Lose and loose

samanthajane said:
Do you need an english degree to be an insurance broker?

Please explain further as i'm at a lose of why his english ability had anything to do with giving you insurance.
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:D

mathepac said:
I would of taut basic busines's English wouldn't of caused him to loose the busines's.
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;) Love it.


We were talking about renewal of a Professional Indemnity Insurance policy. Such policies must be proposed from scratch each year. Insofar as concerns the providers of that cover, all matters relevant to the insured must be correctly and properly disclosed on renewal each and every year. If the agent cannot properly articulate themselves in the provision of the service for their insurer one must question their ability to act on one's behalf in the event of a claim. It's not rocket science. "Have" and "of" have very different meanings in English as I'm sure they do in insurance terms. I'd hate to be trying to say " But I meant..." to an insurance company in the event of a claim.

Incidentally the main reason for not going with this guy was not just his grammar but in addition the way in which he berated me in the email for not giving him a "better chance" to quote lower than his original quote whan another insurer came in lower for the same level of cover. I had asked for his "best quote". The other insurer was significantly less expensive for same risk. I indicated that to him and said that I would be going with the other quote as it provided same cover for less cost. His response, in part, said if I had given him the chance he would have quoted cheaper than the other if I told him what their quote was. Well why didn't he do that in the first place ? His grammar was just the icing on the cake.

( that's his grammar ok not his granpa )
 
Purple said:
When talking to English suppliers I try to use "mainland" when talking about mainland Europe. .
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I agree totally. When I worked on the continent and met a Brit, I'd say something like: "How long have you worked here on the mainland?". Always p*issed them off!
 
I know it's petty, but it irritates me when people say 'euros'. The plural of euro is euro!
 
liaconn said:
I know it's petty, but it irritates me when people say 'euros'. The plural of euro is euro!
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I am fussy about grammar and punctuation but I say euros. I don't think there is a clearcut right or wrong here - EU legislation uses euro for ease of documentation but the intention was/is for the general public to use their natural plural forms - with an s in the case of english. Plagiarised from a quick search on the subject:

" Official practice followed in English-language EU legislation is to use the words euro and cent as both singular and plural. This practice originally arose out of legislation intended to ensure that the banknotes were uncluttered with a string of plurals (as the Soviet ruble notes were).

The English Style Guide of the European Commission Translation Service states:

12.12 ... Guidelines on the use of the euro, issued via the Secretariat-General, state that the plurals of both ‘euro’ and ‘cent’ are to be written without ‘s’ in English. Do this when amending or referring to legal texts that themselves observe this rule. Elsewhere, and especially in documents intended for the general public, use the natural plural with ‘s’ for both terms.

Because the s-less plurals had become "enshrined" in EU legislation, the Commission decided to retain those plurals in English in legislation even while allowing natural plurals in other languages, but the European Commission Translation Service (ECTS) strongly recommends that in all material generated by the Commission intended for the general public, the "natural plurals" of each language be used.

As the euro was being adopted in the Republic of Ireland, however, the Ministry for Finance decided to use the word euro as both the singular and plural forms of the currency, and because Irish broadcasters took their cue from the Ministry, the "legislative plurals" tend to also be used on the news and in much Irish advertising. This has the effect of reinforcing the s-less plurals, though many advertisers (particularly those in the United Kingdom) prefer the "natural" plurals: euros and cents. (This is in line with ECTS recommendations.)

Many people in Ireland prefer the -s plurals, and at the time the s-less plurals were introduced, at least some complained that the EU ought not attempt to change English grammar. People who have become accustomed to what they hear on daily television and radio often use the s-less plurals, which they also see written on the notes and coins. While usage in Ireland is disputed, common usage in the rest of the English-speaking world is to use the natural plurals. The media in the UK prefers euros and cents as the plural forms. Broadcasts of currency exchange rates outside the EU tend to use the -s plural; with NPR in the United States and the CBC in Canada being two examples."
 
orka said:
... As the euro was being adopted in the Republic of Ireland, however, the Ministry for Finance decided to use the word euro as both the singular and plural forms of the currency, and because Irish broadcasters took their cue from the Ministry, ...
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We don't have a Ministry for Finance in Ireland, we have a Department of Finance.
 
liaconn said:
... The plural of euro is euro!
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Speaking of plurals (and singulars) -

Criteria is plural, singular form is criterion, thus "criteria are", "criterion is"
Data is plural, the singular form is datum
Media is plural, the singular is medium, thus for example, "the media are paid to manipulate public opinion" rather than "the media is paid to publish propaganda"
Government is a collective noun, so "the Government are" is grammatically incorrect, broadcasters please note
Similarly team, so to say (or write as is often the case these days) "the Irish team are resting" is grammatically incorrect.

Lots of other examples in recent print articles, broadcasts, posts - "the Cabinet are", "the Bank are", "the Dáil are", "the HSE are", "the Board are"

TGITW. :)
 
Heading for a third bailout and so good they have to tell us that they do twice (or trice) : [broken link removed]
 
On that note the plural of “Attorney General” is “Attorneys General”. Attorney Generals are lawyers who hold a high rank in the armed forces.

The plural of Octopus is not Octopi, it’s Octopuses.
 
The plural of brother-in-law is brothers-in-law who only become Brothers-in-Arms at Dire Straits concerts or after a feed of drink.
 
Purple said:
On that note the plural of “Attorney General” is “Attorneys General”. Attorney Generals are lawyers who hold a high rank in the armed forces.

The plural of Octopus is not Octopi, it’s Octopuses.
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Ahem...
Wikipedia said:
The octopus (pronounced /ˈɒktəpʊs/, from Greek ὀκτάπους (oktapous), "eight-footed",with plural forms: octopuses /ˈɒktəpʊsɪz/, octopi /ˈɒktəpaɪ/, or octopodes /ɒkˈtɒpədiːz/
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And even Stephen Fry himself (He Who Is Not To Be Questioned) said on QI that Octopuses and Octopodes are valid.

Jury obviously still out on that one. Languages do evolve to the 'common parlance' however, not that it's always a good thing....
 
I'll quote mathepac as an example here. (only an example btw!)
mathepac said:
Criteria is plural,.......
Data is plural, ..........
Media is plural,
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Whenever i hear people say words like these they say "Criterior is plural" or "Dator is plural" or Medior is plural"
Other examples of this poor grammar that i often hear are:
"Vannilor ice cream"
Then there's the classic song "Brim full of asher" or is it "Brim full of asha"???

There was recently a pic of Rod Stewart on holiday with his family in a tabloid. He had his kids toy dinosaur in his hand and it was supposed to be biting his wifes bum. Anyway, the headline was "I don't think she saurus"
AARRRGGHH!!
It's bloody annoying!
Can somebody trained in grammar please explain this?

ollie
 
ollie323 said:
... Can somebody trained in grammar please explain this? ...
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This used to be an exclusively Sahrf London phenomenon (singular, there's another !), Rod the Mod being a good example, but it seems to have been displaced into the wild since newspapers other than The Sun and the News of the World went on sale in local newsagents, beside the vodkar that they drink on the sofahr w'ile lookin' at the pictures of Madonnar's latesest adoption safari in 'Ello magazine or on MTV, know wo' I mean mate, innit?

BTW, We wuz nevah welfy enuff for me to go to grammar school, I went to a pukkah secondary modern mate, wiv a geezah called Kilroy (at least 'is name wuz on the toilet walls) ja know wo' I mean mate, awright, innit?
 
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