Here we can all be heard for a little while. Part 2

codemonkey

Yay WaS. My decorations have been up for 2 minutes and already fallen victim to a waggy tail.

Waves_and_Smiles

Hahahahaha! Aw, that's adorable code! DA dog needs a Santa hat!

codemonkey

I put his Christmas jumper on. :rotfl:

Waves_and_Smiles

Awwwwwwww! That's adorable, he has a Christmas jumper! Describe please, code!

codemonkey

It has a snowman and his name has been embroidered on it.

Waves_and_Smiles

Oh, how sweet! I bet he looks gorgeous!

Georgiegirl256

Haha I'm the same as WaSp WaS, do not talk to me before I've had my morning coffees!

What on earth is a split infinitive?! *goes to google*

Yay to getting the tree up code! Also, how cute that DA dog has a Christmas jumper!

Eta: Ok, just googled split infinitive. I think my brain might have exploded! I'm still non the wiser!

onomatopoeia99

elsien wrote: »

What's the official line on "my husband and I?"

Here is a set of exercises from the University of Bristol Arts faculty on the correct use of I or me.

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_62.htm

I answered them all correctly. The rule still seems to be that you should think about the pronoun that you would use if it stood alone (I checked my copy of Gowers which seems to agree with me), so this is how I think it works:

My husband and I went shopping -> I went shopping
My husband and me went shopping -> Me went shopping. :mad:
She gave it to my husband and me -> She gave it to me.
She gave it to my husband and I -> She gave it to I. :mad:

In the first two examples "My husband and ..." forms the subject, so a subject pronoun (I) is needed.
In the second two, it forms the (indirect) object, so an object pronoun (me) is needed.

Here's a different grammatical conundrum for WaS to chew over:

I suggest that he is invited to the meeting.

or

I suggest that he be invited to the meeting.

Almost everyone I've asked this of says the latter sounds archaic, although I think it's correct.

Waves_and_Smiles

Hmmm, I think the second one is right too, ono. I have asked my teacher friend! Funnily enough, your username is my favourite type of grammar, once I discovered what that meant I used to find words where it applied. I was a strange child!

Pyxis

elsien wrote: »

A world without apostrophes doesn't bear thinking about. Some things just can't be ignored, however hard I try.
Do you have a position on split infinitives?:p

This is interesting, because Winston Churchill himself debunked the strict adherence to not splitting infinitives way, way back, when he said, after being criticised for splitting them, "This is criticism, up with which I will not put."

I feel that in formal written texts it is important to stick to the rules, but that in situations like this thread, the written word here is more like the spoken word. I often start a sentence with 'and' on this forum, because if I were talking, there would be a pause in my speech longer than that of a semi-colon. It's as if I were having an afterthought.

In a formal script or letter, I wouldn't do that, though

elsien wrote: »

I find auto carrot has a bad habit of apostrophising words unnecessarily. Then I read posts back and think "nòooo."
There's a lot of the old rules I wasn't taught, so am probably blithely breaking them all over the place. I spent many an hour with grandparent checking rules that she'd forgotten and I'd never learned.
What's the official line on "my husband and I?"

See below.

codemonkey wrote: »

It's 'my husband and me', I believe. They had a grammar quiz on bbc a while ago and that was the only one I got wrong.

WaS, 'my husband and I' is grammatically incorrect now.

Onomatopoeia is right on this one. It is either 'my husband and I' or 'my husband and me' depending on whether it's the subject or object of the verb.


And HURRAY, Onomatopoeia, for the use of the subjunctive!

'I suggest that he be invited....' is correct, because it is not a definite thing. I love the subjunctive, because it has a subtle nuance you don't get with the present indicative.