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[quote user="Miki"]
I wait to see the day you are asked to go to Intermarche and how many Leclerc clients will complain about your parting. [/quote]

 

Noooo, Deimos, don't go to Intermarche. If you leave Leclerc, try Cora.

Hmmm... forum character translated to supermarkets...

 

I think the sun is getting to me. [8-)][blink]

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Hello SB:

blinking hell, that was a fast response. Were you sitting on my shoulder while I was typing? I like Cora. There aren't that many of them, perhaps about 20. OMG, talk about a geek moment: I just actually went and checked www.cora.fr [:$] and in the south there's one in the Gard - Ales - so not that near you. They're mostly in the north and centre.

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[quote user="SaligoBay"][quote user="catalpa"]

Noooo, Deimos, don't go to Intermarche. If you leave Leclerc, try Cora.

[/quote]

I've never seen a Cora, catalpa.    We have Norma here.

[/quote]

Well Catalpa wins the carte fideilité and a €5 bon de command for any

Super of her choice, for getting closest to the parabolic thingy.

SB, we had a Norma once but when we got here, she was no more. We found

a Mutant, a King Kong a Vie moins cher, a Noz and all manner of cheapo

pile the crap high, sell it dearer places but no Norma.

We have fidelity cards for all the regions supers and as with the bags, they are in the car when we reach the caisse !!

Life still a beach in Montpellier ?  You can buy matching weights for

pink lilos, it saves asking the neighbours every two minutes if you can

have Lilo back............

Now where did I leave that Peeno caladder, can't even speell it n...........o...w,

Ouch bluddy Lilo, where the £$%&^*& did that come from [:)]

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[quote user="Forum Admin"]

Sorry, but can I remind forum members not to talk about other forums on this board.

Thanks

James

[/quote]

Where was that then James ? Am I going barmy ? no don't answer that............

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It's getting a bit confusing and allegorical, even parabolic in places, but I thought that Chris' post was about this forum, and saying we are lucky to have it and not to bite the leg of lamb that feeds us.

Prepositions - well, I think that style and grace have superseded the absolute rule. Like the splitting of infinitives.

And on the subject of starting sentences with conjunctions, my old English teacher told me that there was a rule not to do it unless you had the skill to do it well. "That means James Joyce, not you, Smith..."

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[quote user="Miki"]it saves asking the neighbours every two minutes if you can have Lilo back............

[/quote]

It is a bit of a problem, Miki, because they have problems hearing my pleas.   As soon as the wind gets up they put their earplugs in, because they know that that goddam pool alarm is going to go off.   

Do you think a fence would be quieter?

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Some tips for proper English (some of which are out of date, many more if you conform to the David Beckham school of English)

1. A preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.

2. Remember to never split an infinitive.

3. Don't use no double negatives.

4. And never start a sentence with a contraction

5. The passive voice is to be avoided whenever possible.

6. Use fewer with number and less with quantity. Less and less people do.

7. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

8. You've done good to use adverbs correctly.

9. If any word is incorrect at the end of a sentence, an auxillary verb is.

10.Steer clear of incorrect verb forms that have snuck into the language.

11. Me and John are careful to use subject pronouns correctly.

12. Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not necessary.

A lot of these are out of date, number one especially, thanks to phrasal verbs. As Winston Churchill once said when challenged "ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put".

 

 

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[quote user="SusanAH"]

Some tips for proper English (some of which are out of date, many more if you confirm to the David Beckham school of English)

1. A preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.

2. Remember to never split an infinitive.

3. Don't use no double negatives.

4. And never start a sentence woth a contraction

5. The passive voice is to be avoided whenever possible.

6. Use fewer with number and less with quantity. Less and less people do.

7. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

8. You've done good to use adverbs correctly.

9. If any word is incorrect at the end of a sentence, an auxillary verb is.

10.Steer clear of incorrect verb forms that have snuck into the language.

11. Me and John are careful to use subject pronouns correctly.

12. Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not necessary.

A lot of these are out of date, number one especially, thanks to phrasal verbs. As Winston Churchill once said when challenged "ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put".

[/quote]

SusanAH... It has taken me 4 readings of your post to understand what was meant in each sentence!...  I was mentally correcting each sentence as I read them and not making any sense of it all.         But then English is not my maternal language.... 

Also on the subject of separate and the rat within, we have a small nemonic in French for the verbs se nourrir (to feed oneself) and mourir (to die). These 2 verbs are the bane of French school children who can't remember which has 2 rs in its spelling. So to help you along with your french it goes : se nourrir = 2 rs as you feed yourself several times during your lifetime and mourir = 1 r as you only die once!.

I have now cracked the grammatical errors in SusanAH's post!...

