In Some Languages that Second Mistake is OK

I’m thinking of Greek and Hebrew, both of which habitually leave out the copulative verb. “Linking verb” in English, or forms of “to be.” Last panel. In fact, my wedding ring contains a Greek translation of a Hebrew passage, and neither language uses “am.” The passage is the first part of Song of Solomon 13:1, “I am my beloved’s” in English.

Don’t get me started on correcting someone’s English when they don’t ask.

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The joke is clearer if you give the speaker an accent so the last syllable ends with “uh” instead of “ear.”

I’d say “mot” instead of “mat” too, but some people pronounce onomatopoeia like “mat.”

I’m not sure how it’s a riddle, though.

Your English teacher no doubt told you that double negatives were always bad. Sentences like “I ain’t got no money.” Actually a double negative can sometimes be correct. Like “Well, he was not unkind.” Here’s an example of another one that’s apparently correct. Or I should say two double negatives that seem to be correct:

Would you go check out a place with a name like this?

First the comic. The last two panels:

Yes, you should modify a verb with an adverb, so “played badly” is right. But she doesn’t get his rule: Don’t correct someone’s English unless they ask you to. This is one of my life rules, and I confess sometimes it’s hard to obey. The only people who like being corrected are professionals in the field.

So correct me all you want!

Third panel. Whose life? Children! A plural! So the sentence should say “their lives” even though they no doubt do the risking one at a time.

Using “their” ought to strengthen the plural agreement.