Common grammar and usage errors

12/22/04 | Self

[georgiadevildog]

I am starting a grammar thread at the behest of Xenalyte and TheMom. Post your most irritating pet peeves of grammar or usage here.

[green pastures]

"When I hear someone say, "Here, here" as a gesture of agreement to the comments of another, I don't know which to use."


I would lean toward "hear, hear", as in having people hear what is being said because of being in agreement. Or possibly a shortened form of "hear ye, hear ye."

I will admit to succumbing to the use "their" when his/her is more appropriate.

I am not following the "to eggs" business at all.

But then I could probably use a refresher on who has the right-of-way at four way stops, too.

[Petronski]

I hate the blurring of the distinction between 'bring' and 'take.'

Take is used if the speaker is at the starting point, bring is used if the speaker is at the destination.

The parent should say "take your homework to school with you" but the teacher should say "bring your homework to school with you."

Too often, I hear people say something like "I'm going to bring it back where I got it." That just sounds ignorant.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

I am annoyed by writers who fail to use a singular pronoun with a singular subject.

Example - Every student should brush up on their grammar.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR !!!

[TheMom]

That is one of the few grammar things I know. And, it really drives me nuts to see writers using it.

[Petronski]

How about the extraneous "at?"

Not "Where are you?" but rather "Where are you at?"

I hate that.

[TheMom]

Even worse, "Where you be?"

[BibChr]

Hey! My 120!

Dan

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Hi, Dan. I didn't see it. GMTA, huh? LOL !!!

[Xenalyte]

1. Impacted - that one makes me grind my teeth.

3. Momentarily - reminds me of how people always misuse "hopefully" these days.

5. Ever see the "Literally" sketch on MadTV?

[georgiadevildog]

Sometimes it bes like that.

[MotleyGirl70]

Spelling Checker

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

[Mr. K]

ha ha! thats the point of this' thread your not getting it

[georgiadevildog]

That MadTV thing is hilarious! I'd love to literally see the clip. Literally.

[Hoboken]

Could have, would have and should have not could of, should of nor should of.

[flitton]

I agree.
One of the other mistakes I can't abide is the misuse of imply and infer. They are not the same and far too many people use them as if they are synonyms.

[lindor]

LOL! And that has happened to me more times than I care to admit.

[BibChr]

1. Yep. Whether it's at work (where the misuse is institutional) or church, I pretty invariably let out an "Eww!" when I hear "impact" verbed.

2. Right!

3. Nope; I'll have to check it at home. Sounds promising. (c8

Dan

[Xenalyte]

Riddle me this, BC: when people pray aloud, why do they punctuate every sentence with "just"?

"Lord, we just thank you for the fellowship we have today, and we just want to give thanks to you for this food, and ask that you just be with us now and forever amen."

(A literal transcription. Literally.)

[BibChr]

Oh, now that's TERRIBLE of you... TERRIBLE!

(Almost as terrible as the parodies I myself have done of that same phenom before... which parodies I *will not* reproduce here....)

I don't know, Xgirl. It's probably akin to the Jacobean idiom some people slip into in certain church settings....

Dan
(c;

[Mike Bates]

The nauseous / nauseated debate is now settled in my mind.

Gee, then I hope I was right about it. I get so confused sometimes. . .

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp