Do You Have a Grammar or Spelling Pet Peeve?

MommyEsq
Jul 1, 2008 11:16 AM CST

“It’s” and “its” drive me crazy.  Even highly educated people can’t seem to get it straight.  They can’t remember that day in second grade when we were all taught our contractions.  “It’s” is *only* a contraction for “it is” and you use “its” for the possessive of “it”.

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Car
Jul 1, 2008 1:01 PM CST

I hate when people say “women” when they mean one “woman” and “message” instead of “massage.” The worst is when people say “I seen something” instead of “I saw something.” It drives me nuts. Believe it or not, I’ve also heard grown people say “I brung” before.

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QJC
Jul 1, 2008 3:01 PM CST

When writing informally—such as blawg entries or emails or even PostIt notes—there’s no reason not to capitalize the first word in each sentence.  Sure, go ahead and shorten how you want to say something, but for the love of Pete, if you’re going to use a period, take the time to hold down that “shift” key once in a while, too.  And since when did it become too burdensome to capitalize the lone letter “i”?  I learned that it should always, always, always be capitalized, but maybe the rules have changed on me.

Ahh, venting feels good.

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Bill
Jul 2, 2008 5:51 AM CST

It really bugs me when people say “I could care less” when they really mean “I couldn’t care less”.  It probably shouldn’t bother me as much as it does, but it is still early and I have only had one coffee.

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LMD
Jul 2, 2008 5:53 AM CST

One thing (of many) which drives me nuts is when I see an apostrophe used in a plural.  I recently saw a website listing many dogs under the heading “Pet’s Ready for Adoption.”  Unless they meant to say that a particular pet was ready for adoption, which I doubt, they should have just said Pets.  I see this same mistake at least once every day.  It makes me sad.

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RJC
Jul 2, 2008 6:20 AM CST

1)  “quote” is a verb, “quotation” is the noun
2)  “impact” is a noun, not a verb
3)  “exactly the same” is incoherent - sameness does not come in degrees, something either is the same as something else or it is not
4) agree with Mary Whisner above - there is never a reason to use “utilize,” and it is pretentious
5)  also agree with steve latimer above - if something is clear it is easy to explain why.  When “clearly” is used as a substitute for explanation it signals a lack of clear understanding

I realize that most of these incorrect usages are so common as to be accepted in many circles.  My point is not that they are illegal, but that they are amateurish and betray an ignorance that will cause one not to be taken seriously by many others.

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Brian Kaser
Jul 2, 2008 6:42 AM CST

I have to agree with some other posters that pathological affection for the apostrophe is degrading written English in America.

I am intrigued also by the modern practice of verbing nouns….

Every new lawyer should read “Eats, Shoots and Leaves,” a clever book by an English writer (whose name I don’t recall at the moment) on bad grammar habits.  A trip through Strunk and White’s Elements of Style wouldn’t hurt them, either.

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Professor Hardass
Jul 2, 2008 6:45 AM CST

I used to teach law and my nickname was “Professor Hardass.”  I was the comma hunter and it drove my students crazy because I would always deduct points for spelling and grammar errors.  Each time I had to grade a paper I was appalled at the lack of elementary English.  Didn’t these people graduate grade school, junior high, high school and (most shockingly) COLLEGE before they got to law school?  The biggest pet peeve is not proof-reading work.  For example, there was one assignment where the students had to write a memorandum of law on the theory of attempted possession of drugs and apply it to a fact pattern.  Halfway through a particular student’s paper the phrase “attempted possession” became “attempted passion” which was repeated through the remainder of the paper.  I have to admit that by that point it went off the scale of making me nuts to just belly-laugh out loud hysterical.  Needless to say I gave the student an “F.”

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Meg
Jul 2, 2008 6:57 AM CST

I hate the misuse of the words less and fewer.  Sometime in the past few years, people decided that they are interchangeable, but under the rules of grammar, they most certainly are not.  Fewer denotes items that can be counted.  Less is used to describe uncountable (and usually abstract) nouns. 

I have fewer grammatical erros in my writing because I am an English major.  I have less patience with people who use improper grammar than the average Joe.

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Jan DeRemer
Jul 2, 2008 7:00 AM CST

My pet peeve is confusion between “less” and “fewer.”  “Less” refers to a smaller amount (less fat, less traffic) while “fewer” pertains to numbers (fewer calories, fewer cars).  Thank you!

