The grammar police- proper grammar

CrackerJack said:
The vagaries of the English language confound and fascinate me. It's said to be the hardest language to learn but for me Russian and Chinese and other languages are super difficult
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I think they made up the rules as they went along.

Actually, it's a very rich language, comprised of several, Teutonic being one; 'go up' ...and French; 'arise',...with some Latin here and there.
We can say the same thing several different ways.

...and sometimes Y

I drove the English profs nuts

Yeah, Chinese
They don't even understand each other from one Province to another
 
Gary O' said:
I think they made up the rules as they went along.

Actually, it's a very rich language, comprised of several, Teutonic being one; 'go up' ...and French; 'arise',...with some Latin here and there.
We can say the same thing several different ways.

...and sometimes Y

I drove the English profs nuts

Yeah, Chinese
They don't even understand each other from one Province to another
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Sounds like the UK... :D 20 miles in either direction and we have a different dialect...
 
hollydolly said:
Sounds like the UK... :D 20 miles in either direction and we have a different dialect...
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I read in the newspaper last week I think, that people in
Cornwall are complaining loudly that the local dialect is
disappearing rapidly, they blame it in too many Londoners
or South Easterners moving into the area, or maybe the TV
is killing their dialect.

Personally, having lived there for many years, it is just to hard
for others to understand, one example that I can think of was
Old Henry, Henry was a born and bred Cornishman who worked
in my fathers petrol/gas station, his son-in-law was also born
and bred Cornishman, yet when they were speaking to each other,
Henry would look at me and say, "what did errr say Mayike"?
He had trouble understanding his daughter's husband, so the
Cornish who run businesses like hotels, pubs or restaurants, in fact
anything to do with Tourism, the main industry there, have had to
tone down their way of speaking or go bust!

I can speak and understand the local dialect of Cornwall.

Mike.
 
About the TV remotes, the answer is obviously "are." When in doubt, just turn the question into a statement. Which would you say:
"There is four remotes by the TV," or
"There are four remotes by the TV."

Sometimes it gets really confusing. Example: You are talking to somebody who may be going somewhere, or perhaps her boyfriend is. Which is correct:
1. I was wondering if you or he is going?
2. I was wondering if he or you is going?
3. I was wondering if you or he are going?
4. I was wondering if he or you are going?

Maybe you have to just use the last pronoun to make the decision. So, #1 and #4 are correct, or at least they certainly sound better than the other two.

The word "you," whether it refers to a single person or more than one, is always treated as a plural. "You is" makes no sense and sounds ridiculous. But then, what about "one of you?" : I was wondering if either one of you is/are going?
 
Oooh you can speak Cornish?>.wow!! That's impressive Mike . I have a friend here in town who speak Cornish having grown up there until well into adulthood and he still speaks it to his family when they visit ..

I lived in Saltash Cornwall on the cornish side of the Tamar bridge, it was just a fishing village then in the 70's ..and aside from their obviously very strong dialect in Cornwall and Plymouth, I never heard anyone speak Cornish.
 
Sunny said:
About the TV remotes, the answer is obviously "are." When in doubt, just turn the question into a statement. Which would you say:
"There is four remotes by the TV," or
"There are four remotes by the TV."

Sometimes it gets really confusing. Example: You are talking to somebody who may be going somewhere, or perhaps her boyfriend is. Which is correct:
1. I was wondering if you or he is going?
2. I was wondering if he or you is going?
3. I was wondering if you or he are going?
4. I was wondering if he or you are going?

Maybe you have to just use the last pronoun to make the decision. So, #1 and #4 are correct, or at least they certainly sound better than the other two.

The word "you," whether it refers to a single person or more than one, is always treated as a plural. "You is" makes no sense and sounds ridiculous. But then, what about "one of you?" : I was wondering if either one of you is/are going?
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I completely agree . The word ‘you’ can be singular or plural
 
I often pick up grammar foibles but miss my own.

Just read another one.

"Here are 10 things to know about dogs when theys loves you'

Gone overboard on plurals?

I never did find out why there were four remotes .
 
English is not a 'pure' language. It's basically Anglo-Saxon but has a lot of words and expressions 'borrowed' from other tongues. However, there are rules just as with all languages.
It's important for professional people to speak and write English correctly, but so long as everyone understands you, us ordinary mortals can get away with mistakes.
I actually get very annoyed at the mangling of our language, because it betrays our education system, which has deteriorated over the years.
 
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