Grammar Pet Peeves

[Fledgling Psycho]

"What we done"

 

[hannahsaurusrex]

I’ve noticed a lot of ‘prolly’ instead of probably online, which makes my eye twitch. The other thing I can’t abide are the adoption of American phrases- ‘I could care less’ or ‘I did it on accident’. They get on my pip!

 

[Loubywoobywoo]

My pet peeves:
Things being described as very unique or really unique or worst of all almost unique. No! It’s just unique, it either is or isn’t.
Stationery/stationary - remember e for envelope, a for arrest.

I remember it as stationery: pens, letters and envelopes and stationary: a parked car

 

[AliceInWanderLost]

An apostrophe is when your connecting two words the apostrophe goes where the missing letter is e.g has not - hasn’t.

I’m not sure if this has been mentioned I haven’t read through the whole thread but I’ve seen this three times this morning ‘generally’ instead of ‘genuinely’ two different words with totally different meanings

*as an example of correct apostrophe usage, the "your" in the first sentence should be "you're" - a contraction of the words you and are.

 

[sheleg]

It's really sad when educators can't get it right, the children they are teaching don't stand a hope
This is from the website of a school that one of my daughters was looking at for her son.View attachment 1186837

Arghh! My eyes!

Or should I say, my eye’s!

How can a teacher make such a basic mistake?

 

[Ensay]

Ah, I just stumbled across this thread! It's the perfect thread for me!

I cannot cope when people muddle these words up:

there/their/they're
your/you're
to/too/two
it's/its
done/did
lose/loose
affect/effect
expect/accept
were/we're
where/were
then/than
bought/brought
dessert/desert
advice/advise
ensure/insure
quiet/quite
chose/choose
of/off
stationery/stationary
who's/whose

Should of/could of/would of.

When Arctic is misspelled as Artic.

I hate the misuse of apostrophes - Sunday's instead of Sundays or DVD's instead of DVDs - and when people refuse to use commas, or dramatically overuse full stops.

I also internally cringe when I hear "something" pronounced as "somethink", "unacceptable" as "unasseptable" or "ask" pronounced as "axe" and "espresso" as "expresso".

And I appreciate it's very specific, but it also irks me when people misspell broccoli!

What a brilliant post! As I was reading through your list I thought "I bet they'll have missed at least one of my pet peeves", but I'm pretty sure you've said them all.

The funny thing is that I don't even think my grammar is that great. I consider the above to be basic things.

 

[lannx]

Your instead of you're and there instead of their and vice-versa.
Mistakes coming from native English speakers...

 

[AliceInWanderLost]

It's exactly that it's a possessive apostrophe rather than an apostrophe to denote a missing letter

I disagree. If my surname was Smith. And your talking about my house, it's the Smith's house. I.e. the house belonging the the Smith's

If you said "the Smiths house" that would be grammatically incorrect.

Therefore "Christmas at the Smith's" is grammatical correct.

the house belonging to the Smith family - as a group - would be referred to as the Smiths' house - the hours belonging to the Smith family, thus the Smiths and the use of a possive apostrophe. the house is possessed by/belongs to the Smiths, plural. if you were the only member of the Smith family, people generally wouldn't refer to you as "the Smith" in the way they would use "the Smiths" to refer to a couple or family - they would say "Mrs Smith's house" or "Lucy Smith's house".

yes, "the Smith house" would be incorrect, because it does need an apostrophe - but the house belongs to the Smiths, plural - not the Smith - thus the apostrophe is at the end of Smiths - Smiths' not Smith's. "the Smith's house is grammatically incorrect. the house belongs to the Smith family, not" the Smith".

people would refer to your house as "Smith's house" if your first name was Smith.

 

[Pawpaw365]

When a partner writes a status after their wife/gf has given birth " She done amazing"!!

When people write "How are use", instead of you!

‘Boy done good’

 

[hannahsaurusrex]

My husband used to send messages with the wrong to/too; or you’re/your. I only found out last year he’s been doing intentionally to wind me up- we’ve been together for fifteen years!

