AIBU to wonder if the Queen made a grammatical error?

[deardiary66]

The Queen has written a letter to Gareth Southgate ahead of tonight’s football game that includes the words:

“I want to send my congratulations and that of my family to you all”

Is “that” correct here or should it be “those”, as “congratulations” is plural?

I don’t mean to nitpick, but I saw the letter and genuinely wondered what was technically correct!

I learnt German, Russian (can't speak either now) and have been learning Spanish & Italian. I love languages and find the little details & irregularities the most fascinating. I wish I could speak at least 30 languages - I have a list!🤣

Ahhh Zing - you sound like me. I started teaching myself Japanese a while back because I'd always wanted to learn a language with a different script. But although I was loving it, I realised it would be much more use to learn Spanish, since I've kind of by default become a single linguist because practically no schools do German any more (around here anyway).

I'm absolutely loving learning Spanish though- I was supposed to sit the A Level last summer, but... Covid. I do tons of listening to Spanish - e.g. all the Harry Potter audiobooks . In fact I'm doing so much Spanish and teaching so little French and German that my Spanish is in danger of getting better than the languages I did for my degree and taught for 25 years! I speak a little bit of Italian too. Sadly I have nobody with whom to speak Spanish.

Which language(s) would you most like to learn?

Yes, she (or a flunkey) has made a mistake. The word “congratulations” is plural so the pronoun referring to congratulations should have been plural ie “my congratulations and those of my family”. However, it is all very awkwardly written in the first place, and poses the underlying yet so far unarticulated question as to why exactly the Queen’s congratulations need to be expressed separately from her family’s? Could they not have sent their own and thereby avoided the unpleasantness of possible grammatical errors? Is it possible that, for reasons of economy, it was agreed that the congratulations of the lower echelons of the family could be included but on the strict proviso that these had to be kept separate from the queenly ones? So many questions, but I fear they will remain unanswered ...

The pert one makes sense and sounds more correct that Queen’s would with those

Not sure why

Should be ‘those’. Some backroom drone courtier will be feeling the royal boot.

I thought the same when I saw the tribute picture of Prince Philip that replaced the normal content on the royal website, on the day that he died. I can't remember exactly what, but it missed out a small word - said something like "He will always remembered for....".

I assume that was a direct copy of the same official notice that appeared on the gates of Buckingham Palace, so I imagine somebody lived to regret that - maybe sent to sew (royal) mailbags for a a few months as penance!

As for the queried sentence in the OP, I imagine the Queen going full-Kim about it and insisting that the grammar she used IS correct, HAS ALWAYS BEEN correct and that any buffoon labouring under the misapprehension that she might have been incorrect will be boiled in custard encouraged to revisit the educational resources at their disposal.

In fact.... "My buttocks are perter than those of my sister" - this is actually the refrain after every line of the chorus of the NK national anthem and thus only serves as even more concrete evidence of my above assertion. Co-incidence? Don't take me for a fool and play me like a balalaika.

maybe sent to sew (royal) mailbags for a a few months as penance!

I'll be joining them at this rate!!!

However, it is all very awkwardly written in the first place, and poses the underlying yet so far unarticulated question as to why exactly the Queen’s congratulations need to be expressed separately from her family’s?

I don't find that odd at all tbh. Surely sending greetings etc 'from me and all the family' is a pretty normal thing to do even for the non-royal amongst us! She didn't need to include them, but she's the head of the family and was issuing collective congratulations.

It should probably be 'those' but I think it reflects a change in the language - that we're starting to consider 'congratulations' as a singular noun.

@lazylinguist

ooh wait until I get better then we can chat in Spanish!
Having watched Narcos, Queen of the South, Money Heist my drug cartel boss/bank robber Spanish is pretty good, but I'd struggle to hold a conversation.
In fact I'm very much affected by the criminal connections; I'm only learning on Duolingo and when I get sentences like "the boss has two desks" or "the restaurant closed early today" I get suspicious that something dodgy is going on.🤣
I bought some proper grammar books with tests though (both Spanish & Italian), but haven't got as far as to use them.

I'd love to re-learn both Russian & German and study Latin, Hebrew, Mandarin, Finnish (because of the Hungarian connection) and in fact all the Scandi languages, Hawaiian, Dutch and so on.
I wish I could speak them all!

I have just decided to leave my job and dedicate myself to writing a whole new system of Pervy Grammar For Beginners, which will feature example sentences like

My buttocks are perter than those of my sister.

