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The Death Of The English Language As We Know It.


David Davis
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Posted by Peter Jenkins on 23/10/2016 16:55:33:

Even the newsreaders on the Beeb seem to be following the US tradition of no infinitive should ever be left unsplit!

To me, that sentence doesn't look correct but I have been living in a mainland European country for more than twenty years and have to use the vernacular every day, so my English grammar may be rusty.

I would have written, ...following the US tradition of never leaving an infinitive unsplit or, perhaps, ...of not leaving an infinitive unsplit.

Also, to quote Otto Jesperson, ""To" ...is no more an essential part of an infinitive than the definite article is an essential part of a nominative and no one would think of calling "the good man" a split nominative".

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Posted by John Privett on 23/10/2016 17:07:41:

Peter, don't get me started on American 'English'! smile o

Why do they often miss out the preposition when stating when something happened? Eg. "Trump said something stupid in a speech he gave Tuesday". What happened to "on Tuesday"?

-I think you are wrong

Are you sure it should be "on" tuesday?--

I would agree "during " tuesday but not "on" tuesday

i think just " tuesday" is better . Tuesday being a point in time, albeit a 24 hour point. One does not say some thing will happen "on" eight 'o' clock" so why "on" tuesday? As Tuesday is a longer point & the "happening" can take place at a point in time during that day then "on" is incorrect & one should say " during" but certainly not "on"

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Posted by Sam Longley on 24/10/2016 08:29:56:
Posted by John Privett on 23/10/2016 17:07:41:

Peter, don't get me started on American 'English'! smile o

Why do they often miss out the preposition when stating when something happened? Eg. "Trump said something stupid in a speech he gave Tuesday". What happened to "on Tuesday"?

-I think you are wrong

Are you sure it should be "on" tuesday?--

I would agree "during " tuesday but not "on" tuesday

i think just " tuesday" is better . Tuesday being a point in time, albeit a 24 hour point. One does not say some thing will happen "on" eight 'o' clock" so why "on" tuesday? As Tuesday is a longer point & the "happening" can take place at a point in time during that day then "on" is incorrect & one should say " during" but certainly not "on"

Of course something can occur, or be said to have occurred "on" a day

That's in extremely common usage, and has been for as long as I can remember - struggling to see how that could be wrong surprise

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Posted by IanN on 24/10/2016 08:48:29:
Posted by Tony Richardson on 23/10/2016 20:41:19:

Nice one IanN, I always understood a Nitro engine to be a Top Fueller?

I don't even know what a "top fueller" is laugh

A "Top Fueller" is the highest calss of drag racer.

I don't know what the current speeeds are but in 2002 Don Garlits' SWamp Rat 34 did a standing 1/4 mile in 4.476 seconds with a terminal velocity of 323.04 mph. (Eat your heart out Carkson!!)

Edited By Peter Miller on 24/10/2016 10:39:15

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Posted by Peter Miller on 24/10/2016 10:38:39:
Posted by IanN on 24/10/2016 08:48:29:
Posted by Tony Richardson on 23/10/2016 20:41:19:

Nice one IanN, I always understood a Nitro engine to be a Top Fueller?

I don't even know what a "top fueller" is laugh

A "Top Fueller" is the highest calss of drag racer.

I don't know what the current speeeds are but in 2002 Don Garlits' SWamp Rat 34 did a standing 1/4 mile in 4.476 seconds with a terminal velocity of 323.04 mph. (Eat your heart out Carkson!!)

Edited By Peter Miller on 24/10/2016 10:39:15

Interesting. I watched an hour of American drag racing on BT Sport a while ago. I though it would be boring and was all ready to switch off, but it was very entertaining

One of the classes was "Alcohol Funny Car", which seemed a bit of an odd title - use of English again!

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Funny cars are, if I remember correctly, basically pure drag racers with a very light fibreglass body that looks like a more nomal road car

As soon as anything goes wrong the body seems to tear itself off and everything comes to pieces. Highly spectacular.

The alcohol refers to the fuel that they use.Top Fuelers run on pure nitro methane, or used to in the days I was interested.

About that time they added some stuff. I think it was called Hydrazine. If the car didn't start its run in a few minutes the fuel became unstable and could blow up. They banned that stuff.

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Posted by jrman on 23/10/2016 12:50:13:

Why do so many TV and radio presenters insist on saying ----- every ----single----- word------ separately and not speak them together as a coherent sentence? Robert Peston is one of the chief protagonists IMHO.

Maybe because he has a stammer which, for a broadcast journalist, is very brave.

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Back in the late 60s we had a lad in the village who had a real slingshot dragster, The ones where the driver sat behind the engine between the rear wheels.

I sat in it once. You have those two great big slick tyres just in front of your face and your knees are over the back axle with you behid it and your feet in front of it. I can tell you that the mere thought of the differential blowing up brought tears to your eyes.

For some years now they have copied F1 cars and the driver sits in front of the engine which must be somewhat safer I suppose.

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