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Bill R.
Jul 2, 2008 7:10 AM CST

What has happened to the adverb?  The distinction between adverbs and adjectives seems to be lost in 21st century America, where everyone from the woman on the street to news anchors to politicians say things like “He ran slow.” Slowly…slowly… ugh!

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Eric
Jul 2, 2008 7:22 AM CST

I have a serious problem with people using commas where they shouldn’t!  I can hardly read the comments to any articles anymore…it is just appalling.

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John
Jul 2, 2008 7:35 AM CST

The use of the words “as such” when the writer means “thus” is crazy (“The writer could not think of the right word.  As such, he used the wrong ones.”).  The words are meaningless in such a situation.  This usage is becoming more and more popular, but needs to be stopped.  “As such” has nosed ahead of the improper usage of “myself” as my pet peeve.

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Robert Taylor
Jul 2, 2008 7:39 AM CST

I don’t know where to begin.
The missuse of apostrophes is epidemic. The rampant confusion of ‘me’ and ‘I’ is shocking. But what really bugs me is the use of ‘less’ when ‘fewer’ should be used. The use of the word ‘fewer’ has almost disappeared.

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Karla
Jul 2, 2008 7:41 AM CST

High school English teachers appear to have drilled into too many heads the idea that “me” should be avoided in the context of “______ and me.”  It drives me crazy every time I hear someone use “_____ and I” as an object or following a preposition.  If you wouldn’t say “with I” or “for I,” don’t do it when there just happens to be an “and” before the first-person pronoun.

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Jen
Jul 2, 2008 7:42 AM CST

Misspelled words bother me to no end.  Particularly, the spelling of “definitely.”  I think some assume words are spelled as they are pronounced, but if someone pronounces words incorrectly then you suddenly get “definately.”

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l.rev.nerd
Jul 2, 2008 7:46 AM CST

1) “For all intensive purposes” instead of “for all intents and purposes.” What the heck is that all about?

2) I agree about the improper use of “me” instead of “I.” However, just as egregious is the use of “I” or “myself” when “me” is the appropriate word. This usually happens when the speaker is attempting to “sound smart.”

3) Using “them” or “they” when the writer is really speaking of a singular person in a gender-neutral way. We really need something better than “he or she” and “him or her,” but pluralizing is just not a good choice.

4) Tonite. Need I say more?

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Ashley
Jul 2, 2008 7:48 AM CST

Oh, one more - thru.

Seeing that in an actual appellate brief threw me over the edge. We’re not at Wendy’s!

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Shayne
Jul 2, 2008 7:52 AM CST

Ugh…YOUR clothes get loose.

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Ken R
Jul 2, 2008 7:55 AM CST

Most of my peeves have been covered but I would add that “incent” has become a word only because of repeated, mistaken use. It is another example (similar to use of “impact” as a verb) of poor education and incorrect usage creating a new (and lower) standard for communication.

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joe bartlett
Jul 2, 2008 7:58 AM CST

The use of the adverb ” verbally” , which means and only means the use of words, when what the speaker means is ” orally”
And the bastard veb ” incent”. “Motivate” is entirely adequate

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l.rev.nerd
Jul 2, 2008 8:00 AM CST

Oooh! I thought of one more. My husband’s large corporation uses the word “solution” as a verb. He is regularly told to solution things.

For example: “Max, I’d like you to solution some strategies to reduce errors in this process.”

It makes me want to scream. Has anyone else heard this one?

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Mike
Jul 2, 2008 8:01 AM CST

When people missuse the word “myriad,” which should be used like the word “many” (e.g. “There are myriad people misusing the word myriad”) and NOT like the words “a lot” (e.g. “There are a myriad of people misusing the word myriad in this fashion”).  Of course, I myself had to learn the correct usage - from my high school English teacher- before I climbed up this high horse.

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Nashville J
Jul 2, 2008 8:07 AM CST

I applaud all of you for the comments you’ve already made; in particular, the misuse of I vs. me and extraneous apostrophes are the things that make me crazy.  One more: “very unique.”  “Unique” means “one of a kind,” so there are not degrees of uniqueness.

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Gary
Jul 2, 2008 8:16 AM CST

What really drives me nuts is the way many people use the word “like” as a synonym for “said.”  When someone is telling me about a conversation, I don’t give a rat’s behind what the speaker “was like” - I want to know what the speaker SAID.

I also agree wholeheartedly with the previous posters about plurals masquerading as possessives.  Teachers should make it clear to their students that this is considered particularly egregious, and penalties should be swift, certain, and severe.

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