Some people make my blood boil

lil_miss_sunshine

I think you all need to take a chill pill. This is a forum, not an exam. So what if people make mistakes? It's not very nice when there are people on here who take the time to correct spelling and grammar all of the time...

msgnomey

Good oh!

My local PCWorld have a huge advert up for TV's!!!

eyeinthesky

lil_miss_sunshine wrote: »

I think you all need to take a chill pill. This is a forum, not an exam. So what if people make mistakes? It's not very nice when there are people on here who take the time to correct spelling and grammar all of the time...

I apologise, I do agree with the OP and often spot errors in spelling and grammar, which I have never pointed out before . English is a beautiful language, but is a means of communication, and if anyone can make themselves understood then that is all that matters, surely? I just couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon here to correct a retired english teacher, after all, they corrected me often enough during my school years.

lil_miss_sunshine

Yeah, its ok to spot them. But always point out peoples flaws (not having very good english) can make them feel a bit rubbish. As long as day aint spkin lyk dis n its redable den its ok ryt? Erghh im awful at text speak lol

GrammarGirl

eyeinthesky wrote: »

No. If something has had a material change it has been 'effected'.

eg' Share prices have been effected by good news in trading figures.' (Meaning they have risen.)

An emotional change would be 'affected'.
eg 'Many have been affected by the news of so many deaths in just one month.'

Now, I have only had a secondary modern education, and no qualifications achieved, but sorry Pollypenny, you are wrong. If something has had a change, it has been affected. If something has been effected, then it is something which has been achieved or created which didn't already exist.
[/QUOTE]

What affects you has an effect on you.

The rain affected my hair.
The effect was ridiculous.

I always struggle with this one, have to really think about it before I use it. I think the example you use for 'effect' is right but it's not the easiest one to decipher!

Debt_Free_Chick

Affect is usually a verb and effect a noun - as in GrammarGirl's example above.

But, as is often the case with the English language, effect can be a verb too as in "to bring about" or "to make happen".

And affect can be a noun, usually referring to an emotion and most often used in this way by psychologists to describe a patient's mood or mental state.

It's worth bearing in mind that the English language - and its grammatical usage - has evolved over a period of time. So some usuage that would have been incorrect in the past, is now considered to be acceptable.

One of the reasons that English is such a difficult language for foreign students is that so many of its rules are contradictory. One of the reasons its so difficult for the English is that its no longer taught!

However, grammatical errors can and should be forgiven, provided the writer's meaning is unaffected. Even the great H W Fowler was lenient in the application of the rules about which he wrote extensively, saying ...

"Any one who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour, before he allows himself to be tempted by the more showy qualities, to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid."

Or Sir Ernest Gowers

"Correctness is not enough. The words used may all be words approved by the dictionary and used in their right senses; the grammar may be faultless and the idiom above reproach. Yet what is written may still fail to convey a ready and precise meaning to the reader. That it does so fail is the charge brought against much of what is written nowadays, including much of what is written by officials. In the first chapter I quoted a saying of Matthew Arnold that the secret of style was to have something to say and to say it as clearly as you can."

And for those who do not know, Fowler and Gowers produced what were - and perhaps still are - authoritive guides to the use and application of the English language.

Debt_Free_Chick

tuggy12 wrote: »

I suppose that the fact that the Microsoft spell checker is American is the cause.:rolleyes:

Change it to UK English

Tools, Language, Set Language ... English (U.K.). Then click Default, Yes, OK

trisontana

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Change it to UK English

Tools, Language, Set Language ... English (U.K.). Then click Default, Yes, OK

If you use Opera or Firefox you can opt for UK English for the built-in spell checkers in these browsers.

pollypenny

eyeinthesky wrote: »

Now, I have only had a secondary modern education, and no qualifications achieved, but sorry Pollypenny, you are wrong. If something has had a change, it has been affected. If something has been effected, then it is something which has been achieved or created which didn't already exist.

You are right. But the first change is in feeling ( clue - the noun 'affection')

If something has been 'created' then that is still a material change, hence 'effected.

But, what the heck? I'm happily retired and the difference is unimportant!