Fun with grammar!

[David]

We were having some grammar & usage fun on a list I'm on this morning, so I thought I'd start up a thread here.

Fowler offers this tantalizing quagmire:

"Neither John nor Mary knew his own mind."

The grammar is correct, but the effect is disconcerting. Fowler suggests recasting the sentence entirely: "Both were alike irresolute."

Add your own grammar fun!

[GateandGarden]

Wait, "fun" and "grammar" in the same sentence?

Seriously though, my students have a lot of fun with grammar, though unintentionally. But I won't poke fun at my students but post some awful sentences I once found on a hard drive of a computer in one of my university's labs.

And I do this with hesitance because my grammar has never been perfect, certainly not on message boards. I like to think I'm above this, though.

One paper talks about seeing people's "face expressions," and another talks about a teacher who evidently effected the student's life in a positive way and he or she says "One effect she had on me was that, whatever you do, best the best you can be." The person adds "Another effect she had on me was that, no matter what dark cloud may come have, there is always a silver lining." Finally, the person explains, "One final effect she had on me was that, no matter how smart you are, you will always need someone's help." But my favorite part is when the person says "The cause of having a teacher like her can have many effects on students.

I've read more amusing things but I had that sitting in a drawer next to me and could not resist.

[skcin]

Do I need to post more Bushisms?

[GypsySorcerer]

To illustrate the importance of punctuation, one of my profs always used this example:

A woman, without her man, is nothing.

A woman: without her, man is nothing.

[amber]

I should've went.
No, you should've gone.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by amber

I should've went.
No, you should've gone.

What's worse is "I should of went." Ugh.

[ontheEdgeof17]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

What's worse is "I should of went." Ugh.

That reminds me.

There and Their.....there is a difference

you are is not your...it's you're


That is all.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by skcin

Do I need to post more Bushisms?

Riddle me this, riddle me that...

IS OUR CHILDREN LEARNING?

[GateandGarden]

From one of my George W. Bushims books-

"Reading is the basics for all learning." -Reston, Virginia, March 28, 2000

[macfanken]

Originally Posted by skcin

Do I need to post more Bushisms?

Ha! That's the first thing I thought of... bring on the Bushisms!