My pet hate at the moment is double negatives.

"I haven't got none"

"I don't want none"

etc etc

To anyone on this forum that says phrases like these, please remember that two negatives make a positive so" I dont want none" actually means "I want some".

Rule of thumb is to replace "none" with "any".

Here endeth the lesson.

Plus it makes people sound like scrubbers who have no perception of the correct use of grammar.

Originally posted by rooby_roo
My pet hate at the moment is double negatives.

"I haven't got none"

"I don't want none"

etc etc

To anyone on this forum that says phrases like these, please remember that two negatives make a positive so" I dont want none" actually means "I want some".

Rule of thumb is to replace "none" with "any".

Here endeth the lesson.

Plus it makes people sound like scrubbers who have no perception of the correct use of grammar.

Then there's the American version: "I ain't never seen anything like that"

I take your point but Shakespeare was very much in favour of double negatives. He often used them in his writing and whilst i have no examples immediatly to hand, i'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find one if your read some of his text.

Bob Dylan used one in the song Maggie's Farm: I ain't gonna work on Maggie's Farm no more". Yet it reads OK, somehow.

In 12th Night Shakespeare allowed Viola to say of her heart, “Nor never none/Shall mistress of it be, save I alone,” by which she meant that no one except herself would ever be mistress of her heart. (I looked this one up)

I agree with you, it tells one the person using them is illiterate, it is so obviously wrong, they must be doing it deliberately.

Also, whilst we are on the subject of illiteracy, what about the people who use numbers instead of words I.E. I am going 4 a meal! pics instead of photos, peeps instead of people.

Is it laziness? sheer bloodymindedness, sarcasm, or the youngsters acting clever, well, I think it is stupidity!!!

Double negatives?

I don't never use 'em!

I don't neither use them either...
A triple!!!!

I don't care much at all if people are gramatically correct and follow the right and proper rules of the english language.

I have a friend who insists on correcting my grammer and spelling and what I say whenever I get it wrong ... and he does it such a pompus way ...

Personally ... I think there are far far far more important things about a person than the skill they have with mere words.

PAH.

Originally posted by mojoworking
Then there's the American version: "I ain't never seen anything like that"

Or, worse still "I ain't never seen nuthin' like that"!

Originally posted by Jamie
I don't care much at all if people are gramatically correct and follow the right and proper rules of the english language.

I have a friend who insists on correcting my grammer and spelling and what I say whenever I get it wrong ... and he does it such a pompus way ...

Personally ... I think there are far far far more important things about a person than the skill they have with mere words.

PAH.
Personally I think you are wrong. If you haven't got good language skills you might as well be a monkey. What is more important: looks? Everything else is language or expressed though language. That is the kind of attitude that has maintained a unheathy underclass in this society for years. :o

Originally posted by wibbles
I don't neither use them either...
A triple!!!!
mmm, that's just non-sensical i'm afraid! I presume you mean "I don't never use them either' - tho that would only be another double, so it must be 'I sont never use them neither.'

Sorry, I'll get me coat.......

The thing with double negatives is that they were once an acceptable part of our language.

Double negatives are not as illiterate as they appear.

DD's are ALWAYS used in the Spanish language. 'No tengo ningun/ningunos' - I don't have any (I haven't got none). Whilst I am a stickler for correct grammar and puncuation, I can think of many things which upset me a great deal more than the DD issue. such as the redundant apstrophe: potato's, grocer's, etc, etc.

Then again, In Yorkshire, we misuse the perfect tense in the most charming way by substituting the past participle after the auxiliary verb for the preterite tense: 'I've driven here' = 'I've drove here' in Yorkshire which is completely wrong.

But it's part of our interpretation of the English language and so therefore one could argue that it has become 'right'.

I'm not no professor, but there you are.

Originally posted by miniminch
Personally I think you are wrong. If you haven't got good language skills you might as well be a monkey. What is more important: looks? Everything else is language or expressed though language. That is the kind of attitude that has maintained a unheathy underclass in this society for years. :o

I agree that good language skills are important if you wish to advance yourself in human society and also to express yourself and communicate with other human beings.

The point I am making is that I would not rate a person according to their skill with words (oh ... he has a good command of the english language therefore he must be a good person).

