Saying "Oh no!" in English Proper

2007-06-03 12:21 PM | Posted by Priyadarshan Bontempi | Permanent Link | Fun, Literature

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Why interlocute with a simple "Oh no!", like:

"Did you bring the eggs with you today?"

"Oh no, I forgot them on the tramway again!"

When you could verily say:

"It is impossible to express
within the constraints of
the English lexicon the
longitude, fathomage,
latitude and stature of my
dismay."

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2007-06-04 04:01 AM | Posted by Priyadarshan Bontempi

Thanks!

2007-06-04 03:36 AM | Posted by John Gillespie | http://sensitivitytothings.com

Slightly off-topic, but with no-less admiration for your post, I must admit to a struggle with the use of the English expression “Oh!” Not in use exactly—more in correct application.

“O,” without a ‘h,’ has a much better poetic, expressive bent, and in this assertion I count no less than Whitman and Dickinson as supporters; yet “Oh” with a ‘h’ seems, at least to myself, better suited to mundane usage, for conversational interjections rather than lyrical flights of rapture.

And apologies here to Jogyata, who would add an “an” before the use of ‘h’ in the above occasions, his the very deliberate abandonment of grammar for reasons of poetry.

2007-06-04 03:28 AM | Posted by tejvan | /Members/tejvan

I say old chap.

I always get tremendous joy when my Italian brother shares his illumining understanding of the English language.

Saying "Oh no!" in English Proper

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