JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for August 16, 2013

I would never, ever, speak to her again.

“Language of Love”, Dan Fogelberg….=Actually, she’s kinda late… our language has become more of an informal one, compared to earlier times…. =But you can never get through the day trying to micromanage somebody’s every detail… it’s unproductive, and unfruitful…

You could also point out that the English language is constantly evolving, and grammar that’s valid today maybe be considered obsolete tomorrow. That’s OK for nearly-dead old people, but us younguns have to adapt.

I’m on her side.

She’s his mother. Why hasn’t he become used to this already?

She’s his mother. Didn’t she teach all this to him growing up?

Ok mom you aint letting me tell my story so you hear up

Sorry, kid. It’s happening as we speak…D’oh!

FINALLY! I’m surprised that Joe finally spoke up. Good for him.

Because English has no gender-insensitive first-person singular possessive, the plural “their” is frequently accepted in lieu of “his or hers”; using “that person’s” would resolve the problem. But English generally adapts to use the fewest words to communicate an idea – Churchill famously used such reasoning in satirizing the ‘rule’ against ending a sentence with a preposition.

I, as am amateur grammarian, love the comic strips where the mother corrects her son’s grammar. I do that to my children whenever necessary, as well as correct their mispronunciation of words. I don’t do those things in front of others, mind you, but I do them to make sure that they are well spoken. Poor grammar creates the idea in the minds of the listeners that one isn’t intelligent or well educated. I hope that the grammar-based strips continue. (As for the language being fluid, does one want to hear the President, during a speech, use “like” continually? I don’t think so!)

Boy, this really struck a nerve. Robb, don’t you wish for the not so old days when you got maybe one or two comments?

Constantly having someone correcting my speech is a serious turn-off; exit, not listening to the person… ;)

Precisely. I’m an editor, but I only correct people’s writing when they specifically request it. Otherwise, it’s just rude.