn't! I even asked my friend to look it up in the Melbourne Herald Sun Sports section and they didn't find any shot except for a GF day one, no hoodie.

Its okay though, and thanks again for telling me :)
 
Ok Snag I have a question for you that has been annoying me.

I saw a poster recently that stated "I wish every day were Christmas" and at first glance I thought that it was incorrect as most people would say "I wish every day was Christmas".

But then I started thinking that as it is a future event then can you use the the word "was" as that is more often used to reflect the past.

Also the singular vs plural thing gets me. I would definitely say "I wish all the days were Christmas" however when talking about a singular day it is different as in "I wish tomorrow was Christmas".

Sorry to bring up an old thread but this has been getting to me and I had nowhere else to turn to. ;)
 
Bloben, I don't presume to be Snag, but in the situation you describe (i.e. if you can begin with "If only..." or similar), then I believe "were" is always the correct form.

The singular/plural thing applies when what you're referring to has been true.

A simple example might be;
- If only Jaxson Barham were a great kick. (he's not)
- Nathan Buckley was a great kick/ The Rocca brothers were great kicks. (he was/they were)
 
I appoint you Vice-Grammarian, MCD. Judge for yourself the appropriateness of the title.

What you have there, Bloben, is that much misunderstood verbal mood - the subjunctive tense. It is used to express, a wish, hope, doubt, unreality, possibility.

E.g. God bless you! (A wish that God may bless you)

If only Buckley were playing for us now! (Unreality - he's not :().

MM insisted that they scale Mt Humphreys together. (MM's team-bonding fantasy)

The mood isn't affected by the singular/plural issue. When you say;

Also the singular vs plural thing gets me. I would definitely say "I wish all the days were Christmas" however when talking about a singular day it is different as in "I wish tomorrow was Christmas"

perhaps there's an unconscious awareness on your part that because ever day can't be Christmas, you should use the subjunctive tense. :p

I won't go into the few uses of the past subjunctive, because most of us get those right instinctively, and I want you to view the subjunctive with a tolerant eye. A teacher friend once asked me about the phrase, "If I were you.....". When I told her about the subjunctive, she said; "God - a whole tense and I never even knew it existed!"

As you rightly observe, the present subjunctive is increasingly rarely used in everday speech. If only it were otherwise!
 

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Re: There vs Their vs They're

Thank you to the;

15320283_400x400.png


:D
 
Re: There vs Their vs They're

Agreed. Spelling and grammar is atrocious on this forum. How can people not know the difference between his and he's? I reckon I had that covered by grade 1 after reading a few Dr Seuss books.

Great thread here if you're ever unsure of the correct grammar to use.

Easy grammar fix
 
Re: There vs Their vs They're

As a former secondary English teacher, I can assure posters that these grammar errors occur beyond the confines of this board. Robert Walls commentating constantly used 'he's' for 'his'. I could not understand why someone did not correct him.
 

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Re: There vs Their vs They're

Totally support this 100%.

People bag us all out as collingwood supporters and call us feral. Half of us spell as though we never went past grade 4, let alone grammar and punctuation (did I just spell grammar wrong? If I did, that is very ironic!).

My pet hat is incorrect use of Your vs You're.

Correct example time: Example 1.0 - how to disagree with someone else's opinion with correct use of "your" (ownership) and "you're" (you are);

"Your opinion that Dane Swan should be dropped from the side is ludicrous. You're obviously an imbecile. Please run back to your mum and have a sook. Yes, that's right, I believe you're a sook!"

Realistic enough?


:p
 
Re: There vs Their vs They're

I worry about threads like this though, and how they will effect the reader and poster base of this board.

Many on here aren't as educated as the OP I suspect, and many may not even have the English language as their (correct:thumbsu:) first language, so to write a post with 100% accuracy in regards to both grammar and spelling is almost impossible for some posters.

I agree that posts that are almost incomprehensible due to spelling and grammatical errors are difficult to read and get through, but you also have to understand where that person is coming from in regards to their particular demographics, before criticising them in a public manner.

My suggestion would be that if you believe you are intelligent enough to assist any of the regular posters here in improving their respective accuracy of their posts, then do so in a private manner, be it through PM or through some other contact means.

I've never believed that repeated public examples of someone's shortcomings is a way to go about correcting anything in life, and this board could be a great example of what to do, rather then what not to do.

Another problem these days is auto correct on some software programs, especially those associated with phones.

(And yes, I'm not perfect also, I rush most of my posts and very rarely read over them before posting, and I myself have criticised others for mistakes in the past).

:)
 
Re: There vs Their vs They're

mattys123 is correct. Really, this thread is more a gentle reminder and nobody is going to be discriminated against for spelling or grammar errors. I would never seek to correct another poster and besides I'm used to reading English of all standards. We all rush posts.
 
Re: There vs Their vs They're

Outside BF I'm a bit of a stickler for spelling and grammar, have just accepted that it's never going to perfect here :)

Especially with certain..... no I'll stop there!
 

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