Regarding spelling, punctuation, and grammar

[caligula]

Gets is not a real word. Hard to have a plural verb or noun But many use it. I suck at grammer and spelling so I gets all of dis.

I dare to disagree here.
"gets" is the 3rd person singular of "to get" (to get, got, got).

"The language gets butchered" is a passive construction in which something is done to the subject (in this case "language") of the sentence.

I get paid after every gig - passive, meaning: somebody pays me, something is done to me.
He gets paid after every gig - basically the same, only difference, it's the 3rd person singular (he, she, it).

Even words that are not changed in any way, e.g. the adverb "very", are real words.


Thank you.

 

[Definitely]

And if you say 'most unique,' I may be tempted to clop you on the head.

The same reaction I have to "wicked cool" and "wicked good". It's a common New England mannerism to use "wicked" in front of every adjective. Not "wickedly", but "wicked". It kills me inside.

 

[Milk]

Generally if I make a grammatical mistake it was a typo. If it's not, I'll claim the "not my first language" defense. Which is kinda bs since I write and speak better English than a lot of native speakers... but I'll use it anyway when convenient. It's nice to always have that.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Generally if I make a grammatical mistake it was a typo. If it's not, I'll claim the "not my first language" defense. Which is kinda bs since I write and speak better English than a lot of native speakers... but I'll use it anyway when convenient. It's nice to always have that.

The hip kids use the non native defence.

 

[pacojas]

capital letters are overrated. i use them very sparingly.

 

[ChrisB2]

Not to us Northerners, eh.

I didn't think y'all had color up there, thought everything was white or gray.....

 

[BassyBill]

Thanks to Titus for getting it right. The difference between "practise" and "practice" is a verb-noun difference, exactly analogous to "advise" and "advice".

I think everyone should practise whenever they can, because practice will always help you improve.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Do the natives now outnumber the heathen slackers?

 

[TheAnalogKid]

For anyone who thinks that the garbled phenomenon known as "text-speak" is a relatively new thing, check this out (#19 on the list):

Invalid Link Removed

I have to admit: I am a Cracked.com junkie. I get plenty of laughs from it, but take most articles with a heavy grain of salt. However, anything there that references gaming, Pokemon/Digimon, Bronies, or 99% of pop culture in general for that matter I just skip. Also: the use of OMG in texts first dates back to, oooooh, about 1917!

 

[matante]

I dare to disagree here.
"gets" is the 3rd person singular of "to get" (to get, got, got).

"The language gets butchered" is a passive construction in which something is done to the subject (in this case "language") of the sentence.

I get paid after every gig - passive, meaning: somebody pays me, something is done to me.
He gets paid after every gig - basically the same, only difference, it's the 3rd person singular (he, she, it).

Even words that are not changed in any way, e.g. the adverb "very", are real words.


Thank you.

I wasn't the one who said that "gets" is not a word, but I'll chime in to say that I don't like it and make a point of not using it. In almost every instance where you can use the words 'get' or 'got' I can think of a word that sounds much better.

For example, "The language is butchered" or "He is paid after every gig."

"I am paid after every gig" sounds better than "I get paid after every gig."

 

[Munjibunga]

I agree that language is fluid - always has been, always will be. People casually posting in internet forums aren't going to be overly concerned with details. Typos happen. And sometimes folks intentionally use misspellings and bad grammar to emphasize how they feel. I've been known to do just that. For instance:

"Ahmo gits me summa dat!" (I'm going to get some of that!)

However...when "lose" is consistently misspelled "loose," "their," "there," and "they're" are constantly misused, and apostrophes are used to denote plural rather than possessive, I think there's a problem. And these are just a few examples.

Centuries ago, most people probably had little or no access to standard educational resources, so they probably spent a lot of time spelling phonetically, and most likely didn't know the proper punctuation and grammar of the time. The teaching of proper spelling, grammar and punctuation was most likely available to the privileged few. Today, we have all sorts of resources at our fingertips, not the least of which is the internet. The public education system could surely be improved, but one can still learn the basics. If you hand in a report or term paper to your teacher or professor, or submit a resume to a prospective employer, he or she is not going to say, "I can easily overlook the numerous misspellings and grammatical errors due to the fact that language is fluid." Current standards still apply.

I get that this is not nearly the most pressing issue in the world, but I think being in the habit of communicating properly in print is important. Fellow TBers - what's your take on the subject?

