<p>So is “ain’t” and “brung”, but it is improper grammar. Don’t confuse colloquialism with correct grammar.</p>
<p>I prefer the British spellings…they invented the language for god’s sake.</p>
<p>Chillin, you said: “I didn’t know we were supposed to be a nation of vigilantes, watching out for other people’s children.”</p>
<p>It’s not being a vigilante to care about the safety of others, whether they are children or not. One argument is that it’s in society’s interest. Imagine, for example, the costs to the general public of caring for 3 or 4 paraplegics, injured in a car accident when not wearing their seatbelts.</p>
<p>British spelling or not, snuck is improper english and grammar. It is slang, informal, and not to be used. I am correct; every single english grammar textbook known to man says that snuck is an impropriety. dmd77, stop going back to the OP and ignoring the true facts that snuck is incorrect. Thanks!</p>
<p>I ducked down behind the paperbacks and snuck out, writes Garrison Keillor in Lake Woebegone Days. Should he have sneaked out instead? The past tense snuck is an American invention. It first appeared in the 19th century as a nonstandard regional variant of sneaked. But widespread use of snuck has become more common with every generation. It is now used by educated speakers in all regions. Formal written English is more conservative than other varieties, of course, and here snuck still meets with much resistance. Many writers and editors have a lingering unease about the form, particularly if they recall its nonstandard origins. In fact, in 1990 a review of our citations, exhibiting almost 10,000 instances of sneaked and snuck, indicated that sneaked was preferred by a factor of seven to two. And 67 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of snuck in our 1988 survey. Nevertheless, an examination of recent sources shows that snuck is sneaking up on sneaked. Snuck is almost 20 percent more common in newspaper articles published in 1995 than it was in 1985. Here are some examples from respected publications: He ran up huge hotel bills and then snuck out without paying (George Stade). In the dressing room beforehand, while the NBC technician was making me up, Jesse Jackson snuck up behind me and began playfully powdering my face (Bruce Babbitt). The Reagan administration snuck in some illegal military assistance before that (New Republic). He had snuck away from camp with a cabinmate (Anne Tyler).</p>
<p>It’s the kind of usage that certainly shouldn’t bother anyone on an internet message board if the above writers can use it…
Get over it.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity I looked up “snuck” in World Book dictionary and had to chuckle when the example sentence was: “The presidents of Smith and Vassar promptly snuck across the border.” (Newsweek)</p>
<p>Wildchild, snuck is an american invention. That does not mean that snuck is correct english.
We can say, with full confidence, that “ain’t” is an American invention, yet it is incorrect. Brung is an American invention, but it is incorrect.</p>
<p>mkm, I wouldn’t trust newweek to tell me the correct tenets of english grammar. Plus, your world book dictionary probably used the word as “slang”.
Ain’t is in the dictionary as well, but is still incorrect. I am not convinced, friend!</p>
<p>And it bothers you WHY??? Just curious- looking at your post history- what is your interest in College Confidential? Do you have any interest in college search /admissions or did you just want another forum where you can argue with people?</p>
<p>Yes, it was listed as “informal”. This discussion has been interesting–I honestly do not know which way I hear it spoken the most. Will have to take note :).</p>
<p>I hear a lot the following,"If I was you, I would go."That is said 70% of the time, but is it correct? I don’t think so! I wouldn’t trust a soul about College admissions here on CC. Most of the folks here haven’t a clue about the process themselves. And goodness, I definitely would not accept advice from people who don’t even understand basic grammar. So yes, hearing an editor say,“Snuck is right, kay?” is quite disturbing. Comprendes? Okay, bye bye now!</p>
<p>cgm:</p>
<p>SAFETY should be of paramount importance to the school. The kids had to be breaking at least two Calif laws: seatbelts and driving with others when the driver didn’t have his/her license for 1 year. </p>
<p>GREAT job. :)</p>
<p>Reminds me when I was in high school. We used to sneak down (that means we “snuck”) and talk to the school operator/secretary. She let us use the faculty coke machine. One day she answered a call from a “tattler”. The person reported that 6 kids had left the high school in a convertible (back in the days when you weren’t allowed to leave during the day) and the driver was IN THE BACK SEAT!!</p>
<p>Personally, I thought that backhandgrip had a great idea for dealing with that issue, because in her theoretical handling of the situation, the kids never left the parking lot in the first place. Then, making the principal aware of the lapse in security without naming names set into motion the appropriate measures needed to keep the students from leaving the school grounds in the future. I’m in agreement that something needed to be done, but I know from experience that using a heavy handed approach only when needed makes it all that more effective. And I <em>do</em> have one of my first clients just buying the house across the street!</p>
<p>…What I would have done is walk right up to the car, shake everyone’s hand and say, in a whisper, " you don’t want to do this today." That there is going to a surprise crackdown on off campus trips by students involving suspensions. “Serious stuff is going down today- don’t leave.”"</p>
<p>Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t the above…lying??</p>
<p>^I concur!</p>
<p>I think the staff just went outside and when the car pulled up to drop off the kids, had a little chat…not a big punishment or anything, but a warning</p>
<p>the kids and parents sign a contract agreeing to the rules to stay on campus, and these kids sneeked out</p>
<p>nothing was heavy handed, it was- you have kids sneeking off campus in a car driven by a minor with too many kids</p>
<p>its the parents that don’t care about anybody but their own that bother me</p>
<p>so chillin, when does a parent or other adult step in…</p>
<p>if chillin doesn’t like it, well, as a parent I don’t really care, I will continue to watch out for other kids, I would hope a parent would look out for mine</p>
<p>Yes, but it’s also how it is done. </p>
<p>laxmom; You are missing the point- I stepped in, I changed the situation, I made the officals aware. The matter will be tended to. But there you are whispering to the others, “ooooh, she lied.” Can’t you see a wink of the eye?
