English grammar murdered on QVC web site

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sillysausage

sillysausage

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Jun 24, 2008
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I was checking out one of the new Elemis kits that Sazza kindly posted about in the new beauty items thread, and this is what the product description of item 227939 says:

"You'll receive Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask (50ml) which, when applied, you'll feel a powerful tingling sensation".

Honestly!! Clearly the English language does not only get mangled on air, but on the web site too! QVC, do you really need an Italian to teach you to write correct English?? :headbang:
 
is it the 'you'll feel' part that you feel is wrong or the

powerfull tingling sensation which is a contradiction grammarically lol

english has become so relaxed these days and people now tend to write and speak more coloqually ( more than made quite a few errors here)

when you are taught a language you tend to speak it better than people who are speaking it as a mother tongue.:thinking2:
 
It's the "which, when applied, you'll feel" that seems wrong to me.

Mistakes like that always make me wonder whether companies will be just as sloppy in other areas of their operations.
 
The "which when applied" should be followed by something like "causes a tingling sensation". Alternatively "when the product is applied you'll feel ..." is correct. However they have written a mixture of the two and it's wrong!
 
Boris Bear said:
The "which when applied" should be followed by something like "causes a tingling sensation". Alternatively "when the product is applied you'll feel ..." is correct. However they have written a mixture of the two and it's wrong!
Click to expand...

Exactly BB! I agree that contemporary English language is becoming more and more colloquial, but I still think that there is (or at least, there ought to be) a difference between spoken and written language, and that the latter should display, IMO, a stricter respect for grammatical rules... However, having studied both Latin and Ancient Greek for upwards of ten years when I was (much) younger, I admit I can get a bit pedantic about grammar (with so-called 'dead' languages grammar is all you have to make sense of texts really).

Still, I think the English language is beautiful, and it pains me to see it mistreated this way! :wink2:
 
An uncomfortable moment for all concerned during last nights 11pm Phillip Kingsley

Posted in wrong thread.

Soz!
 
Last edited:
sillysausage said:
Exactly BB! I agree that contemporary English language is becoming more and more colloquial, but I still think that there is (or at least, there ought to be) a difference between spoken and written language, and that the latter should display, IMO, a stricter respect for grammatical rules... However, having studied both Latin and Ancient Greek for upwards of ten years when I was (much) younger, I admit I can get a bit pedantic about grammar (with so-called 'dead' languages grammar is all you have to make sense of texts really).

Still, I think the English language is beautiful, and it pains me to see it mistreated this way! :wink2:
Click to expand...

Well said. Some grammatical gaffes, written or spoken, hit me between the eyes and I can't bring myself to just dismiss them as colloquial or language evolution.

:angel::angel:
 
sillysausage said:
Exactly BB! I agree that contemporary English language is becoming more and more colloquial, but I still think that there is (or at least, there ought to be) a difference between spoken and written language, and that the latter should display, IMO, a stricter respect for grammatical rules... However, having studied both Latin and Ancient Greek for upwards of ten years when I was (much) younger, I admit I can get a bit pedantic about grammar (with so-called 'dead' languages grammar is all you have to make sense of texts really).

Still, I think the English language is beautiful, and it pains me to see it mistreated this way! :wink2:
Click to expand...

I studied Latin at school too and it's a very logical language, following the same logic when writing something in English would result in fewer mistakes like the one we are discussing.

I also agree about the difference in what is acceptable in written or spoken language. I think things like mailshots, adverts etc. should be checked. and therefore be correct but there's a bit more leeway in everyday spoken language. If I went into a pub and there was a mistake on a menu on a blackboard I would class that as an individual mistake, however I would expect the printed menu to have been checked and have no mistakes.

My old boss used to laugh and me and say I was really good at finding people's mistakes!
 
sillysausage said:
Exactly BB! I agree that contemporary English language is becoming more and more colloquial, but I still think that there is (or at least, there ought to be) a difference between spoken and written language, and that the latter should display, IMO, a stricter respect for grammatical rules... However, having studied both Latin and Ancient Greek for upwards of ten years when I was (much) younger, I admit I can get a bit pedantic about grammar (with so-called 'dead' languages grammar is all you have to make sense of texts really).

