Job Discussion Forums

johnslat · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 8:45 pm Post subject: Keep your eyes on the prize

Dear Corey,
I do believe the biffer meant " to pry one's head out of one's a s s ". So, it's not really a grammar mistake - more vocab, I'd say. Speaking of grammar, though:

" Is it just me or do some of the people claiming to be professionals here have terrible grammar? "

should, perhaps, be

" Is it just I, or do some of the people here claiming to be professionals have terrible grammar. "

Oh, and Mr. dduck - if the " proper authorities " could ever see what goes on in almost everyone's mind ( admittedly you could be an exception ), many of us would be behind bars ( if not torn asunder by an enraged - and mainly hypocritical - mob ) for life.

Corey · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 112 Location: Canada

Is it just I ???????????????????????????????????

johnslat · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 10:36 pm Post subject: The Grammar Police

Dear Corey,
Well, strictly speaking ( or writing ), yup. No object pronoun after the linking verb " to be ". ( As a statement, it'd read " It's just I " ). After all, would you say/write, " Who am me? "? But, of course, only pedantically inclined, proscriptive grammarians would insist on the " Is it just I " form.
The misplacement of " here " is more important, though. The way you have it:
" . . . claiming to be professionals here . . . "

gives a meaning that you probably didn't intend. I mean, they don't, " claim(ing) to be professionals " only " here ".
That's why I moved it to modify " people":
" . . . or do some of the people here . . . "

Personally, I've found that decrying the spelling/grammar, etc of others on these forums is something that can come back to bite one. There'll almost always be some jerk - like, say, myself - who'll catch you making mistakes of your own.
Regards,
John
P.S. Just to " even things out " please feel free ( if you wish ) to correct any/all of MY mistakes ( see above ). Lord knows there are enough of them.

Corey · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 112 Location: Canada

Don't worry - I don't take cyber-things personally.

I will however defend myself. I did a quick Google search and found several good examples where "Is it just me.." is put forth as correct.

Of course we both know the English language is in extreme flux so perhaps we just have different grammar guides (your's proscritive from 1900 Wink

).

With regard to the "here" you can take it any way you want.

Perhaps in another thread we can get into the whole cyber-grammar as a mix of oral and written grammar debate.

BTW your last post has some serious puncuation problems! Cool

johnslat · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 11:12 pm Post subject: Puncuate this

Dear Corey,

" BTW your last post has some serious puncuation problems! "

Dear me - you really have to get over this tendency towards extreme proscriptiveness.
Regards,
John
P.S. Caught the spelling mistakes - nice touch.

Corey · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 112 Location: Canada

Spelling is a "tad" harder on a Spanish keyboard for me.

Corey

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

Lynn · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 696 Location: in between

johnslat · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 12:40 am Post subject: Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle

Dear Lynn,
Men are - in a word - beasts. But then, so are women. We all are, you know - animals every one of us. But with ( in most, anyway ) a protective coating of conscience, morals, ethics and ( for many ) religion that keeps our " lower natures " in check - much of the time, anyway.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

You're right John.

We're all naturally sinful and evil, concerned with our "self" first. It also doesn't mean that we can accept that and do nothing when we have those urges. It is called free will.

Frater · Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 42

Lynn:
So all men desire 'under-aged' girls??? This is an interesting post!

It's a little like the post about the 'commercialization of education' - as if the entire history (and perhaps pre-history) of the human race has mainly featured free and universal education and it's only recently that 'capitalists' have come and spoiled it for everybody ...

Johnslat:

Your posts are widely admired. If you wish them to remain so, you must quickly abandon your advocacy of 'It is just I', which is one of the biggest absurdities I have ever seen on a discussion list (and I read plenty). Next you'll be telling us that if you ain't got nothing to say then you've got something to say.

Will.:

I gave the right answer to your London pron. riddle - so where's the 'sherbet dip' you promised???

'Frater' (poor as a churchmouse, chaste as a monk, unpedantic as a non-teacher, pissed as a newt)

johnslat · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 2:04 am Post subject: Basic instincts

Dear Frater,
Perhaps you missed my point. I don't " advocate " saying/writing " It's just I " ( even though it IS formal grammar ). What I was trying to point out to Corey was not " proper grammar ", but that it's very likely unwise to post comments such as

" Is it just me or do some of the people claiming to be professionals here have terrible grammar? "

That's " can of worms " time - it's also ( as I've discovered for myself ) " glass houses/stones " time. Many a thread has been " hijacked " by just such an aside. What usually happens next are postings picking apart other postings for grammar, spelling, etc. mistakes ad infinitum.
Regards,
John

Dear Gordon,
Yes - not having had carnal knowledge of a first cousin ( many years ago, when we were both in our teens ), I'm familiar with free-will in such situations. But rather than what you wrote:
" It also doesn't mean that we can accept that and do nothing when we have those urges. "
I'd say that " do(ing") nothing " is precisely what we DO chose to do.
I'm also not sure myself whether " we are all naturally sinful and evil ", but I am fairly sure that we all have " animal reactions/instincts " that we can't stop having, but that we can control.
Regards,
John

Steiner · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 573 Location: Hunan China

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Okay, at the risk of returning this to the orignal topic