"If some word/phrase/idiom/spelling/syntax/punctuation incorrectly used drives you up the wall, blog about it.
The only rule is that you must explain what is wrong with the usage that it bothers you so and you must also explain the proper usage.
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You can blog about any language you like, there is no need to restrain yourselves to English.
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Please leave me your link as a comment at this post when you're done. Feel free to send me links of other participants you've noticed.
Pass the word, tag people you know who have opinions on this"
Please leave me your link as a comment at this post when you're done. Feel free to send me links of other participants you've noticed.
Pass the word, tag people you know who have opinions on this"
There are so many mistakes people make that irritate me. Yeah well - I am a cranky old hag. What will YOU do about it, HUH??! Many others have jumped in to utilize this opportunity to voice their irritation. I'll list a couple in this post. Then we'll see if my cranky old hag-gy mind can remember more.
The improper usage of "I" gets my goat.
"The boss gave Shelley and I a tough task".
That red marker up there does look ugly, isn't it? Well, I'll leave it there. Just as a reminder to SHAPE UP OR I WILL HOUND YOU WITH A RED MARKER!!! Phew! Yes, thank you.
I think according to the rules I must clarify what's wrong with this usage. The simple rule is - when using "I" in a sentence like this, remove the other name/pronoun and see if the sentence still makes sense with "I". In this case "The boss gave I a tough task" - ummmmmm.... doesn't quite sound right to me! Don't use those I's indiscriminately people!! Now someone saying "John/My husband and I wish you a very happy New Year" is saying it correctly, so don't you go after them with the dreadful red marker!!!
Another thing that just sends me deeeeeep into the cranky, old hag-dom? The usage of the word "thingie" to describe anything that you cannot remember or do not know the name of.
Like that... that thingie you use to describe a person or a thing, you know!
You mean an adjective? Oh THAT!!
Don't come and start sentences like "You know that round, flat thingie in your kitchen...?" The "round, flat thingie" must have a name. Is it a plate? a button? A pill? UFO? (Though what would it do in my kitchen is beyond me) Frisbee?? WHATTTT???????
Tell me the darned NAME or I will beat you to a pulp with that long, wooden, cylindrical-ish thingie I have in my kitchen! I call it a ROLLING PIN!!
HAHAHA... ouch! I use "thingie" quite often! and yes, I do get how it could be so very annoying! :D
ReplyDeleteWe often write the way we speak. In today's world where everyone (well, almost) blogs/writes, this is what's been happening. We write the same tone as we speak.
ReplyDeleteThat was a wonderful point you brought to notice. We all need to give our written pieces a second(closer) look before it is sent/published :)
You made I laugh! And keep using that red ink thingie when you can't take it anymore!
ReplyDeletehahaha :)
ReplyDeleteyeah ! there are so many usages that irritate us ! mostly in the name of colloquialism ! you have a point though :)
Good topic. No one is perfect right? :). See I need to use the smiley to indicate that I'm not being a smart ass.
ReplyDeletehttp://karasevai.blogspot.com/2010/06/according-to-me-this-blogathon-should.html
Wow. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing this and good luck!
ReplyDelete*giggles*
ReplyDeleteI use thingie a lot, you know. Describes stuff so well when I can't remember the names!
Thanks for the lovely post, Cee. I love how you've included the rules to make life simpler for your readers and the 'I' rule is very easy to remember. Want to do a follow up on 'Who' vs 'Whom'?
hahaha I couldn't stop laughing....you are one funny blogger. I am eternally confused about the I vs me "thingy" too! But I like the rule....remove the name or pronoun and see if the sentence makes sense. Well said!
ReplyDeletethat I is always kept coming up so many times that u really need to walk around with a red marker. Phew!!
ReplyDelete:) I feel a lot of these common mistakes are a result of the way languages are taught in school, and also the kind of books we are taught from. Our Social Studies and History books mostly ended any list with 'last but not the least':\
ReplyDeleteRed Marker Blogathon sounds like a good idea. With a rolling pin and red marker you are sure to make a difference :)
Have you heard of the student who was asked to make a sentence using 'I'. He started, "I is..."and the teacher yelled, "I AM!"So the kid continued, "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet." :)
@IHM: LOLOL!!!
