Sunday, February 20, 2011

Worst headline of the week

On CNN:
Libyan demonstrators say they’ll soldier on despite violent crackdown
There’s something wrong with that second verb, isn’t there.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. to say

2. will (auxiliary future tense)

3. to soldier

I think you mean 3rd verb...

Stephen Stratford said...

Quite right, I didn't count "you'll" as containing a verb. So yes, 3rd verb.

Stratford theory of numbers...
http://quoteunquotenz.blogspot.com/2009/06/stratford-theory-of-numbers.html

Anonymous said...

Stratford theory of numbers...

So you're innumerate as well as grammatically illiterate?

Chad Taylor said...

Shouldn't it be "functionally illiterate?"

Anonymous said...

"Functionally literate" surely, by the evidence of this blog - just not literate in toto.

One can be functionally literate, Chad, while being ignorant of the finer points of grammar (like Stephen).

Sorry, Stephen, but I take grammar seriously, and slips start at the top...

If the guardians of our literary manuscripts falter, what hope can we have for ordinary Kiwis? Next thing you know we'll be, like, you know, incomprehensible, and stuff.