English Language - what "Does your head in" ??

[Mick F]

Nah, it would be one beans, two beans. One is enough for me, with two eggs, usually; sometimes I'll have two beans, one egg. Eggses and beanses preferred to raw fisheses.

[Mick F]

We've just had beans on toast for tea. Yum!
Mrs Mick F had a slice of toast and some beans, and I had two slices of toast and twice as much beans. One tin between us.

She had one beans on one toast, and I had two beans on two toasts.

[Cyril Haearn]

We've just had beans on toast for tea. Yum!
Mrs Mick F had a slice of toast and some beans, and I had two slices of toast and twice as much beans. One tin between us.

She had one beans on one toast, and I had two beans on two toasts.

I thought one should have five a day of fruit /veg, five beans. Or five peas. Or five pineapples..

[DarkNewt]

Try managing a team and insisting that emails start with Good Morning/Afternoon not "Hi" and regards... some of the reactions I have equate to almost you are invading my civil liberties.... Let alone insisting a polite tone in emails... or god forbid expecting a polite reply, one of my team when asked for an update stated "if I don't reply you should assume it's done"....... I am not even going into: poor grammar; spelling and punctuation...

I am not a grammar Nazi either, I just expect politeness and clarity, if you make a mistake etc.. it's not problem but a complete lack of care shows just that "a lack of care".

I also don't agree with the argument that, "it's old fashioned" or "outdated" for me it is simply how do you want other people to view you.. often written communication is the only way you get a chance to present yourself. I do however like the odd smiley attached it can convey a lighter sense when the other person can't see through the written language to an emotion.

Regards to all

[rjb]

I thought one should have five a day of fruit /veg, five beans. Or five peas. Or five pineapples..

Ok I'm having 5 chocolate Oranges! Yum yum

[Cyril Haearn]

Try managing a team and insisting that emails start with Good Morning/Afternoon not "Hi" and regards... some of the reactions I have equate to almost you are invading my civil liberties.... Let alone insisting a polite tone in emails... or god forbid expecting a polite reply, one of my team when asked for an update stated "if I don't reply you should assume it's done"....... I am not even going into: poor grammar; spelling and punctuation...

I am not a grammar Nazi either, I just expect politeness and clarity, if you make a mistake etc.. it's not problem but a complete lack of care shows just that "a lack of care".

I also don't agree with the argument that, "it's old fashioned" or "outdated" for me it is simply how do you want other people to view you.. often written communication is the only way you get a chance to present yourself. I do however like the odd smiley attached it can convey a lighter sense when the other person can't see through the written language to an emotion.

Regards to all

I think that for e-mails inside the organisation one may write briefly without formal greeting, e-mail enables much more communication to take place and increases efficiency

Instead of the correct grammar we learned at school I would encourage the use of Kiss, keep it short and simple.

I read once of an organisation that banned e-mails, for a while at least. How did that work? Have you tried it?

[Cyril Haearn]

I'm passionate . . . . . . . .

Get too close at your own risk !

Any time I hear "passionate" used, I substitute "deranged".

It is maybe not quite the right word when one works in plastic extrusion moulding for example. Although surely some people love doing that.

But I worked at Britain’s premier heritage railway, the Watercress Line. We identified with our work and loved it, came in unpaid at weekends. Passion, enthusiasm, belief would be appropriate words

[Mick F]

Just remembered one that has got to me for many years.
Cattle grids:

There's a gate to one side, and there's a sign on the gate proclaiming it's for "Horse Drawn Vehicles and Animals"
When was the last time you saw a horse drawn animal?

The sign should say, " Animals and Horse Drawn Vehicles"

[colin54]

The word ' iconic ', it seems to be all over the media nowadays.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Bespoke.

[Cyril Haearn]

The word ' iconic ', it seems to be all over the media nowadays.

+1

[Cyril Haearn]

"You can", instead of "one may", can instead of may

But I don't get so annoyed about it. Instead I use "one" a lot and people wonder where I learnt English

[leftpoole]

"You have got to move on"

[Vorpal]

Where I used to work, there was a sign where the pavement went round a steep slope. The sign was set on the slope and read, 'No Access to Pedestrians'. I always wondered who were the pedestrians to which I was being denied access. I thought they must have been downright interesting in order for the company to deny us access to them

[Mick F]

Love it!
Should have been, "No Pedestrian Access"

I was musing over my issue with "horse drawn vehicles and animals" whilst riding this morning.
It's like asking someone to say what the difference is between "squashed oranges and lemons", and "lemons and squashed oranges".

It all in where the verb is placed in the sentence.