# Correct English



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

i read a lot of posts everyday, probably almost all the "new posts" and some people's english is just... bad. i read sentences that dont make sense or people use double negatives, just everything that is wrong. i look over to see how old some of these people are and they are all 17 or older. i was wondering if any of the mods go through and check people's writings to make sure they make sense or check spellings/ words used the wrong way. 

examples: to, too, two. there, their, theyre. compliment, complement.

i seen: it's either i have seen or i saw. 
if there is a no in the sentence, don't use: nothing, no one, and other negative words after it
example: "i don't have none fish in that tank" should be "I don't have *any* fish in that tank"

i think you all get the point.

now, i know that i dont capitalize or use apostrophes when you are supposed to when writing. that is because im online, which is my "non school writing time" so i can just relax. I mean, I can capitalize and use correct grammar and everything if need be but it's so much easier not to.

I'm sorry but it just frustrates me. I want to go through and correct everything I read that's wrong... Anyone else feel like that?

edit: I know people can make mistakes, I know I do all the time but when I go back to reread what I wrote, I edit it... aka fix it. Sometimes I don't notice my mistakes until later but still.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I go back and edit what I type a lot. I guess I think in sounds and have to go back and fix its, it's their there type mistakes all the time. But I start to get lazy. I think no one will really read it and I don't bother to fix them all. And yes, sometimes what made perfect sense @ 3 am doesn't seem so clear the next day. So I guess what I'm trying to say is "Sorry, I apologize for bothering you". I cringe when I read some post, too. Especially if they are mine.

I can't see having a grammar mod, unless you are volunteering. Too much work. Maybe a grammar bot? Though spell check never likes "cichlid" and tries to change my name to "Cheeks". 

We have a whole generation of people who learned to use the fewest characters for anything because of texting. So I try not to be bothered by ur and l8tr but I'm less likely to read hard to decipher posts and there are a few posters I just ignore rather than try to make sense of.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

Oh yeah, I'm like "OMG NOOOO" when I messed up writing somewhere and then fix it as soon as I realize it. It's just bad when there is someone that needs help with something and you can't understand what it is they are trying to say or you have to read their post 2-5 times to figure it out...

I would volunteer to do that actually... I would really like doing it so that I know everything is at least right for my eyes (selfish me). I do know that spell check doesn't like a few words like betta(s). Oh well. 

In my texting, the only thing i tend to abbreviate (I had appreciate... oops) is because. I use "cuz" most of the time unless it just reads really bad. Other than that, it's all right... I think.


----------



## daniel89 (Nov 28, 2009)

I think you need to switch majors and become a English teacher for high school students since you seem to love correcting us teenagers.


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

i dont need none gramar, never bin helpin me any.

In school I spoke better English than any of my teachers until my freshman year in high school. It's ridiculous.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

people will be angry with you for correcting their spelling..this is a new age..out with the old...it just doesn't work anymore except for old geezers like me.
all of this new shortened language can be quite confusing to folks like me.i am only able to read;write ; speak and understand english..
i make a lot of mistakes..primarily punctuation...capitalization and sentence structure..but not that often with spelling ; unless i missed it when i posted..
but for the most part ; i have found that many young folks get really nasty when corrected..
you can fix it christina....but be ready for some wrath...


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

Ya, thats why I dont correct anyones grammar. And we already know loha, you love your semicolons 
Thats okay, tho, I often, get carried away, with my, commas.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

Daniel... i hate english. i just hate reading really incorrect english.



lemons said:


> i dont need none gramar, never bin helpin me any.
> 
> In school I spoke better English than any of my teachers until my freshman year in high school. It's ridiculous.


your "mistakes" are GORGEOUS.  and that's sad about your teachers.


do you really think people would be mad if it was corrected? if it meant everyone being able to understand what was said first time around, where is the harm?


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

people are touchy. It is best to just live with whatever wrong you see people do.. I mean, its not harming you. What if I told you that the pants you were wearing made you look fat, and the proper pants should be worn, how would you respond?


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

well, if my pants made me look fat then i would kinda want to know... depends on who it was coming from. i would change my pants if i really looked that bad.


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2010)

Christina, you look so fat in those pants, you are a disgusting cow. Go put on some clothes that suit a woman your size.

