The 49er Sports SportsHoopla English, Grammar, Pronunciation, and Usage Thread

[MHSL82]

You wasted a perfect opportunity to purposely mess it up. Your last sentence should have been, "The prohibition on ending a sentence with a preposition is one of those in which the mythical rules is a perfect example of."

Just kidding.

D'oh! I messed up in fixing that, but you know what I mean.

 

[yossarian]

You wasted a perfect opportunity to purposely mess it up. Your last sentence should have been, "The prohibition on ending a sentence with a preposition is one of those in which the mythical rules is a perfect example of."

Just kidding.

I feel terrible now, that was a real blown opportunity.

 

[imac_21]

Just a question: does Meriam-Webster claim to be an evolving encyclopedia-like authority on the English language, evidenced by their gradual inclusion of new words, developed through slang and consistent misuse or differing use in today's society? Or is it an authority on what is correct for reference to those who want to know the classic, correct usage? If the former, I can infer that the new definition could have been originally wrong but widely accepted. If the latter, that implies that it has been an acceptable definition all along.

I mean, from dictionary.com (which is not Merriam-Webster, obviously), I have inferred that if society more and more incorrectly used the word "spell" as "pronounce" that it would become an acceptable definition, as opposed to a classic example of incorrect English.

The short answer:

Merriam-Webster cites the first use of infer and imply as being in 1528. They cite the first use of infer being used as a synonym for imply in 1533.

So, for the last 480 years it has been proper to use infer as a synonym for imply.

 

[NinerSickness]

I always wondered where the pronunciation "fer-miliar" got its origin (as opposed to familiar).

 

[imac_21]

I started this thread because I was bored and knew that I could amuse myself for an hour or so reading the posts, the thread really wasn't meant for anyone to take it seriously, and I think iMac and Toby really enjoyed themselves and weren't totally serious, so don't be such a negative Nate.

Yeah, it was fun, and it isn't as if I think less of anyone who doesn't realize that infer is a synonym for imply.

 

[MHSL82]

The short answer:

Merriam-Webster cites the first use of infer and imply as being in 1528. They cite the first use of infer being used as a synonym for imply in 1533.

So, for the last 480 years it has been proper to use infer as a synonym for imply.

Thanks. I have to admit, I didn't check your link out because I had no argument against your (citation of that) definition. I would never (knowingly) use imply or infer as a synonym, but don't infer from that that I don't think it can.

 

[TobyTyler]

This thread stinks of pretentiousness. It annoys me that people get off to knowing a language better than someone else. English from 1000 years ago is unintelligible from modern English because it's constantly changing. People who have constraints for what is prestige, have underlying reasons for it such as not wanting to be included with a certain class of people. Sure, things like double negatives have some legitimacy since they tend to slow down what's being communicated but many of these mistakes don't even cause confusion, yet cause much anger.

Oh, relax. We're just having a little fun.

 

[TobyTyler]

FIFY.

You didn't fix it properly though. You used a capital letter directly after your semi colon.

 

[TobyTyler]

Thanks. I have to admit, I didn't check your link out because I had no argument against your (citation of that) definition. I would never (knowingly) use imply or infer as a synonym, but don't infer from that that I don't think it can.

Ha! Nicely done.

 

[I_am_1z]

I started this thread because I was bored and knew that I could amuse myself for an hour or so reading the posts, the thread really wasn't meant for anyone to take it seriously, and I think iMac and Toby really enjoyed themselves and weren't totally serious, so don't be such a negative Nate.

Seemed like new people began using the board and this was a subtle way to show them how you want posters to write.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

"But yet" is the one that really kills me. I cringe every time I hear it.

 

[yossarian]

Seemed like new people began using the board and this was a subtle way to show them how you want posters to write.

Not me man, I've been a lawyer for over 20 years, I've written a lot and read a lot of briefs, I don't need the forum to critique someone's use of the English language.

 

[MHSL82]

You didn't fix it properly though. You used a capital letter directly after your semi colon.

I had added a semicolon between the second and third sentences, and then added the one between the first and second at the last second, not remembering to fix it. Oops; but I did know the rule. (<-- Yes, the grammar there was incorrect; my bad, I'm becoming Kaepernick. )

 

[TobyTyler]

"But yet" is the one that really kills me. I cringe every time I hear it.

How about "nucular instead of "nuclear"? Even President Bush said "nucular"

 

[TobyTyler]

I had added a semicolon between the second and third sentences, and then added the one between the first and second at the last second, not remembering to fix it. Oops; but I did know the rule. (<-- Yes, the grammar there was incorrect; my bad, I'm becoming Kaepernick. )

Ooh, watch out. Crimson hates the term "my bad". He will be all over you for using it.

 

[RoboticDreams]

This OP iz stoopit

 

[aarrgghh]

That pronunciation isn't wrong. Different regions will have different dialects. Much like composite being pronounced COMposite some place, and comPOSite in others.

You might be putting the emPHASis on the wrong SyLlable.

 

[MHSL82]

Ooh, watch out. Crimson hates the term "my bad". He will be all over you for using it.

I was trying to use all the terms from the other thread. For example, for "you're" example of "ouch" I used "oops" instead. And I used "my bad" and I used the semicolon incorrectly on purpose "to idiotically be cool." Also, trying too hard is cool? Or lame? I can't keep up with modern trends.

 

[aarrgghh]

Not bad at all

 

[NinerSickness]

Speaking of mispronunciations current or former presidents have used, saying "corpse" when the word was "corps" on multiple occasions was a pretty bad one. If you're talking about the Marine corpse you're referring to an actual dead body.