GIP

[kniteracy]

That's it. No message. Well, other than the fact that the word 'anyways' really annoys me. And comma splices kind of bug me, too.

I know I've asked this before, but what's your favourite grammar gripe?

Comments

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Also, "Hopefully, it won't rain today."

Does the speaker mean that he or she hopes that it will not rain, or that it will not rain, but it will perform the not raining in a hopeful manner?

Ooh, I hate that.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that one doesn't affect me, I don't interpret it as anything except the first meaning ("It won't rain today, hopefully" is however ambiguous).

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know what they mean. But that's the whole point of some of these foibles, what people mean isn't what they say. This one just bugs the crap out of me for some reason.

[ci5rod.livejournal.com]

Doesn't the comma disambiguate that?

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Meaningwise, for colloquial speech, perhaps, but not grammatically because "hopefully" is still an adverb. In that sentence, it can only modify the verb, meaning that it is not raining in a hopeful manner. What the speaker would mean is "I hope it doesn't rain."