Neither would I value a person according to their looks (oh ... she lookss beautiful so she must be a good person).

Actually ... I tell a lie ... it does influence me (in that I think more favourably of a person with good language skills or looks). But what I consider to be much much more important ... is the person's character and integrity.

So you wouldn't think much of say a crooked politician who uses his skill with words to meet his own ends at the expense of the people he is supposed to serve.

I agree that language skills are a very important tool for expressing oneself. I don't consider my language skills to be good at all, but one of the (many) good things about Sheffield Forum is that I get to practice and develop them.

Originally posted by miniminch
Personally I think you are wrong. If you haven't got good language skills you might as well be a monkey.
My Dads got a degree in Engineering but has trouble spelling simple words. It doesn't make him "a monkey". The human mind works in many varied ways and just because someone can't spell or communicate to your high standards does not make them any less of a person.

Chris.

Originally posted by Sam Miguel
Double negatives are not as illiterate as they appear.
Yea, but you can't not say that. :P

Originally posted by halevan
I agree with you, it tells one the person using them is illiterate, it is so obviously wrong, they must be doing it deliberately.

Also, whilst we are on the subject of illiteracy, what about the people who use numbers instead of words I.E. I am going 4 a meal! pics instead of photos, peeps instead of people.

Is it laziness? sheer bloodymindedness, sarcasm, or the youngsters acting clever, well, I think it is stupidity!!!

I notice that you used photos in place of photographs, which appears to be the same as replacing pictures with pics.

As long as we can still read posts without any trouble, it's not really a problem. This is a relaxed public forum after all. We all shorten words. I'm sure that contractions were frowned upon may years ago, but now it is quite acceptable to use I'm instead of I am.

Originally posted by Chris_Sleeps
My Dads got a degree in Engineering but has trouble spelling simple words. It doesn't make him "a monkey". The human mind works in many varied ways and just because someone can't spell or communicate to your high standards does not make them any less of a person.

Chris.

Unfortunately the only engineering job your dad could get, because of his language problems, was removing the ariels from passing cars at Knowsley Safari Park.
Sorry I couldnt resist it! He he :P
The main point that I was trying to make, very poorly, I may add, was that there is nothing wrong with being a monkey. The only significant difference between us and them is this facillity to produce language. The reason why humans have become the top of the food chain is the ability they have to express themselves.
If a politician uses language well to decieve his public, only the people that have similar language capacity can deconstruct the language that is being used and be effectively critical. So language makes the world more democratic.
Monkey societies tend to be still about the size of the balls on the biggest male. Link to the BBC thread!! :thumbsup:

and possibly tool use and the opposable thumb.

:rant: aintnowtno1cantdothatdontangstno1wurstdanMedana
doubledoulbenegative idontlikeno1sayinthaI aintlitr8. :rant:

Yeah, double negatives can be a wind up especially when used in questions or quizes because you have to work out exactly what the question is!

The funny thing about language is, people are getting things wrong but nothing is being done about it.
One of my pet hates is so many people say 'I'm bored of....', 'I'm fed up of..'. This is incorrect and I don't know where it came from. It's 'I'm bored with...' and 'I'm fed up with.....'. The other day someone said 'bored of' on a T.V. programme. That is bad. And also, I have a friend who is a teacher and when they said 'bored of' I corrected them. They got quite defensive but they are teaching the future of this country and they don't know correct English themselves.

I'm not perfect, I just had parents who corrected me a lot when I was growing up so certain things have stuck. My parents learnt grammar at school, whereas I didn't!

pics instead of photos,

Surely pics is a shortened version of pictures, as photos is the short version of photographs.So saying "pics instead of photos" is wrong anyway,whether gramatically correct or not.
How much of this is to blame on text messageing?

I must be a complete monkey then as I am often totally lost for words.

Like right now ... all there is ... is emptyness ... void ... zip ... and I am not moved one way or another ... but I do have a feeling that I will have the most blissful wonderful restful sleep tonight ... with no words buzzing around inside my skull.

I agree with you MM ... being equipted to express oneself when need be is very important ... and having skill with words is great ... but sometimes it's a case of 'less is more' ... as far as the 'words' aspect of the communication is involved.

Expressing your care and genuine concern and desire to help and improve a situation is equally important (if not more so).