I am not conscious of this being a UK thing; it’s just how it makes sense to me.
Yeah, this is certainly logical, and like RobinZ I’ve seen other people do it for the same reason. It happens to also be what’s taught in UK/world English, as opposed to US English, or at least such is my understanding. It startles me when I see it, though, presumably because the US rules were so thoroughly ingrained in me as a child that it seems to mismatch an otherwise good impression of someone’s grasp of grammar.
In case it’s not clear enough, I don’t think less of you for using that syntax; I’m just probiing my reaction to it.
Can you give me examples?
Uh, hm. I’m not sure, actually; I don’t know where your comfort zone lies! Sex is usually a good bet; I’ve also used that field for things I’m not embarrassed by but can be shy about mentioning because some people are dicks about it. Things I can remember having there at some point, or could have, include:
I don’t know how to ride a bike (which was true until I was 23).
I don’t drink coffee or alcohol—not because of any code of conduct, just taste.
I’m pretty difficult to bring to orgasm. No one has ever done it within a couple weeks of a first attempt.
There are flaws in these; the second one makes me sound boring, and the latter two both result in dumbasses saying things like “you just haven’t tried the right drink/dick yet.” But they’re examples of things in the personal-but-not-too-personal set for me.
I know how to ride a bike, but don’t have and have never had a driver’s license—but that isn’t private at all. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol either, but one’s clearly stated in the sidebar and the other seems irrelevant and also not private at all (and I answered a question about it). And my analogy to the last case would seem to invite messages that, as you say, are not welcome.
Yeah, this is certainly logical, and like RobinZ I’ve seen other people do it for the same reason. It happens to also be what’s taught in UK/world English, as opposed to US English, or at least such is my understanding. It startles me when I see it, though, presumably because the US rules were so thoroughly ingrained in me as a child that it seems to mismatch an otherwise good impression of someone’s grasp of grammar.
In case it’s not clear enough, I don’t think less of you for using that syntax; I’m just probiing my reaction to it.
Uh, hm. I’m not sure, actually; I don’t know where your comfort zone lies! Sex is usually a good bet; I’ve also used that field for things I’m not embarrassed by but can be shy about mentioning because some people are dicks about it. Things I can remember having there at some point, or could have, include:
I don’t know how to ride a bike (which was true until I was 23).
I don’t drink coffee or alcohol—not because of any code of conduct, just taste.
I’m pretty difficult to bring to orgasm. No one has ever done it within a couple weeks of a first attempt.
There are flaws in these; the second one makes me sound boring, and the latter two both result in dumbasses saying things like “you just haven’t tried the right drink/dick yet.” But they’re examples of things in the personal-but-not-too-personal set for me.
I know how to ride a bike, but don’t have and have never had a driver’s license—but that isn’t private at all. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol either, but one’s clearly stated in the sidebar and the other seems irrelevant and also not private at all (and I answered a question about it). And my analogy to the last case would seem to invite messages that, as you say, are not welcome.