How about now? You may not think you're saying it like that, and most likely you aren't, but some people take a lot of offense to grammar corrections.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

MOOOO! 

i guess i can see how people would take offense to it. i guess ill just have to live with it and be annoyed. oh well.


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Dy:

You are correct.

Sometimes it is more than up with which I will not put.

TR


----------



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

OMGWTFBBQ. I likes 2 use me 133tspeak an noone ca'nt st0p me never. I waz lik ZOMG when I seed th3 things you sayz. Then I gets hungrry four phoods. Soz I was likes, i can haz a cheazberger know. Butt their was no beaf in teh frige so me waz like, i can haz a cheazberger l8tr. Anywhoo, whats i is triing to sayz, is my gramer is purfect and i no how to spealz. Dun tells me what to does. TTYL


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

LOL I read this, and just was like WOW lol. 

Ditzy, does texting count? LOL.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

oh BB, that was perfect .

what part of texting, osiris? i mentioned it somewhere in here... maybe the first post?


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

texting isnt proper english 

Anyway,

No, we don't do that go through messages for spelling lol. English is actually my 2nd language, and certain words i cant spell 

Main thing is the information is there for the people who need it


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

im just saying that some people's english is so bad that when they need help, it's hard to understand them. which makes it hard for people to help them.

what do you mean texting isnt proper english? text is now a noun and a verb aka texting is proper english.

tr.v. text·ed, text·ing, texts
To send a text message to: She texted me when she arrived.

To communicate by text message: He texted that he would be late.


----------



## Guest (Jan 16, 2010)

comon. you know what he meant.

Why dont you go an an Arabic forum and try to talk to them? see how much they understand you.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

there is considerable difference in what is being taught today and what was taught years ago. years ago they allowed the use of a semi colon where there was a break in a connected sentence..today they either allow the sentence to stop. then start again. or they allow it to be a run on sentence.
today they allow quite a bit of what used to be improper grammar and punctuation.
i am a lazy typist..i rarely use caps..and i normally use a lot of ....to space sentences..
but all things considered i do really quite a bit better than most of the folks i see that have much more education than i do...especially with spelling..and all that terrible spelling isn't just simple typos..i can understand and accept the occasional typo and misspelled word..but 4-5 misspelled words within a short paragraph i would consider unacceptable.. and like i said folks will get really ticked at you if you mention it.

there lemons. did i cut down on my semi colons enough for you..


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I like semi-colons and colons and sentences you could diagram if you were terminally bored. I used to use them a lot and use them correctly. Lately, I just splice 20 sentence fragments together with commas and hope no one notices.


----------



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

The proper use of semicolons
*1. Use a semicolon as a soft period.* By using a semicolon instead of a period between two sentences, you show that those two sentences have a closer relationship to each other than they do to the sentences around them. The semicolon, in a sense, connects the sentences.
-To say that we have a clear conscience is to utter a solecism; had we never sinned, we should have had no conscience

*2. Use a semicolon to connect main clauses containing internal punctuation.* Think of a comma as a brief pause, a semicolon as a more moderate pause, and a period as a stop, and you can see the logic of the hierarchy.
-The events we experience are less important than the meaning we give to them; for life is about meaning, not experience. 

*3. Use a semicolon to separate sentence elements of equal rank when they contain internal commas. *
-Genius consists in a carefully trained, highly polished ability; a thoughtfully educated, unbiased good taste; and a willingness to engage in, and a persistence to do hard work.

*4. Use a semicolon between independent clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs. *You could, of course, use a period and begin a new sentence, but you would lose the connective effect of the semicolon.
-This project appears to be overwhelming; nevertheless, it can be done. 

*5. Use a semicolon between an independent clause and an elliptical clause* when the clause is not connected by a conjunction using a comma. 
-We gave him the medicine; no effect.




There; everyone happy with that information? It basically says if it makes sense, put a semicolon there because nobody cares.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

woot for english lessons


----------



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Yes; sometimes; english; can; be; fun; and; since; nobody; cares; about; semicolons; we; can; use; them; after; every; word; in; a; sentance. Hell; I; will; even; use; them; in; the; mid;dle; of; words.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

ok people... we are getting carried away now.


