I'm astonished that they would actually type it out in sentences. I've read a couple of questions and answers that have LIKE placed in the most unlikely positions. Granted they are teenagers that are writing them, but dang! Is our English system that bad? What part of the sentence structure is LIKE anyway? Noun, verb, adjective....?
2006-09-21 15:25:56 · 10 answers · asked by SAHM3 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
It is extremely annoying, especially as you've pointed out to see it in written form; one young girl actually used it in her question on Yahoo! Answers. The word 'like' is generally a verb, or as another responder suggested as an introduction to a simile. Yes, I believe our English system is that bad, and appears to be getting worse. A few days ago I watched a TV report with a 2nd year university student being interviewed. He used the expression "I seen...", rather than "I saw..." 6 times in the space of less than one minute! So, like, um, d'ya think, like that was wrong, like, huh? (grrr)
(To "Someone out there" - In Canada, we generally say "pop" rather than "soda"...perhaps just a different word or cultural 'thing'? Or in many places, the term is "soda pop"...?)
2006-09-21 17:32:46 · answer #1 · answered by GeorgieGirl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Like" is usually classified as a preposition, although in the usage that you're talking about, it's used in a different way, it seems to me.
The use of "like" may appear to be random to you, but it's actually very sophisticated and patterned with people who use it as part of their real everyday speech. It fulfills a conversational function that other words don't do. Of course, all of this is completely unconscious behavior on the part of the speaker. I have read at least one article that talked about the linguistics of "like". I suspect there are others studying this right now.
In other words, it's not bad!
2006-09-22 03:43:02 · answer #2 · answered by drshorty 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The public school English curriculum is good enough to teach "that"--as a modifier--makes a sentence too clunky. Unless it's, like, absolutely necessary. For sure! Like, whatever.
Oh, and it's "danged" if you want to type the slang word correctly....
2006-09-21 22:30:34 · answer #3 · answered by *babydoll* 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, like can be a verb or the introduction to a simile. I don't know, but I think it's more of an accent thing than anything else. I live in California, and everyone uses it. Everywhere else though, they make fun of me. It's like calling soda "pop." I think that sounds so silly, but to each his own ;)
2006-09-21 22:34:57 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is tremendously annoying, isn't it? They usually have no caps or punctuation either....all of which is equally as annoying as using "accepted" text message abbreviations in other forums.
I cringe when I think how much the English language could deteriorate in the next few generations.
2006-09-21 22:34:40 · answer #5 · answered by kj 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They usually try to describe something, so the say LIKE, to think for a second or two to stall the other people.
2006-09-21 22:28:02 · answer #6 · answered by krazymagex 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
like, what part of the sentence structure is "dang" anyway?
2006-09-21 22:34:40 · answer #7 · answered by slippie 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's amazing to read people's writing when you know how they speak, and you notice that they write exactly like they talk.
A friend of mine doesn't use periods or capitals I find it very annoying. ;-)
2006-09-22 02:32:37 · answer #8 · answered by i_sivan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Using it that way, it's called a ' word whisker ' .
This also includes: ya' know, I mean, um, er and ah.
2006-09-22 02:38:22 · answer #9 · answered by Zeera 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like,what's wrong with saying like,like,all the time!?
2006-09-21 22:34:22 · answer #10 · answered by Hairdood 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