RE: the grammar of spam
DEAR CLAY, It is upsetting when students make these mistakes. It is more upsetting when these mistakes are made by businesses in e-mails. But, imagine this. About 6 years ago I was approached by a local publisher to recruit local fine art photographers to contribute images for a book for which they received reasonable compensation, In many cases this was their first opportunity to see their work published. Now, remember, this is a publisher with decades of experience publishing magazines and books. The cover has the title in enormous, bold, type, "PHOTO'S FROM WITHIN". From a publisher. Adults who proof read every day. Now, what is THAT about??? Let's consider that there were the publisher himself, his editor, a copy writer, and the graphic designer who did the cover layout. We won't even consider all the adjunct personnel within the publisher's office who might have indicated the error (had they known it was an error)...not to mention the bloody printer!?!? My pet peeve is, "I could care less" which means that you do care some. The correct statement is, of course, "I couldn't care less" which means that you just don't care. In closing I will add, "It was the least I could do...if I could have done any less, I certainly would have!" ;-)) CHEERS! BOB -----Original Message----- From: Clay Harmon [mailto:wcharmon@wt.net] Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 5:03 PM To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca Subject: Re: the grammar of spam My pet peeve lately has been the inappropriate use of the possessive form of a noun instead of the plural form. I just received an email yesterday from Phase One, the digital back makers, with the following heading: Capture One 4: Working with the Pro's Argghh. I notice this particular mistake popping up quite frequently on the internet. I guess good grammar is optional nowadays. One clue might be the answer I received from my youngest daughter the other night when I asked her if she knew the difference between an infinitive and a gerund. She replied that she had no idea what either word meant. She is a freshman in high school at an ostensibly good school. I have a feeling some of her teachers might have the same response to my question. I just realized I sound like a curmudgeon. Oh well, maybe the world is really going to hell in a handbasket. Clay On Oct 6, 2007, at 1:53 PM, Judy Seigel wrote: > > I have been mocked (or praised?) on this very list as grammarian, > (or maybe it was "goddess of between you and me"?), but I share > this off-topic topic as not entirely frivolous.... > > AFAIK, no bank or reputable business e-mails customers about > anything, let alone asks them to "sign in" with their credentials > (my husband's bank phones if there's a question). But I have never > seen any communication from a legitimate institution, financial or > otherwise, not in proper > business English. > > The following, in my queue today, is NOT a joke, as the rest of the > pitch was obviously serious. Some people must bite, or they > wouldn't bother (would they)? So grammar isn't all snobbery (just > the fun part). > > Anyway, for the general amusement: > > "We've designed our service to ensure that all our customer are > assured and protected. To this notification you are required to > validate your profile to enable us serve you more better. Sign In to > start the validation process." > > > (next, about my darkroom) > > J. > __________ NOD32 2575 (20071006) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com
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