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Yes, but he is Australian!

Actually it's so easy - just miss out the "Greg and" and see which sounds right.

Thanks, ChrisE - and I don't know why I typed 'John' again instead of putting 'Greg'. It's maybe the latter's gurning faces that makes me blot him from my mind!

PS Being Australian is no excuse.

There are local variations, though. Around here you will almost exclusively hear "I were" and "they was".
(I don't correct my golf companions!)

H'mm, I'll give John the benefit of the doubt, though that's only because the series finishes soon and I won't have to listen to him for much longer!

Malone - have you also blotted Gurningg Gregg Wallace's third 'g' from your mind?

Spoffy, I have terrible trouble with Gregg (Wallace), Greggs, the sandwich place and Greg, my nephew. They all get variations from time to time!

Malone

Very pleased this thread has been revived. My neighbour's son is Greig (Christian name) pronounced Greg, and I think there was an England cricketer of that surname. I see you got a "spam" clue in the Times yesterday. Looking forward to more reports from you and jigger.

Thanks, Grunger. I was concerned that I might be monopolising this thread - 'I think this...', 'I dislike this', ''I get annoyed when...' so I was hoping other people would join in!

It's always good to see what other things, uses of English, irritate other Forum users. Other people's moans can be very satisfying.

I don't know whether anyone has mentioned these but here goes. I'm a member of an amateur operatic & dramatic society and I daren't mention the number of times someone has talked about a single rostra or wondered if they could borrow a chaise lonje (sic) . Yesterday I lost count of the number of times the word amachewer came up at rehearsal. That was eventually corrected though.

Thanks, Dandybandy. I'd wince - but only a little - at the singular 'rostra' and the 'chaise lonje'. I think foreign words that are now used in English are often tricky, for all sorts of reasons. I had a friend who got annoyed if anyone said 'cul-de-sacs'. Th at used to be considered an incorrect plural, but it is now widely accepted. And I feel it should be accepted - if not, we should all be using the foreign pronunciation as well as the spelling.

Although the 'amachewer' is a little irritating, it doesn't bother me unduly.