YP Letters: Let's not push correct English grammar towards the exit

Brexit remains the dominant political issue.

JOHN Howe (The Yorkshire Post, October 20) asks “When will newscasters, reporters and correspondents begin using accurate grammar and realise that we voted to leave the European Union, not ‘exit’?” Exit is a noun, not a verb.

Normally I am not one for nit-picking, but the first of the several English (and other language) dictionaries I opened to confirm my belief that he is wrong, backed up my suspicion.

From: Mrs Margaret Whitaker, Harswell.

MANY thanks to John Howe for getting my brain cells going early in the day. It Brexit had read “BeLeave” we would have had a group of ‘BeLeavers’ and the Clergy (who might have heard the word but not seen the spelling) could well have complained. On the other hand that catchy song “I’m a believer” would have made a rousing anthem for folk of that persuasion.

Our family had trouble in the early sixties with another ‘Exit’ word used at Bristol Zoo. The children, then aged four and five, had an exciting morning following wood fingerposts to visit various animals. When lunchtime came, the adults were glad to see a sign ‘To the Egress’, so we hurried down that lane amid noisy wailing and tearful cries of “We want to see the Egress!” This move by their parents rankled for years afterwards.

From: Arthur Quarmby, Underhill, Holme.

IT seems that the member states do not believe that Britain will ever leave the EU.

They believe that relentless bad news (real or imagined) about Brexit, especially from the Remainers within Britain, will enable our Establishment to overrule the referendum result and lock us in forever to the appalling German Empire of Europe.

From: B Murray, Halifax Road, Grenoside, Sheffield.

THE referendum was a big mistake – one vote could have meant we stay in, or leave, the European Union.

There should have been a third option: ‘To stay in the Union with reforms’.

In other countries, a vote of this magnitude would need a two-thirds majority.

From: Dick Spreadbury, Liversedge.

THE Conservatives were elected on a manifesto which promised a referendum. They delivered this, and are now abiding by the result.