It's GRAMMAR school

[Ivegotthree]

That's all

Ect ect ect

Or even:

Ecsetera

We have a lovely Pedants' Corner topic, where no-one will judge you for appreciating good grammar and spelling

That extract about used to goes on to say: but many people consider the form with the final -d to be incorrect, and you should not use it in exams:

What's wrong with 'against the grain'? I always assumed it came from working against the grain in a wood work scenario.

Que instead of cue really grates!

Going against the grain, means doing or saying something that you personally disagree with. On here it's used to announce that you don't agree with the majority of the posters.

I hate it when I open Facebook to be told the sun is shinning. Where is it shinning off to?!

The one I admittedly have to think twice about before I type is 'bear with me'

Would it be churlish of me to say that my respect for an extremely senior member of staff went out the window when he wrote an email about the stationary cupboard

I was tempted to write back asking why/how it had previously managed to be mobile ...

Bold fail there but I hope you get the drift ...

abra I don’t know where you are seeing the bit about exams with didn’t used to. Collins English Dictionary full entry says: ”The most common negative form is didn't used to (or didn't use to), but in formal contexts used not to is preferred.” No mention of exams. So didn’t used to is more normal while didn’t use to is a standard variant. Both are OK.

Wow thanks for this thread! I'm a foreigner. So useful to see all these examples!

I would say "I used not to ...."

Am I wrong?

Waiting on (FOR)
Excited for (ABOUT)
Can I get (HAVE)

Grrrr.

I used to say, "can I get" a lot until my dad (who I didn't realise was such a pedant) corrected me.
I now say, "please may I have..." and I weirdly feel great saying it. It's like I feel more polite

Please don't go to Pedants' Corner and start threads like this.
We don't use it to criticise other people's incorrect, or imperfect use of English, but rather to discuss the nuances of an ever-evolving language.

Hope that the posters on the threads which have been mocked on this one don't see it.

Give me a poor speller over a smug twat any day of the week.

Sorry, was Cambridge dictionary that had the exam mention!

So why do you call it Pedants’ Corner and not Language Development Enthusiasts or Grammar Geeks?

All of your "grrr" examples are correct, flowery.

Would you like a link to preposition use, multi-word verbs and the uses of "get"?

@Abra1de -And you don’t give a present to John and I or give me ideas for John and I

That one really makes me want to scream. It's even worse when it's from people who are normally meticulous with spag.

”All of your "grrr" examples are correct, flowery.”

As far as I’m aware, they are Americanisms. I’m in the UK, where using them makes someone sound idiotic and as though they watch too much telly. They may technically be “correct”, but I don’t think most people who use them are doing so because they believe the more usual phrases are incorrect grammatically.

”Would you like a link to preposition use, multi-word verbs and the uses of "get"?”

What makes you think I would? How odd. Or passive aggressive.

Yesss, people assuming "and I" at the end of a sentence must be correct: subjects and objects people - look them up. I need to include the "whilst" crew: nothing wrong with "while" and contrary to popular belief it's the older less contrived version.

HaventGot I've had my arse handed to me in Pedants' Corner before and elsewhere on MN regarding a Latin suffix if I remember rightly. I embrace it, if I'm incorrect I want to know and learn from it.

Far too many precious reactions from posters where you could actually just say "Thanks I didn't know that".

The principal author wrote the chapter which describes the principle of freedom of expression

Please ensure you insure your house

As an English teacher and examiner, I can confirm that not only are they correct, but they are expressions that we encourage students to use nowadays so they don't sound like something out of Miss Marple (cf "may I have" etc.

I don't think it's fair to bring up Americanisms on MN. Lots of MNers are American after all.

Waiting on (FOR)
Excited for (ABOUT)

Not so much incorrect, as having different meanings.

If you wait on someone, you hold yourself ready to serve them. Hence 'waiter'.

If you are excited for someone, you empathise with their positive feeling or sutuation.