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The English Language
Mr. Grumpy rants about words.
The English language is descriptive and clear, succinct even, most of the time. But there are those instances where... well, let’s just say it can be a little confusing. I mean, do we really need three there’s? There, their, and of course they’re. Or how about “were”? You have were, where, and we’re. It can get just a bit confusing. These are examples of “homophones”; other examples are two and to and too. It is too much. Then we have the whole big thing about ain’t and isn’t, well is it or not?
Certain things just shouldn’t be said. Now, this doesn’t mean they are bad or cause any serious damage. These are things that everybody says without really thinking it through. You have, of course, heard all of these, but it never hurts to be reminded that what you say is important.
Now, let’s say for instance you are walking through a particularly creepy cemetery at, oh, let’s say midnight. We can discuss why you’re walking through a particularly creepy cemetery at midnight, with fog of course, at a later date — much later, hopefully. You’re strolling along and you hear a noise, say a groaning, chain-rattling kind of noise. The first thing you do, of course, is to say in a whisper, “Who’s there?” Now, that sounds innocuous enough by itself, but do you seriously expect or want an answer?
