tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post9109884931890657211..comments2024-02-12T15:47:15.904+01:00Comments on Always greener: Everybody thought it was stupid, didn't they?Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13753056386255047108noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-2551474618597623292009-10-22T01:57:54.086+02:002009-10-22T01:57:54.086+02:00Please accept my sincerest apologies for offending...Please accept my sincerest apologies for offending in any way. I really don't know where I went wrong.doafyhttp://doafy.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-19138219151355023002009-10-22T01:53:28.429+02:002009-10-22T01:53:28.429+02:00Whoa! Craig! When did I get derogatory? I never...Whoa! Craig! When did I get derogatory? I never meant that to happen at all!<br /><br />Some sort of horrible misinterpretation seems to have happened along the way. Everything I said I meant in good fun! I certainly never meant to offend.doafyhttp://doafy.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-40402815029099430652009-10-21T10:16:00.963+02:002009-10-21T10:16:00.963+02:00And by the way, if you think this is not as "...And by the way, if you think this is not as "serious as either of us makes it out to be", then you should keep in mind that I do not appreciate having derogatory comments that are also completely unfounded made about my children, especially not on my blog...Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753056386255047108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-14880794575265194692009-10-21T10:13:56.973+02:002009-10-21T10:13:56.973+02:00Well, we are just going to have to differ here, bu...Well, we are just going to have to differ here, but I'm afraid both the reactions of other native speakers and the way people learn languages (with children of mastering accents with ease) do not really make this matter debatable...Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753056386255047108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-26886589961899504122009-10-21T04:18:59.830+02:002009-10-21T04:18:59.830+02:00Yes, I was not being altogether focused in my resp...Yes, I was not being altogether focused in my response to you. Although in the informal format of a blog, I don't see why adding "and another thing" would draw any objections. <br /><br />I know that in your general blog you aren't writing directly to me. That would be ridiculous and self centered of me. What I meant is "Oooh. This is something that gets me riled up.&doafyhttp://doafy.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-58977050486820187932009-10-20T11:22:05.971+02:002009-10-20T11:22:05.971+02:00I see where you are going with the US English bit,...I see where you are going with the US English bit, but keep in mind that with your "PE" comment you were correcting something I was not even focusing on -- effectively changing the subject.<br /><br />(You also wrote that I was "trying to get your goat," but of course I am not. This blog does not address any particular person -- I would write you a personal e-mail for that -- Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753056386255047108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-88248172755967385762009-10-16T06:53:54.854+02:002009-10-16T06:53:54.854+02:00Wow. "felt I can" That's just horr...Wow. "felt I can" That's just horrible tense shifting all over. I hate finding errors in a language discussion.doafyhttp://doafy.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-50520818093357051242009-10-16T06:52:30.504+02:002009-10-16T06:52:30.504+02:00Ah! You are totally right that I was thinking of ...Ah! You are totally right that I was thinking of American English. But I will defend myself by saying that since you are an American, I felt I can assume you are teaching your children American constructs. Actually, I didn't really think about it. Which, I suppose, is very American of me. :) Also, I just noticed that you did in fact say "I cannot imagine sixth graders in the US doafyhttp://doafy.livejouranl.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-26147293732355953272009-10-14T10:27:32.476+02:002009-10-14T10:27:32.476+02:00Andrew, Doafy is giving you a prescriptive definit...Andrew, Doafy is giving you a prescriptive definition, but unfortunately there is another one: you will find people who claim "everybody has to bring his own" is "most proper" (Doafy is merely stating her opinion here; I do not know why she does not admit that there is a large camp in favor of "his" - but it's a fact). Both of these camps are demonstrably wrong Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753056386255047108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-25077119308590192122009-10-14T06:01:16.238+02:002009-10-14T06:01:16.238+02:00Andrew,
"Everybody has to bring his or her o...Andrew,<br /><br />"Everybody has to bring his or her own sports clothes" is the most proper. However, most people find saying "his or her" cumbersome. This is why most people default to "their."<br /><br />And, Craig, I just realized that no American would use the phrase "sports clothes," either. Americans would say "gym clothes" or "PE doafyhttp://doafy.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-273077609204825622009-10-08T14:48:09.181+02:002009-10-08T14:48:09.181+02:00"everybody has to bring his own sports clothe..."everybody has to bring his own sports clothes"<br /><br />I usually would contruct my sentence as "everybody has to bring his or her own sports clothes" to make it more gender-sensitive. Is this acceptable as well?<br /><br />-Andrew<br />not a native English speakerjadzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12906861845929556278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8808639380980092075.post-43682581385161653722009-10-07T06:16:02.144+02:002009-10-07T06:16:02.144+02:00Now you're just trying to get my goat, aren...Now you're just trying to get my goat, aren't you? The best way to structure your last sentence is, "The whole class thought it was stupid, didn't they?" You could use "it" to reference the class, but it's one of those collective nouns that can either be treated as one unit, or as a collection of individuals, so either works depending on your purpose. <br /doafyhttp://doafy.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.com