Common Errors in English Usage

[2bit]

We're you not being somewhat factious at the time though...Humour on a forum is somewhat hit and miss.....

And I love you too......

No. Hugs.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Can we talk about Eats, Shoots & Leaves and, more specifically, why it is terrible?

 

[Castiel]

No. Hugs.

Hmmm, I think it was just the one onomatopoeia that was in dispute (if you call pointing out a clearer way of expressing such as a dispute) rather than every statement or proposition....

 

[Castiel]

I must admit that I thought it was 'butt naked' though.....

 

[Judgeneo]

In the expression “bail out,” meaning to abandon a position or situation, it is nonstandard in America to use “bale,” though that spelling is widely accepted in the UK. The metaphor in the US is to compare oneself when jumping out of a plane to a bucket of water being tossed out of a boat, though that is probably not the origin of the phrase.

I've never seen 'bale out' in my life, so I doubt its widely excepted over here.

Beginning literature students often write sentences like this: “He uses the rose as a parallel for her beauty” when they mean “a symbol of her beauty.”

While non-standard, I thought 'as a parallel' was fine?


After that I got bored reading the site.

 

[Gogl]

Butt naked - I've used it, not sure how well I'd adjust to using buck naked.

Catch 22 - Can't recall having heard it being used to describe a simple catch.

Concerted effort - Would agree with the above for its singular usage, especially if you've the need to set several things in motion to achieve your objective.

Could care less - Talking to people from the US I've heard this often, and often seen on forums. Not heard it spoken over here though.

The word than seems to be dimming in usage in the US, though I've seen it missing more and more on forums over here.

Don't know if anyone else has found this to be true for them, but my poor grasp of English fundamentals became quite apparent when I looked to learn another language.

 

[D.P.]

I have never heard anyone use the term "I could are less" instead of "I couldn't care less"......so not so common methinks.

Equally with the term "Catch 22", I have only heard it used to infer a circular problem like the op described.

And one other issue is with the word 'concerted'....as well as meaning to work jointly or in 'concert' with another or within a group, it can also mean resolute and determined in modern usage, so a 'concerted effort' in the singular would imply 'a determined or intensive effort' and would be perfectly correct usage in that context. Not to mention the implied singular in the definition in respect of 'contrived' and 'planned' if we ignore the modern usage or context. In either case it is acceptable in English to use 'concerted' in the context "He made a concerted effort" etc....

I think the author of the website needs to consult a dictionary/thesaurus (and not an online one) once in a while...

Almost all Americans below a certain education level will use " I could care less", bizarre because it doesn't take that much thinking to realize that it is just wrong.

 

[Castiel]

Almost all Americans below a certain education level will use " I could care less", bizarre because it doesn't take that much thinking to realize that it is just wrong.

It must be a recent affectation then as it was never apparent to me during my childhood (spent with mostly people below a certain education level, or any education level for that matter)

And, you are right it doesn't make any sense even in a rudimentary way.

 

[Redz]

It is precisely what such luminaries of English Literature such as Shakespeare and Joyce have done....
.

Isn't Joyce a luminary of Irish literature?

 

[D.P.]

I work with ex-professors and people predominantly educated to post-doc and PhD levels in maths/physics/CS and within this group a never hear such errors, very different walking around the mall or hanging out at the residential swimming pool.

 

[Castiel]

I work with ex-professors and people predominantly educated to post-doc and PhD levels in maths/physics/CS and within this group a never hear such errors, very different walking around the mall or hanging out at the residential swimming pool.

I grew up in the US and I never heard it used that way, so either it isn't a West Coast thing or it has gained popularity (notoriety) in more recent years. (To be fair, among the kind of people I was associating with 'I couldn't care less' was not really the kind of language you would hear anyway, not enough profanity)

 

[Dabbles]

I grew up in the US and I never heard it used that way, so either it isn't a West Coast thing or it has gained popularity (notoriety) in more recent years. (To be fair, among the kind of people I was associating with 'I couldn't care less' was not really the kind of language you would hear anyway, not enough profanity)

This isn't unique to the US!

 

[Castiel]

Isn't Joyce a luminary of Irish literature?

Indeed...however English Literature in this context refers to the Language rather than the nationality of the author.

 

[Castiel]

This isn't unique to the US!

I did not infer it was.

 

[D.P.]

I grew up in the US and I never heard it used that way, so either it isn't a West Coast thing or it has gained popularity (notoriety) in more recent years. (To be fair, among the kind of people I was associating with 'I couldn't care less' was not really the kind of language you would hear anyway, not enough profanity)

I live west coast. I believe it is just a more modern phenomena, I see it on a lot of American forums.

 

[Redz]

I did not infer it was.

No, but you implied it.

bonus points

 

[estebanrey]

Equally with the term "Catch 22", I have only heard it used to infer a circular problem like the op described.

I think you mean 'imply'...

http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/imply.html

IMPLY/INFER

These two words, which originally had quite distinct meanings, have become so blended together that most people no longer distinguish between them. If you want to avoid irritating the rest of us, use “imply” when something is being suggested without being explicitly stated and “infer” when someone is trying to arrive at a conclusion based on evidence. “Imply” is more assertive, active: I imply that you need to revise your paper; and, based on my hints, you infer that I didn’t think highly of your first draft.

 

[Judgeneo]

No I think Infer works in those cases

 

[estebanrey]

No I think Infer works in those cases

Not in the context of what he was saying.

The person making the claim is implying, the person listening to the claim is inferring.

In both cases he is talking about the person making the claim.

 

[Castiel]

Infer was used correctly with the "circular problem" being based on the evidence of the subject. Therefore the "catch 22" is inferred by the conclusion rather than the suggestion.

In any case, as a transitive verb "Infer" means to hint, suggest or imply in addition to the explanation given above.

Besides, I make common errors all the time, particularly in speech and informal settings such as discussion forums...when it comes to my work however I am far more careful and precise. Ultimately language evolves and the way in which it evolves is when external influences and it's own internal errors become common and then accepted usage, formal English today is somewhat different form formal English 150 years ago for example. The further back you go the more incomprehensible English becomes to a modern English user, and so you could say that we are all making common errors everyday in almost everything we say.

No I think Infer works in those cases

Yup!

.......................

I think it is important it point out that the author of the book Paul Brians does say that he is not a linguist and this is collection of foibles that he finds bothersome rather than making a categorical statement of what is right and wrong. He even says that he has no doubt made a few gaffs himself and please point them out, only be prepared to be disagreed with. All in all the book is amusing and full of information and well worth the download.