"is it ok if i look around?"

W

wcwbf

Member
a line like that pops up often on TV. and the response is very frequently "no"... but that's WRONG.

was a stephen king marathon on tv earlier today. i jumped in very early to "Carrie"... i still get a jump scare from that final scene. next came "misery". i think the really scary part about that one is that it REAL could have happened.

when the sheriff makes a visit to annie wilkes' house, he asked "do you mind if i look around?"... a true quote. and her response is correct but very rarely spoken. she says... "No,... make yourself at home... or something like that"

most times... the response to "do you mind if i look around" is "yes"... meaning... yes, i mind if you look around.

now, i'm no grammar nazi, but...

my question... using who or that. if i had been bitten by a neighborhood... it would be the "dog THAT bit me"... right? but if it was the NEIGHBOR doing the biting... it would be the guy WHO bit me... right?
 

wcwbf said:
a line like that pops up often on TV. and the response is very frequently "no"... but that's WRONG.

was a stephen king marathon on tv earlier today. i jumped in very early to "Carrie"... i still get a jump scare from that final scene. next came "misery". i think the really scary part about that one is that it REAL could have happened.

when the sheriff makes a visit to annie wilkes' house, he asked "do you mind if i look around?"... a true quote. and her response is correct but very rarely spoken. she says... "No,... make yourself at home... or something like that"

most times... the response to "do you mind if i look around" is "yes"... meaning... yes, i mind if you look around.

now, i'm no grammar nazi, but...

my question... using who or that. if i had been bitten by a neighborhood... it would be the "dog THAT bit me"... right? but if it was the NEIGHBOR doing the biting... it would be the guy WHO bit me... right?
Click to expand...
right... !!
 
Couple of things that used to bother me: People saying "I could care less" when they mean they couldn't care less; people saying that when trying to describe someone who expects the impossible or unlikely: "They want to have their cake and eat it too" when it should be "They want to eat their cake and have it too." I'm much better now, though.
 

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