Why does anyone who talks about football...

Aztec chimera said:
I think you're looking into it too much mate. Language is an evolving thing and those two examples are the least of the problems. You'll drive yourself insane if you let things like that annoy you.
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I know, I’m so chilled about most aspects of life. I blame Lynne Truss, I should never have read that book.
 
I just finished Phil Spencer's book about the journey from Cardiff to Eindhoven, and I couldn't help noticing that it's absolutely riddled with grammatical errors. I'd recommend not reading this book if (like me) you're annoyed by dangling modifiers, as they're present throughout. There are plenty of other mistakes too, and tons of tired football cliches, not all of which are used correctly. It was an enjoyable read, but I can only assume it wasn't proofread or edited professionally.
 
I have a hard time over here with the American insistence on referring to teams (and bands etc) as a singular entity rather than as a group. I know technically it's probably correct, but it just sounds so wrong to me (e.g "Middlesbrough is playing Preston tonight").
 
As a one time english language teacher I used to have dens of bugbears about bad grammar. Then I discovered I could draw a veil over all of them, except the use of the verb "get". Its dictionary entry is huge and there's always a better word to use. I do really, really hate it. 😡
 
goalscrounger said:
I have a hard time over here with the American insistence on referring to teams (and bands etc) as a singular entity rather than as a group. I know technically it's probably correct, but it just sounds so wrong to me (e.g "Middlesbrough is playing Preston tonight").
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It's correct to say it like that in Spanish and it really bugs me! El Real Madrid
 
rkangel said:
As a one time english language teacher I used to have dens of bugbears about bad grammar. Then I discovered I could draw a veil over all of them, except the use of the verb "get". Its dictionary entry is huge and there's always a better word to use. I do really, really hate it. 😡
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At least it's not gotten.
 
goalscrounger said:
I have a hard time over here with the American insistence on referring to teams (and bands etc) as a singular entity rather than as a group. I know technically it's probably correct, but it just sounds so wrong to me (e.g "Middlesbrough is playing Preston tonight").
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That actually is one of my biggest annoyances. It's creeping in over here a lot. They are not a singular as they are a team of at least 11 and they represent a town of 250k+. In what way can they be referred to in the singular?
 
rkangel said:
As a one time english language teacher I used to have dens of bugbears about bad grammar. Then I discovered I could draw a veil over all of them, except the use of the verb "get". Its dictionary entry is huge and there's always a better word to use. I do really, really hate it. 😡
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My 4th year juniors teacher insisted that we couldn't use the word get or got in any sentence we used. I get that.
 
Trug said:
...speak in the present tense as if the game is still being played when the game has long since finished.
"...the ball comes from the left and Chuba puts it past the keeper for the first goal"
"...the ball is bouncing in front of him and he has to get has to get there first..."
Or even if a game has not yet started
"Coburn starts v Preston on Tuesday"
Anyway- if that's all I've got to moan about I'm a lucky man.
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I didn't know the answer to this.
 
Aztec chimera said:
That actually is one of my biggest annoyances. It's creeping in over here a lot. They are not a singular as they are a team of at least 11 and they represent a town of 250k+. In what way can they be referred to in the singular?
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It actually makes sense to me.....England is a country, so when they say England is playing the USA on Friday there's a certain logic to it (just like when they say England is the largest consumer of US grain etc). Still makes me bristle though!
 
goalscrounger said:
It actually makes sense to me.....England is a country, so when they say England is playing the USA on Friday there's a certain logic to it (just like when they say England is the largest consumer of US grain etc). Still makes me bristle though!
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Its a funny one. I get the 'England is the largest consumer....' one but I would still say 'England are playing the USA.....'.
 
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