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Common grammar mistakes that get on your nerves?

blah · 2005-05-24 15:29:47

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.

Comments

#52 03-07-2005 3:50am

PiE

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Most grammatical mistakes are forgivable.

"The car is parked in are garage" however, is not.

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#53 03-07-2005 11:51am

pickarooney

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incisor71 wrote:

The reason for using whom in my first example is because the subject (subjective case) is "I" and the direct object (i.e., accusative case) is "my great-grandfather", thus necessitating the usage of the direct object pronoun whom in the second clause of the sentence.

The second clause in the second example you cite utilises the indirect object (dative case) to whom in the second clause of the sentence. One of the functions of the dative case is to encapsulate the preposition to, thus giving rise to the need for to whom. That's something we're more accustomed to hearing than its accusative companion whom.

Well, if you're going to start encapsulating stuff, I have to concede

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#54 03-07-2005 7:32pm

CuLT

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Loose/Lose is mine; I thought I was going nuts for a few months after being continuously exposed to the misspelling by teachers in secondary school.

I really just can't get over American butchering of the language though, it really is a crime to have a dictionary with "neighbor", etc.

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#55 08-07-2005 4:13pm

banquo

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It's apostrophes for me.

I saw this on a wall in Finglas one day: "Barry is a rape'est".

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#56 12-07-2005 12:30am

incisor71

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banquo wrote:

It's apostrophes for me.

On a quick visit to Cork city last Saturday, I noticed that a sign had been put up adjacent to footpath repairs near the Cork Deaf Centre on MacCurtain St.:

All business's
business as usual

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#57 18-07-2005 11:33pm

TailFeather

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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.

SNEAKED!! That drives me insane!!

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#58 19-07-2005 10:29am

pickarooney

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Why does it drive you insane? It's not as though it's grammatically wrong or anything.

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#59 10-01-2006 12:18pm

Shabadu

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"I amn't fond of grammatical errors."

^ This is quite common in Ireland. "I'm not" people. Learn it. Please.

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#60 10-01-2006 5:43pm

PunyHuman

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@ shabadu

I believe that "I amn't" is perfectly acceptable grammar, because it just as obviously means "I am not" as "I'm not" does; it's just a different vowel that's replaced.

It's Hiberno-English, dude.

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#61 10-01-2006 5:49pm

Tar.Aldarion

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I hate 'alot'.

In that poll I hate the mix up of you're and your the most.

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#62 10-01-2006 5:50pm

Alun

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Tar.Aldarion wrote:

I hate 'alot'.

In that pole I hate the mix up of you're and your the most.

It's almost as bad as people who mix up 'pole' and 'poll'

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#63 10-01-2006 5:51pm

Alun

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I dislike the increasingly common use of 'amount of' where 'number of' should be used instead.

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#64 10-01-2006 5:59pm

Tar.Aldarion

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Alun wrote:

It's almost as bad as people who mix up 'pole' and 'poll'

For the second time today I will say; I need to lay off the coffee.

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#65 10-01-2006 6:32pm

PunyHuman

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Now that I think about it, I have another one. Apologies if it's been posted before.

=> Using 'less' when the correct word is 'fewer'. The former is used to refer to amounts, and the latter to numbers.

This egregious error crops up mainly in supermarkets - the black hole of grammar - viz. 'Ten items or less'.

Marks and Spencer use the right word though. Unsurprisingly.

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#66 10-01-2006 7:01pm

Shabadu

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PunyHuman wrote:

Now that I think about it, I have another one. Apologies if it's been posted before.

=> Using 'less' when the correct word is 'fewer'. The former is used to refer to amounts, and the latter to numbers.

This egregious error crops up mainly in supermarkets - the black hole of grammar - viz. 'Ten items or less'.

Marks and Spencer use the right word though. Unsurprisingly.

Eh, I bet you *didn't* discover that when you googled "I amn't grammatically incorrect"* and clicked on the 2nd link from the BBC website§ and found the reference to I amn't- which coincidentally was contained in the comment from a man who referenced Marks & Spencers being the only retailer using the grammatically correct "10 items or fewer".

You, my friend, are PWNED. :v:

Screen shot of pure pwnage.

*ahem

§ cough

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#67 10-01-2006 7:08pm

steveland?

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Should of...

Would of...

If I read that one more time I'm going to punch my computer screen...

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#68 10-01-2006 7:09pm

garthv

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Shabadu wrote:

Eh, I bet you *didn't* discover that when you googled "I amn't grammatically incorrect"* and clicked on the 2nd link from the BBC website§ and found the reference to I amn't- which coincidentally was contained in the comment from a man who referenced Marks & Spencers being the only retailer using the grammatically correct "10 items or fewer".

You, my friend, are PWNED. :v:

She's right you know

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#69 10-01-2006 7:51pm

PunyHuman

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GaRtH_V wrote:

She's right you know

No, she isn't. I am right; always have been

Shabadu wrote:

Eh, I bet you *didn't* discover that when you...

I actually didn't, which is a pretty strange coincidence.

I noticed the less/fewer thing, with satisfaction, in M&S when I was doing my Christmas shopping.

Whyever would I google "I amn't gramatically correct"? The term I googled to get more info was "less/fewer" which brought me here.

Funny that.

I will only accept craven apologies on scented notepaper, damp with tears of sorrow.

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#70 10-01-2006 8:01pm

Dizzyblabla

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simu wrote:

"I done it" - really annoys me.

I think it's more of a Cork thing than anything else, but it drives me nuts too!

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#71 10-01-2006 8:10pm

Shabadu

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Denial only compounds your pwnage, PunyHuman; you must repent and make restitution!

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#72 10-01-2006 8:50pm

FlutterinBantam

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My God .... read thru the whole lot and no mention of my favourite...beloved of John Creedon and all inhabitants of Munster....

LEFT.... "The doorman left me in"

He LET you in, you barneuk... he should have left you outside

Aaaaaaaaaaargh

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#73 10-01-2006 8:59pm

FlutterinBantam

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Praetorian wrote:

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

A tad harsh Mr Mod.... If some geezer starts a "grammar" thread ..he/she should get it right....

I'm with the smartass dude:D

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#74 31-08-2007 7:57pm

vektarman

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Somebody waiting 'on' a bus instead of 'for' a bus, e.g. 'I'm waiting on a bus'.
What exactly are they doing, are they sitting on the roof of a bus?

Seen in a fishing tackle shop in Celbridge: 'live bate sold here'.

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#75 28-09-2007 10:59pm

Ed D.

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"I feel badly about..." All over the place in the States the last several years. Your fingertips look fine and you feel bad. May not sound as smart, but happens to be correct.

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