Things People Say or Write That Annoy You

Plankton · 03-23-2018, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Just for that I'm going to ....

Oh! Oh! I forgot my number one hate! People (and everyone does it) starting a sentence with "so". Jesus ****ing Christ! So is a conjunction, or else an adverb, depending on which way you use it. But it's dependent on an earlier sentence or part of the sentence. "The shops were shut, so I couldn't buy milk" NOT "So what we do in this company is make pens." SHUT THE **** UP NOW YOU ****S!!!!

So much anger. Grrr.

Trollheart · 03-23-2018, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Um...

Yeah, yeah. So you got me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

*the’ir

Whay're?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

**** that. Four people are; a company of hundreds is. I don't give a **** about the rule because sometimes the rule sounds awkward and bull**** and I'll break it as I see fit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

^ Actually, I'm pretty sure you can use either for words that refer to a single group with members that can be considered as individuals too:-
My family is/are crazy. The herd has/have moved on. The team is/are playing well.

More or less what I said, and yes, it does confuse me. Do you say "the American people are mad for voting in Trump" or "The American people is made for voting in Trump"? Either way, they're mad.

Quote:

"A cloud of particles" will always be single, because who cares about the personality of one particle ?

Don't be one of those particle haters now! Stephen H would not approve!

Quote:

^ Sorry to deflate your fury, Trollheart, but sometimes sentences can start with "so", especially in conversation. Your second sentence is fine in spoken English because the word "so" is an accepted "discourse marker". It is one of a group of words we use that don't mean much more than "I'm going to say something now".
Other common discourse markers are OK, Right, Well, and Now Then.

Yeah but it happens so (

) often. I see it on Dragons' Den: "Tell us about your third year predictions" - "So we expect to hit three million by year three." Or "How does this item work?" - "So you just plug it into any USB port..."

How does "so" work at all there? You could say the sentence without so and it would make as much, if not more, sense. It's too prevalent, I feel, and everyone is doing it now, almost without thinking about it, it seems.

**Frownland** · 03-23-2018, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

^ Actually, I'm pretty sure you can use either for words that refer to a single group with members that can be considered as individuals too:-
My family is/are crazy. The herd has/have moved on. The team is/are playing well.

There's what you can do and there's what's right. Treating a single entity as plural is nonsensical to me.

"The Ramones are some of my favourite bands."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Yeah, yeah. So you got me.

To be fair, I think that it's perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction. That's just one of those archaic hierarchical grammar rules that can be skirted while still coherently conveying meaning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

More or less what I said, and yes, it does confuse me. Do you say "the American people are mad for voting in Trump" or "The American people is made for voting in Trump"? Either way, they're mad.

Bad example. People is a plural noun, not a collective noun like public or band. You would say the American people are mad for voting for Trump. You could also say that the American public is mad for voting for Trump for an example that's closer to what I'm talking about.

OccultHawk · 03-23-2018, 10:03 AM

Persons always sounds pretentious

DwnWthVwls · 03-23-2018, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

To be fair, I think that it's perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction. That's just one of those archaic hierarchical grammar rules that can be skirted while still coherently conveying meaning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

There's what you can do and there's what's right.

...

**Frownland** · 03-23-2018, 10:09 AM

Exactly. I start sentences with conjunctions and end them with prepositions as a protest against the bourgeoisie. It's my moral obligation.

The Batlord · 03-23-2018, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

"The American people is made for voting in Trump"

Dear god I hope not.

Quote:

Yeah but it happens so (

) often. I see it on Dragons' Den: "Tell us about your third year predictions" - "So we expect to hit three million by year three." Or "How does this item work?" - "So you just plug it into any USB port..."

How does "so" work at all there? You could say the sentence without so and it would make as much, if not more, sense. It's too prevalent, I feel, and everyone is doing it now, almost without thinking about it, it seems.

There's an implied pause after "So" that helps to prime the listener for the following sentence, whereas if you were just to jump into the sentence it might seem rather abrupt and awkward. I use "So" and similar words/phrases all the time because when I don't it just doesn't read as well.

DwnWthVwls · 03-23-2018, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Exactly. I start sentences with conjunctions and end them with prepositions as a protest against the bourgeoisie. It's my moral obligation.

No argument from me. Those are your words.

Trollheart · 03-23-2018, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

There's what you can do and there's what's right. Treating a single entity as plural is nonsensical to me.

"The Ramones are some of my favourite bands."

To be fair, I think that it's perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction. That's just one of those archaic hierarchical grammar rules that can be skirted while still coherently conveying meaning.

Bad example. People is a plural noun, not a collective noun like public or band. You would say the American people are mad for voting for Trump. You could also say that the American public is mad for voting for Trump for an example that's closer to what I'm talking about.

Yeah, you're right. I was in a hurry. Still, would you say for instance the Dodgers are a good team or the Dodgers is a good team? Not that I know anything about the Dodgers - could be **** for all I know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Dear god I hope not.

There's an implied pause after "So" that helps to prime the listener for the following sentence, whereas if you were just to jump into the sentence it might seem rather abrupt and awkward. I use "So" and similar words/phrases all the time because when I don't it just doesn't read as well.

I don't get that. People don't say (well the ones I've heard don't) "So ... this is what we do." They run the whole thing together. I know you said "implied" but I don't see how it is. Anyway, I hate it on general principles. Why would it seem awkward to jump right in? Consider these two sentences:
"I went to the shops and bought bread".
"So I went to the shops and bought bread."
How does the second one make the sentence any better, or more understandable or relatable? It's completely redundant, in most cases, to start any sentence with "so".

Inb4 anyone does this to annoy me..

**Frownland** · 03-23-2018, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Yeah, you're right. I was in a hurry. Still, would you say for instance the Dodgers are a good team or the Dodgers is a good team? Not that I know anything about the Dodgers - could be **** for all I know.

If I'm describing them as a team, I use the singular.

03-23-2018, 10:03 AM	#104 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,033	Persons always sounds pretentious __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

03-23-2018, 10:09 AM	#106 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	Exactly. I start sentences with conjunctions and end them with prepositions as a protest against the bourgeoisie. It's my moral obligation. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x