Tongue in cheek and no criticism at all
but I'd be liable to say that I have several cactus plants......not cacti....
maybe its a reigonal thing

like all cobs are rolls but not all rolls are cobs......unless as is said "up north" you have a 'cob' on !

we don't wear them in the midlands ?

happy christmas ?

It is like a lot of things you can use the singular as a plural, though it looks odd to me, but you can't use the plural as a singular! So a single corm is a crocus several are croci...

I get quite bent out of shape with grammar these days, especially when I hear "he was hung for murder" - as if he was suspended, when it should be "hanged" and another pet hate is "different than" which should be "different from". And as for starting every reply with "So ....." Don't even get me started!

Do they actually teach grammar in schools these days?

I don't think so - its inhibits the poor dears' expression...an English teacher at the last school I worked at corrected me for using the subjunctive - he didn't know what it was!!! So we have lost the wonderful precision of our language, as the many of the next generation of teachers have not learned any grammar to speak of. Media is, different than, don't get me started!

MG I do say crocuses, though.

Cammomile, "different than" was the one that got my mother going. Have you noticed how some words become fashionable - some years ago every other point of discussion was extrapolated. Now every other argument is substantive. Its as though people need to use the word to show they understand it...

I'm reading an American book at present where creatures become critters and it really jars (sorry B & L, no offence meant)

My father always said 'critters' ... I thought it was Welsh :)

What annoys me is when people put an apostrophe in a plural, like day's when they mean more than one day.

And Febuary :( It's FebRuary !

Well Hywel correctly it should read days'! But very few folk you the s apostrophe!

I thought more than one day was days. Don't you add an 's' to make it plural ?

Yes, it is days for more than one, Hywel, I think MG may have misunderstood what you were meaning...

There's only one way to handle apostrophes if you don't know how - if in doubt, leave it out, otherwise I'm liable to have a fit. And different to or different than drives me bonkers too, but my most hated one is 'bored of'... it isn't bored of, its bored with. I know exactly how its come about too, it's us cockneys - we run our words together, so in speech, bored with sounds very much like bored'v... and because they're not taught this stuff in school any more, they all now think its actually bored of.... And yes, what is that 'so' at the beginning of a sentence about, I often hear it in interviews on the radio or television....

Another one used by supposedly well educated business people is 'keep me appraised' when they actually mean 'keep me apprised'. Last time someone said it in my hearing, I asked why on earth they wanted to be appraised so often, that went down like a lead balloon, I can tell you, specially once I explained. And he didn't believe me either, I had to get the dictionary out to prove it, but he still says appraise.... Still, I suppose we just have to be grateful that use of the dreadful 'innit', which used to be randomly inserted into sentences and as a sort of full stop to speech, has lessened considerably...

As for 'critters' I hear that in Norfolk and in Cornwall too - I just thought it was an accent thing rather than a different spelling when written down. And I'm reliably informed that, many moons ago, it was 'different to' and then it changed to 'different from' so some of it is probably natural movement of the language over time.

Usually, when you find the word "critters" in a book, the character speaking habitually uses a dialect to add "color" to the writing, although the author may be also be trying to show a humorous emphasis on his point.
One of my favorite jokes about punctuation is the title of a book about punctuation: "Eats, Shoots, & Leaves"

Lynn Truss.......very funny and very true!

Its the english language....take bore......holes or Fed up
bored ....or board as in black board.....often now chalk board (an americanism?)

One that gets me is Train Station grrrrr.....Railway station please

I could go on.......and on......?

I blame texting for a lot of this sloppy grammar.

Wht u sy ?

Remember the 2 ronnies years ago?

FUNEX
S VFX
FUNEM
S VFM.......priceless ?
..

Sorry don't get it Pam

Goodness I've started you all off! My objection to critters was that it was used repeatedly in a serious quite difficult philosophical book by a physicist where it seemed completely out of place to me. I've no objection to it being used informally in conversation.

I hope we all feel better for letting for steam a bit!

Pam, I don't understand your abbreviations either...

Hi, I'm so glad I'm not alone, my wife tells me off for complaining about bad grammar, telling me that I can't make any difference on my own, and I should just accept it.
What really annoys me whenever you leave someone's company, or finish a telephone conversation is; see you later, or more commonly 'lader' when both parties know very well that they won't be seeing you either later or lader, but I don't think we'll ever return to grammar being taught in schools, it's too difficult, it takes some people all their time to spell correctly, let alone use the correct grammar, Derek.

Lol yes, one of our sons used to say See you later, and I thought for ages that he meant it ...
Do you shout at the radio correcting the grammar? My OH grumbles at me for it. The BBC used to be so very particular, too much so really, but now they've gone too far the other way.

Just be grateful you don't listen (or don't receive) LBC News - everyone on there cannot pronounce words like Wembley - they always say Wemberley, and even the weather person says 'wintery' instead of 'wintry' ... I've got past being annoyed, now I laugh... I'm just waiting for one of them to say chimberley instead of chimney...

Oh Moongrower, you must have seen the Two Ronnies sketch when they used letters - it says have you any eggs, yes we have eggs, have you any ham, yes we have ham. Bit like the fork handles - 4 candles.

Nope no recollection of Cammomile

H

Hi Sue, not at the radio, just the tv, we never seem to put the radio on in the home, just in the car, but yes I do then, a bit stupid really, I know they can't hear me, Derek.

We haven't got a TV Derek but I'm sure I would shout at it if we had...

We haven't either Stera

Guilty as charged, Derekm and Stera - yes I do pshaw for heavens' sake quite a lot at both the radio and the tv. And I know they can't hear me, obviously, but honestly, I'm just not very good at containing exasperation, its out of my mouth before my brain's engaged. Sometimes, with the tv, I actually have to leave the room, I'm so cheesed off - that Dr. Foster series had me cursing in the kitchen towards the end of the run... what an horrendous woman and mother...

Just thought of another one --" those sort of " instead of sorts. Drives me dippy. Lets all shout at the radio together....

I've enjoyed all your comments. Now I'm going to get off of this site.

Sent you a PM Feverfew.

Hi, I saw an example today on an 'a' board, someone doing nails, and by way of saying how good she was, had put on the board, formally of Harvey Nichols, rather than formerly, thereby letting everyone know that she isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, sigh, Derek.

Yea, sad isn't it, Derekm - but you know, I've always judged people by how they spell too, and I'm not sure its relevant any more - not knowing how to spell or what grammar's about these days is so common, it may no longer reflect someone's level of intellect. Not sure it ever did, really, I mean someone who's dyslexic would always look thick when they write stuff down, but often they have a high IQ. But its almost instinctive, that connection - can't spell, can't think, so its a hard habit to break, thinking that way, well, at least, I'm struggling with it....

Merry Christmas!

Hi Bamboo, yes me too, but you're probably right, we seem to be progressing backwards, lol, Merry Christmas, Derek.

Whatever a PM is Steragram, I haven't got it!

Its just a Private Message Feverfew. If you click on Your Options at the top of the screem and then look at your news you should see an option for looking at your messages.

FUNEX
S VFX
FUNEM
S VFM.......priceless
and the punchline was...
MNX 42