I could care less about what you think of the phrase and would argue that it is perfectly usable in this formRabish Bini said:
Then vs Than
- Thread starter tock333
- Start date
I've seen a few people complain about that. I do say it sometimes myself, but in my head itsRabish Bini said:
"I could care less..." (but not much)
As in, I do care a little tiny bit. Not even enough to finish my sentence.
One thats driving me nuts is seeing "quantum leap" being used in completely the wrong contexts.
I almost never use than in a sentence. Thanks though, that's good to know, because I'm not sure if I really knew the difference.
My primary school teacher was really harsh on me about this particular issue back when I was young.
Her original attempts to make me understand actually made me more confused(I ended up using 'a's in place of 'e's for many of the "the*" words for a little while), but eventually it sunk in.
I always try to make sure I'm using proper grammar and spelling, after all, if I want anyone to actually read my opinions/ideas, then I had better present them as best I can. It's about having respect for your readers.
Her original attempts to make me understand actually made me more confused(I ended up using 'a's in place of 'e's for many of the "the*" words for a little while), but eventually it sunk in.
I always try to make sure I'm using proper grammar and spelling, after all, if I want anyone to actually read my opinions/ideas, then I had better present them as best I can. It's about having respect for your readers.
Argh. I can't stand it either.
What I find worse is the clear lack of understanding in the difference between your and you're, or there, their, and they're.
I was playing a game online the other day and this kid comes in the with name YOUR_GAY_MAN. My gay man? I own a gay man? Is he my gay man? Ooooh. He's trying to say "you're gay, man".
I normally don't stress things like that too much. As long as I can comprehend what they're saying, it doesn't really bother me. But when people message me with things like "your a retarded camping *****", I can't take it seriously(not that I would anyway). You can't really call someone stupid if you can't grasp the basics of your own primary language.
What I find worse is the clear lack of understanding in the difference between your and you're, or there, their, and they're.
I was playing a game online the other day and this kid comes in the with name YOUR_GAY_MAN. My gay man? I own a gay man? Is he my gay man? Ooooh. He's trying to say "you're gay, man".
I normally don't stress things like that too much. As long as I can comprehend what they're saying, it doesn't really bother me. But when people message me with things like "your a retarded camping *****", I can't take it seriously(not that I would anyway). You can't really call someone stupid if you can't grasp the basics of your own primary language.
Ah yes, that one's pretty bad.Michael Hirst said:
BUT I do get rather annoyed when in I say "should've" out loud, an abbreviation of 'should have' and some grammar nazi comes along and yells about how it's wrong because they think I'm saying 'should of'.
YES I know it's should have, THAT'S WHAT I SAID. SHOULD'VE. I'M SPEAKING NOT WRITING.
Agreed. That's the worst one by far. If anyone with a single brain cell stopped to think about that one for a moment they would realise how totally wrong it is.Rabish Bini said:
This is the best explanation of the problem that I've seen:
David Mitchell's SoapBox - Dear America [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw]
I always correct spoken conversations (with friends) when they use "good" in place of "well" and vice-versa. Similarly, my friend corrects everyone when they say something like "Me and my friends..." when it should be "My friends and I..."
As far as online typing goes, I don't care about abbreviations, even if they look stupid, but I correct spelling errors and abbreviations that are ambiguous. The you're/your and they're/their/there thing is just so ugly, and I feel like most of my friends really don't understand these simple English concepts. The worst one is to/two/too, which I've seen used to represent each other in every possible way. I don't get it.
As far as online typing goes, I don't care about abbreviations, even if they look stupid, but I correct spelling errors and abbreviations that are ambiguous. The you're/your and they're/their/there thing is just so ugly, and I feel like most of my friends really don't understand these simple English concepts. The worst one is to/two/too, which I've seen used to represent each other in every possible way. I don't get it.
I really wish the English curriculum here had been focused on the right things. I was given all kinds of reading and many essay writing assignmnents, but hardly any attention was given to actually SPEAKING the language. This became painfully apparent to me just yesterday, by chance, when I was reading a word problem and I realized I didn't know whether "bigger" or "biggest" was the proper word for comparing two slices of an apple. As in "I want the bigger slice" or "I want the biggest slice".
Also, I believe this needs to be linked here. I know it'll be appreciated.
Also, I believe this needs to be linked here. I know it'll be appreciated.
Alright internet, let's be brief on the topic.
Effect is used primarily as a noun. "The effects were visible from the back of the concert space."
Affect is used primarily as a verb. "It affects your grades when you stay up all night at a concert."
"It's" is a contraction of "It is." "It's not very uncommon to have difficulty waking up the morning after a concert."
"Its" is the possessive form of "it." "That dog looked upset with me when I tripped over its leg on the way home from the concert. Sorry pooch."
"There" is used to indicate a location. "I passed by the concert space on my way to class the next morning. It was was surprisingly clean there."
"They're" is a contraction for "They are." "They're good about cleaning up after themselves, I guess."
"Their" is used to indicate a possessive. "Their cleaning habits would need to be good, I suspect, to continue being able to rent the space."
