Quick English language tip for international SWeeps!

In "standard" English, questions are often formed using the word "do" in a way that doesn't seem to come naturally to English learners.

Here are some examples:

Non-standard: Why people like ice cream?
Standard: Why do people like ice cream?

Non-standard: Why you play so many video games?
Standard: [b]Why do you play so many video games?
[/b]
Non-standard: What "copacetic" means?
Standard: What does "copacetic" mean?

I am posting this because the non-standard variations are very common on SW and they always aggravate me; and I know I am not the only person who feels aggravated.

If you are not going to post in your own beautiful languages, but in English, the more standard your English, the less aggravating it will be to sensitive people like me 😂

You're welcome 🤓

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slowmarch · M

I agree with what you say. I have just finished reading the seventh book of Cormac McCarthy. When I was at schoolteachers always reminded pupils to not forget to use the 66 99 quotation marks. Cormac McCarthy does not use them at all, which kind of throws correct grammar out of the window. I also noted in the book "Forever" by Judy Blume that her conversations are mainly covered by the use of ellipses... other than having to go to new conversations. Matters little anyhow it is just an early morning gripe, but I do wonder if an editor would accept a book for publishing without the dialogue being void of quotation marks. Cormac McCarthy found one that did.

SW-User

@slowmarch I tend to assume that renowned authors know what they are doing and have some literary reason for these choices -- but I agree with you! A colleague of mine published a book on an important social and political topic that does not use capital letters. so every sentence starts without a capital, like this. this was so disorienting to me that I couldn't keep reading it. why he did this or why editors let him, I don't know!