MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Annoying grammar trends

Annoying grammar trends

posted 2 years ago by Whom (528)
25 replies | jump to latest

Why are people using these long verbal phrases as adjectives?

Example:
UPS ad: “We’re the packing and shipping store… the two sided color printing store… the [insert 25 -ing verbs ] store…”. All those phrases to define “store”. Why? Too dry to just say “we are store that does packing and shipping, two sided printing, … “ ?

What are these phrases called? Where did they come from? They’ve been around awhile. Here is another one from 1995 - “leather wearing in the summertime” clip from Waiting to Exhale:

https://youtu.be/07SzgDjXX1w

[–] sslssg (27652) 2 years ago

I think that they are trying to emphasize that they are THE packing and shipping store. So that they will be the first one you think of when you think of packing, and shipping.

I could be wrong though.

[–] Whom (528) 2 years ago

Yup they got that message out, but why use such sloppy grammar to do it?

[–] sslssg (27652) 2 years ago

I am saying it like thee in my head. If they worded it 'we are the store that does _____ ', it puts more of an emphasis on the store, and not what the store does.

[–] Whom (528) 2 years ago

Got it, but not trusting them with my printing jobs until they fix their grammar.

[–] sslssg (27652) 2 years ago

Is it incorrect though? I mean if they use 25 adjectives then yeah, but we do use adjectives to describe stores as in a grocery store, and not a store that sells groceries. I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just unsure at this moment.

[–] aavfreak (2862) 2 years ago

The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine.

[–] Whom (528) 2 years ago

Exactly!

[–] AndyKing1967 (33837) 2 years ago

Split infinitives.
Commas before brackets.

[–] db20db (16206) 2 years ago

Run on sentences, using a comma when a period is actually required. It's rambling bs, annoying to read, an inability to finish a complete thought.

[–] Kowalski (57984) 2 years ago

AWW...SEE, YOU DO READ MY COMMENTS...FRIENDS FOREVER.🥰

[–] db20db (16206) 2 years ago

Of course I do. You've got somewhat of an excuse. You're perpetually stoned. See how I succinctly completed my thoughts in this post although I'm toasted on some strong beer?

[–] Kowalski (57984) 2 years ago

BIRDS OF A FEATHER.🙂

[–] db20db (16206) 2 years ago

Don't get carried away, although I wish I could have a couple of tokes of some good weed along with this strong beer right now. Damn, it feels like a Friday night instead of a Monday night. Retirement will disorient you like that.

[–] Kowalski (57984) 2 years ago

I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE...BUT IF YOU WERE CLOSE YOU WOULD BE MORE THAN WELCOME TO DRAG YOUR OLD ASS OVER HERE...HAVE A TOKE AND WATCH A MOVIE.

[–] db20db (16206) 2 years ago

Yeah, you're a stoned out mofo alright. I just posted a few hours ago that I'm in the middle of the country.

[–] Kowalski (57984) 2 years ago

LMAO...I DO NOT RECALL THAT POST OR THREAD...NO WORRIES...EVER FIND YOURSELF IN CALIFORNIA...YOU HAVE A SEAT ON MY COUCH AND BOWL IN MY BONG WAITING FOR YOU.🙂

MY GRANDFATHER FOUGHT IN WWII...HE WAS A POW OF THE JAPANESE FOR TWO YEARS...WHEN HE GOT HOME HE BUILT THE BARN MY LIBRARY NOW RESIDES WITHIN...YOU WOULD DIG IT.

[–] db20db (16206) 2 years ago

I had an uncle who died at Normandy.

I could probably swap stories with your hippie dad. I was a thrill crazy punk in the 70s, always looking for the ultimate high. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ1MdRgU7Hw I once toked on a bowl of Blonde Lebanese hash while peaking on Orange Barrel Sunshine acid. Both were considered to be the "ultimate" at that time. Nowadays, I reflect on those times, just grateful to still be alive.

[–] Kowalski (57984) 2 years ago

YES...THAT SOUNDS JUST LIKE MY DAD...YOU GUYS WOULD DEFINITELY GET ALONG.

[–] db20db (16206) 2 years ago

I briefly visited Oceanside when I was 16 then hitch hiked back to Kansas over an 8 day period. Helluva an adventure!

[–] Kowalski (57984) 2 years ago

USED TO GO TO OCEANSIDE EVERY WEEKEND FOR THE SWAP MEET...FROM THE AGES OF 2 TO 30 OR SO....AND KANSAS IS WHERE MY GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER WERE ORIGINALLY FROM...ARE WE RELATED?🤔

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

Compound adjectives on steroids, perhaps...? https://www.grammar.com/Compound-Adjectives

This seems to be going against the trend. Lately I've been seeing the opposite: the overuse of abbreviations and adjectives; and using only the first syllable of a word or phrase, often adding an -ie or -s suffix. Some examples:

• Instead of saying "in real life" it's now "IRL." This is an example of our spoken language being corrupted by too much reliance on texting.
• "Details" are now "deets." I saw this in either an online article or in an e-mail just last week.
• "A best friend" is a "bestie"; or "adorable" is "adorbs" (I don't know where the -s is coming from).
• I saw an ad for Dunkin' Donuts (now referred to as simply "Dunkin' ") with the name of the company shortened to "DNKN'." How lazy can they get?

All of these examples sound stupid, lazy and childish. Definitely not professional.

[–] Whom (528) 2 years ago

Yeah I don’t like that either.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

FedEx was doing something similar back in the early 1980s, with their "absolutely, positively has to be their overnight" ad campaigns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeK5ZjtpO-M

When I was searching for this, I found out that the slogan actually goes back to 1978. It's been around longer than I had thought.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 2 years ago

You're easily upset by minor things.

🤨

[–] robocat893 (13415) 2 years ago

This is old but it still irks me, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

It should be, "It's a terrible thing to waste a mind."