English Grammar Pet Peeves

[laepelba]

I happened across this on Facebook. Thought you guys might be interested. These are mistakes that native English speakers make with EXTREME regularity...

Have a great day!!

[Perikles]

Well, I don't make any of these mistakes EVER, although I know a lot of people who do.

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I happened across this on Facebook. Thought you guys might be interested. These are mistakes that native English speakers make with EXTREME regularity...

Have a great day!!

And it makes the mistake I was expecting it to make: most of those "grammar peeves" are nothing to do with grammar. It's curious how few grammar peevists actually know what grammar is.

[Cloudgazer]

Of the ten points, nos. 2, 5 and 9 are the ones I bump into most.

Hearing news anchors and journalists say "your" for "you're" is very provocative for me. In my formative years, the two words were usually spoken with distinct sounds for the "ou" diphthong: the "ou" in "your(s)" sounding like the "o" in "yore" and the "ou" in "you're" sounding like the "ou" in "you". Nowadays, I often hear them pronounced identically.
@Native English speakers: Are these two words pronounced the same way in your area?

And I almost always have to do a double-check with "its". (I think the sense of possession probably subliminally triggers the unaccepted use of the apostrophe.)

[Glen]

Good list. Are any others of you out there as annoyed as I am to hear the trendy "I'm good" (Soy bueno) instead of "I'm doing well" (Estoy bien) in response to the common greeting "How are you?"

[caliber1]

Originally Posted by Glen

Good list. Are any others of you out there as annoyed as I am to hear the trendy "I'm good" (Soy bueno) instead of "I'm doing well" (Estoy bien) in response to the common greeting "How are you?"

Oh my gosh! This list could go on forever My mother was an English/Grammar teacher. She still will correct me or anyone for that matter if we don't put "ly" after an adverb in certain spots. Por ejemplo:

Mom- How did you do on the test today?
Me- I did bad.
Mom- Badly! You did badly!!!!!!
Me- Stop it nowly. That isn't funnyly. Leave me alonely. The test is overly. . . . .
Well, you get the point. I give her a bad time about it. I mean I give her a badly time about it

[Rusty]

Yeah, the list is nowhere near complete. That would be an exhaustive task.

I'll bet most native speakers aren't even aware that the preposition 'to', not the conjunction 'and', precedes an infinitive that follows the verb 'try' - "We can try to see if it's still there tomorrow." "If I try to help him, he just scowls at me."

"You're" and "your" are pronounced exactly the same way everywhere I've been. They're considered to be homonyms, just as "they're," "their" and "there" are.

[marmoset]

Originally Posted by Rusty

"You're" and "your" are pronounced exactly the same way everywhere I've been. They're considered to be homonyms, just as "they're," "their" and "there" are.

Same here, as far as I've noticed.


I try not to worry about other people's common mistakes, as I know I have a ton of them myself. Although I admit to automatically thinking, "lower education" when I see, "your welcome" etc.

I certainly cannot always use "whom" properly.

I just recently had my mind blown to learn that "laxadaisical" is not a word. It's actually "lackadaisical" and prescriptively pronounced as such, but I have never heard anyone pronounce it "correct". I mean, "correctly".

[aleCcowaN]

If you don't mind me ... my ... saying, this topic deserves a whole nother forum.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Cloudgazer

Hearing news anchors and journalists say "your" for "you're" is very provocative for me. In my formative years, the two words were usually spoken with distinct sounds for the "ou" diphthong: the "ou" in "your(s)" sounding like the "o" in "yore" and the "ou" in "you're" sounding like the "ou" in "you". Nowadays, I often hear them pronounced identically.
@Native English speakers: Are these two words pronounced the same way in your area?

I've never heard of "your" and "you're" being pronounced differently. I grew up in the Buffalo, NY area. We have lots of pronunciation quirks of our own.....

