Grammer

[tandh]

hey, which of these is correct please?
I should have told him
I should of told him

[zebo]

Oh yes I've seen apostrophes used incorrectly to denote a plural, I have a great urge to go round with a red marker pen and change them all. My comment was in response to the suggestion "just like an apostrophe will eventually correctly denote a plural (it already does this unofficially, even in formal documentation) ", the implication being it will become correct, shudder, shudder. One of my all-time favourites was a Mercedes Sprint, very new registration carrying "bridal dress's" round Stockport a few years ago, someone had paid a lot of money for the lettering.

[New Judge]

This is easy to understand and fiction-factory demonstrated it perfectly in his post at 06:53am (when I was still asleep).

“I have told him” is the Present Perfect tense in English. (Remember this, it’s important).

“I would have told him” is the Perfect Conditional (sometimes called the Conditional Perfect). It places a condition on the Present Perfect. For example: “I would have told him [if I had remembered]” (telling him being conditional on remembering). You would not say “I of told him” so you should not say “I would of told him”. Simples !!!

Some of the examples quoted by mushroom as “evolution” are simply incorrect usage. This is one of them. “Should of” is incorrect and it can be easily demonstrated as such. “Greengrocers’ apostrophes” are another example of incorrect usage. There is nothing evolutionary about them. They are merely examples of incorrect usage by people who have not been properly taught. The increasing use of the phrase “I was, like” to mean “I said” is neither evolutionary nor incorrect but just plain stupid. It may gain popular usage but it is stupid nonetheless.

There is a considerable difference between word usage and phraseology evolving and incorrect grammar becoming acceptable. It pays us not to blur the two. To say that because “I would of told him” will become acceptable as correct because it is widely used is rather like saying that if enough people say two plus two equals six and a half, eventually it will be accepted as correct.

[Mamyalynne]

By 'eck lad, do you not suffer with RSI?

[trt]

Can somebody remind me what (sic) is used for in a sentence?

[Mamyalynne]

sic1
sɪk/Submit
adverb
used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original, as in a story must hold a child's interest and ‘enrich his (sic) life’.

[trt]

Ta Mamya.

[Mamyalynne]

You're welcome.

[bhg481]

Interesting example from zebo at 22:08. Since an apostrophe can be used to indicate a missing letter and the plural of "dress" is "dresses", you could argue that "dress's" is correct.

[New Judge]

Yes you could argue that. But since the apostrophe is only replacing one letter and makes no appreciable difference to the pronunciation, there is little point in the "abbreviation". "Should've" for "should have" replaces two letters, reduces two words to one and make the pronunciation a bit slicker.

[fiction-factory]

I would like to say I couldn't agree more or I don't disagree with you, NJ - but aren't there lots of examples where apostrophes do replace just one missing letter? (I have used some here haven't I.)

[elliemay1]

When someone asks, 'How are you?' lots of people nowadays respond by saying, 'I'm good, thanks.' This is totally incorrect yet people seem to think it's trendy.

[New Judge]

Yes, f-f-, but they usually also conjoin two words (the examples you use being contractions of "are not" and "have not").

Yes there’s lots of things like that being said, ellie.

Only the other day I was in a pub and the curmudgeonly barman was asked by a young customer “Can I get a pint of Fosters?”. The curmudgeon replied “No you may not as customers are not allowed this side of the bar, but if you really want one, I’ll get it for you!” The young customer was somewhat confused.

[ichkeria]

A prize for the first person to see PETIT'S POI'S (other than here of course!)

I like your barman's style NJ!

[Peter Pedant]

have deffo

I should of told him is wrong and is cognate ( ha!) with
I kind of told him
or I sort of told him ....

kind of and sort of are used adverbially and arent adverbs

should of is a parallel and is based on mishearing of 'have' for 'of'
( blasted southern dialect again )

[bhg481]

On a par with NJ's anecdote is:"Can I take your date of birth?". "Why, don't you have one of your own?".

[Peter Pedant]

or....

I am writing my doctoral thesis

hey wossa matter - cant your doctor write his own thesis ?

General education for sunday morning
we could of called it 'sunday school'

[Peter Pedant]

of...

would you like to change your mind ?

why ? dont you like the mind I have ?

[Cloverjo]

'Can I get...?' bothers me, too. I work in an amusement arcade, and young people always say 'Can I get a pound of 2s [or whatever]? I am often tempted to say 'No you can't get them. I'll get them for you.' I'm not as curmudgeonly as that barman, though.

[Tilly2]

'I'm bored of this.' Argh!

[Jackdaw33]

I'm not so sure that 'get' is necessarily wrong in this context. It has two meanings, to fetch and to receive. The latter meaning seems OK to me, as in, 'I got a letter yesterday'.