I'm sorry, but I just have to post this

[slimmer13]

SHOULD BE: "...third grade English,..my family and me,..same range as I." (English is a title, therefore capitalized, first person pronoun always comes last, first person pronoun should be compatible with the verb: "I shoot", not "me shoot").

I said third grade english not seventh grade english.

 

[Spitpatch]

I'll grant that depending on your mode of speech, your defense of your comma as a parenthetical instrument may be considered correct. However, I would argue that the removal of "to me" DOES change the meaning of your sentence a great deal: thus my preference to not relegate your statement of personal opinion (as opposed to a statement of fact) as a removable element of the sentence, hence no comma. You must now grant me that your opinion means more to me than it does to you, or fork over that comma.

The example of the bridge is useful here, for if you had stated "...for me, an English major who wastes his time correcting the language of others on a firearms webiste,..." I, as an English major who just wasted a bunch of time correcting the language of others on a firearms website, would have immediately deemed your commas correctly placed.

 

[giddyupgo55]

If I have to worry about my grammer I'm in trouble. I try to do it right, but sometimes it does not happen. So if I miss spell a word or use it wrong sorry.

 

[chemist]

*grammar

 

[MarkAd]

*grammar

LOL, I love that illustration.
I do most of ny posting at night. Often my grammer errors are from Dyslexia, So correcting or harassing me about it is a violation of the ADA and I am calling the ACLU the next time it happens.

 

[mosinguy]

Navy SEAL sea air land.......... you have got to be kiddin me we are all here for one thing our fondness of weapons of all types and to share our knowledge with one another i for one on here pay no freekin mind to how one type i long for any chance to learn and to share my knowledge with others how i present my self in person is a whole nother thing yes i am educated yes i do know grammer and i would bet half on here if not more feel the same bloody bloomin way!!!!!! we all have our pet peeves and all need times to vent but we have all been taught not to judge a book by its cover have we not please yall let it rest and share our knowledge the best ways we can not to nit pick each other

 

[slimmer13]

Quick, what is 14x7?

 

[teflon6string]

It's not what you know, but how you chose to use it.

As a criminal investigator in the late-eighties, I had more than a bit of trouble reading the reports written by many patrolmen. Rather than criticize, I sought to clarify when necessary to get the proper gist of the story. Would I, and did I, trust my personal safety with the least literate of the bunch? You bet.

Did I trust the self-proclaimed English major who went out of his way at every opportunity to ridicule the same guys? Not even. Useless, chicken, arrogant pantload... Or is it pant-load? I forget.

 

[Spitpatch]

It's not what you know, but how you chose to use it.

As a criminal investigator in the late-eighties, I had more than a bit of trouble reading the reports written by many patrolmen. Rather than criticize, I sought to clarify when necessary to get the proper gist of the story. Would I, and did I, trust my personal safety with the least literate of the bunch? You bet.

Did I trust the self-proclaimed English major who went out of his way at every opportunity to ridcule the same guys? Not even. Useless, chicken, arrogant pantload... Or is it pant-load? I forget.

One more reason THIS English major believes the message is much more important than the delivery vehicle. A similar thread asked about "most annoying gun slang". My response there is precisely interchangeable with the issue at hand here (grammar):

There is a certain danger in elevating ourselves above others as a result of language they use, because often that elevation can be shown to be false (and we become embarrassed, or we offend). The speaker using "clip" (when technically what is meant is "magazine") may full well know the difference. He may full well know more than many in the "magazine" crowd about guns in general. If we elevate ourselves above him , we also isolate ourselves from him, and the loss may well be our own (unable to absorb what else he has to offer).

He may have been raised to believe that is the correct term. Although learning later it is not technically accurate, it is what he is comfortable with, and it is the first thing that comes to mind when referring to that object. "He" might also be a gun brochure from a major firearms manufacturer. This alone is evidence that the "magazine adherents" are losing their (perhaps originally admirable) battle. ("Look out you rock 'n' rollers!")

Once we appoint ourselves the "gun terminology police", and feel the need to crusade toward correcting each and every word we find to be technically improper, we have then chosen to take up residence where our only necessary household cleaning fluid is Windex. There will always be a faster gun coming into town, armed with the sharp rocks and willing to throw them. Our elevated perch is truthfully very fragile, temporary, and often false. Others who have not chosen to live there, but reside in sturdier structures closer to the ground (maybe even in the neighborhood of "clip users") immediately recognize the elevated residents for what they are, and are mildly amused by them, knowing what is in store for them. (Do you pronounce the Finland gunmaker "Say-ko"? If so, you are wrong: the correct pronunciation, almost NEVER heard in America is something more akin to what you might call an inflated punching-bag clown.)

