Where did this spring from?

FlutterinBantam

Lately I have noticed this scenario occurring both in the media and in real life.

On a radio show today an contributor made a statement and the respondent anwsered with "I am not understanding that"

What happened to "I do not understand that.... "

Similarly when asked for my address recently the operator in a call centre said"How are you spelling that?"

Answer: I'm not spelling it.

What happened to "How do you spell that?"

'Do you' seems to be moribund now.

Where did this new shít come from??

The Raven.

From the same silly place as a lot of other ridiculous additions to the spoken English, I suppose. One person uses it, then others think it's 'cool' :cool::rolleyes:!!

Yakuza

One possibility is that when you're dealing with someone for whom English is not their first language, they use the present continuous ("I am xxxing") when they should be using the simple present (present progressive?) as the way their brains are wired from their mother tongue is different ("They don't think like us" )

It's another thing completely if a native English speaker comes out with mush "I'm not understanding that". The grammar truncheon needs to be applied with great gusto in that case.

The Raven.

That seems plausible. I don’t know what foreign languages use the present continuous instead of the simple present tense. In English it reminds me of the fabricated alien or robotic language of early sci-fi films and serials, or a badly written Teach Yourself English book.

I like the idea of a ‘grammar truncheon’ !!

FlutterinBantam

In both cases the potential recipricants of the "Grammar truncheon" were Irish.

Sleipnir

"I wouldn't be wanting to move it"


Me: "What's the story with those holidays, have you asked Derek if I can have them off?"
Work colleague: "I'll project it to him"
Me": "..........you mean you'll ask him?"
Her: "Yes"
Me : "....oh.....kay......"

FlutterinBantam

"Have them off" ??

Holidays by definition are already "days off".

The auld "off" is superfluous in this scenario.

Tidy yourself up:D