I do not know with whom I will engage in enthusiastic rumpy-pumpy at the swingers' club, preferably someone with pert buttocks who also has a lovely smile. (who/whom)

They're over there, inspecting their pert buttocks. (they're/there/their)

I am going to be a millionaire. To whom will I owe my millions? Everyone on this thread, obv.

My buttocks are perter than those of my sister
Pippa, is that you?

Anyway, I’m sure it’s those not that. Aren’t there commas missing too? Shouldn’t it be
‘……my congratulations, and those of my family, to you all’ ?

Having watched Narcos, Queen of the South, Money Heist my drug cartel boss/bank robber Spanish is pretty good, but I'd struggle to hold a conversation.

This is exactly my issue -- I had decent basic Spanish in the 1990s, but haven't spoken it in years, but having really enjoyed Money Heist last summer, my vocabulary now consists entirely of robbery, forgery, murder, escape plans, shootings etc. I can hiss 'La última vez que lo vi, le dejé en un charco de sangre!' fine, but I could probably barely have a conversation about the weather.

@DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat

My buttocks are perter than those of my sister Pippa, is that you?

Anyway, I’m sure it’s those not that. Aren’t there commas missing too? Shouldn’t it be
‘……my congratulations, and those of my family, to you all’ ?

Got me. I've moved on from Party Pieces and writing Waitrose Magazine columns about having lovely suppers for your friends, I am now in an eight-way international auction for the rights to Pervy Grammar.

@GiantWingedWaspMoth

Imma yell dat you is fly and anything is aiight viv slang, innit?

🤣

'Yo, me and the fam is well lit, innit'

ooh wait until I get better then we can chat in Spanish!

Brilliant- I'd genuinely love to! I often wonder about trying to start a Spanish (or French) chat thread on MN, but I'm not sure there'd be much enthusiasm!

If you can watch those tv shows you must be easily good enough to chat with me! Which ones do you recommend btw - I've only done listening, no watching.

As for other languages, I'd like to go back to Japanese at some point, and I fancy learning a Scandinavian language too.

but having really enjoyed Money Heist last summer, my vocabulary now consists entirely of robbery, forgery, murder, escape plans, shootings etc

Whereas I'm great on things like magic wands, fantastical creatures and stuff about boarding schools.

@Fountaining

Having watched Narcos, Queen of the South, Money Heist my drug cartel boss/bank robber Spanish is pretty good, but I'd struggle to hold a conversation.

This is exactly my issue -- I had decent basic Spanish in the 1990s, but haven't spoken it in years, but having really enjoyed Money Heist last summer, my vocabulary now consists entirely of robbery, forgery, murder, escape plans, shootings etc. I can hiss 'La última vez que lo vi, le dejé en un charco de sangre!' fine, but I could probably barely have a conversation about the weather.

That's me too. Degree is Spanish and French, A level German, live in Italy, and doing Danish and Latin on Duolingo Money Heist has helped me to dust off my swearwords and onomatopoeia (chikyboom for printing machines etc) but am still scared that my university Spanish would have been saying "salutations ye sons and daughters of men" instead of the Spanish equivalent to "alright?"

Ha this is funny... I read it earlier and wondered the same!!

am still scared that my university Spanish would have been saying "salutations ye sons and daughters of men" instead of the Spanish equivalent to "alright?"

😂

Major MFL derail...

@lazylinguist

Major MFL derail...

There should be more of them!

I think it's correct. It is a singular.
The congratulations.

The congratulations of my family. Collectively they all come together and issue one congratulations.

Anyway may be I am wrong.

@Xenia

I think it's correct. It is a singular. The congratulations.

The congratulations of my family. Collectively they all come together and issue one congratulations.

Anyway may be I am wrong.

Could be

@lazylinguist

I have to have the subtitles on!
I promise you, just because I understand "plata o plomo" and "puta perro" it doesn't mean I can small talk about the weather!😁

I recommend all 3, all fantastic.
But Money Heist (La Casa De Papel) is sensational. I've already watched it 4 times in English and I'm gonna brave watching it in Spanish before the last season comes out in September.🙈

feel free to PM me anytime if you want to chat more. and if you ever want to learn Hungarian I'm your gal🤣

@Geamhradh

🤣🤣
I can't wait to find out what boom boom ciao is in Spanish!
is it just me or do other fans choose their bank robber name too? I'd be Venice