 

[colouredlines]

Ahem. First of all your should be you're (you are). You are incorrect with the rest. The apostrophe between Smith and s indicates the word IS, ie something that Mr Smith or his family would be doing. Where are say "Christmas at the Smith's" would therefore read "Christmas with the Smith is" which doesn't make any sense.

This explanation is also incorrect. Smith's is not necessarily a contraction of Smith is; it can also be a contraction of Smith has or it can indicate the Saxon genitive, aka the possessive apostrophe. It's pretty clear that the poster was using it for the latter, and got the placement of the apostrophe wrong.

The verb to be is also used for far more than "something that Mr Smith or his family would be doing", but that's neither here nor there.

 

[Gl1tt3rUn1c0rn]

My pet peeve is this trend of joining words together eg eachother, abit, ofcourse.

Also using breath instead of breathe eg ‘I am struggling to breath‘

And I’m sure @AliceInWanderLost will join me with this one - Tattle should have an eye role emoji but there are non

 

[Scorpihoe]

Not exactly grammar but…DOMANOSE

 

[Mollywobbles]

Don't think I've heard anyone say washbasin in my life sounds awfully posh

My mother was pretentiously posh.
We had a wash hand basin!
Except I got confused and called it a right hand basin.

 

[MaineCoonMama]

I live in Australia and a lot of people will start a sentence with 'Yeah, nah'. Not as bad as 'you know what I mean' every three minutes but it's just so weird. Who said it first, and why?

 

[AliceInWanderLost]

I'm sure this must have been mention before, but I absolutely hate when people say "I could care less", instead of "I couldn't care less". It makes me irrationally angry.

THIS. the irrational anger is real! i genuinely don't understand how people don't realise that by messing up the phrase, they are saying the exact opposite of what they are trying to say! "i could care less!" - you very much COULD care less, meaning it is a situation/issue you DO care about.

 

[Oops...]

Arrive TO......

Yer what?

This is a fashionable grammatical error at the moment

Yes, who can forget ‘We arrived to the Fairmont Hotel for The Montreaux Jazz Festival...’

I think I've found my tribe

She’s introduced me now!

Hello Tribe!

Oh my God, this just made me remember a time when a 'posh lady' called our office (I worked in travel).
She says, 'Oh hello, I'm running late because I'm stuck in Splarshen Darsh.

Cue me, wondering where the hell Splarshen Darsh is.

I responded with 'Can I take your booking reference?'
'No, I've not made a booking'
'Ok, we'll make one now for you'
'I don't need a booking. I'm in my car'
'Ok...erm...'
She proceeded to tell me that she worked in our Head Office (down South) and was visiting our office (up North) but was stuck in Splarshen Darsh.

I said that I'll pass the message on. So informed my big boss, who looks at me and says 'Where the hell is Splarshen Darsh?' Thinking she was coming via Germany (in her car!! )
Google gets involved. Everyone around gets involved.

10 minutes later she arrives.
We discovered that Splarshen Darsh was actually Splash and Dash and she was getting her car washed.

Oh the embarrassment!

I laughed SO much at this my ribs hurt and my little dog side-eyed me then went to sit under a chair he’s never sat under before! It’s one of the funniest posts I have ever read...

 

[AliceInWanderLost]

I think that's an Americanism, isn't it?

A bit like"gotten" instead of "got". I know the former is fine to use in North America, but it annoys me when people use it in the UK.

Kinda like "can I write TO you?", but in America, "can I write you?"

 

[sheleg]

“on accident“

its BY accident.

 

[Archduchess of Luxembourg]

A genuine question - what IS the correct use of ‘myself’? I hate it being used to sound like a smartarse when ‘me’ or ‘I’ is grammatically appropriate but I can’t think of the correct context to use it?

When, for example, you have bought something for yourself; you wouldn't say 'I bought me a...', you would say 'I bought myself a new...'.

Edit: the perils of answering before reading to the end of a thread! I see someone else answered, sorry!