(Writing this comment in the style it describes is self-referential and confusing, and I might get it wrong, but I’m going to give it a go.)
It’s often good to start out with self-deprecation (if not self-reference). Something like “English can be a bit odd” or “English has traps for the unwary” and then gently segue into what’s bugging you and what’s right and what’s wrong.
We’ve got to at least try to be nice, even if the natural instinct might be to be offended and direct.
There’s a meme on my homepage at the moment that uses the template of Gordon Ramsay giving a hug versus calling someone a donkey. The underlying gag it’s being used for isn’t all that important. The point is most people would prefer the hug from the expert rather than the alternative.
It would be even better if we could give the scientific, linguistic reason as to why other than just “it sounds wrong”, but, yes, that’d be really going the extra mile. Most of us have no idea (myself included), precious little idea on what exactly to go research, and the recipient might not be able to do much with that information anyway.
I will undoubtedly fail at following this advice myself at some point. Hopefully, this isn’t it.
(Writing this comment in the style it describes is self-referential and confusing, and I might get it wrong, but I’m going to give it a go.)
It’s often good to start out with self-deprecation (if not self-reference). Something like “English can be a bit odd” or “English has traps for the unwary” and then gently segue into what’s bugging you and what’s right and what’s wrong.
We’ve got to at least try to be nice, even if the natural instinct might be to be offended and direct.
There’s a meme on my homepage at the moment that uses the template of Gordon Ramsay giving a hug versus calling someone a donkey. The underlying gag it’s being used for isn’t all that important. The point is most people would prefer the hug from the expert rather than the alternative.
It would be even better if we could give the scientific, linguistic reason as to why other than just “it sounds wrong”, but, yes, that’d be really going the extra mile. Most of us have no idea (myself included), precious little idea on what exactly to go research, and the recipient might not be able to do much with that information anyway.
I will undoubtedly fail at following this advice myself at some point. Hopefully, this isn’t it.