Football Burp‘s very own Jermaine Pedant enjoys nothing more than strolling back and forth in his professor’s gown, casting scholarly gazes over his fellow professionals’ online scribblings.
Each week, he homes in on a few choice instances of common grammatical failings and raps on them repeatedly with his disciplinary cane until we’ve all jolly well learnt to treat the Queen and her English with the utmost respect. Read on for this week’s lessons…
Peter Schmeichel
The former Manchester United goalkeeper doesn’t agree with zonal marking…
@robbiesavage8 that’s marking in zones for you rather than going man for man. I don’t understand why anyone’sis doing it
— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) January 6, 2013
Jermaine Pedant says… Set piece situations seem to be descending into farce what with all the jersey-tugging and whatnot, and I’d venture to nominate the end of your tweet, Peter, as the literary equivalent of Ryan Shawcross climbing all over Marouane Fellaini before getting headbutted in the face.
Do you mean to say that you can’t understand why anyone’s sister marks zonally? I personally can’t understand a lot of things my sisters do, so I wouldn’t put it past them to defend set pieces in this manner.
Happy new year, class!
Lucas Leiva
Liverpool’s Brazilian midfielder was pleased at his side’s FA Cup win at Mansfield Town…
Important to get trough the next round. Well done boys .
— Lucas Leiva (@LucasLeiva87) January 6, 2013
Jermaine Pedant says… Why would you need a trough for the next round? Are you planning on taking a number of farmyard animals with you to Oldham Athletic? Or do you feel it necessary that the 4th round of the FA Cup constitute the low point in your current business cycle?
Perhaps you were at a public house with such enthusiastic drinkers that you deemed a trough necessary for consumption of the next round?
Hmmm?
Remember: it’s not sarcasm if its intention is to educate.
Jody Morris
The Bristol City midfielder was looking back over the weekend’s action…
2 things from yesterday’s footie…Gigg’s pass and Van P’s control and finish….And the Lamptey equalling Kerry’s record… #oooof
— jody morris (@morriskid) January 6, 2013
Jermaine Pedant says… Admit it, Jody: you just guessed that second apostrophe placement, didn’t you? The only other plausible take, I surmise, is that you think Manchester United’s veteran midfielder to be called Ryan Gigg, in which case I must condemn your failure to learn otherwise during the twenty-plus years of his top-flight football career.
The possessive form of singular nouns and pronouns ending with the letter ‘s’ is a common source of confusion. From what I’ve observed, many would opt for an ‘s’ + apostrophe ending – eg. Giggs’, Lucas’, James’, lens’ – but this is how one forms the plural possessive, as in footballers’ wives or Cup Winners’ Cup. What Jody requires is an ‘s’ + apostrophe + another ‘s’, ie. Giggs’s, Lucas’s, James’s or lens’s.
Furthermore, I wasn’t aware that Nii Lamptey was still playing, let alone had equalled Kerry Dixon’s record of goals for Chelsea.
Robert Snodgrass
The Norwich City winger was wryly observing people’s new year habits…
Morning people . Bet a few gyms will be busy today sweating the alcohol out them . Why everybody always say ” a will start after new year “
— Robert snodgrass (@robsnodgrass7) January 2, 2013
Jermaine Pedant says… Robert, well done on proving your worth as a top flight footballer this season, but please see to it that your sentence structure ceases to plummet such depths as indicating that gyms will be sweating alcohol out of them, as opposed to the people inside them.
You may of course have been decorating the scene with surrealist imagery – after all, gyms sweating has a certain ‘hamburgers eating people’ quality about it – and if this is indeed the case then I do so humbly apologise.
I could ‘go to town’ on the rest of your tweet – starting with “why everybody always”, which I cannot help but hear spoken in the voice of Harry Hill’s puppet friend Stoufer – but I have other pupils to educate.
See me at the end of the lesson.
Mick Quinn
The former Newcastle United and Coventry City striker was on hand with a news update…
Looks like Bye Bye Ba,currently in talks with Chelsea
— mick quinn (@mickquinn1089) December 30, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… There’s no need to capitalise ‘bye bye’, unless of course you were knowingly mimicking the hit song “Bye Bye Baby”, in which case…
See me.
Joe Ledley
The Celtic midfielder was spoilt for choice…
To many good films on at the same time…
— Joe ledley (@joe16led) December 24, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… That reads as if you’re proposing a toast to there being many good films on at the same time. Presumably this was not your intention, so remember this: you can’t be too careful when it comes to basic homonyms.
Jonas Gutierrez
The Newcastle United midfielder was reflecting on his side’s gutsy 4-3 defeat at Manchester United…
Really enjoy the performance of all the team, now we have to think in arsenal
— jonas gutierrez (@elgalgojonas) December 26, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… Newcastle United have an arsenal, and it’s where you go to think? What a bizarre dual revelation.
You did of course mean that you would think of or about Arsenal, the capitalised football club, and if you’d done this instead then you mightn’t have lost that match 7-3.
One week’s deten…no, you’ve suffered enough.
Ryan Bennett
The Norwich City defender was bemoaning a dangerous driver…
That guy who was just in front of me out ground is lucky I didn’t have my son in car nearly done me twice blatantly! Close to driving of rod
— Ryan Bennett (@ryanbennett_22) December 26, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… Who’s Rod, and what makes his driving so bad?
Guffaw! Please excuse my frivolity, the Christmas spirit does linger somewhat.
Rodney Marsh
The former Manchester City, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers striker was coining…
New adjective in the dictionary. Ventky’d
— Rodney Marsh (@RodneyMarsh10) December 27, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… Venky’d.
Next.
Spencer Prior
The former Southend United, Norwich City, Leicester City, Derby County, Manchester City and Cardiff City defender cried foul on a bad tackle…
I’m all for players being aggressive, but Tommy Rogic could of broke the boys leg. No interest in “he’s not that type of player” rubbish
— Spencer Prior (@spencerprior) December 27, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… Yes, he could have.
So many to get through this week. Yeesh.
James Wallace
The Tranmere Rovers midfielder lost his heads…
Can’t believe @adammcgurk11 is coming the doctors with me in a onesie my heads fell off walking in with him haha twitter.com/jwallace38/sta…
— James Wallace (@jwallace38) December 27, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… How many heads did you have, exactly?
Furthermore, how are you still tweeting given that your head has fallen off? How has life changed for you since your head fell off?
Note the difference between the past participle and perfect tense.
Star Pupil: Sylvain Distin
The Everton defender was reflecting on the Toffees’ 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic…
Pissed off not to keep a clean sheet but the 3 points makes me feel better…
— Sylvain Distin (@sylvaind15tin) December 26, 2012
Jermaine Pedant says… Herein lies a point of great intrigue for me personally: does “the 3 points” constitute a singular or a plural in this particular context? My esteemed colleague Morten Gamst-Pedantsen argues that the plurality of points should be reflected in the attendant verb, and Sylvain should therefore have written “the 3 points make me feel better”.
However, I would counter this theory on the pretext that Sylvain is placated not by each of the points individually but by the sense of achievement associated with them collectively; in this sense, “the three points” is merely a synonym for ‘win’, and therefore Sylvain is correct.
Well done, Sylvain.
Now I must take my leave, for I am to return to Stoke on the morrow. Class dismissed!