P.S. Feel free to correct any errors in this post!

Tell it, Brother! Amen, amen, amen!

 

[edpal]

I wasn't the one who said that "gets" is not a word, but I'll chime in to say that I don't like it and make a point of not using it. In almost every instance where you can use the words 'get' or 'got' I can think of a word that sounds much better.

For example, "The language is butchered" or "He is paid after every gig."

"I am paid after every gig" sounds better than "I get paid after every gig."

IT was me who proposed "gets" is not a correct word...just following what the grammar police on and off line tell me. I likes me that gets word, but taint using in no mo. I'm a northerner(USA) - to me gets has a southern or urban dialect inflection I don't aspire to emulate. Unless making a non-PC characterization....you are allowed to laugh at MY funny parts in return.

 

[Funky Ghost]

That explanation really gets my goat edpal.


The first recorded uses of the phrase crop up around the early 1900s, and seem to suggest that this idiom is American in origin. This time period was, in fact, a great era for colorful slang terms in America, reflecting the rapid expansion of settlement in the US and the commingling of people from a wide variety of social, class, and ethnic backgrounds. A number of slang terms from this era are undoubtedly corruptions of slang from other languages, or misunderstandings of English words. Some people have suggested that “gets my goat” may be related to “goad,” as in “to irritate.”

 

[Downunderwonder]

Slang is fine by me. But why insist on dropping the distinction between a noun and a verb, practice, practise? That gets my goat every time.

Bob gets his newspaper delivered. I get mine at the dairy. Queen's English y'all!

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

No. One is a noun, the other is a verb.

In British English practice is a noun and practise is a verb. In American English, practice is both a noun and a verb. I know you Brits think you invented the language, but we improved it enough to make it useful.

I am surprised I have not seen less and fewer mentioned here.

 

[bassinplace]

Well then Fido got up off the floor, and he rolled over
and he looked me straight in the eye
And you know what he said?
"Once upon a time, somebody say to me"
-This is the dog talkin' now-
"What is your, conceptual, continuity?"
"Well I told 'em right then", Fido said
"It should be easy to see
"The crux of the biscuit
is the apostrophe"
Well you know, the man that was talking to the dog
looked at the dog, and he said
Sort of staring in disbelief
"You can't say that"
he said
"It doesn't, and you can't, I won't, and it don't
it hasn't, it isn't, it even ain't, and it shouldn't
it couldn't"
He told him, "No, no, no"
I told him, "Yes, yes, yes"
I said, "I do it all the time
Ain't this boogie a mess"?

 

[Tituscrow]

In British English practice is a noun and practise is a verb. In American English, practice is both a noun and a verb. I know you Brits think you invented the language, but we improved it enough to make it useful.

I am surprised I have not seen less and fewer mentioned here.

English people thinking they invented the English language? What an outrageous slur.

 

[fraublugher]

It's all footnotes to Shakespeare .

 

[peledog]

I agree that language is fluid - always has been, always will be. People casually posting in internet forums aren't going to be overly concerned with details. Typos happen. And sometimes folks intentionally use misspellings and bad grammar to emphasize how they feel. I've been known to do just that. For instance:

"Ahmo gits me summa dat!" (I'm going to get some of that!)

However...when "lose" is consistently misspelled "loose," "their," "there," and "they're" are constantly misused, and apostrophes are used to denote plural rather than possessive, I think there's a problem. And these are just a few examples.

Centuries ago, most people probably had little or no access to standard educational resources, so they probably spent a lot of time spelling phonetically, and most likely didn't know the proper punctuation and grammar of the time. The teaching of proper spelling, grammar and punctuation was most likely available to the privileged few. Today, we have all sorts of resources at our fingertips, not the least of which is the internet. The public education system could surely be improved, but one can still learn the basics. If you hand in a report or term paper to your teacher or professor, or submit a resume to a prospective employer, he or she is not going to say, "I can easily overlook the numerous misspellings and grammatical errors due to the fact that language is fluid." Current standards still apply.

I get that this is not nearly the most pressing issue in the world, but I think being in the habit of communicating properly in print is important. Fellow TBers - what's your take on the subject?

P.S. Feel free to correct any errors in this post!

Amen!

 

[GregC]

Wow, I had no idea "gets" would receive so much attention.

Instead of slang, we should be focused on the real issues. For example: It's not "viola" or "walla"--it's "voila", people!