Friday, February 01, 2008

The contractions are getting worse, doct'r

I just had an IM conversation in which the response to my request for confirmation was:
"Ok, I'll".

This is an amazing use of a contraction. Technically speaking, "I'll" means "I will". Saying "Ok, I will" is a perfectly acceptable response to my request, yet something seems so very wrong about using that contraction there.

Do I think he might do it again? I think he'll.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

most folks won't eat a skunk, but then again some folks'll

rigtenzin said...

I strongly urge all readers to reject this misuse of the language. It's unclear and coarse.

Yours truly,
Mr. Grammarian

rigtenzin said...

Mr. Grammarian has a second thought on this subject. A colleague reminded Mr. Grammarian that the communication occurred over IM and that within IM conversations anything is allowed. With that understanding in mind, Mr. Grammarian gives his seal of approval for such contractions. After all, communication is secondary to the fun and creativity the world of IM allows.

Now, dear readers, go back to Twitter or Delicious or whatever other new development has you in its spell.