Grammar Police Sounding Off - DPChallenge Forums

09/19/2010 05:00:52 PM · #76

I hate 'gotten', and 'different to'. It is I got, I will get. And, it's 'different from', 'similar to'

I could care less, no, it is I couldn't care less.

MikeO

Fujifilm x100

09/19/2010 05:21:58 PM · #77

Originally posted by SteveJ:

I hate 'gotten', and 'different to'. It is I got, I will get. And, it's 'different from', 'similar to'

I could care less, no, it is I couldn't care less.

When I was at school we were never allowed to say 'got' - it was regarded as very bad English and frowned upon - :-)

09/19/2010 05:27:33 PM · #78

Originally posted by Sevlow:

Originally posted by SteveJ:
I hate 'gotten', and 'different to'. It is I got, I will get. And, it's 'different from', 'similar to'

I could care less, no, it is I couldn't care less.

When I was at school we were never allowed to say 'got' - it was regarded as very bad English and frowned upon - :-)

Yeah, but your school was a good one, it was approved!! got is okay, I got tackled from behind, I got off my bike, examples go on.

fotomann_forever

09/19/2010 05:32:49 PM · #79

Originally posted by SteveJ:

[quote=Sevlow]got is okay, I got tackled from behind, I got off my bike, examples go on.

I got myself an 'A' in grammar. ;)

Message edited by author 2010-09-19 17:33:13.

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

09/19/2010 05:41:13 PM · #80

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by SteveJ:
[quote=Sevlow]got is okay, I got tackled from behind, I got off my bike, examples go on.

I got myself an 'A' in grammar. ;)

The 'myself' is unnecessary. I, 'myself', 'personally' hate this phrase. Talk about the holy trinity.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

09/19/2010 05:43:53 PM · #81

Originally posted by GeneralE:

I think "The proof is in the pudding" should be "the proof of the pudding is in the eating."

Absolutely correct. The bastardized version bugs the hell out of me too.

Originally posted by GeneralE:

"The exception proves the rule" makes not much sense (I've seen an explanation of this one, but I can't remember it right now).

Originally posted by The Straight Dope:

To be sure, a few scholarly types have tried to make excuses for "The exception proves the rule," as the quotation books usually phrase it. They say it comes from the medieval Latin aphorism Exceptio probat regulam. Probat means "prove" in the sense of "test," as in "proving ground" or "the proof is in the pudding." So "the exception proves the rule" means a close look at exceptions helps us determine a rule's validity.

If Latinists understand it that way, however, they're pretty much alone. I've looked up citations of this saying dating back to 1664, and in every case it was used in the brain-dead manner we're accustomed to today--that is, to suggest that non-conforming cases, by the mere fact of their existence, somehow confirm or support a generalization. Obviously they do nothing of the kind. We like to think proverbs become proverbial because they're true; this one is an exception. It certainly doesn't prove the rule.

fotomann_forever

09/19/2010 05:50:36 PM · #82

Originally posted by SteveJ:

The 'myself' is unnecessary. I, 'myself', 'personally' hate this phrase. Talk about the holy trinity.

Myself is sometimes necessary in cases such as "I got myself a gift." Although, "I got a gift for myself." sounds better, Without the 'myself', the receiver is left wondering who the gift came from.

But yeah, 'myself' is totally unnecessary in "I got myself an 'A' in grammar," unless it was previously expressed that I was not academically deserving of an 'A'.

09/19/2010 05:52:19 PM · #83

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by SteveJ:

The 'myself' is unnecessary. I, 'myself', 'personally' hate this phrase. Talk about the holy trinity.

Myself is sometimes necessary in cases such as "I got myself a gift." Although, "I got a gift for myself." sounds better, Without the 'myself', the receiver is left wondering who the gift came from.

But yeah, 'myself' is totally unnecessary in "I got myself an 'A' in grammar," unless it was previously expressed that I was not academically deserving of an 'A'.

I accept your explanation in that case, as it does seem improbable:))

bvy

Sigma DP1x

09/19/2010 05:56:11 PM · #84

Question: Which of these is preferred?

1. I would like to have gone to the movies.

2. I would have liked to go to the movies.

3. I would have liked to have gone to the movies.

I think #1 might have a slightly different meaning than the other two, though, in general, it's my preference of the three. #2 sounds awkward, and #3 is a bit too verbose.