Someone that's driving me mad......

michaels

Starting sentences with conjunctions is frowned upon to(sic).

Graham_Devon

spirit wrote: »

As in, since I was passing by anyway, I dropped the letter through your letterbox instead of posting it.

Why do people say dropped it through?

Pushed it through. Tsk!

LydiaJ

"Compared to" when it should be "compared with".

"Compared with" is usually what people mean. It has a sense of contrast to it: "This house seems very overpriced compared with the one down the road."

"Compared to" is about saying something is like something else, without the element of contrast: if I describe the housing market by analogy with supply and demand for Ferraris, then I am comparing houses to Ferraris.

Graham_Devon

I really don't like people walking along the pavement with golf brollys, protecting them from a bit of drizzle touching their precious hair.

Does that count?

PasturesNew

I have an O level in English Language, I've never heard of less/fewer really....

So, no idea that one's right/wrong.

I'd have to read up about it to know which was right.... but then I'd have less time left so would have to read less posts here today

PasturesNew

nearlynew wrote: »

I love posh, educated birds.

Well, you're in luck - they love a bit of rough.

michaels

I recommend Michael Swan.

And always cheque you have enclosed the check before posting.

PasturesNew

GracieP wrote: »

Um, where do we stand on sheep?:think:

You don't stand on them, you stand behind them... with wellies on.

Soubrette

I don't really care what people write on here as I see it as a written form of conversational English.

I don't like text speak as I find it difficult to read and I don't like big blocks of writing for the same reason (or weird colours or fonts). I just tend to ignore these posts athough I have no problems with people pointing out these things to other people politely.

It does irritate me when people point out other people's mistakes instead of addressing the issues of their post though. A recent one was commenting on someone's spelling and grammar when they were complaining about the same in their MP - absolutely nothing to do with the posters problem and a bit unworthy to point out imo.

PasturesNew

I write stuff/fluff on the Internet... and nobody reads my stuff/fluff. It's just there to be picked up in search engines, to drive traffic to sites. It's fluff. And as such, even I stop bothering about whether it's the right stuff, or interesting stuff.... my aim is to catch Google's eye. If you want educational/instructional manuals, that's a different style. But, as I write so much stuff and fluff for online use, my writing technique has changed... it's less (or is it fewer? completely lost now) precise, the structure's loose. It's rambling and mechanical. I have written training manuals, procedures manuals, reports ... and the language there needs to be very specific - and checked.

Now I just write fluff and nobody cares what it says so long as it made somebody end up on the page