[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by binand

There is a clause ordering error too, which suggests that the English teacher was yours only during the presentation; I presume that wasn't the case.

Originally Posted by samaspire

My English teacher, during a presentation, told us about this.

Even with the commas, she appears to be my English teacher who is generous enough to tell something to others too. So, from being his teacher only during the presentation, the person has now become only his teacher .

[tilt]

Originally Posted by _nitink_

Since the past few years, I have been observing... *SNIPPED FOR RELEVANCE*

"Since" has to refer to a specific point in time (since 1979, since last Monday, since the time I was born, etc.).

When referring to a duration or a length of time, "for" is the word to be used, not "since".

"For the past few years...", "For the longest time...", "For a while..." etc.

Cheers

[Thad E Ginathom]

Rant, probably not the first time, at the demise of the words I don't know.

"I'm not sure," means, "I have a clue, but I am not certain." "I don't know," means what it says.

This is not just an example of misuse of language, it is a misuse of brain cells. Think straight, talk straight!

Yes, I know this is one of my no-hope lost causes!

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Rant, probably not the first time, at the demise of the words I don't know.

"I'm not sure," means, "I have a clue, but I am not certain." "I don't know," means what it says.

This is not just an example of misuse of language, it is a misuse of brain cells. Think straight, talk straight!

Yes, I know this is one of my no-hope lost causes!

I dinna ken.
I always find not knowing, and acknowledging that, to be the best. Any time I indicate having a clue, it has been a guaranteed bite-back at a later time.
Have people actually dropped "I dont know" for "I am not sure"?
Patently stupid, that is. If you are not sure, but have a clue, you WILL be asked to dig!
But what do I know. I don't.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Ah, knowing what you don't know... That is real enlightenment!

And yes, I think I'm not sure has replaced I don't know. You will see it often on this site. I think it might be an import from America (but I don't know )

[dailydriver]

I really don't know whom to blame, the copy writer or the sub-editor. And I am not too sure whether the editor himself can be held responsible here. But what I am confident of is that if we sleep through our English grammar classes, this invariably happens:



PS: The mistake has subsequently been corrected in the online version.

Source: Page 11 of TOI, Bengaluru edition. Dt: 02-08-2018

Disclaimer: No disrespect intended to the people referred to in the report.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

PS: The mistake has subsequently been corrected in the online version.

They beated you to it!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

I really don't know whom to blame, the copy writer or the sub-editor. And I am not too sure whether the editor himself can be held responsible here. ...

The sad state of Indian print media is that the senior people do not do anything toward earning their fat, obscene salaries. Everything is left to low paid 'juniors'. The number of mistakes/errors are nothing short of appalling! India has no laws regarding print media.

[dailydriver]

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Affray as:

a fight in a public place that disturbs the peace

It came into limelight in September 2017 with the Ben Stokes episode.

The Hindu headlined it:

Stokes charged with affray

However, the word isn't alien to Indians as it can be found in Section 144 of the CRPC:

prevent.... obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed, or danger to human life, health or safety, or a disturbance of the public tranquility, or a riot, of an affray

I was reminded of the word when it reappeared in The Hindu today:

The 27-year-old is due at Bristol Crown Court on Monday to answer charges of affray and is set to miss the second Test...

More about affray here.

[dailydriver]

Over the years, I have found some of the best and innovative uses of English in the sports pages of our newspapers. A report about the final contest of the (Women's Single) Badminton World Championship that saw P V Sindhu being defeated by Carolina Marin was headlined thus by Bangalore Mirror (Dt: 06-08-2018, Pg:14).

[binand]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Over the years, I have found some of the best and innovative uses of English in the sports pages of our newspapers.

One that has stayed with me all these years was in the Sportstar, reporting on Pat Cash's upset win over Ivan Lendl at the Wimbledon:

"Cash is better than Czech!"

(Just looked it up; this was in 1987)

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Affray as:

Affray is a well-defined offence in the UK law:

Affray: A person is guilty of affray if he uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another and his conduct is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety.

[rdst_1]

So, this has been annoying me from day one. I am sure this must have been covered in one of the posts in this thread, however, I see it nearly everyday, in some thread, that I have to now, share it with others.

It is a very simple mistake, but something I can't fathom, how people are still making.

Without further ado, here is what is keeping me awake at nights.
People are still using the word 'break/breaking' when they actually mean 'brake/braking'.
Whenever I see this misuse, I feel the same unpleasantness as one would feel, hearing nails being scratched across a blackboard.
Sure, it seems to be harmless, but for some reason, I just can't stand it.
Thanks for listening.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Thanks for listening.

Amen! A couple of others in the same category are loose (instead of lose) and costed (instead of cost)

Cheers,
Vikram

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Over the years, I have found some of the best and innovative uses of English in the sports pages of our newspapers. A report about the final contest of the (Women's Single) Badminton World Championship that saw P V Sindhu being defeated by Carolina Marin was headlined thus by Bangalore Mirror (Dt: 06-08-2018, Pg:14).

Hello dailydriver,

Just out of curiosity, the word "that" as used above - could it be grammatically & correctly be replaced by "which" (as in "which saw P V Sindhu being....")? I have often switched between both the words, without knowing the precise & correct usage rules!

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by shashanka

Just out of curiosity, the word "that" as used above - could it be grammatically & correctly be replaced by "which" (as in "which saw P V Sindhu being....")? I have often switched between both the words, without knowing the precise & correct usage rules!

Same boat!

Like so many other things in life, I do it by instinct. I am certainly not capable of explaining the difference in a manner that would convince all the readers of the thread; which, by the way, is a shame, I will tell you.

I could go on and on about restrictive and non restrictive clauses and such other stuff but that would make you none the wiser. Which is why, I think it best to direct you to a few links which might help understand things better.

If the links help you find a simple and easy to understand explanation of the difference, which I doubt they will, please let me know. That way, I can claim to have helped a fellow learner.

Links:

1

2

3