Once again, slang, or more accurately "vernacular" (language used commonly by the general populace of a region or demographic) can be the BEST way to communicate. Often more efficient. Often more easily understood. OFTEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!

Let us have deep sympathy for and share the sorrow of the (hypothetical) mother of a soldier who reads a communique' beginning with "The Department of Defense regrets to inform you...". An accompanying paragraph from the soldier's sergeant describes her son's tragic last minutes. She knows her son to be the type that always insisted people use the language correctly, and was especially precise and demanding when it came to his interest in firearms. The Sergeant is kind enough to supply her with her son's final heroic words from the field of battle:

"My magazine seems to have developed a failure to dispense a cartridge into the chamber of my Colt's M16A2, caliber 5.56 millimeter! Please direct fire from that Browning M2 Heavy Barrel Machine Gun, Cailber .50 toward the oppositional forces....."

A tear comes to Mother's eye as she longs for a different outcome if only he'd said, "Friggin' clip's jammed! Grease 'em with MaDeuce!"

 

[Ironbar]

Spitpatch,

All I was asking for was for people to get with the program regarding the usage of there, their, and they're. That would clear up half of all grammar mistakes alone!

 

[mosinguy]

thank you spitpatch!!!!!!!!! that is so true one must most often revert to the vernacular of the person or group of people whom they are addressing to make certain that they understand what you are trying to convey to them... one can talk themselves blue in the face with proper terminology and never make their point!!!!!!! so what is the point of all this crud.... it seems to me we all understand what the other is tryin to convey yet we let our own pet peeves step in and ruin the chance to interact with one another and share ideas and concepts with out nit pickin.......

 

[Spitpatch]

Spitpatch,

All I was asking for was for people to get with the program regarding the usage of there, their, and they're. That would clear up half of all grammar mistakes alone!

Believe me Fe- (Ironbar, for Chemistry majors), I feel your pain.

 

[accessbob]

Okay, it is useless to try to get anyone to get better at it so we should all just give up and not try. Accepting mediocrity keeps lowering the standards until there are none. But I guess we shouldn't expect anyone to give a bubblegum which is why our country is quickly going down the crapper.

 

[Spitpatch]

Not useless to try, but in my experience it is very near useless to criticize. Changing others' behavior is always a tough row to hoe, with best results accomplished by example. As with any other behavior from others, the easiest and fastest thing we can change is how we feel about it.

 

[WillMunny]

supposably, by time your an adult the goverment has provided pleanty of oportunitys to be profishent in the Enlich langwage.

 

[MarkAd]

Quick, what is 14x7?

my wife told me not to discuss that in public again. The phone calls have barely stopped.

 

[Spitpatch]

supposably, by time your an adult the goverment has provided pleanty of oportunitys to be profishent in the Enlich langwage.

I'm fermiliar with that point of view, but irregardless, I maintain my own.

 

[civilian75]

Although I can see sometimes sloppy grammar can be used to drive a point like in the examples above, most of the time, using proper grammar just makes a post more readable and enjoyable. I always skip hard-to-read over-a-1,000-words-long posts.

English is my second language. I make a habit of doing my best to employ the best grammar, punctuation and diction I am capable of. I see online board posting as opportunity to express myself as well as exercise/polish my language skills. I would like to encourage NWFA members to use the best grammar you are can, most of the time. Slacking off once in a while is "ok" as long as you do not make a habit of it, IMHO.

 

[jake2far]

The quality of a post provided by me depends on the volume of alcohol consumed. If you don't like the post, for any reason, show your maturity and don't read it, or at the very least keep your comments to yourself. (what ever happened to "if you don't have anything nice to say, keep it to yourself?"
The ability to use proper gammar or spelling is not a reflection of the person, it is directly linked to the educational system. Guess and go became the system of choice to educate the unwashed masses, it replaced phonics, this choice has degraded the use of English.
To those (or is it too, I can't remember) who believe in their superior social status based on thier (the rule is i before e except after c) grammar or spelling ability keep it to yourself, I come here to read about guns, I comprehend what is being disseminated and hold no belief that I am better than them.
I find people who try and elevate themselves at the expense of others tiresome, the world is full of errors, more than can be comprehended, spend your time correcting ones that matter, not displaying your self importance.

Jim

 

[orygun]

How about "consealed"? That and muzzle break...

I never give anyone grief about their spelling or grammatical errors, though. Except for my god-son!

I often use the word clip when referring to a magazine from a gun. I grew up with that term. In the olden days (long before my time) it was often referred to as a clip type magazine.

Though I often use it just to see if it's gets somebody's panties in a wad!