Supposably sounds like one of the soft mouthed characters from Fat Albert. It makes me crazy. And since I can be the tinpot dictator of my classroom, I tell kids to NOT say it, that it's a status marking error, same a double negative, that peoplewill make assumptions about their background and education if they do that.

Ahem.

see my big red button? it has supposably written right on it.

Supposably sounds like one of the soft mouthed characters from Fat Albert. It makes me crazy. And since I can be the tinpot dictator of my classroom, I tell kids to NOT say it, that it's a status marking error, same a double negative, that peoplewill make assumptions about their background and education if they do that.

Good. You're completely right.

I wish I got the "zoo, supposably" reference, but it flew right over my head.

Other grammar bete noires (picture the accents please) I think in my head and never articulate because so few people obey those rules: things like the misuse of hopefully.

But when there are status marking errors, and there are plenty, then I point those out because it's crazymaking for me to hear them and say nothing.

And what's great, my students do know them already and probably have since elementary school so they can fix them on their own without me explaining. It's just they so often don't.

So, would sticking in "whoms" where they don't belong be a reverse status marking error in that people would assume you know what you're talking about?

Isn't it really "betes noir"?

(I don't know. . . just extrapolating from something French. . . which I cannot remember.)

I wish I got the "zoo, supposably" reference, but it flew right over my head.

Friends.

Isn't it really "betes noir"?

Nope. Bêtes noirs. The adjective (noir, black) will need to agree with the noun (bêtes, beasts).

noires

Oops.

Things that make me a little crazy:

shrimps
acks instead of ask (said by the librarian at my school last year ALL THE TIME)
strategical as an adj.(Howie on BB6, I'm looking at you)