Sheath or Sheaf?

[sam_acw]

Split infinitives are not really wrong. It occurred in the Victorian era due to classical influence. As Latin infinitives where single words yet English ones are two it became a sign of poor education to split them.
Other things like "I'm going to go" another bane of English teachers are likewise grammatically acceptable but poor stylistically. I could have a long list of things like starting sentences with conjunctions mixing think and thing and the dreaded letter "Haitch" (It's aitch for H)
English is a language spoken largely by non natives and it is going to change and simplify more and more in the future.
Firefox also has an automatic spell checker.:tapedshut

P.S. If it is "Boldy, to go" it needs a comma:You_Rock_

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

I cannot begin to describe the relief this invaluable thread has given me. I have lain awake night after night pondering over correctly spelt knife masking descriptive possibilities and now may rest easy

The votes are totally convincing here Silverback - s.o.r.r.y. to say I told you so but it looks like it is "sheath"

Phil.

 

[rancid badger]

Errm I apologise, okay, right here right now, I shouldn't do this. But I'm going to.

Since we are going to be the language police...

In your sentence, you are implying an abbreviation rather than a possessive pronoun so the word you are looking for is you're. Equally the plural of knife is knives not knive's.

I'm absolutely not having a dig (really), but yes, the right word is sheath. However we all make typos or misuse words.

Who cares?

Red

Our lass tells me off for this all the time! I still think it is all to do with the weather, personally(sp?), meself like.

Very kind regardless
R.B.:

 

[Shinken]

Hello, BUSHCRAFT forum

 

[Silverback]

The votes are totally convincing here Silverback - s.o.r.r.y. to say I told you so but it looks like it is "sheath"

Phil.

Fair play to you mate you were in fact correct although I did feel your offer at the time to settle the arguement with a bit of naked mud wrestling was taking things a little far

 

[bushwacker bob]

Hello, BUSHCRAFT forum

used to be.:11doh:

 

[Northern Giant UK]

Martyn

Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Giant UK View Post
My fellow Meldrews!

I'm with you all the way, I'm dyslexic and I find it aggravating in the extreme. . If I can be bothered to check my spelling then why can't someone without this problem do the same?

Knifes - Knive's

PS.
I have been known to out Meldrew a Meldrew

I think the plural of knife is knives without the apostrophe.

Oh, and dont forget though it is often used incorrectly as the plural, there is a legitimate use of knifes, in the form of a transitive verb. For example, to use a knife on, to stab or wound with a knife.

Yay, I'm a Meldrew.

Ahem. . ."dont" surely don't

My apologies, however i was paraphrasing Rancid badger at the time.

Personal note. . . never trust a Rancid Badgers punctuation!

PS.
I would have replied earlier but I had to rebuild my keyboard. . .Don't ask!

 

[Martyn]

Martyn



Ahem. . ."dont" surely don't

Touche, sloppy of me.

 

[British Red]

Surely "touché" has an acute accent?

 

[andyn]

Obviously the correct spelling of sheaf was known before this thread and this is just a conspiracy!

Don't listen to 'em Silverback it is definately sheaf!

 

[Eric_Methven]

I'd pay good money to see naked mud wrestling.

Eric

 

[risby]

There is a difference between evolving and degenerating I think.

Many people seem to think that evolving implies improving whereas in fact it means changing better to fit the prevailing conditions. I think the onus is on the naysayers here to prove that current English language trends are degenerate.

As an example, take the use of "wicked" to mean "rather pleasant actually". Those who use the term in that way now have two meanings for the word; this is an increase in complexity of their vocabulary rather than its "dumbing down". I believe either of the intended meanings could be perceived easily by context or tone.

I suggested to someone a while ago that they should use "subtract" rather than "minus" in their phrase "... you have to minus the three years ...". When I arksed my children about this use (and their use of "times" instead of "multiply") they said they knew it was "right" to use "subtract" and "multiply" but they didn't want to sound like, like a nerd (like me), like.

My point being that new trends add to the language rather than being degenerate forms.

 

[leon-1]

It would appear that the very common write it how it sounds theory has caught up with the dialectually challenged "yoof ov tuday".

This stems from a chronic loss of the use of phonetics (foe-net-icks) in schools and school (S-cool) books (B-ooks).

Of course the use of "ook" in phonetics is quite appropriate for the "yoof ov tuday" as they appear to be regressing though their primate past, quite soon they will be swinging from trees and wildly waving their arms above their heads. Something that also shows this is the increase in hair (says the man with a beard), it is not just the way that it has increased in length, it is the way it is kept or not as the case may be.

I am not turning into my Grandfather, but like him I do believe that the miscreants on the streets should be strapped to a gun carriage and flogged before being enrolled into a penal regiment and sent to places that nobody else would want to go to.

Now this does not make me old fashioned or grumpy or even grouchy, just practical

 

[sam_acw]

It is unlikely to come back - it is even out of vogue in EFL in Europe. There is a strong argument that it is a waste of time to learn a tool for pronunciation when pronunciation itself is often taught as a secondary part of a lesson.
We need to realise that kids are going to get worse every year until their parents are once again allowed to punish them as they see fit.

 

[BorderReiver]

There is far worse....
Prolly for Probably :yikes:
People who say Somethink
And the ever occuring addition to every sentence "Innit" or "You know what I mean?" or "Yea!"

We really should be able to shoot these dimwits on first utterance - the average IQ of the country would skyrocket within days!

Ogri the trog

That should surely be "na ot ah meen? "

 

[Stickle]

Obviously sheath, and that would end with an aitch I think, as opposed to the frequently heard haitch. I'm with you on the rest too.

 

[BorderReiver]

I'd pay good money to see naked mud wrestling.

Eric

I find naked mud quite boring.Still,each to his own.

 

[BorderReiver]

While we're at it,where did "absolutely" come from?

What happened to yes?

Even Radio 4 is full of it.

 

[sam_acw]

You've all got Wimbledon to look forward to soon.
All you will hear for two weeks is "For sure" , not one of them knows any other words!

 

[Tadpole]

I am not turning into my Grandfather, but like him I do believe that the miscreants on the streets should be strapped to a gun carriage and flogged before being enrolled into a penal regiment and sent to places that nobody else would want to go to.

Now this does not make me old fashioned or grumpy or even grouchy, just practical

I am not one to disagree with older and wiser(?) members, but if you want to solve that particular problem, your efforts and time would be better spent if you strap the parents of the youths on the guncarriage, for that is, in my humble opinion, where the real problem lies. To some people find that it is easier to let the ‘idiot box’ in the corner raise their kids than do the job yourself. “There are no bad students just ban teachers”