Grammar nazis wanted

[vaskidmark]

Within the last couple of days the talking heads on the local TV channel have changed how they report the news.  Or at least within the last couple of days I have noticed those changes.

Let's start with the phrase "a couple of".  When was the preposition "of" dropped?

"A couple of" has suddenly become "a couple".  As in "A couple of passers-by" has become "a couple passers-by".  Did the preposition "of" die and I missed the obituary?  Was it kidnapped and I missed the news story?  This new use grates on my ears.

We move to the noun "connection".  To my sudden awareness this has had a change of preposition.  Whereas criminal suspects, for example, used to be wanted "in connection with" whatever crime they were suspected of committing, they are now wanted "in connection to" the alleged event.

I'm going to stop with the phrasal verb "over to", an is "she went over to the neighbor's house".  This has been replaced with what sounds to me like a magic trick: "she went over the neighbor's house."

Has there been a sea change in the grammar and I just did not bother to notice the memo?

stay safe.

[seeker_two]

Has the station had a change in anchors or newswriters lately?

[bedlamite]

I'm going to stop with the phrasal verb "over to", an is "she went over to the neighbor's house".  This has been replaced with what sounds to me like a magic trick: "she went over the neighbor's house."

Ask them if a catapult was used.

What bugs me is verbification of nouns, with the notable exception of "beer me"

[RoadKingLarry]

You're just being racist.
 

[grampster]

Well, in Michigan we say "A couple, two, tree of..." 

[never_retreat]

The local fish rap around here is getting bad also.
My spelling, grammar, and pronunciation sucks. So If I notice it it must be really bad.

Another thing I have been noticing is when there is a story and there are "suspects" they never list the race except when they are white.
I'm not the only one because the comments people leave on the articles are saying the same.

[Tallpine]

One that I see all the time, that isn't necessarily incorrect but just feels like 4th grade writing is:  "It happened ..."

 

Somehow I thought that if you went to journalism school you might actually learn how to write in an interesting manner.

Active verbs - try them 

[vaskidmark]

Has the station had a change in anchors or newswriters lately?

Well, yes, it happened that  the newsreaders have changed.

No catapaults or other matter-moving implements were used, as far as I could discern, regarding the person who "went over" the neighbor's house.  Nor was there any physical attachment of the alleged suspected perpetrator to the crime they are suspected of allegedly perpetrating.  As best I could understand it, the passers-by were not physically joined together by any mechanical device; they merely walked past the scene of the alleged crime several minutes after it allegedly was perpetrated.

Has inny of this clar'fication he'p'd to provi'e a answer to mah query?  I axed a ser-us ques'ion and I'ma owed a ser-us anzer.  Wipe dat chicken greeze offen yur fing'rs and type me sumpt'n abow-t whut I needs to kno.

stay safe.

[RoadKingLarry]

One that I see all the time, that isn't necessarily incorrect but just feels like 4th grade writing is:  "It happened ..."

 

Somehow I thought that if you went to journalism school you might actually learn how to write in an interesting manner.

Active verbs - try them 

Newspapers are written at the 4th-5th grade level on purpose.

[Monkeyleg]

One that drives me completely insane is Sean Hannity's uses of the words "who" and "that". He'll say "people that drive cars..." and will in the  next sentence say "companies who make products". "Who" is for people, "that" is for inanimate things. He does it every single time.

[Hawkmoon]

Within the last couple of days the talking heads on the local TV channel have changed how they report the news.  Or at least within the last couple of days I have noticed those changes.

Let's start with the phrase "a couple of".  When was the preposition "of" dropped?

"A couple of" has suddenly become "a couple".  As in "A couple of passers-by" has become "a couple passers-by".  Did the preposition "of" die and I missed the obituary?  Was it kidnapped and I missed the news story?  This new use grates on my ears.

We move to the noun "connection".  To my sudden awareness this has had a change of preposition.  Whereas criminal suspects, for example, used to be wanted "in connection with" whatever crime they were suspected of committing, they are now wanted "in connection to" the alleged event.

I'm going to stop with the phrasal verb "over to", an is "she went over to the neighbor's house".  This has been replaced with what sounds to me like a magic trick: "she went over the neighbor's house."

Has there been a sea change in the grammar and I just did not bother to notice the memo?

stay safe.

