Is it just where I work (I don’t live in the UK, so don’t have much other contact with the latest and greatest abuse of the English language)?

When on earth did it become a thing to (over)use the reflexive pronoun. A couple of examples just from one day:

– Can you send it to myself and David? (WTAF – David and myself would be at least the correct order)
– If any of you could let myself know…

This annoys the heck out of me. I think it’s considered by those who do it as a more formal version of the correct English, but it makes my blood boil whenever I hear it (it’s up there with “would of” – the people clearly don’t understand that what they’re saying makes no sense).

Gah!

Just off to Google…..

kinda maniac knows what a reflexive pronoun is? 😆

This bugs me too. Also: “I have ran it”

Nope.

None the wiser.

2/10. Too many correct sentences with too much proper punctuation and capitalization…

Nope – it happens where I work to – people seem to think they sound more business-like/well-educated – far from it!

Might just as well go ahead and start referring to yerself in the 3rd person.

It’s not “would of” it’s “would uv”, which is a perfectly acceptable truncation of have.

Look, everyone needs to use correct grammar in a thread like this.
urhmmm…

where I work to

It’s not “would of” it’s “would uv”

Alas, no. I’ve seen it written. “They” really believe that it’s “would of”, quite possibly because they’ve heard it elided into “woulduv” when spoken and assumed it’s short for “would of”.

EDIT : Oh and it’s not a truncation, it’s an elision. Having just written that, I’m perhaps a little bit too uptight about all of this after all 🙂

reflexive pronoun

truncation

anyone have a dictionary?

I just want to punch Dave.

Nope.

None the wiser.

I was thinking about this the other day. You can speak a language without having any idea how it works – even implement elements of language that are very nuanced like ’Order Force’ – everyone can do it without having to understand the mechanics of it or even know that there are any mechanics to it at all- and yet the mechanics of it are so complex and convoluted that you can also make a lifetimes study of them.

You can speak a language without having any idea how it works

As a product of English language education during the 1970’s, this was very much the way. We were taught very little grammar. Which I found very confusing when the foreign languages department chose to start our French and German education with nothing but grammar.

The ‘would of’ is disturbingly common, I only correct Slack jr now as otherwise I’d bore myself. Although it could be written as ‘would’ve’ perhaps…?

I find the use of “off of” annoying myself (as is the unnecessary use of reflexive pronouns)

I can’t stand off of either. It’s so clunky, it doesn’t sound right at all.

My wife is a linguist, and generally prescriptivist stances on language change like this are annoying and ignorant.

Except in this case. The incorrect use of myself really, really boils my piss. It’s usually used by thick people trying to sound more intelligent than they are, with the effect that it actually makes them sound stupider.

disappointing thread. a language changes or dies. A real damp squid squib

I would of joined this thread earlier but myself had to get some sleep. I’m off of the bed now though.

Oh dear…

“punctuation and capitalization…”

“it happens where I work to…”

Cue the ‘language is constantly evolving and common standards dunt matter/dense lazy barstewards” brigade

“If you have any questions, please contact ourselves”

“Myself and Andy put together these slides”

😀

Dave and me

It all started going wrong in pre-/ infant school when teachers allowed children to sound out words and write down what they thought was the correct spelling ..deeming this to be acceptable !
I was horrified to see this going on in a class visit when my son was 4/ 5 years old (10 years ago)..its just wrong !
Admittedly I’m a bit of a dinosaur..but learning to spell by repetition is surely the only way ..like wot I wos teached when I was a lad.

My kids were never taught that way, I was.

Nope – it happens where I work to – people seem to think they sound more business-like/well-educated – far from it!

😀

It all started going wrong in pre-/ infant school when teachers allowed children to sound out words and write down what they thought was the correct spelling ..deeming this to be acceptable !

I think this was a fad a while ago and was not universal even then.

I constantly have to correct my kids when they say things like ‘Iook what I done’. FFS. My own flesh and blood!

My wife on the other hand thinks ‘off of’ is an acceptable alternative. She is highly educated, but American. She thinks eating with your fork in your right hand is ok too.

it’s up there with “would of” – the people clearly don’t understand that what they’re saying makes no sense

In the written form yes, although when spoken “would of” and “would’ve” don’t actually sound that different.

A bugbear of mine is “I did this at 3am in the morning”

it’s up there with “would of”

Yeah. Surely it’s “woud of.”

Rob Hilton – Member
This bugs me too myself to

ftfy

Not (I believe) a reflexive pronoun.. but what’s all this putting “Super” in front of words. I was super excited to see this is in nearly every bloody online review on Singletrack (ok, the few I’ve read.)
Stop it. It’s super stupid. In English we have the word ‘very’. Or if that isn’t expressive enough: “****”.

‘Iook what I done’

You’re not even in Scotland, are you? It’s contagious with all the modern apprentice youth in our place.

“I done a restore and have went to the cludgie”

Nah. That grammatically correct enough, I reckon. Just a question of style.

I see it a lot in our office, I think it’s actually born of a desire to appear slightly more polite, e.g. ‘send it to myself’ vs. ‘send it to me’.

Small, possibly non-existent distinction, but that’s how it comes across.

Personal pet hate is the complete perversion of the phrase ‘I couldn’t care less’ because stupid Americans couldn’t understand it, instead saying ‘could care less’ even though they are trying to indicate that they care so little, it wouldn’t be possible to care less. This one has spread back across the Atlantic I’ve noticed… 👿

The correct contraction of “would have” is “would’ve” which of course sounds like “would of”.

One that annoys me is using “most well” instead of “best” as in “He was the best known cyclist of his generation”

people seem to think they sound more business-like/well-educated – far from it!

This.

I can’t stand off of either. It’s so clunky, it doesn’t sound right at all.

That’s because it’s not. It generally should be ‘from’.

Yeah I hear a lot of people using that sort of weird language on the phone:

“Ourselves will contact yourselves by close of business.”
“Myself and Andy have been working on this for yourself.”

Themselves clearly think it is some kind posh/formal business speak, but really it just makes themselves sound like moronselves.

What’s wrong with “I”, “we”, “you”? 😐

Isn’t it short for “me, myself, personally”?

Personal pet hate is the complete perversion of the phrase ‘I couldn’t care less’ because stupid Americans couldn’t understand it, instead saying ‘could care less’ even though they are trying to indicate that they care so little, it wouldn’t be possible to care less. This one has spread back across the Atlantic I’ve noticed…

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