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

bmlbytes, according to many studies it doesn't matter because the way our brain identifies words is by first looking at the first couple and last couple letters, and then looking at the middle ones if it can't figure it out... that is why you can read a paragraph that has long words with jumbled middle letters with ease as long as it has the same # of letters.


----------



## OCtrackiepacsg1 (Oct 18, 2009)

lol bml how long did it take you to type that first text?
I would rather not be bothered about my improper English, but I think I'm not that bad actually just those tiny grammar mistakes and also never expect me to put a Period at the end of the last sentence in a post


----------



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

OCtrackiepacsg1 said:


> lol bml how long did it take you to type that first text?


It wasn't hard to write the first thing I said. I found it more difficult to actually think like that than thinking in proper english. 

Did everybody understand it? I could translate it into proper english if you would like.


----------



## Jerabu (Jan 14, 2010)

I frequently corrected my English teachers. I am a stickler for spelling and grammar.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I did fine with punctuation in grade school and high school. Then I took a business English class in college and it told me to use lots little sentences or even skip the sentence and use bulleted points because since there is too much to read, people only read the easy stuff. A few semesters of writing in power point and I've forgotten English. But I still cringe when I hear "if I was" in a song. Is the subjunctive case now officially obsolete? Is the language of my youth archaic like Elizabethan English?


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

emc7 said:


> Is the language of my youth archaic like Elizabethan English?


Yes: as is mine.

TR


----------



## daniel89 (Nov 28, 2009)

Lately I've been really pushing myself to write correctly for when I take my GED test. If any of you see me write something incorrect, Please feel free to correct my mistakes as it will help me when it comes to test time.


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

> see me write something incorrect


I believe it would be incorrectly, as I think it would be an adverb, not an adjective.



> incorrect, Please feel fr


please



> mistakes as it will help me when it comes to test time.


I don't think as is correct, I could be wrong though.


----------



## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

.ti rehpiced nac elpoep epoh dna tnaw uoy revenehw tnaw uoy revetahw epyt tsuj ,spmiw rof si hsilgne tcerroC


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

Correct english is for wimps, just type whatever you want whenever you want and hope people can decipher it.


----------



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

.ǝuıɟ ǝɯ puɐʇsɹǝpun oʇ ɯǝǝs ǝ1doǝd .ǝɯıʇ ǝɥʇ 11ɐ ʇuɐʍ ı ɹǝʌǝʇɐɥʍ ǝdʎʇ ı


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

y'all gots deep emotional issues....lol


----------



## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

Okay, now BB, that is crazy.


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

lohachata said:


> y'all gots deep emotional issues....lol


roflmao

tr


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

Ha, you had to one up him bml lol.


----------



## llamas (Jun 29, 2009)

I also can't stand some of the posts on this forum. It's so hard to read with the improper English, run-on sentences, etc. 

One thing that really stands out to me is the difference between "then" and "than". For some reason it seems that, to many people, those words are the hardest to properly use.


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

Cacatuoides said:


> .ti rehpiced nac elpoep epoh dna tnaw uoy revenehw tnaw uoy revetahw epyt tsuj ,spmiw rof si hsilgne tcerroC


thats not the first and last letter in the right place and everything else put in randomly...


----------



## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

LOL, can now i can haz good reason to uz bad grammerz!


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

For me its the homophones. I think in sound, I hear my inner voice and take dictation. So I type what I hear. So words like here and hear, your and you're . I always have to go back and fix them. Maybe I should just switch to ur.


----------



## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

does this have anything to do with fish haha


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

it's in the water hole... fish unrelated.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

We could talk about anglefish and betas. The first is just a typo. But so common, its a joke The second is a "spell-check error". Where you have something right, but you change it to make the computer happy, so then you have it wrong.


----------



## Guest (Jan 18, 2010)

Betta <--- spell check just made betta into Betta for me, although beta was also an option.

At least we now know Ditzy does make mistakes, she said lay instead of lie last night


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You have a better spell checker than I do (when typing posts).


----------



## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

on my computer, betta is wrong. and sh lemons


----------



## seomul (Jan 9, 2010)

lemons said:


> comon. you know what he meant.
> 
> Why dont you go an an Arabic forum and try to talk to them? see how much they understand you.


What does Arabic have to do with this?? who do you mean with them?
I hope it is not a goldfish that is typing.


----------