"Than" is used in comparisons. "I'd rather attend a good concert than get good grades is something I tried to tell my adviser."
"Then" is used when denoting either a time, or a result. "His response was that I was going to fail, then."
"Imply" is either suggested, or implicated. "I tried to imply that life worth living is worth having lived, not just strictly academic."
"Infer" is used when taking in, or deducing. "He inferred from my explanation that I'd like to fail."
"Principle" is used to describe a core, or primary, tenet. "My principle experience from college was live life while achieving a higher education."
"Principal" is an individual of the highest rank. "However, the principal of the university was called in anyway." (Also, usable as "foremost." "Although, I admitted, my principal reason for attending university was for life experience, not academia.")
"To" is used to denote motion, duration, or limit. "The head of the department told me that I should understand that my grades are going to hell. His glare felt like a punch to my gut."
"Too" is used to indicate an excess of something, or can be used like also. "My adviser mentioned that it's too bad really. Many of my advanced classes would have been fun, too."
"Two" is a positive integer between one and three. "I asked my adviser that if I could bring up at least two of my grades this semester and stay on academic probation. He said that was okay."
"Your" indicates a possessive. "My adviser said, It's your responsibility from this point on."
"You're" is a contraction of "You are." "You're right about that."
"A" is used before words that sound like they begin with consonants. "It was a problem I couldn't ignore any longer. I had to do well in my chemistry class."
"An" is used before words that sound like they begin with vowels. "I wouldn't want to get an F this semester."
Almost without fail, an apostrophe denotes a contraction or a possessive. "It's always harder to come out of bad grades than to keep good grades in the first place. However, it's no one's fault but my own."
The only exception is for pluralizing things with an apostrophe is when pluralizing something that is an abstract concept of itself. Primarily letters and numbers. "It would have been significantly easier to have more A's and B's in the 80's than it is now."
That said, there are a few words that are repeatedly misspelled. There are no tips for these, just memorize them.
Congratulations, definite, apparently, separately, necessary, occurred/occurring, existence, beautiful, and embarrass.
Effect is used primarily as a noun. "The effects were visible from the back of the concert space."
Affect is used primarily as a verb. "It affects your grades when you stay up all night at a concert."
"It's" is a contraction of "It is." "It's not very uncommon to have difficulty waking up the morning after a concert."
"Its" is the possessive form of "it." "That dog looked upset with me when I tripped over its leg on the way home from the concert. Sorry pooch."
"There" is used to indicate a location. "I passed by the concert space on my way to class the next morning. It was was surprisingly clean there."
"They're" is a contraction for "They are." "They're good about cleaning up after themselves, I guess."
"Their" is used to indicate a possessive. "Their cleaning habits would need to be good, I suspect, to continue being able to rent the space."
"Than" is used in comparisons. "I'd rather attend a good concert than get good grades is something I tried to tell my adviser."
"Then" is used when denoting either a time, or a result. "His response was that I was going to fail, then."
"Imply" is either suggested, or implicated. "I tried to imply that life worth living is worth having lived, not just strictly academic."
"Infer" is used when taking in, or deducing. "He inferred from my explanation that I'd like to fail."
"Principle" is used to describe a core, or primary, tenet. "My principle experience from college was live life while achieving a higher education."
"Principal" is an individual of the highest rank. "However, the principal of the university was called in anyway." (Also, usable as "foremost." "Although, I admitted, my principal reason for attending university was for life experience, not academia.")
"To" is used to denote motion, duration, or limit. "The head of the department told me that I should understand that my grades are going to hell. His glare felt like a punch to my gut."
"Too" is used to indicate an excess of something, or can be used like also. "My adviser mentioned that it's too bad really. Many of my advanced classes would have been fun, too."
"Two" is a positive integer between one and three. "I asked my adviser that if I could bring up at least two of my grades this semester and stay on academic probation. He said that was okay."
"Your" indicates a possessive. "My adviser said, It's your responsibility from this point on."
"You're" is a contraction of "You are." "You're right about that."
"A" is used before words that sound like they begin with consonants. "It was a problem I couldn't ignore any longer. I had to do well in my chemistry class."
"An" is used before words that sound like they begin with vowels. "I wouldn't want to get an F this semester."
Almost without fail, an apostrophe denotes a contraction or a possessive. "It's always harder to come out of bad grades than to keep good grades in the first place. However, it's no one's fault but my own."
The only exception is for pluralizing things with an apostrophe is when pluralizing something that is an abstract concept of itself. Primarily letters and numbers. "It would have been significantly easier to have more A's and B's in the 80's than it is now."
That said, there are a few words that are repeatedly misspelled. There are no tips for these, just memorize them.
Congratulations, definite, apparently, separately, necessary, occurred/occurring, existence, beautiful, and embarrass.
I am a foreign speaker and even I occasionally think to myself "What the hell..?"tock333 said:
Especially when I read the infamous "would of been". Yesterday I read "his bunkers have been weekend".. As a foreign speaker I looked at that and seriously needed some thinking to get what was meant - "his bunkers have been weakened" I mean, seriously people, what's up with that?