for all those who love grammar and the english language.

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sirblue57

Player Valuation: £8m
Lovers of the English language will enjoy this...
It is an example of why people learning English have so much trouble. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language.
.....
This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word,and that word is

'UP.'

It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election. Why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses...
To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special!
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about the word UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary..

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, the earth soaks it UP. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on & on, but I'll wrap this UP for now because my time is UP!
 

I don't think he was being grumpy. it was a clever reply, note the use of the word "Up" touche`!

P.s. I've never said it's clouding up, it's getting cloudy. I never write up a report. I write a report.

It makes me think of there, they're, their.

Don't get me started on the use of "Errrr"....the rebels are...Errrr... shelling Anfield....Errr....and it's quite clear....Errr the the use of the word errrr....is all over...errrrr live news errrr these days errrr...

Nice post though. Good for a grump. Thumbs up

pps. What is the only word that ends "mt"????
 
i get these from an american site, its fun to spot the differences in a common language, and Mcbain, sorry mate. to early for me to spot that one.
 

Lovers of the English language will enjoy this...
It is an example of why people learning English have so much trouble. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language.
.....
This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word,and that word is

'UP.'

It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election. Why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses...
To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special!
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about the word UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary..

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, the earth soaks it UP. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on & on, but I'll wrap this UP for now because my time is UP!
Now try explaining that to a Spaniard. Or as in Teppic's case, a Korean.
 
This is why I love the English language, to be honest. It's complicated and unforgiving but you can always guarantee there's a word for what you want to say.
 
What do you think they mean?

[video=youtube;hlv672jqbtE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlv672jqbtE[/video]
 

I get irked by people who use 'of' instead of 'have'.

eg: should of, would of, could of.

Dead right, mate. Mind you, it will eventually become an accepted usage. That's what happens with English - it is a fluid, ever-changing language.

I get slightly prickly about "alright" since the correct usage is "all right" but it is already on the way to becoming accepted, like the bastardisation of "all ready".
 
Dead right, mate. Mind you, it will eventually become an accepted usage. That's what happens with English - it is a fluid, ever-changing language.

I get slightly prickly about "alright" since the correct usage is "all right" but it is already on the way to becoming accepted, like the bastardisation of "all ready".

I think that's fine, as it doesn't bastardize the sound of the word, whereas "should of" instead of "should have" is plain wrong; however, "should've" is fine with me, as is "didn't".

That said, I'm glad the word "shan't" has fell out of usage. Didn't sound remotely like "shall not".
 
I don't give a crap about the English language and grammar.

As long as i can understand what someone is saying thats all that matters, so what if its not grammatically correct.

Language is a form of communication used to express ourselves, and as long as we can still do that its all that matters.

So could of or could have, doesn't make a damn bit of difference because as the Giraffe says, language is always evolving and changing. And could have is being written similar to how it is pronounced, surely everybody who reads it knows the intended meaning is regardless of whether it is correct or not.

Grammar nazis are almost as bad as real nazis. But not quite.
 
I think that's fine, as it doesn't bastardize the sound of the word, whereas "should of" instead of "should have" is plain wrong; however, "should've" is fine with me, as is "didn't".

Funnily enough, it's the modern scally accent that pronounces the "of" the clearest, to my ears.

I was just doing a bit of internet research on already and it does indeed come from "all ready." What's really interesting, though, is the way it has (like so many other expressions) travelled form the concrete to the abstract. Take the phrase "The thatcher all ready stood there." At one time it would have indicated that the thatcher was standing ready, prepared to get on with it. Over time, it began to take on the meaning that he was there before you got to the scene of the thatching. He was all ready there. Already there. I love that sort of thing.

For loads more of this type of stuff, read Guy Deutscher's The Unfolding of Language. I can't recommend it highly enough.
 

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