"REFUTE"

[ebee]

Why is this modern incorrect use of this term (" I refute that") when they have not refutted it at all?

To refute is to prove that an accusation is wrong and not purely to deny it!

I think it could be poloticians that deliberately use this word so wrongly. might have even been a certain Mr Archer used it first

 

[Brigadier]

"Language evolves."

 

[motorbiking]

Take it back to its Latin origin and you can see that it means to present an alternative argument.

 

[Notch7]

Why is this modern incorrect use of this term (" I refute that") when they have not refutted it at all?

To refute is to prove that an accusation is wrong and not purely to deny it!

I think it could be poloticians that deliberately use this word so wrongly. might have even been a certain Mr Archer used it first

I get irritate by the trend for starting a sentence with “So……”

 

[motorbiking]

School children are sometimes incorrectly taught not to start a sentence with a conjunction.

 

[Stivino]

I get irritate by the trend for starting a sentence with “So……”

Absolutely, at the start of a sentence, is the one that irks me.

 

[MNW67]

Absolutely, at the start of a sentence, is the one that irks me.

Starting a sentence with "So" is fine when used properly. For instance, when you are making a logical argument, where one point leads to the next. But the modern trend of using it more as an affectation is extremely annoying.

 

[Brigadier]

Starting a sentence with "So" is fine when used properly. For instance, when you are making a logical argument, where one point leads to the next. But the modern trend of using it more as an affectation is extremely annoying.

It seems to be the equivalent of "erm", a verbal crutch so to speak.

 

[MNW67]

It seems to be the equivalent of "erm", a verbal crutch so to speak.

True. It is definitely more of a problem in spoken English. Lots of TV news reporters also use it as a kind of fake segue. But with written English, "So" is often just a less formal alternative to "Therefore", when used at the start of a sentence. I have used it a lot, both in law and science, depending on the audience.

 

[motorbiking]

Therefore, Thus, etc..

It's fascinating that people who can clearly understand what a person is saying have a problem with how they say it.

I don't think I'd start a sentence with So in a contract.

 

[Highway Man]

I get irritate by the trend for starting a sentence with “So……”

So what.

 

[morqthana]

School children are sometimes incorrectly taught not to start a sentence with a conjunction.

And many other incorrect things.

 

[morqthana]

Absolutely, at the start of a sentence, is the one that irks me.

You could try irking them back by asking "Because of what?"