Is America becoming a nation of imbeciles? We care nothing for morals or education anymore, and, quite frankly, it's upsetting. I hate living in a culture where MTV, VH1, and all things popular culture and mainstream become so much more important than what actually matters and lasts. Don't worry, I'm not going to go off on a political rant. I'm not interested in debating with anyone, and no one seems to care what I think about any issue whatsoever. Therefore, I will rant about grammar. As if you care about grammar, anyway.
You people have no idea how stupid you seem when you say "your" instead of "you're." It's not that I think I'm smarter than anyone else: quite the reverse. America has one of the worst education systems in the world. Our high school seniors, except for a few, struggle with basic Agebra. In other countries such as Switzerland and Japan, high school seniors have already finished Calculus 1 or higher maths. Teachers in American schools do not force their students to read, write, or comprehend anything of importance.
Alright, on to the lesson.
MOOD
English is spoken in three moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.
*The indicative mood either states a fact or asks a question. It is how verbs are normally used in speech and writing.
*The imperative mood makes either a demand or a request.
> Go away!
*The subjunctive mood is rarely used, but it is extremely important. It is the hypothetical mood and is used in the case of a hypothetical or doubtful case.
> If I were (not was) you, I would study.
> The teacher demands that the student finish (not finishes) on time.
LAY/LIE
Lay needs an object, so you would use it as such:
> Please lay your book on the coffee table.
Lie does not need an object for some odd reason:
> I'll lie down.
LESS/FEWER
If you can count a quantity, use fewer rather than less. You don't have less calories, you have fewer calories. You can have less salt, though.
HOLE/WHOLE
I can't believe I even have to go into this one. Whole and hole may be homonyms, but they are in no way similar.
*Hole (n):
1. an opening through something; gap; aperture
2. a hollow place in a solid body or mass; a cavity
*Whole (n):
1. comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total
2. containing all the elements properly belonging; complete
3. undivided; in one piece
Cannot is one word, not two.
One can aggravate a situation, but cannot aggravate a person.
I know this is annoying to all of you, but I am tired of stupidity and ignorance. It makes me angry to see people just not care about something so important. While you may not be an English major, the ability to both speak and write well will do a lot in the long run.
However, if you'd rather remain uneducated and unsuccessful, be my guest. It's your life: live it how you wish. Personally, I'd like to be seen as at least somewhat intelligent with an IQ at least above 70.
But, as I said, it is a choice.
1 comment:
Both "if I was" and "if I were" have been used interchangeably in counterfactual clauses for the past 300 years. The distinction between factual and counterfactual is still maintained however, with a change of tense:
present possible condition: If I am
past possible condition: if I was
present counterfactual condition: If I were/was
past counterfactual condition: If I had been
Also, "less" has been used with count nouns for a thousand years.
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