Vexing phrases

[Lance]

More in place of an adverb. Even the BBC News uses this abomination. I got told 'it's modern functionality'. I think they should stop more fast.

they should certainly do it less times anyway

[NigelJK]

More <anything> in place of an adverb. Even the BBC News uses this abomination. I got told 'it's modern functionality'. I think they should stop more fast.

[malvolio]

Just expanding on the wider point, you can of course ignore the rules of grammar completely. But you really shouldn't unless first you know what they are. James Joyce was a very well educated man, but Finnegan's Wake and Ulysses are not pretty much unreadable because he didn't know what he was doing.

[SueEllen]

To what sort of level? - functional or academic? I don't recall ever being taught grammar explicitly but I suppose I must have been. But I couldn't tell you what a past participle is, find what or where the gerund is, or any of that sort of thing.

Primary level.

Some authors, teachers and educationalists have been angered by it. As kids are learning grammar over creative writing and so are being put off reading.

The Guardian has loads of articles on it e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/educatio...d-adverbial-is but I know primary aged children. It is interesting to see how teaching has changed over the years particularly with English (and Maths) since teachers have been dictated to.

Actually typing this reminded me of French lessons pre-GCSE, I think that was the only 'formal' grammar lessons we had. As he pointed out, he was teaching us English grammar to explain the French counterparts as none of us knew any of it (and this was at a reasonably good school).

Latin seems to be having a small boost in popularity too from what I hear?

I did have some grammar lessons in primary school but not as much as they have now. However most of my grammar I learnt from being taught foreign languages to understand how sentences are constructed in a particular language. Oddly it put everyone in my school, apart from about 3 people, off learning German.

[vetran]

Two phrases I overuse:

It is was it is.
Onwards and upwards.

The missus has even given up telling me to stop saying them.

The first I had a boss who always said that. I replied it is what it shouldn't be and its our job to fix it!

[d000hg]

Not true about grammar teaching. It's back en vogue.

To what sort of level? - functional or academic? I don't recall ever being taught grammar explicitly but I suppose I must have been. But I couldn't tell you what a past participle is, find what or where the gerund is, or any of that sort of thing.

Actually typing this reminded me of French lessons pre-GCSE, I think that was the only 'formal' grammar lessons we had. As he pointed out, he was teaching us English grammar to explain the French counterparts as none of us knew any of it (and this was at a reasonably good school).

Latin seems to be having a small boost in popularity too from what I hear?

[TestMangler]

Two phrases I overuse:

It is was it is.
Onwards and upwards.

The missus has even given up telling me to stop saying them.

Are you a junior PM ?

Add in 'we are where we are' and you might be in line for a promotion.

[kloos]

Two phrases I overuse:

It is was it is.
Onwards and upwards.

The missus has even given up telling me to stop saying them.

[SueEllen]

Sorry but they still teach English at school, they just don't teach much grammar because the language is tending towards function over form. Sorry to break it to you but what you were taught is no longer 'proper English' anyway. Move with the times grandad.

Not true about grammar teaching. It's back en vogue.

[malvolio]

So you're boasting that your learning makes you struggle to understand something an illiterate would not find confusing?

Sorry but they still teach English at school, they just don't teach much grammar because the language is tending towards function over form. Sorry to break it to you but what you were taught is no longer 'proper English' anyway. Move with the times grandad.

All that proves us that your teachers are as ignorant as you.

As I said - HTH BIDI