Example: "I can't speak to that recommendation."
The sentence should be "I can't speak about that recommendation."
The structure using the word to sounds as if you're unwilling to speak to a recommendation---literally.

I could write a book about improper grammar but people would then be crawling out from under the woodwork to argue about it (much like I'm going to do with the next post in this threadJerryF wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 2:55 pmWhy is it that hardly anyone speaks "about" things anymore? I frequently hear (and see) speaks "to".
Example: "I can't speak to that recommendation."
The sentence should be "I can't speak about that recommendation."
The structure using the word to sounds as if you're unwilling to speak to a recommendation---literally.
![]()
Double negatives are actually used quite frequently in Spanish, at least in the Mexican version I frequently hear.
Like me
or like I am
are correct; like I
is not.I agree with you Pjotr. Double negatives are logically wrong. But...ajgringo619 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 3:31 pmDouble negatives are actually used quite frequently in Spanish, at least in the Mexican version I frequently hear.
I fully agree with point number 2 but point number 1 opens up a rather large can of worms, at least in American English (the differences between American and British English is an even bigger can of worms). A lot depends on whether one considers "I" to be the subject or not and the context it appears in. In a sentence like what I believe you are referring to--such as, "Mary is looking for someone like me."--would be correct since Mary is the subject. To say "like I" would not only be wrong, it would sound pretentious (if you said that here in the SSA, people would look at you as though you were nuts or a snob). If you say "Mary is looking for someone like I am.", then that would be correct. Both versions technically mean the same thing but the first example narrows down who she is looking for to be as the person is overall but the second example suggest Mary is looking for a specific attribute I possess only she fails to say what it is.Pjotr wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 3:11 pmThings that are logically wrong in any language:
1. "Like me" instead of "like I". It should be: "someone like I (am)". The "am" can be omitted, but "I" is the subject, not the object.
2. Double negatives intended to mean a single negative: "I never have no money" means I always have money, not that I never have (any) money.
This second error is very frequent in the Dutch dialect (Brabants) that's being spoken where I live: "nooit geen", and the very worst of them all (which is so badly wrong that it becomes sort of cute): "dè witte oit noit nie".![]()
One of the definitions of amount is number. so both amount and number can be correct.
Double negatives have a very long history in Dutch. In the middle ages, they were completely normal. We'd say ‘Ic niet en can’ just like the French still say 'Je ne peux pas'. Our 'en' used to be pretty much exactly like the French 'ne'. It could also be used by itself: 'Ic en doe' (ik doe het niet), I'm not doing it.
I agree that the willfully ignorant are anathema! There is no shame in being ignorant as long as there is a willingness to learn. There is no excuse for willful ignorance. I much prefer to deal with someone who is ignorant but is receptive to learn than someone more educated but unwilling to learn for the former will someday surpass the latter.Portreve wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 9:56 pmOver and above any problems I have with people's poor grammar itself, I have an even bigger problem with the common tendency for people to not seem to have any desire to improve themselves. They're literally surrounded by people in society who could be and should be an example of what they could do with their own life, and they just can't be bothered. I guess it explains some of the other choices they make in life, and for example why they watch reality TV or other garbage.
As the viruses are, they sometimes freak out ...Language is a virus from outer space - William S. Burroughs
I see it a lot and I always feel like asking if it was just a typo, which I suppose is possible, or if they dropped it because in spoken speech they are not pronouncing that last letter, which seems more likely to me.
He was suppose to pick it up
I think a lot of errors like that are a person's reliance on a spellchecker and not proofreading the final product. I catch little things like that all the time.GS3 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:02 amOne thing I see a lot lately and had not noticed years ago is not writing final "d" in words likeI see it a lot and I always feel like asking if it was just a typo, which I suppose is possible, or if they dropped it because in spoken speech they are not pronouncing that last letter, which seems more likely to me.
He was suppose to pick it up
Note: This post is made with light heart and not suppose to cause any offense to bad spellers out there who may be easily triggered.