Is it grammatically correct to use "this here [object]"?

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MysticOverlord
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Is it grammatically correct to use "this here [object]"?

Post by MysticOverlord »

I am currently doing story writing for a game me and a friend are making, and one of the characters i wanted to give a unique way of speaking, while also staying grammatically correct and eventually i ended up using "this here [item]" (e.g. in this here hand, i hold..., look in this here box...) as opposed to traditional ways of pointing to a specific item. However i haven't really seen it used anywhere else. Is it an acceptable form of speech? If not why?
hazelcb
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Re: Is it grammatically correct to use "this here [object]"?

Post by hazelcb »

You'll hear "this here _____" in the US. However, it is colloquial and is not at all acceptable in formal English writing. If you are writing fiction--or quoting someone in nonfiction--and "this here _____" is what your character or your subject says, then that's fine. However, if you are writing formal papers, theses, articles, letters, and the like, do not use "this here." It is grammatically incorrect, it sounds much too slangy, the "here" in "this here" is redundant. "This" on its own is sufficent. A substitute might be "This _____" or "The _____ over here" or "The _____ over there" or "Here is a(n) _____," depending on the situation.
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Joe
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Re: Is it grammatically correct to use "this here [object]"?

Post by Joe »

I second hazelcb’s comment

For simplicity use “this [object]”
"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood :-| " — Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

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