• webadict@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    7 months ago

    Is it actually incorrect? I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong, but it just sounds bizarre or Shakespearean if you use it when it’s not an auxiliary verb.

    “I’ve no need for that.” is a perfectly cromulent sentence.

    • Billegh@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 months ago

      Yeah, not “incorrect,” just non-standard. The yardstick is: did your interpretation match the intended one? Clearly, he was able to get there so it’s firmly in “acceptable use.” Any further whinging about grammar is likely to just be construed as gatekeeping.

      • catloaf@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        7 months ago

        I’m a prescriptivist and I think it’s fine. I suspect it might be a British vs American English thing.

        • LordWarfire@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          7 months ago

          As a native BrE speaker I’d say “I’ve X installed” is a little weird, fine in speech but written down it doesn’t look right. “I’ve installed X” is fine.

      • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        7 months ago

        The yardstick is: did your interpretation match the intended one?

        I think that’s just you. There’s a few examples of rules in English that aren’t required to get a point across, but sentences that break them sound grating. One such example is adjective order

        • Billegh@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          7 months ago

          I think you’re conflating correctness with comprehension. Even if it isn’t correct, you could still be understood.

          • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            3
            ·
            7 months ago

            Per your previous comment:

            Yeah, not “incorrect,” just non-standard. The yardstick is:

            Clearly, he was able to get there so it’s firmly in “acceptable use.”

            I’m not the one conflating the two concepts.