carni 10,094 Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 #27 catfan, Many thanks for the Link. My son has just followed the instructions and I now have Spell Checker. (Red Squiggles), but of course I will not see many. Thank you for your help everyone. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 You are most welcome carnie, now go & have a good holiday ! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bubblewrap 3,815 Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 And don't forget "i before e, except after c" Not always right, but mostly so. Like as in Leicestershire Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bubblewrap 3,815 Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 #51 hoping you have an English & NOT an American dictionary carni. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveN 1,118 Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 #49 There is an addition to the 'rule'I before e, except after cOr when sounded like aAs in neighbour and weigh There are though one or two exceptions such as 'weird' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
carni 10,094 Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 Bubblewrap, I remembered about the setting and told my son. He set it for English. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Engineer 614 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 My current bugbear is people using reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself) when they should be using personal pronouns (e.g. me). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
katyjay 5,091 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 I, myself, never do that, LOL. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bubblewrap 3,815 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 Me? myself neither Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StephenFord 866 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 Then there is the confusion between I and me - especially when talking about two people including oneself (he said carefully!) - thus : "My wife and I are going shopping." [not my wife and me] BUT "They sent my wife and me a card." [not my wife and I] How to tell? Try it without the other person. You wouldn't say "Me am going shopping..." nor would you say "They sent I a card..." Of course, there is a grammatical reason too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StephenFord 866 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 Oh, and by the way, seize is another that defies the I before e rule. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bubblewrap 3,815 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 What about Sneinton ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crankypig 457 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Waht deos tihs maen? Aoccdrnig to a rscheeachr at an elingsh uinervtisy,it deosnt mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are.Tihs is bcuseae we do not Raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
carni 10,094 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 The I before E has caused me problems all my life and still does. Michael Booth once took the time to put me right.Thanks Michael But true to form, I have forgotten what he taught me, and back to square one! . I did look it up on the Internet once, but it got so complicated that I couldn't understand it. So it seems that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I rely on my spell checker now to put me right if I am unsure. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 I don't know when "shortened forms of words" came on the scene, like didn't, won't etc, but I'll bet sometime in the mid 20th century. How many words defy the "i before e" rule??? I'll bet not many. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveN 1,118 Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 The use of double negatives especially on t.v. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
katyjay 5,091 Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 I don't got no time for that. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FLY2 10,108 Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 Ain't got Katy . Tut, tut. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FLY2 10,108 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Having a great interest in the word games, and having predictive text on my iPad, I notice a great many words in current usage have been bastardised solely to appease foreigners and the downright dim. Words that used to end in 'full' now only have one l. Words containing a z are now used with an s . Cheque as in cheque book is now regularly spelt check as well. Where've we gone wrong ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tomlinson 879 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Computers, texting and so on. In Shakespeare's day the vocabulary was far broader than it is now. Like getting old I suppose. As the years pass, things shrink! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FLY2 10,108 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Really !!!! I sincerely hope not !!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DJBrenton 738 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 I'm not sure that's true. You're confusing Shakespeare's use of language with that of the typical man. Shakespeare used more different words than any other known author, around 15,000. Milton, for example, used just over 8,000 and the Old Testament, only 5,642. In Shakespeare's day, a typical labourer apparently only used about 300 words and a well-educated man around 3-4,000 peaking with about 10,000 for a noted orator. From Shakespeare's day onwards, the number of words in the English language and the average vocabulary has exploded to the point where there are (depending on definition) between 750,000 and 1million words in our language.. Today, David Crystal, a linguist and world-renown expert on the English language, provides these estimates of how many words people know: a person starting school: 500-6,000; a person without a formal education: 35,000; a high-school educated person: 50,000; a college-educated person 50-75,000. https://atkinsbookshelf.wordpress.com/tag/how-many-words-in-the-average-persons-vocabulary/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nonnaB 4,895 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Interesting reading. There are a few english speaking italians here and one thing that gets me is that the english teachers were taught american english. "A" in english is pronounced "a" as in cat. But "A" is pronounced here as in bleck. When my grandchildren come out with a wrong pronuciation, I correct them. They usually say we've been taught like that. I tell them to tell the teacher that its wrong. Some like it , some don't . But oh.....we are English and proud of it.! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DJBrenton 738 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 There isn't even agreement in England about how to pronounce the 'a' in words like 'bath' so no chance the rest of the world will be consistent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Crankypig #63, funny thing you mention the fact we read the whole word, it's the same with Morse Code, those proficient at copying speeds of 20 words per minute or faster copy words not characters. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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