Rigid Brain vs. "I am sat ..."

Hi just got the notification! Will reply to that thread now! I do tend to do other things but stay logged on throughout the day so I tend to reply when I’m on my phone again.

While I possibly have your attention, they could do with a dig-out over on the New to gaming. Switch advice. thread!

Thank you! I can safely say I am SITTING on the sofa whilst I write this reply! Ugh tell me about not being able to win! As people say, walking on egg shells! They used to call me the chav for how I spoke and pronounced and worded things. I’m far away from them now but where ever I go I attract more twits! Why can’t I just be myself? So hard to just ignore you know especially when things repeatedly happen! 

Crikey! You just can't win, sometimes, can you? You try to use language with precision to ensure you are understood and then they hold that very precision itself against you. I hope these twits are now in your rear-view mirror. You can always feel free to say "I am sitting" around here!

Gen Z for you 

I actually got bullied for saying things like I am sitting instead of I’m sat, also got bullied for saying things like isn’t instead of ain’t. Sheesh can’t I just be myself? So glad my parents brought me up the way they did 

Damojo said:

Nobody likes a pedant (as I've discovered over the years), but, c'mon peepz: rulez is rulez!

The one thing I learned from a similar sitution for me in the past is that society tends to look on you as being petty (well, it is a very minor breach of the rules), makes you seem like you want to point out you are better than others (why highlight that you know their failings when you already know what them meant) and serves no purpose than to be a big negative Nellie (nobody likes a buzzkill).

These are not aimed at you but were all aimed at me in numerous occasions until I learned to let it go - accept that it is my failing for not accepting the fluid and imperfect ways of others communications and to be much better where I spent my mental energy in being frustrated about things.

I now try to deal with these linguistic failings in conversations a bit like having a dog walking by your side. It is mostly good company, brings a sense of comfort and safety by being there but you are going to get times when it will fart in front of you and you will wonder if you should change its diet.

Would I try to teach the dog better bowel control? Nah, I just accept it is a dog and will sometime do stuff like that.

The thing that annoys me is historians on TV saying things in the present tense. As it happened in the past it should be past tense. It is not happening now. 

Unless affect is a noun, like in "flat affect".

Or unless effect is used as a verb, like in "to effect change".

They sound more-or-less the same when spoken, so they aren't the worst of my triggers.

I drive my mum absolutely mad with this. I don't think I say I am sat but I do say I was sat. She's told me so many times its I was sitting but my brain just can't retain that. Sorry!

Affect is usually a verb, meaning to change something or someone

 "That drug affected me badly"

 "I'll try not to allow emotions to affect my decision"

Effect is usually a noun, describing a change that results when something is done or happens, or a feeling/mood created by something

 "That drug had no effect on me"

 "Joining this community had a positive effect on how I was feeling"

And don't get me started on the use of apostrophes!

I agree.

Initially I wondered if this was an American thing, as they often use the simple past tense where we would use the present perfect (example: "I didn't read it yet" - American Eng vs "I haven't read it yet" - British Eng) but apparently I am sat instead of sitting is more likely to be used in certain parts of England. It's a mixture of two tenses - "I am" is present and "sat" is past, so it's wrong, just wrong!

- luxuriant vs luxurious

- infamous vs. notorious

- inflammable vs. non-flammable

- tortuous (winding or twisty) vs. torture

-:enormity (past use - someone’s quality or character as being outrageous, or as being extremely wicked / an act of great wickedness, or atrocities) vs. enormity (current use - very great size, extent, or seriousness of something, e.g. responsibility or task)

- fulsome (past use - negative connotations of something so exaggerated, or elaborate that it must be insincere) vs. fulsome (current use in journalism - positive sense)

- nonplussed (past use - confused, unsure how to react and perhaps you can take no more of a situation) vs. nonplussed (current use - not bothered)

Affect and Effect are difficult for many people, it can be quite hard to know which to use and when.

I was never taught grammar at school and I tend to either over punctuate or under punctuate. My biggest bug bear is people using text speak when writing posts or emails and shoving emoji's into sentences, not all of us know what they mean and I find it mentally disruptive. I know I'm a poor speller, but I do try and get it right, but some people's spelling makes mine look brilliant, I suspect in part it's because English is such a difficult language. I remember really struggling with which, which to use and whether I should it or weather for metoerlogical stuff. Silent letters are also very common, bough, cough and through is a nightmare example.

Stuart333 said:

I also don't like when the wrong word is used. I can't help but correct it.

We should get a room.

Here are a few triggers for you to get your adrenaline flowing:

• irregardless
• disinterested vs. uninterested
• literally
• fewer vs. less
• thread depth (of a tyre) [KMN!]
• effect vs. affect
• for all intensive purposes [shudder!]
• Me and Stuart [verb] ...

What bothers me more is ambiguous or incomplete statements. So more of a logic error. It causes me problems as I then struggle to evaluate what it means.

I also don't like when the wrong word is used. I can't help but correct it.

Yes, "Grammar ... matters". Thank you!

Syntax and semantics matter if you want it to parse without throwing an exception.

Grammar kind of matters. 

Too funny!!