Like my kids golfing at the park story, the rules were explained and the kids caught on.Low key is the best policy.
Why? Too many hormones.</p>
<p>I am sure I have “tattled” but since I don’t think of it like that- I just think of it as being “pro-active”</p>
<p>My daughter and her friends have also “tattled” when another friend needed intervention
Not to me, but they had a good enough relationship with the drug-alcohol counselor at school to ask her to help.
I was very proud of them for stepping up to the challenge and not looking the other way :)</p>
<p>We have been taught as children to have negative reactions to the word “tattle.” I do believe it is not tattling to try to prevent a more serious problem from occuring. It is concern for fellow beings. </p>
<p>Tattling is telling on someone with the sole desire of seeing the other person get in trouble.</p>
<p>Having our kids “tell on” was the only way we could have survived fostering. These kids had some serious acting out problems, and I couldn’t possibly be with them every single moment. I asked my kids to inform me and let me deal with it so they didn’t feel the responsibility to parent. </p>
<p>I live in Germany, where tattling is the national pasttime. People call the police regularly to report someone making noise during quiet times (between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., noon and 1 or 2:00, all day Sunday, and all holidays), for example. Or not shoveling their sidewalk. Or playing frisbee on the soccer field. Friends of mine had the police show up at their door on a Sunday when they had company, and had had the audacity to play a guitar.</p>
<hr>
<p>And yes, before the grammar police come, I realize that “parent” is not a verb. Deal with it. I believe in verbification of nouns. I also believe that informal American English is acceptable on CC, as are misspellings - unless they are from an Ivy-wannabe. And those who wish to use the Queen’s English had better make sure they say things like “going to hospital” (no article) or “biscuits” for cookies or “tailback” for traffic jam… My D has had her “English” (as a foreign language) teacher make all sorts of corrections to her papers. </p>
<p>And comprende is not proper English. I’m telling.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>“If I were you…” I would use the subjunctive case in the sentence you postulate.</p>
<p>This happened to a friend of mine:</p>
<p>She noticed a carload of teenage boys had driven down her street (her street is a dead end). While she looked out of her front window, she noticed the car had turned around and was coming her way again.</p>
<p>One of the boys was on top of the car roof, there was no driver or passengers in the car, and the other boys were videotaping the whole stunt!</p>
<p>The car went out of control, the boy on top of the car roof fell off and the other boys had to run to catch up with and gain control of the car. The boys piled into the car and drove off.</p>
<p>What the boy on the roof didn’t know was that his wallet had fallen out of his pocket when he fell. My friend picked up the wallet and was able to call the boy’s mother on the phone.</p>
<p>“Hello, I found little Johnny’s wallet and I wondered if you’d would like to pick it up from my house?” When Johnny’s mom came to pick up the wallet, my friend said, “Well, I have to tell you the circumstances surrounding how I found your son’s wallet.”</p>
<p>The mother was aghast! She took Johnny’s driver’s license out of his wallet and said that Johnny won’t be needing THIS any time soon!</p>
<p>As for whistleblowing on other’s kids, I appreciate it when I hear from another person something my kids are doing that may be illegal or dangerous. Better to hear from another parent than having to bail the kid out of jail or standing watch at the hospital bed.</p>