Not so much a sea change as a gradual erosion of the beach. Read any daily news rag or watch the evening news on any local station and you'll be assailed by many such examples.

I blame it on the Internet (and, thus by implication, on Al Gore.)

[BlueStarLizzard]

Newspapers are written at the 4th-5th grade level on purpose.

The educational standards in this country have clearly dropped. 

When I notice grammer fails, dude, you just can't get worse then that...

[Chuck Dye]

You're just being racist.
 

In the '80s KNX, the CBS radio west coast flagship, suffered a rash of freeways completioned, athletes competitioning, police suspicioning, and the like.  (At least the readers stumbled over the gaffs.)  A coworker nearly lost his job when the brass overheard him call it "affirmative action English."

Another custom we seem to be losing is matching subject and verb.  There's people who wouldn't say "There is 52 cards in a standard deck," but have no problem with "There's 52..."  

[Chuck Dye]

The educational standards in this country have clearly dropped.  

When I notice grammer fails, dude, you just can't get worse then that...

Worse than the failure, or worse than your noticing?  

[K Frame]

Language evolves to suit the needs and desires of those who use it.

If it didn't we'll all still be speaking a hybrid of middle English, several scandanavian languages, and middle French.

[Perd Hapley]

Also, "couple" doesn't mean two anymore. It seems to mean two or three or a dozen.

Many people don't seem to know when they need "of" after the word "type." That type thing drives me nuts.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Worse than the failure, or worse than your noticing?  

hey, if I can't tell the diffrents in actual spelling by the way the word sounds, then I'm going to be shaky on how to spell it, or even noticing how it's spelled. Desert, dessert and .... *expletive deleted*it .... One means dry, arid place, one means to leave in a not so nice way, and one is tasty treat after a good meal, is one hell on those of us who spell based on sound (yes, I know the big fancy word for that, but I can't spell it)

The point is, when someone like me can see mistakes, someone else has some real problems.

And mike, lingual evolution is one thing, but the "over house"/"over to house" thing isn't exactly a good direction for evolution. Language should aid communication, not screw it up.

[ArfinGreebly]

A)  I have held a Grammar Nazi certificate since I was in 7th grade.

B)  Google "purity of English" for a fun quote.  It's one of my favorites.


Despite my appreciation of the "purity of English" problem, I nonetheless value grammar highly.

It happens that in my career field (software development) a solid grounding in one's native grammar is one of the most valuable assets to be had for aspirants to the field.

English is thorny and has a lot of pits, but the fruit is sweet when grammatically rendered.

 

[Tallpine]

Newspapers are written at the 4th-5th grade level on purpose.

Fiction for 4th and 5th graders is written better than that 

It makes me want to rewrite almost every article.  Just because you probably have all the facts wrong anyway doesn't mean you can't write well.

[ArfinGreebly]

Grammar is important to George and I.


Everybody should mind their grammar.

[Chuck Dye]

If we are going to go with evolution as a model, I guess I am bemoaning the increasing mutation rate and, especially, the diminishing selective pressure. 

[Hawkmoon]

When I notice grammer fails, dude, you just can't get worse then that...

Don't bet the ranch ...

[Hawkmoon]

Also, "couple" doesn't mean two anymore. It seems to mean two or three or a dozen.

Many people don't seem to know when they need "of" after the word "type." That type thing drives me nuts.

Then there are those who think "of" is part of a conditional verb tense, as in "I could of had a Clark bar."

People who get things done efficiently now seem to be "affective."

When did "gift" become a verb, and what happened to "give"? (Ditto for "loan" -- a "loan" is what transpires when one person "lends" something to another person.)

Let's not even start on the abuse of collective nouns ...

Last night my wife and I had dinner at a family restaurant. I lost count of how many times the waitress referred to us as "Guys" or "You guys." I suppose it would be useless to ask when women became part of the genus guys when even Geno Auriemma, the coach of the University of Connecticut women's basketball team, routinely refers to his team (which, naturally, is comprised entirely of women) as "these guys."

[Devonai]

...is one hell on those of us who spell based on sound (yes, I know the big fancy word for that, but I can't spell it)

Oh, that's easy.  If you spell words based on sound, you are a Phoenician.

[Tallpine]

Fawn nicks