Hamilton Saint

Interesting post! I agree with some of this; however, my use of the word "right" or "wrong" has to do with the rules that govern conventional use of the language. If you decide not to follow the convention, you might create uncertainty about your meaning. What you write might be ambiguous. Ambiguity indicates "wrong" syntax; certainty indicates "correct" syntax. Take your example - "bit the man the dog". As you say, the conventional approach to English syntax is to begin with the noun phrase, and then follow that with the verb phrase. And if you have a transitive verb, the verb phrase is followed by a direct object. Your example ("bit the man the dog") is ambiguous because of the order of the words - which is inconsistent with regular English syntax. Regular syntax would be "The man bit the dog". The man is the subject; bit is the transitive verb; and dog is the direct object. Your "wrong" syntax makes your example ambiguous: did the man bite the dog, or did the dog bite the man? If you need certainty, you should follow conventiona syntax. The dog bit the man means the man was bitten. The man bit the dog means the dog was bitten. Bit the man the dog is uncertain because of the irregular syntax. "Wrong" grammar is not a moral or legal issue; it is an issue of clarity and efficiency. Remember this from your study of ambiguity in English class? What is the problem with the following sentence? A piano is for sale by an elderly lady with ornately carved legs. Do the carved legs belong to the piano or the woman? You indicate that by the order of the words - the syntax. If the sentence is ambiguous, then it is "wrong", in the sense that it doesn't do a "proper" job of making the meaning clear. To reiterate: there are no absolutes; these things are relative. But judgments of "wrong" and "right" are based on syntactical conventions.

Well, there are no absolutes, perhaps. But I would say there are "right" and "wrong" ways of doing things, relatively speaking - based on convention. For example, it's fair to say that it is "wrong" not to start a sentence with a capital letter, or not to end a sentence with a punctuation mark. Things evolve over time, but you do need to have a "temporary" standard - otherwise, it's chaos.

Canadian usage is a bit schizoid. Spelling often follows British forms, but idiom and syntax usually follow American style. It can be very confusing. The verb suffix -ise vs. -ize is a good example. and do you "fill out" a form, or "fill in" a form?

100% The only question I had a slight hesitation with was the one involving that vs. which.

Come on, Saints. Must get three points from this one!

Is this a hope of yours, or are you providing information?

We're only 77 places above Pompey!

Our Glen Hoddle worshipper on here would start his with "exterminate!"

They could start with an emoticon - that would be a symbol, not a word.

Palace have lost 7 more than Saints. Discuss that!

Yes. The same suspects over and over. They sure do like the "sound" of their own voices.

"... I'm waiting for my man ...".

Jesus Murphy!

Predictable - we lose a couple of games and the panic sets in. And the scapegoating goes into high gear. Looking for players to blame is just a way of displacing your own lack of confidence in the team. A team's performance is never consistent. Players go through difficult periods. Take the long-term perspective. Get behind your team and support the players.

Commentator on Canada's TSN just said that Schneiderlin was "too good" for Southampton!

Yeah. Amazing that the back 7 is so settled now.

Three main choices, I suppose: 1) drip (the water is poured, or delivered, over the coffee grounds in a paper or metal filter - this is the method we use at home); 2) percolator (delivers a 'thicker', richer coffee - a friend of mine is still using the percolator his parents acquired in the 1960s, it makes a great cup of coffee); 3) French press (which my friend in Somerset uses - tasty). The drip filter method is the quickest to prepare and easiest to clean up, I think. But probably does not deliver the best tasting coffee.

If you are really ready for it, just quit cold turkey. That's what I did. The hardest thing is when you're socializing with friends - having a few drinks. You may want to avoid those situations for a while (a month or two), until you're free of the craving. Once you stop, try not to dwell on it too much. When it does pop into your mind, think good thoughts about yourself - especially about your amazing will-power! Also think about all the money you are saving. Good luck! It's easier than you think.

The thread title too complicated for you, then?

That's five.

The point is that many people on here predicted disaster before Saturday's game because Lovren was not in the team. Part of their rationale was that Hooiveld was going to be the weak link in our defence. But it didn't turn out that way, did it? So in some way, this thread serves as a mea culpa for those pre-judging the man. HTH

Right. My bad - as the kids used to sat here a few years ago!

The fellow on Saints Player says Saints will go top, if we win today. Well, not necessarily. There's this thing called goal difference. We need to win by three, I believe, to sit there. If we win by two, it will be co-leaders - but they'll put Arsenal first because of alphabetical order.

Everton have equalized.

Why do saints Player only broadcast half of the conversations? We are not hearing the voice from one of the two studios! Why are they so incompetent?