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

If you don't mind me ... my ... saying, this topic deserves a whole nother forum.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by Rusty

I'll bet most native speakers aren't even aware that the preposition 'to', not the conjunction 'and', precedes an infinitive that follows the verb 'try' - "We can try to see if it's still there tomorrow." "If I try to help him, he just scowls at me."

Thank you! You have answered a question I've had for a long time.


One that used to confuse me:

"He should of told me" for "he should've told me".
"I could of said" for "I could've said"
... and the like.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Rusty

I'll bet most native speakers aren't even aware that the preposition 'to', not the conjunction 'and', precedes an infinitive that follows the verb 'try' - "We can try to see if it's still there tomorrow." "If I try to help him, he just scowls at me.".

Sorry Rusty, I can't agree that 'try and' is actually wrong, because it is arguably recognized as an idiom and enough good writers use it:

J.R.R. Tolkein, 1954: I will try and answer any question you may have.

The BNC has 8707 hits on 'try to' and 3901 on 'try and'. Obviously 'try to' is correct, but 'try and' doesn't sound wrong to me. It has a parallel with 'go and' as in "It's late, child, go and get some sleep".

Originally Posted by Rusty

"You're" and "your" are pronounced exactly the same way everywhere I've been. They're considered to be homonyms, just as "they're," "their" and "there" are.

Who considers these as homonymns? I for one certainly differentiate between "You're" and "your". As for "their" and "there", these are true homonyms, but I pronounce "they're" differently. Perhaps another BrE/AmE thing?

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Who considers these as homonymns? I for one certainly differentiate between "You're" and "your". As for "their" and "there", these are true homonyms, but I pronounce "they're" differently. Perhaps another BrE/AmE thing?

I do, it's not just a trans-Atlantic difference.

[Rusty]

True, 'try and' is VERY popular. I hear and see it used all the time.
There are many who argue that it's an 'idiom', so you shouldn't feel bad about quoting them, but many of those proponents also suggest that 'to' should be used in formal writing.
I know I'm not supposed to get worked up about it, or so my therapist says , but I just can't bring myself to use a conjunction where a preposition is supposed to be.

Be sure and let me know what you think.
Another idiom? All I understand is that the speaker is asking someone to do two things - 'be sure' AND 'let me know'. Therapy needed. I'll be back ...

...

OK.

Everywhere I've been in America, "you're" and "your" can be pronounced exactly the same way and no one will bat an eyelash. (The same goes for "they're" and "there/their"). That's the preferred pronunciation in AmE. Once in awhile I'll hear someone pronounce "you're" as if it rhymed with "fewer," but the single-syllable pronunciation makes more sense to me. That's why the contraction exists in the first place, right?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Once in awhile I'll hear someone pronounce "you're" as if it rhymed with "fewer," but the single-syllable pronunciation makes more sense to me. That's why the contraction exists in the first place, right?

I suppose the 'fewer' is the way I pronounce it, and it sounds quite normal to me. I think there is a lot of regional variation even in the UK, but I don't have any regional accent. But I am amazed how frequently I see "your" for "you're" in forum posts of all kinds, even quite literate ones.

I'll try and investigate regional usage in the UK .

[Awaken]

I saw this same thing on Facebook too. Technically #8 is wrong. Effect is both a noun and a verb. The noun usage is just more common.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Awaken

I saw this same thing on Facebook too. Technically #8 is wrong. Effect is both a noun and a verb. The noun usage is just more common.

Yes, the verbs have different meanings. To effect means to bring about, so "A single glass of brandy may effect his recovery".

They are both nouns with different meanings, though effect is much more common.

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I don't have any regional accent.

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by Perikles

...but I don't have any regional accent. ...

That's what we all think....until we travel to someplace else and make a comment to a local resident about how quaint his or her accent is.

[Thomas]

You hang up your clothes, but your mother used to tell you hang them up.

I turn on the light, but I turn it on.

And let's not get into spelling....