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What linguistic constructions do you hate that no one else seems to mind? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by TootSweet to c/asklemmy

187 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It bugs me when people say "the thing is is that" (if you listen for it, you'll start hearing it... or maybe that's something that people only do in my area.) ("What the thing is is that..." is fine. But "the thing is is that..." bugs me.)

Also, "just because doesn't mean ." That sentence structure invites one to take "just because " as a noun phrase which my brain really doesn't want to do. Just doesn't seem right. But that sentence structure is very common.

And I'm not saying there's anything objectively wrong with either of these. Language is weird and complex and beautiful. It's just fascinating that some commonly-used linguistic constructions just hit some people wrong sometimes.

Edit: I thought of another one. "As best as I can." "The best I can" is fine, "as well as I can" is good, and "as best I can" is even fine. But "as best as" hurts.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Wait till you get to parts of northern England where they say "The car wants washing" 😂

[–] wjrii 3 points 6 months ago

That's just it. Neither of the phrases is "wrong;" they are just a dialectical feature some people don't share. There's a systematic conjugation there, the lack of the helper verb is completely irrelevant if the person uses the construction consistently, and meaning is communicated successfully without it. The only reason to avoid it is as a social choice to avoid being judged by people who would call you a miserable cunt, or maybe to prove you completed a needlessly strict course of instruction in English grammar that proves you're not a miserable cunt.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

"The car wants washing" is fine, thankfully I've never heard anyone north or south say "The car wants washed", which was OP's concern