 

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[quote user="Miki"][quote]
SB

But you wouldn't expect to get banned from Leclerc stores because you cooked it wrong, would you?  [:D]
[/quote]


[quote] deimos
True, but, if after cooking it badly, I went back to the store, complained loudly and continuously, driving other customers away, annoying others in the store, etc. I might not be surprised if the suggested I visited a different store in future.
[/quote]

So who are the Leclerc clients that drove away then. Please enlighten us all.

I wait to see the day you are asked to go to Intermarche and how many Leclerc clients will complain about your parting. Mind you, there was actually rejoicing at your departure from another store. I am afraid you would not see clients leave a store by someone complaining, you would in fact get an almighty crowd cheering the person on.


[/quote]

I was just continuing the analogy, if I have anything particular in mind I would have said so – so nothing to enlighten anybody about.

I realise now it was a mistake for me to post to the same thread an Miki.  Sorry, many apologies and I will try not to do it again.

 

[quote user="Miki"]Mind you, there was actually rejoicing at your departure from another store [/quote]

Always has to get personal here doesn’t it.  Shame really. 

Ian

 

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Can we broadly keep on the topic please, and avoid these analogies which seem to be leading us into the dangerous territory of derogatory personal remarks ?

Thanks [:)]

PS If anyone has comments about this post, please PM them to me, not start a discussion about it here.

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Okay, in an attempt to bring us back on course here's a duplicate of a previous post regarding 'Netiquette'.  I'll alter the original.

[quote user="SusanAH"]

Some tips for proper English (some of which are out of date, many more if you conform to the David Beckham school of English)

[/quote]

Ah,

but what is 'proper English' for a forum?  In formal written English

you (or one, if you prefer) would never use a contraction at all, you

would always use the full form of words.  But on a forum the style of

writing tends towards the spoken word (dialogue) and so many of the

rules of formal written English need not apply.

Stop frowning at the back, Fowler.

There

will always be exceptions to this, e.g. if the writer is replying to a

question where the loose phrasing of spoken English would lead to

ambiguities, but I think that in the informal atmosphere of most posts

mis-spellings (due to typos) and lapses of grammar are okay.

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[quote]it saves asking the neighbours every two minutes if you can have Lilo back............

[/quote]

[quote] It is a bit of a problem, Miki, because they have problems

hearing my pleas.   As soon as the wind gets up they put

their earplugs in, because they know that that goddam pool alarm is

going to go off. 

Do you think a fence would be quieter? [/quote]

Much quieter but not as buoyant as the Lilo.

Talking of wind...............I can remember being in Frontignan once,

sitting on the beach blowing up the blue Lilo, as you do (no pink ones

in those days) and the Tremontaine started up and within minutes, it

was pandemonium, as all manner of blow up objects flew absolutely all

over the place . Yes, I even saw a Randy Mandy and a lovely Linda fly

down the coast. It's the little things that make you remember holidays,

n'est ce pas !

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Yes of course Deimos, how could I have made such an error to think that

you would ever disguise your message in such a way ! And of course you

didn't even dream it could be read in any other way. I saw your post as

a personal attack and one has to take it you are intelligent enough to

know that your post was no doubt, going to be taken personally by

someone but as ever, you can make a side swipe than claim the moral

high ground by offering it, simply as meant another way. Replies like

that are getting a little old hat to be honest.

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[quote user="Miki"]

it saves asking the neighbours every two minutes if you can have Lilo back............

[/quote]

Ah yes, Bread - not my favourite sitcom and I never saw the attraction of it.  All a bit too scally.  Here's Lilo with a friend in concert or something:

[img]http://www.centrelinenet.com/180jpegs/hrt2.jpeg[/img]

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[quote user="Cassis"]

Ah, but what is 'proper English' for a forum?  In formal written English you (or one, if you prefer) would never use a contraction at all, you would always use the full form of words.  But on a forum the style of writing tends towards the spoken word (dialogue) and so many of the rules of formal written English need not apply.
[/quote]

I appreciate what you're saying, but I think you're confusing formal/informal language with correct/incorrect language. Unless you're deliberately using incorrect language to indicate a person's manner of speaking, it's perfectly possible to write informally but correctly. Clarity and communication are most important and this can  normally be achieved better by using language correctly.

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[quote user="Cassis"]Okay, in an attempt to bring us back on course here's a duplicate of a previous post regarding 'Netiquette'.  I'll alter the original.

[quote user="SusanAH"]

Some tips for proper English (some of which are out of date, many more if you conform to the David Beckham school of English)

[/quote]

Ah, but what is 'proper English' for a forum?  In formal written English you (or one, if you prefer) would never use a contraction at all, you would always use the full form of words.  But on a forum the style of writing tends towards the spoken word (dialogue) and so many of the rules of formal written English need not apply.

