CommonFreddy Woo writes, "My wife thinks calling the front room a lounge is common. Worse, a friend of hers recently admonished her daughter for calling a toilet, a toilet. Lavatory darling. It's lavatory."
My own mother refused to let me use the word 'oblong' instead of 'rectangle'. Which is just odd, to be honest.
What stuff do you think is common?
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chthonic, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 16:06)
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Saying "If I was you"It's "If I were you", although obviously since "was" is used for the past subjunctive of "to be" so much in other contexts, I suppose the grammar-nazi jury's out on this one. But I cringe whenever I hear it.
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 0:33, 10 replies)
Don't start on the double negative thing......because according to the Dictionary of Misinformation a double negative reinforces the negativity, it's just in mathematics it cancels one another out :-p
*Edit* Having seen Kezmo's entry, I think I'll just keep my mouth shut
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 0:35, closed)
Did I mention double negatives?I don't think I didn't mention them, didn't I?
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 0:39, closed)
AlsoPeople who try not to sound common by saying yourself instead of you.
"..sent the letter to yourself"
NO!
"..sent the letter to you"
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sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 0:40,
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^this
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 7:31, closed)
"If I was you"MUST be wrong even by Grammar-Nazi standards, because "you was" is wrong as well, although I think I read that it used to be correct centuries ago, as 'you' is meant in the singular form...
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 0:43, closed)
No, because "I" is the subject here, not "you"And that singular form would presumably be "thou"?
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 0:52, closed)
Ooh yes indeed! *blushes*Is "if I were you" in the subjunctive tense? I think there was a Facebook group bemoaning the neglect/disuse of that tense...
(, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 1:14, closed)
Yes, but technically "If I was you" is as well, it's just also possibly grammatically incorrectBut as I said, in most circumstances but "If I were you" people will just use "was" instead.
(, Sat 18 Oct 2008, 0:24, closed)
Grammar nazis would say......the subjunctive is a mood and not a tense.
(, Sat 18 Oct 2008, 17:21, closed)
Ooh yesSubjunctive for the win! The same goes for "were that the case" instead of "if that was the case" in a hypothetical clause.
I love the subjunctive.
(, Sat 18 Oct 2008, 11:24, closed)
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