Still, I think the English language is beautiful, and it pains me to see it mistreated this way! :wink2:
Click to expand...

I am very passionate about the English language (using it is a vital tool for me, of course), and about the correct use of grammar. I can see how (when speaking or, sometimes, writing) that it might be acceptable to let it slide a bit. And there are even times when following grammar perfectly can make a phrase sound, or look ugly or awkward. It can even fail to put across the appropriate feeling. However, when a person, or an organisation is giving information or instructions, grammar can be essential in avoiding confusion. OK, it was fairly obvious what the writer of that little ode meant, but in other circumstances it could easily be misleading, or even cause people to use a product wrongly.
But it is widespread - you get apostrophes thrown all over the place - technically a spelling error, of course. There are weird, sometimes amusing signs such as the wonderful Tesco's 'These doors are alarmed' or M & S's 'medium fresh chickens'! And even some newspapers (both local and national) are guilty of this, so sometimes I fear I am fighting a losing battle!
 
Do they teach grammar in school these days or is it just literature? Is it a required subject?
 
Drives me mad!

Hi :hi:,
I find rogue apostrophes and wrong spellings on posters, menus etc extremely irritating. :headbang: It must be due to all my years of marking when I was a teacher, before I retired. I get this almost uncontrollable urge to correct the errors with a red pen......but I don't, of course!

I find pretentious French menus riddled with mistakes equally annoying. If you are going to use a foreign language on your menu, then you should have it checked out by a proficient or native speaker of the language in question, before having your menu printed, IMHO.:taphead:
 
Just received the TV Guide no. 36 and on the front page at the bottom a blurb for Thursday's Murano gold shows. Murano spelled: Morano.
 
What drives me bonkers is the misuse of apostrophes in plurals, they appear like a plague of tadpoles all over the place, shop signs (Vegetables'), menus, posters etc. Like Plint the ex-teacher in me comes out and I could run amok with a red pen!
 
Do you remember the hoohah about the supermarket sign "10 items or less" and M&S corrected it and have signs that say "10 items or fewer" - correct grammar but sounds odd!
 
concordia said:
Do they teach grammar in school these days or is it just literature? Is it a required subject?
Click to expand...

My son has just done his GCSEs and English Language and English Literature were treated separately. However, it seems to be very different than when I was at school. It seems to be more about creative writing these days, although I think they also do summarising. I was having a convo (sorry!) with my 14 year old daughter a few weeks ago and it came up that they have never been taught how to write a formal letter, which I find quite appalling.
 
There is a time and a place for perfect English. For instance, when my sister sends me an email which is riddled with grammatical errors I don't mind at all, after all she's not the brightest of buttons, and she still manages to get her point across, but on a website or in any other public domain where clear information is absolutely vital, I think bad grammar/spelling is unacceptable. Newspapers for instance are becoming increasingly un-readable in my opinion - I often find myself screaming in despair at the pages because they really ought to know better. The same goes for the QVC website, and their on-screen graphics. Shame on them.
 
Couldn't agree more although it isn't to look down an anyone who gets it wrong, just that it is creeping in everywhere. In the doctor's surgery yesterday several apalling spelling errors came up on the electric message board that the doctor calls you in by. I enjoy going on the QVC website and window shopping but it is littered with spelling and grammar errors that arise from a lack of basic skills or knowledge, e.g. the incorrect spelling of Murano already mentioned. Now I am worried I have dropped a clanger or several in this post.
 
concordia said:
Just received the TV Guide no. 36 and on the front page at the bottom a blurb for Thursday's Murano gold shows. Murano spelled: Morano.
Click to expand...

That was probably just a typing error, although a quick proof-read of it should have sorted it out. I worked as a proof-reader and editor and can tell you that there is probably no book ever published without at least one unspotted error - even when it has been repeatedly (as many as seven or eight times!) read! Human error creeps in from time to time, even with the most diligent among us!
 

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