Old saying, grammar and semantics

[GrantRobertson]

"...you know what happens when you assume."

Instead of the standard line, I always tell people, "It makes an ass of 'u' in front of 'me.'" The way I see it, them assuming something certainly doesn't make an ass of me. (That is, UNTIL I point out the stupidity of their assumption. But we won't count that.) [emoji12]

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Truthfully, I got so sick of hearing that line that for years now, I use the word presume instead of assume.  I'm sure it frustrates the hell out of people who are in love with that line.

Regards
John

 

[sephson]

Then there's the ever fun "There's no I in team!".

[video=youtube]

 

[GrantRobertson]

These words are used interchangeably in 'common' language, however, technically they have a different meaning.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/assume-or-presume

Guy

However, if you have read Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, then you know a lot of the time people are presuming when even they, themselves, think they are assuming. We make a lot of suppositions based on probability using our internal dataset built up over a lifetime of experience. Sure, we can't offer proof, in the form of numbers and statistics. But, then again, when experts presume someone dead, they didn't actually calculate that either. They just go on past experience. These people just have a larger, hopefully less biased internal dataset. It's like when Kirk told Spock, in The Journey Home, "I'll take your guess over someone else's calculation any day."

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

These words are used interchangeably in 'common' language, however, technically they have a different meaning.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/assume-or-presume

Guy

English is a fascinating language.  Take your basic German - courtesy of the Angles and Saxons - and add healthy amounts of Celtic, courtesy of the original Britons, Latin, courtesy of the Romans, Old Norse, courtesy of the Danes, and old French, courtesy of the Normans.  Mix well and let simmer for several hundred years.

I love the fact that flammable and inflammable mean exactly the same thing.

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

As these days, so do.....
Cool and Hot
Good and Bad

 

[GrantRobertson]

I love the fact that flammable and inflammable mean exactly the same thing.

Yeah, chats one of my favorites too.

And when was the last time anyone ever "raveled" a sweater.

 

[GrantRobertson]

Yeah, chats one of my favorites too.

Dang, I hate autocorrect. It seems to have gotten worse with this latest update of Android.

 

[Gary68]

Then there's the ever fun "There's no I in team!".

[video=youtube]

but there is a m and e

 

[TMG51]

Then there's the ever fun "There's no I in team!".

[video=youtube]

You're all about that red vs blue lately. I haven't seen that stuff since high school...

 

[sephson]

The clips just happened to fit the posts I replied to. It also helps that they're short, so they shouldn't be an issue for members with limited bandwidth.

 

[66788]

These words are used interchangeably in 'common' language, however, technically they have a different meaning.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/assume-or-presume

Guy

Do you think anyone under the age of 50 will understand the subtle differences between assume and presume?

Hell, they can't even use YOUR, YOU'RE, THERE, THEY'RE, AND THEIR, ACCEPT, EXCEPT, AFFECT, EFFECT properly.

I went to elementary school in the 50s and the educational system has been down hill since then.

 

[LeeRevell]

My third grade teacher, Mrs. McKenzie, taught us basic English skills in the mid sixties.  I still use them.  It irks me when folks who know better don't bother.  But no need to get another grammar furball started.

 

[akrvbob]

NO! No need for that at all! In fact they are certain to be deleted.

Bob

 

[ACagedTraveller]

Do you think anyone under the age of 50 will understand the subtle differences between assume and presume?

Hell, they can't even use YOUR, YOU'RE, THERE, THEY'RE, AND THEIR, ACCEPT, EXCEPT, AFFECT, EFFECT properly.

I went to elementary school in the 50s and the educational system has been down hill since then.

I do not plan to invoke the anger of a moderator, but I simply want to respond towards the post of 66788. I remain under the age of 50 at this time. The verb assume means to make a claim without evidence while presume means to produce a claim with the support of probability. The word "Your" has a possessive meaning. An example of this appears as "That towel remain under your control." The contraction "You're" represents the phrase "you are." The word "There" represents a direction or location. An example of this phrase appears in the quote "The college plans to relocate over there." The contraction "they're" represents the contraction of the pronoun they and the "are" form of the verb "be." The word "their" acts as the possessive form of a third person pronoun. An example of this word appears in the sentence "That group remains under their control." The word "accept" means to agree towards a condition or a transference of an object. The word "except" means to exclude a certain item or area. The word "Affect" remains a verb while the word "effect" remains a noun.

 

[mockturtle]

How about 'media'? It's actually a plural noun but not even the media get it right. In the final analysis, nobody cares. And maybe it really doesn't matter. There are probably more pressing issues to be resolved.

 

[StarEcho]

My favorite is the response to a thank you. I'm always on my kids when I thank them and they respond with no problem, no biggie or something along that line. I was brought up to consider that a flip and disrespectful response. Kinda casual and not caring. My thought was that if someone took the time to thank you for your action or gift or whatever, it deserved a considered and heartfelt You're welcome!

But that said, in other languages, you're welcome literally translates to it's nothing so I guess it's just a product of my age and upbringing.

 

[FALCON]

One that bothers me these days is people say "I/we haven't [....] in a minute". And by minute, they mean weeks, months, or even years. Then there is also "hot minute" which means something else.