Say that again
1. I listened last Thursday, to an NPR (National Public Radio) call-in programme. The caller had words of praise for the actress who was being interviewed. But he started his comments with “me, myself, I am in the military”.
Granted that he may have been a bit nervous, but why “me, myself, I”?
He should have said “I am in the military”
This caller was probably nervous about using the personal pronoun “I”. That’s a common trait in the current use of the English language.
2. A bit later an NPR announcer, in a commercial break, advertised a programme which was to be aired on Saturday 1st October.
She said: “listen to this at 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the morning”.
Excuse me – but I cannot imagine 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. in the evening.
3. A friend sent me a text message the other day. We’d enjoyed lunch together on September 25th 2011. His text message read “let’s meet again in the not too distant future”.
I liked his sentiment. I also thought that “soon” would have been simpler than “in the not too distant future”.
4. This afternoon on the NPR show called “Studio 360” the host, Kurt Anderson referred to his guest Anne Fadiman as “the English Professor”. I think that he meant to say “the Professor of English, Anne Fadiman”.
5. When I was at the check-out in my local Sweet-Bay supermarket earlier today, one of the clerks/cashiers made a passing reference to “hollowe'en”. I resisted every inclination to inform her that Oct 31st is not “hollowe’en’ but “hallowe’en”
Many Americans now refer to the day as “hollowe’en”. Perhaps they think that it is all about hollowing out pumpkins
Granted that he may have been a bit nervous, but why “me, myself, I”?
He should have said “I am in the military”
This caller was probably nervous about using the personal pronoun “I”. That’s a common trait in the current use of the English language.
2. A bit later an NPR announcer, in a commercial break, advertised a programme which was to be aired on Saturday 1st October.
She said: “listen to this at 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the morning”.
Excuse me – but I cannot imagine 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. in the evening.
3. A friend sent me a text message the other day. We’d enjoyed lunch together on September 25th 2011. His text message read “let’s meet again in the not too distant future”.
I liked his sentiment. I also thought that “soon” would have been simpler than “in the not too distant future”.
4. This afternoon on the NPR show called “Studio 360” the host, Kurt Anderson referred to his guest Anne Fadiman as “the English Professor”. I think that he meant to say “the Professor of English, Anne Fadiman”.
5. When I was at the check-out in my local Sweet-Bay supermarket earlier today, one of the clerks/cashiers made a passing reference to “hollowe'en”. I resisted every inclination to inform her that Oct 31st is not “hollowe’en’ but “hallowe’en”
Many Americans now refer to the day as “hollowe’en”. Perhaps they think that it is all about hollowing out pumpkins
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