Not everyone does it, though. I mean technically yes, it's required grammatically, but it's one of those rules that isn't always obeyed. It's a mistake but common enough to be aware of it.
Except we are talking about the English language. And it does have rules, they are called grammar. Plus, you're using the bandwagon fallacy. Just because a lot of people do it doesn't make it right.
Yeah; I first heard about this from a German speaker who was complaining about it. He said that you could mangle 99% of English Grammar — no problem. But! you get the order-of-adjectives slightly wrong, and a native English speaker will look at you like you're from Mars. His second complaint is that the rule is rarely taught to native English speakers, such that they (we) don't even know how hard of a rule it is.
Sometimes it has its place. Can you imagine a public speaker making errors like this? I think it detracts from the message. Public, and especially popularly read stuff should be as correct as humanely possible. Good grammar is a habit, improved by repeat exposure.
Correct grammar is important in a discussion of grammar, is it not?
They don't "recognize" it any more than anyone else, in recognizing that people use it. It's still grammatically incorrect.
My "belief" isn't so much based on what I learned but on how the language has been used. I'm not a student of grammar, I'm a computer scientist.
Yes, there is no "central authority", but then you appeal to authority throughout the rest of your comment.
Stallman really does cover that well in his essay:
"Every language has grammar rules. They are in the minds of speakers of the language — including, for English, me. The fact that they weren't decided by an official edict doesn't mean these rules are a trivial matter; demanding people change their grammar rules is an affront. You might succeed in convincing me to change the English grammar rules in my mind, but don't you dare demand it".
Does it really matter? I mean, few people will misunderstand that phrase, since it's used so often. Proper grammar is just a transitory convention; what's important is that the message gets across.
(As you pointed out), 'on-premise' is used very often (according to google trends as much or more than on-premise). There's an argument to be made that language is about how people use it and not the theoretical rules of grammar - and therefore if a 'mistake' is done often enough it should no longer be considered a mistake.
Idiomatic _American_ English, perhaps, but even otherwise, it's still a grammatical error. Just one that's become ubiquitous to the point that speakers in one place don't care or don't notice.
Agreed. Grammar's just norms of communication, and norms depend on context. So treat the violation of them as such - sometimes it matters, sometimes it don't.
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