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Common grammar mistakes that get on your nerves?

  • 24-05-2005 4:29pm
    #1
    blah
    Registered Users Posts: 938 ✭✭✭


    I know I'll sound too fussy but I can't help noticing the mistakes that I see popping up every where, on boards, even on theregister.co.uk, a news site. It's not like I'm a language buff or anything, but sometimes I see the same mistake (lose/loose) so often, I have to check dictionary.com just to make sure I'm not crazy.

    Which of these mistakes bugs you more? 57 votes

    Apostophe's inserted into any word's that end with S
    0% 0 votes
    I loose my mind when I see this mix up, such a lose use of the English language.
    42% 24 votes
    Your never far from this mistake, maybe it's one of you're own.
    17% 10 votes
    Atari Jagua're
    40% 23 votes


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Comments

  • #2
    Youki-Hi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭Youki-Hi


    your and you're... they always get mixed up, annoys me no end.
    As does their, they're and there...it's not that hard to distinguish between them.


  • #3
    hazimel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 35 ✭hazimel


    Apostrophes. I despise it when they're thrown randomly into a word for no good reason, or when they're missing. It's forgivable in some cases (especially when a word ends in the letter "s", because it just gets confusing then), but overall it's sheer laziness.

    Most hilarious example I ever saw was a shop in Drumcondra, I think it's gone now. It was called "Bob,s Pet Store". Yes, a comma. Instead of an apostrophe. Bwahaha.


  • #4
    Orion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,807 ✭✭✭✭Orion


    How about the movie "Two Weeks Notice". What exactly does it mean?

    Any grammar nazi (like me) should read the book Eats Shoots and Leaves - it's hilarious. :D

    And to answer the poll - option b - loose vs lose really gets my goat. My girlfriend used to put an apostrophe in every word ending in s but I've managed to stop her ;)


  • #5
    PurpleFistMixer
    Registered Users Posts: 5,851 ✭✭✭PurpleFistMixer


    All of the above.

    I hate (HATE) when people pluralise words ending in a vowel using an apostrophe. I actually flinch when I see the misuse of apostrophes.
    But also the you're and your thing. I pronounce both of those words differently when speaking (you're is more of 'yer', your is more 'yore') so I find it especially annoying when they get mixed up.

    Oh, the trials of a grammar nazi...


  • #6
    dudara
    Registered Users Posts: 33,519 ✭✭✭✭dudara


    I think the third option is the most heinous of the lot. Your and you're are very different things, as are their, there, and they're.

    Heaven help the English language


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  • #7
    zAbbo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,987 ✭✭✭✭zAbbo


    "alot" - alot of people do this

    easy way to remember it is "alot" "alittle"


  • #8
    grimloch
    Registered Users Posts: 3,688 ✭✭✭grimloch


    dudara wrote:
    I think the third option is the most heinous of the lot. Your and you're are very different things, as are their, there, and they're.

    Heaven help the English language

    Aye this annoys me too.

    And when people say something like "I seen it yesterday" that annoys me the most.


  • #9
    Orion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,807 ✭✭✭✭Orion


    One that's snuck in in England a lot (at least any English I speak to and on English TV progs) is "I was sat down". That really pi$$es me off.


  • #10
    Creamy Goodness
    Registered Users Posts: 26,556 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    There's one I always do only when writing though.

    When using the phrase "with the" I sometimes write "withe" as the word "the" is there inside "with" if you know what I mean


  • #11
    simu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,730 ✭✭✭✭simu


    "I done it" - really annoys me.


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  • #12
    spudington16
    Registered Users Posts: 786 ✭✭✭spudington16


    My pet peeve is when people are writing and the use no puctuation other than full-stops. As a result, you have to read what they've written a number of times to fully understand it. Most young people say they are just saving themselves time, but the effects will become clear when the next generation are gramatically-illiterate.


  • #13
    astec123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,072 ✭✭✭astec123


    No the worst grammer error I can think of is
    american use of the date which is creeping into European culture over here.What I mean simply is today is the 4 june. Whats so hard about putting in the th after the 4? This I truly cant stand.


  • #14
    PunyHuman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 297 ✭✭PunyHuman


    Here's one that gets me every time:

    "That's nothing got to do with it."


  • #15
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,054 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    "I could care less" - fuggin hate that one.


  • #16
    Kappar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,114 ✭✭✭Kappar


    I hate when people mix up rob and steal. You steal an something and rob somewhere/someone of something.


  • #17
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,054 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    Macros42 wrote:
    One that's snuck in in England a lot (at least any English I speak to and on English TV progs) is "I was sat down". That really pi$$es me off.

    I'm not sure that's snuck in as such, AFAIK it's a dialectal construction that's as old as the words that make it up.

    Of course it's also a perfectly good phrase in its own right in English implying that someone forced you into a chair.

    Two Weeks Notice means a notice period of two weeks, I should think, at least I can't think of any other meaning for it. While it might seem better with an apostrophe after the S it's hardly a huge mistake.

    I loved Bob,s Pet Store though, I just couldn't imagine how the signwriter could get away with such rubbish - unless it was a deliberate ploy.


  • #18
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,412 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    1) The use of "amount of" when "number of" should be used, as in "amount of people".

    2) The use of inappropriate adjectives, i.e. "cheap prices", "hot temperatures", "fast speeds" etc.