Stop frowning at the back, Fowler.

There will always be exceptions to this, e.g. if the writer is replying to a question where the loose phrasing of spoken English would lead to ambiguities, but I think that in the informal atmosphere of most posts mis-spellings (due to typos) and lapses of grammar are okay.
[/quote]

Cassis,

my post was not to be taken seriously - it was an example of what used to be considered bad English, however, nowadays a lot of it is now perfectly OK, in written as well as spoken form. I teach English in France and teach students (indeed encourage them) to use the contracted form as it sounds more fluent - both in written and spoken English. Language evolves all the time, but I'm afraid that I find sentences like 'I done it' instead of 'I have done it' or 'I did it', or 'we was' instead of 'we were' annoying. Maybe in 10 years it will be acceptable!

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[quote user="KathyC"]

[quote user="Cassis"]

Ah, but what is 'proper English' for a forum?  In formal written English you (or one, if you prefer) would never use a contraction at all, you would always use the full form of words.  But on a forum the style of writing tends towards the spoken word (dialogue) and so many of the rules of formal written English need not apply.

[/quote]

I appreciate what you're saying, but I think you're confusing formal/informal language with correct/incorrect language. Unless you're deliberately using incorrect language to indicate a person's manner of speaking, it's perfectly possible to write informally but correctly. Clarity and communication are most important and this can  normally be achieved better by using language correctly.

[/quote]

No, I'm not confusing formal/informal language.  I was debating on what is 'proper English' for a forum.  Written and spoken language are different - I think spoken (informal) language conventions are fine for a forum.  There's no reason why spoken language should be lacking in clarity.

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[quote user="Cassis"]
I was debating on what is 'proper English' for a forum.  Written and spoken language are different - I think spoken (informal) language conventions are fine for a forum.  There's no reason why spoken language should be lacking in clarity.
[/quote]

I deliberately try to do exactly what you describe. I write as I speak - lots of contractions, maybe some OTT emphasis (if something really really needs it [:P]) and lots of... (them dot things) to try and indicate the pauses you get for thought in conversation - which are different from the pauses instructed by commas.

Dunno whether I succeed in what I try to do of course... [:$] but to construct sentences perfectly the way one would in a letter or report would look too stuffy... stilted on a forum such as CF.

The one thing I do notice on forums is the difficulty of reading and comprehending a long post with no paragraph breaks. I know there are rules about when to start a new paragraph but for me, I'd rather see more paragraphs even if strictly speaking (or writing) a new para is not required. There is nothing worse than seeing a solid block of text on a screen. That does cause me to lose the will to read the post.

More generally (ie, not responding to you specifically, Cassis) I really don't get in a snit about people who let spelling mistakes / typos slip through. Participation is the point on a forum like this, the quality of information and the willingness to share it. If I ask a question and some accurate information comes back that's less than perfectly typed or spelt, I don't care. Willingness to share experience and information is what should matter.

 

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[quote user="catalpa"]

More generally (ie, not responding to you specifically, Cassis) I really don't get in a snit about people who let spelling mistakes / typos slip through. Participation is the point on a forum like this, the quality of information and the willingness to share it. If I ask a question and some accurate information comes back that's less than perfectly typed or spelt, I don't care. Willingness to share experience and information is what should matter.

[/quote]

I agree up to a point, but when the poster continually makes spelling/grammar/refuses to use capital letters or punctuation, I would question their intelligence and therefore the validity of any information they were giving.

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This will no doubt offend some, but I'm not sure I completely agree with you, Susan.

There are degrees of all of these things.

Punctuation: Yes. We sometimes see completely unpunctuated posts, that is not just lazy, but also a clear 'disrespect message' to the readers. No reason for that, except possibly low intellect, but then would people who are incapable of understanding basic punctuation be posting on a forum like this? My verdict - punctuate properly. Learn the use of the apostrophe, it isn't hard. When in doubt, leave it out, but at least give the reader a clue about where sentences begin and end.

Spelling: There are dyslexics - but that is relatively easy to spot. There are people with spelling blind spots - I have some of those, and they are quite frustrating.

Some people missed out on formal education, but may be otherwise 'intelligent' - though that is a problematic formulation. Some people just can't spell very well. See comments about 'intelligence' above.

Some people mis-spell on purpose in order to either appear uneducated or to pretend to be someone else.

None of these include typos, which are usually easy to spot, and get everybody. Typos increase exponentially with alcohol consumption.

Grammar: Generally quite good, not in the formal sense, but as everyday colloquial grammar goes it is usually done quite well. You don't often see ungrammatical posts here, or on other forums.

Not me in teacher mode, honest...

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