ablethevoice
boatanchors rule!
Oh yeah: Another one I see far too often: "loose" for "lose": "I'm about to loose my mind".
Pet Peeves: Mangled English
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The difference between their, there and they're seems to be a mystery to many. However, my pet peeve is when a writer blatantly disregards all protocols for capitalization and punctuation: This is 3rd grade curriculum (at the very least) - how hard can it be to do this right?
Damn.Guess I'm going to have to use the spell checker key from now on.Don't want to offend anyone with my bad spelling.Yikes,no grammar check key.What in the fork am I going to do?I will be riticuled (sp.) by the "grammar squad"..:scratch2:
Perhaps I do happen to have one pet peeve- those who complain about their preceived faults of others.
Arkay
Lunatic Member
One thing that annoys me is people using adjectives where they should be using adverbs. For example, saying they can do something pretty good, instead of well. [Sorry, couldn't resist... but in principle I agree with your post. Poor English from native speakers who should know better bothers me, too! :yes:]
It's easy to make simple typographical errors such as typing "were" instead of "where" when postingin a hurry, so I can overlook some of those. I've even found them in my own posts, when I've gone back to re-read them later. But some errors are clearly ones of ignorance, such as the "valid victorian" mistake ablethevoice mentioned.
Another common mistake is using advice for advise (and vice-versa). Similarly, principle and principal are often mis-used.
Many people use present tense where they should use past tense, in conditional sentences talking about things that are unlikely or impossible. For example, "If I was you" is WRONG. It sounds wrong. I don't know where it came from, but I seem to be hearing it more and more often. Since I can never be you (or then I would be me any more, would I?), the only correct way to say it is "If I were you". I encounter this kind of mistake frequently.
Another thing that bothers me is using "who" (subjective case) where one should use "whom" (objective case). It is SO SIMPLE to get these right: just plug in "he" or "him" or "his". If "him" --which ends in the letter "m"-- fits, then use "whom", which also ends in "m". If "his" --which ends in the letter "s"-- fits, then use "whose", which ends in an "s" sound. Otherwise, if "he" --which ends in the bare vowel-- fits use "who", which also ends in a bare vowel.
To simplify this:
He = who
Him = whom
His = whose.
If they taught it that way in schools, people would easily use them correctly, and our language would not be deteriorating with the gradual disappearance of the word "whom".
There are many, many more errors which one frequently encounters, especially online. I think it is partly because pre-internet, most of what we read had been written by professional writers and then proofread and edited before publication. Online, we read mostly first drafts written by people who are often not writers, and --judging by what they write-- not even readers! :sigh:
Cadillac Kid
Addicted Member
This one bugs me. Using 'then' instead of 'than'. ie: "I would rather have a SX-750 then a SX-550"
ablethevoice
boatanchors rule!
Yeah... the "not even readers" must be a large portion of the issue. I often re-re-re-read a lengthy post and correct anything that sounds wonky or doesn't flow right. I've not posted any super long ...well, I guess "essay" might be a good word - here in AK, but I have in other fora I frequent and it sometimes takes me 3 hours before I am comfortable enough with what I have before me to finally hit that SUBMIT button...and then I'll re-read it a week down the line and edit it yet again!
1814 - The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly----17 May..???
Sorry temporary thread hijack..
timofred
I'm just a garbage man...
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In high school I had a maths teacher who would always say,
" Lets see if we can't....."
When he said that, I would sit there doing nothing , and sure enough....
I can't do it.
When I proposed that he might say " Lets see if we can...."
I was told to leave the room.
On my way out I said it was no surprise he didn't teach English.
The class broke up, I was given two weeks detention.
I appealed this rather tough punishment with the headmaster and was rightfully excused.:thmbsp:
In high school I had a maths teacher who would always say,
" Lets see if we can't....."
When he said that, I would sit there doing nothing , and sure enough....
I can't do it.
When I proposed that he might say " Lets see if we can...."
I was told to leave the room.
On my way out I said it was no surprise he didn't teach English.
The class broke up, I was given two weeks detention.
I appealed this rather tough punishment with the headmaster and was rightfully excused.:thmbsp:
You got the gist of it: 17th of May is recognized as the Constitution Day in Norway and is akin to the 4th of July in the US. It is a big day of celebration with parades, speeches, and flags everywhere. Being a Norwegian national, I celebrate the day as do most Norwegians, regardless of where we happen to live.
Although the constitution declared the country independent when it was signed on this date in 1814, it took another 91 years (until 1905, unequal union with Sweden since 1814) before Norway gained full independence.
Sorry for the hijack response - now back to the regular scheduling.
PS! Post #2,700.
ducati_EL34
Addicted Member
"Never judge a person till you've walked a while in their shoe's. That way you will be a mile away and you will have their shoes"
using "your" in place of "you are". That seems to be the worst, no matter what forum.
Thankee, Unca Sandy, I've been proud of my heiritage, since I was told by my first employer in NYC, " Craig, you may want to change your accent a little bit, people may think you're stupid". This is a true story! So 'ol stuwee said right back, quicker in stink "Yo, Tony I would neaver go to the south, 'cuz they sound so ****'n stoopid". With the proper body usage for emphaisis
Craig
Well as an English major I should get more worked up about this topic than I most. But having probably committed a few of the offenses myself I would just add that the nature of this format probably contributes to some of the errors. Some of the spelling issues such as "rot iron" furniture however are IMO the sad effects of text messaging/blogging that seems to promote phonetically based spelling. Things seem to have come full circle to some degree because if you look back to newspapers etc hundreds of years ago you saw some of the same things until spelling became standardized.
My bigger pet peeve is work related where e-mails have replaced the memo. Spell check is a tool that is underutilized by many but what is worse is when the person accepts a suggested change from spell check that is the wrong choice. I have recieved e-mails that suggest we can "gain incite to the problem" or that I have been "adviced of the problem".
My bigger pet peeve is work related where e-mails have replaced the memo. Spell check is a tool that is underutilized by many but what is worse is when the person accepts a suggested change from spell check that is the wrong choice. I have recieved e-mails that suggest we can "gain incite to the problem" or that I have been "adviced of the problem".
merrylander
AK Member
Being a two finger typist and having a slightly screwed up left arm those two fingers do get out of sync or the left one just does not hit the key hard enough. Tends to make my posts look dyslexic at times. Reminds me of a fellow who posted in another group who actually suffered from dyslexia. His sig; "I an Dyslexic of Borg, your ass will be laminated".
Still, one that makes my teeth ache is the use of 'you' for 'your' as in "Is that you car" or Youtube.
Still, one that makes my teeth ache is the use of 'you' for 'your' as in "Is that you car" or Youtube.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
So if i dunno how too speel it crectly, i'm spoda axe somebody?
Rodzilla
Super Member
i can excuse most common mistakes.i freely admit that for me proper punctuation and capitol letters are just things that happen to other people.similarly,common typing mistakes are excusable and quite familiar to me.the truly awful spelling that is not even in the same galaxy as the proper word is something that gets to me tho...i'm sorry but if you think "rot" and "wrought" are interchangeable,then i'm gonna think you're an idiot and consider your post accordingly...
Panteraguy
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