    3) The almost total ignorance of the fact that adverbs exist, and the use of adjectives in their place, e.g. "The car was travelling really quick", or those annoying TV advertisements from DirectLine ... "We'll pay you direct..." Shudder!


  • #19
    BossArky
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,480 Mod ✭✭✭✭BossArky


    Common grammar mistakes that get on your nerves?

    --> Common grammatical mistakes...

    LOL@ threadstarter ;)


  • #20
    Praetorian
    Registered Users Posts: 3,711 ✭✭✭Praetorian


    BossArky wrote:
    Common grammar mistakes that get on your nerves?

    --> Common grammatical mistakes...

    LOL@ threadstarter ;)

    You are breaking one of the rules of the forum. Do it again and you will feel my wrath.


  • #21
    BossArky
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,480 Mod ✭✭✭✭BossArky


    Praetorian wrote:
    You are breaking one of the rules of the forum. Do it again and you will feel my wrath.

    To be honest I was pointing out a grammatical mistake, which is the topic of this thread.


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  • #22
    incisor71
    Closed Accounts Posts: 281 ✭✭incisor71


    A few of my pet hates about colloquial English usage:

    (1)Misplacement of a verb's past participle has become rife in Ireland, as in:

    "I have it read" instead of "I have read it"
    "she has everything taken" instead of "she has taken everything".

    (This is peculiarly similar to the syntax of German grammar, where the first example above would translate to ich habe es gelesen - where gelesen is the past participle of lesen - the verb "to read".)

    (2)Usage of apostrophes to pluralise acronyms that have become accepted as words:

    CD's, DVD's, JCB's instead of CDs, DVDs, JCBs.

    Looks even worse when sign writers make such mistakes.

    (3)Inability to spell "discreet", spelling it instead as discrete, descreet or discreat..... "Discrete" has a totally different meaning to "discreet".

    (4)Not knowing the difference between "to", "too" and "two".

    (5)Usage of TxtSpk in emails or typed documentation or online postings, and/or vowels deleted so often that the original words violate the threshold of intelligibility. Ugh!!

    (6)Inconsistent usage of American and British English forms - i.e., mixtures of "initialize", "analyse" and "color" in the same document.


  • #23
    MG
    Closed Accounts Posts: 823 ✭✭✭MG


    incisor71 wrote:
    A few of my pet hates about colloquial English usage:

    (1)Misplacement of a verb's past participle has become rife in Ireland, as in:

    "I have it read" instead of "I have read it"
    "she has everything taken" instead of "she has taken everything".

    (This is peculiarly similar to the syntax of German grammar, where the first example above would translate to ich habe es gelesen - where gelesen is the past participle of lesen - the verb "to read".)

    Is this Hiberno-English? Could that explain its usage in Ireland?


  • #24
    deedee lepoopoo
    Registered Users Posts: 424 ✭✭deedee lepoopoo


    Why can't males spell the word 'weird'? They always write 'wierd'. ehh?


  • #25
    simu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,730 ✭✭✭✭simu


    incisor71 wrote:
    A few of my pet hates about colloquial English usage:

    (1)Misplacement of a verb's past participle has become rife in Ireland, as in:

    "I have it read" instead of "I have read it"
    "she has everything taken" instead of "she has taken everything".

    That's been a feature of "Hiberno-English" for a long time, influenced by Irish it is said.

    Like "tá sé léite agam" without the agam!


  • #26
    Drag00n79
    Registered Users Posts: 2,746 ✭✭✭Drag00n79


    One of the ones which annoys me most is when people use the word less rather than fewer. I have heard it a lot, even on news bulletins sometimes. For example, "There are less unemployed this month than last month".
    incisor 71 wrote:
    (1)Misplacement of a verb's past participle has become rife in Ireland, as in:
    "I have it read" instead of "I have read it"
    "she has everything taken" instead of "she has taken everything".
    I don't think I have heard that much.


  • #27
    newgrange
    Closed Accounts Posts: 568 ✭✭✭newgrange


    My own personal favourite is "I should/would/could of done something".
    Arggh.


  • #28
    simu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,730 ✭✭✭✭simu


    Shamrok wrote:

    I don't think I have heard that much.

    More of a country (insert rolled r) thing!


  • #29
    Drag00n79
    Registered Users Posts: 2,746 ✭✭✭Drag00n79


    newgrange wrote:
    My own personal favourite is "I should/would/could of done something".
    Arggh.
    Oh, how could I forget that one? An error which is increasingly seen on boards.


  • #30
    disillusioned
    Closed Accounts Posts: 115 ✭✭disillusioned


    They all drive me nuts.

    The mistake that bugs me most though is definitely when "its" is used incorrectly. :mad:

    Another really annoying one is when people say "they do be..." although I wonder if this is more to do with the translation from gaeilge?

    I'm relieved to read that I'm not alone in my frustration on this subject.


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  • #31
    Pinx
    Closed Accounts Posts: 127 ✭✭Pinx


    All of the offending items mentioned by incisor71 drive me mad. I read a great book recently -- called "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" - has anyone else read it? Chapter by chapter it goes through the misplaced apostrophe, to/too/two, there/their etc. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one who breaks into a cold sweat when I see signs like "Painter's and Decorator's".....


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