Grammar Alert!

[Gomersall]

I pronounce the as thee when it precedes a word starting with a vowel e.g. That’s thee answer. Whenever I hear it as the in the same scenario it just doesn’t sound right to me. Does anyone else find this jars with them.?

[unapologetic pedant]

1 hour ago, tonyXIII said:

Your comments are not wrong, but when you call yourself a pedant, you must expect some scrutiny. 

I took this name as a means of getting my retaliation in first. Within a week, wished I'd thought of something else. Stuck with it now.

BTW, dying to know what you think of incorrect PTBs.

[unapologetic pedant]

6 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Both are fine.

Follow-up niggle -

Do you think that "similar from" and "similar to" are both fine? If you don't, it's probably because you recognize that "from" and "to" have entirely different, often contradictory, meanings.

"Different to" is no less gibberish than "similar from". 

[unapologetic pedant]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Go read your Hardy (for example) to find examples of someone trying to capture non standard dialect forms that use grammar that would never have been taught in a school.

Words that were too Rude and Obscure for delicate minds.

[tonyXIII]

7 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Words that were too Rude and Obscure for delicate minds.

Oh, very good.

 

[tonyXIII]

30 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

I took this name as a means of getting my retaliation in first. Within a week, wished I'd thought of something else. Stuck with it now.

BTW, dying to know what you think of incorrect PTBs.

Incorrect PTBs? I'm glad I'm not a referee!

[gingerjon]

9 hours ago, Gomersall said:

I pronounce the as thee when it precedes a word starting with a vowel e.g. That’s thee answer. Whenever I hear it as the in the same scenario it just doesn’t sound right to me. Does anyone else find this jars with them.?

It's something I do but more subtly than I used to (I think). Thee flows the words better to my hearing than a normal the.

[JohnM]

On 03/06/2023 at 12:12, corvusxiii said:

I remember this Portuguese Language assistant/teacher, she was working at the same school as Spouse.

At Uni she learnt 'My Mother'(think BBC), in North Featherstone she heard 'Mi Mam'.

You could sense the shock and horror of her first few weeks 

"This" Portuguese....or "that" ......

[JohnM]

10 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Words that were too Rude and Obscure for delicate minds.

I've red that buck, two, but it got bernt becos I left it on the cucker.

[tonyXIII]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

I've red that buck, two, but it got bernt becos I left it on the cucker.

... you silly f****r!

Sorry, mods!

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

18 hours ago, Gomersall said:

I pronounce the as thee when it precedes a word starting with a vowel e.g. That’s thee answer. Whenever I hear it as the in the same scenario it just doesn’t sound right to me. Does anyone else find this jars with them.?

How to pronounce 'the' is also something that choir directors like me have to get our heads round.  It will depend how the rhythm of the music suggests it should be said, but it isn't always that obvious, in which case I have to decide, just to make sure that we all sing it the same way.

In speech, I am probably like you, Gomersall, though, when it is a word beginning with 'u', it depends on what sort of 'u' sound it is.  For instance, compare 'the usual...' and 'the underlying...'.

[Shadow]

On 03/06/2023 at 02:20, Old Frightful said:

I met up with a lady 

No, you met a lady.

[Gomersall]

5 hours ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

How to pronounce 'the' is also something that choir directors like me have to get our heads round.  It will depend how the rhythm of the music suggests it should be said, but it isn't always that obvious, in which case I have to decide, just to make sure that we all sing it the same way.

In speech, I am probably like you, Gomersall, though, when it is a word beginning with 'u', it depends on what sort of 'u' sound it is.  For instance, compare 'the usual...' and 'the underlying...'.

Yes, rather than a vowel I should have said a vowel sound e.g. sometimes a u is pronounced as a y sound as you have highlighted.

[Gomersall]

Another one I hate is the way some people break down words into syllables but the breaks are in the wrong place. John Wilkin is a master of this “art”. Pos-it-iv-it-ee, Com-yoo-nit-ee etc.

[RayCee]

On 13/06/2023 at 07:29, Gomersall said:

I pronounce the as thee when it precedes a word starting with a vowel e.g. That’s thee answer. Whenever I hear it as the in the same scenario it just doesn’t sound right to me. Does anyone else find this jars with them.?

Totally agree. A retired school teacher in NZ had never heard of the thee before a vowel when I mentioned when to use thee. 

[JonM]

On 12/06/2023 at 20:29, Gomersall said:

I pronounce the as thee when it precedes a word starting with a vowel e.g. That’s thee answer. Whenever I hear it as the in the same scenario it just doesn’t sound right to me. Does anyone else find this jars with them.?

This is standard British English pronunciation. I don't think I've ever heard a native speaker do otherwise in normal speech. Similarly, the use of 'thee' for emphasis, for example 'thee' best vs 'thuh' best.

[Gomersall]

1 minute ago, JonM said:

This is standard British English pronunciation. I don't think I've ever heard a native speaker do otherwise in normal speech. Similarly, the use of 'thee' for emphasis, for example 'thee' best vs 'thuh' best.

The “comedienne” Sarah Pascoe always uses thuh regardless of whatever word follows. From my experience it tends to be used by those from the London area.

[RayCee]

I had a Swiss German friend who described English grammar as childish. 

[JohnM]

Gardener's World on TV.

Apparently it's about some things called "plaarnts".

[gingerjon]

14 hours ago, RayCee said:

I had a Swiss German friend who described English grammar as childish. 

When Swiss German grows up it wants to be real German?

[Old Frightful]

On 13/06/2023 at 16:46, Shadow said:

No, you met a lady.

With respect, I don't think "met up" is particularly incorrect. I used it in the sense that we had arranged a meeting and I think "met up" indicates that.

Had I just said "I met a lady", it might suggest that we had no prior knowledge of each other.

I know I explained the circumstances immediately afterwards, probably negating the need for "up" but I just think it sounds better so I used it.

So there.