Don’t “recommend me”
- Thread starter JtB
- Start date
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Profpointy
Legendary Member
It is really entertaining as well as being good and clear. The best single "rule" in the book was about commas, "don't use commas like a stupid person" Her example was (I think) a mis-comma-ing of the song title as "What is this thing called, love", at any rate that was in the book somewhere.
Two nice examples which may or may not be in the book is where about where the comma goes in. "woman without her man is nothing". You can be feminist or sexist depending on the choice.
And other rules are important too
"I helped my Uncle jack off his horse", could be improved with a capital letter
DaveReading
Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
- Location
- Reading, obvs
So if you say to somebody "give me ..." you are saying that you want to be given (possibly also to the Queen) ?
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
When I taught ESL to adults (both young and old) the intermediate/advanced students used to love 'word games' like that. I used to spend a lot of time on stress and intonation games with them, too. Red roses seem to be an almost universal symbol of love and 'He gave her twelve red roses' is an easy sentence which can mean so very many different things, depending on which word/s you place the stress. Happy days!
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
No of course not. Unless you say to someone 'give me to ...' (the hungry unfed lions, the Queen ...)
Just as if you say 'bring me ...' you are not saying that you wish to be brought (to justice, maybe?)
Specialeyes
Guru
- Location
- Essex
I'm firmly in Team Ditransitive 
where 'recommend' is analagous to 'give' in its usage.
Common sense, context and understandability are more important.
No-one misreads 'give me a book' as 'give me to a book', but you can always write 'give a book to me' if it makes you happy or if in the context you've created it makes your meaning clearer.
If the direct object precedes the indirect object, we include 'to'.
Give the book to me.
However, if the indirect object precedes the direct object, we omit 'to', e.g.
Give me the book.
where 'recommend' is analagous to 'give' in its usage.Common sense, context and understandability are more important.
No-one misreads 'give me a book' as 'give me to a book', but you can always write 'give a book to me' if it makes you happy or if in the context you've created it makes your meaning clearer.
If the direct object precedes the indirect object, we include 'to'.
Give the book to me.
However, if the indirect object precedes the direct object, we omit 'to', e.g.
Give me the book.
Rusty Nails
We remember
- Location
- Living in the slow lane
Wreck or mend me......is this bike too bad to save?
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Poacher
Gravitationally challenged member
- Location
- Nottingham
I'd like to read that - can you borrow me it?
I'm dead good at grammer me.
Rusty Nails
We remember
- Location
- Living in the slow lane
The same lady sits among the cabbages and peas.
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
That one needs to be spoken rather than written! It's really good when spoken, though!
How about 'King Charles walked and talked half an hour after his head was cut off.'
biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
What she pees on the cabbages
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
Here's an oldie but goodie:
Jane while Joan had had had had had had had had had had had better marks from the teacher.
Lexical and syntactic ambiguity are surprisingly common in English; in writing, correct punctuation helps avoid it and in speech, stress, general intonation and word order is the solution.
Jane while Joan had had had had had had had had had had had better marks from the teacher.
Lexical and syntactic ambiguity are surprisingly common in English; in writing, correct punctuation helps avoid it and in speech, stress, general intonation and word order is the solution.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Random words do not a sentence make.