ReplyDeletenice explanation to such a simple thing.. i mean .. i mean... u see, its easy to use the word thing/ thingie instead of the actual word....:) btw, first time here. n nice blog..
ReplyDeletethe thingie thingie was about me wasn't it?
ReplyDelete:D
Good one! I agree with what Indianhomemaker has to say:)
ReplyDeleteNot sure if I'm going to blog this but the usage "I can't able to" will get a big red mark from me..
Dear Kumbh mein bicchadu hui bahan,
ReplyDeleteOMG, we really are bicchadi hui bahans. Was just looking at your list of favorite books- and they are ALL mine too!
Esp Ayn Rand and GWTW and Louis L'amour.And of course Erich Segal, thoug my fave is Doctors.
Ok, I admit thingie is stupid. But what if you don't know the name or it got stuck somewhere in your brain/mouth and is refusing to come out? I can still say thing, can I?
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the delay in replying to the comments. It was M's birthday last Saturday and things have been hectic :)
ReplyDeleterayshma: Oops!! :D
Chatterbox: See, this post is not only about written English. It is about the way people speak too. I cringe when someone speaks incorrectly. Agree with you - I wish some people would proofread their emails and posts before publishing. I also wish people would take a second extra to "edit" their words when speaking. Learnt it from a professor in Grad school - he would talk slowly but deliberately and rarely used a word in the wrong context. He always had the perfect words for everything he talked about.
starry eyed: Grrrrrrrrrr :D:D
ReplyDeleteLavanya Sriram: Thanks :)
LIFE_REFACTORED: LOL! I completely understood your comment only after I followed your link and read the post! Well done!
The Bald Guy: Thanks. But.... that's it??? No funny, wisecracks from you? I am most disappointed!
ReplyDeleteSue: I never knew you use the darned word so much. You use it less in emails maybe.
I recently read similar rule about who vs. whom - let me see if I can find it. Then will do a post on it. Have a post in mind about Hindi as well but can't seem to figure out how to start with it.
shilpa: Thanks :)
ReplyDeletePins N Ashes: I know!! I better hang a red marker around my neck. If only I could correct SPOKEN words with it. Sigh!
indianhomemaker: LOL @ "last but not the least". I have rid myself of the habit of saying this phrase with great difficulty. You are right - to this day I maintain that my grammar in Hindi and English is good because my parents were sticklers for correct grammar and taught it to us. I didn't see schools making any extra efforts to teach it to us - except 2-3 teachers through the entire 12+ years!
Rolling pin and red marker - the new weapons of "Aaj ki naari"!! :D I am still laughing at the "I is.." joke.
Momo's Ma:LOL!! I am not against the word "thing". It is just that the indiscriminate usage of the word when one could pause for a second to remember the NAME of the "thing" they are talking about that irritates me, you know! Sometimes its use is perfectly justified :)
ReplyDeleteMona: :D Well, if that makes you feel special, then yes :P But I really haven't noticed you using that word very frequently. Like I told Sue, maybe you use it more while speaking because I haven't noticed it that much in your emails and posts. Or maybe louuu made me blind :D:D
Vidya: LOL!! I can't able to? I have been away from India for so long that I haven't heard these phrases in a long time. I should visit often na? :D
ReplyDeleteRachna: BEHENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! *runs towards Rachna, arms stretched out, tears streaming down her face* Did you say Louis L'amour?? We really are soul sisters! Been a long time since I found someone who likes his writing!
Asha: I am not TOTALLY agaist using the word. I use ti myself sometimes but, you know, only after I am sure I can't remember the name.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyway, I am not trying to dictate how people should speak. You are quite welcome to use the word as often as you like :P I just don't use it myself. And my offsprings aren't allowed to use it in my presence either. KIDDING!! They ARE allowed, but then they have to look up the proper word in the dictionary with me :)