English Grammar Pet Peeves

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by 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.

Uh, there's nothing wrong with these sentences that contain phrasal verbs. Here are the rules for phrasal verbs that 1) are transitive, and 2) the particle can be separated from the verb:

The object can either go after the phrasal verb:
Hang up your clothes.
I turn on the light.
Or it can be placed in between the verb and the particle:
Hang your clothes up.
I turn the light on.

However, when an object pronoun is used, it can only be placed in between:
Hang them up.
I turn it on.

[caliber1]

Originally Posted by wrholt

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.

Yep. My mother grew up in Minnesota and she, in my opinion, doesn't have that Minnesotan/Dakota accent. Interestingly enough I am sometimes told I pronounce things like I'm from there and I have never been. For instance, "Sorry". Most pronounce it like "SAWrry". I pronounce it like "SOHrry" with the long "o" sound. So yes, though quaint, a slight accent is noticeable.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Perikles

but I don't have any regional accent. .

Originally Posted by wrholt

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.

I'm surprised this comment has raised more than one eyebrow. It is not my assessment, just what everybody says - nobody has ever correctly identified which part of England I come from.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I absolutely love this thread! I think I don't make any of the mistakes in the list, but the comments on try to / try and, and on the phrasal verbs have solved many of my daily writing problems.

Thank you all!

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I'm surprised this comment has raised more than one eyebrow. It is not my assessment, just what everybody says - nobody has ever correctly identified which part of England I come from.

Notice, though, that I'm from the US: from my perspective, EVERYONE from the UK has a "regional accent".

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

I absolutely love this thread! I think I don't make any of the mistakes in the list, but the comments on try to / try and, and on the phrasal verbs have solved many of my daily writing problems.

Thank you all!

Me too ... So do I. But I keep mixing up loose and lose (in fact, I've never done any effort to learn their pronunciation and avoid mixing them up )

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by wrholt

Notice, though, that I'm from the US: from my perspective, EVERYONE from the UK has a "regional accent".

Yes. I don't quite get the concept of how English can have an English accent, but I hear what you say.

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

Me too ... So do I. But I keep mixing up loose and lose (in fact, I've never done made any effort to learn their pronunciation and avoid mixing them up )

[Jessica]

I see too many people my age mix up it's/its (misuse of apostrophes too), you're/your and their/there/they're.

[Sancho Panther]

Originally Posted by wrholt

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.

Whilst it's not actually wrong, nobody in Britain would ever say "Someplace", it's always "Somewhere"!

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by wrholt

Notice, though, that I'm from the US: from my perspective, EVERYONE from the UK has a "regional accent".

This, from someone from "BAH-ston"....???

[chileno]

[GuapaErika]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

Me too ... So do I. But I keep mixing up loose and lose (in fact, I've never done any effort to learn their pronunciation and avoid mixing them up )

In my mind, "loose" is a 'shorter' pronunciation than "lose". Loose sounds like the Spanish word 'luz' and is an adjective. It rhymes with the word 'goose'.

The laces on my shoes are loose. I have a loose tooth.

Lose has a longer 'Spanish u' sound and more of a 'z' ending than an 's'. It's more like 'looooze' and it is a verb. It rhymes with the word 'news'.
I don't like to lose the game. I didn't lose my homework.

If your belt is loose, you will lose your pants.

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by GuapaErika

In my mind, "loose" is a 'shorter' pronunciation than "lose". Loose sounds like the Spanish word 'luz' and is an adjective and a verb. It rhymes with the word 'goose'.
....

As a verb, "to loose" means "to set free; untie, unfasten" or "relax (one's grip)". It is less used today than in the past.

[GuapaErika]

Originally Posted by wrholt

As a verb, "to loose" means "to set free; untie, unfasten" or "relax (one's grip)". It is less used today than in the past.

Yes, I suppose you're right! It is used more in a command form, such as "Loosen your grip."

[Cloudgazer]

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?

*Sigh* . . . a kindred spirit! I also pronounce "they're" differently than "their" and "there", the last two being homonyms for me, too.

[Glen]

Not a personal peeve of mine, but I recall hearing reaction years ago to the "techno-speak" we take for granted now. Someone once said he wished all those people who use the word input when they mean contribution would just upshut. Again, it does not bother me although I do prefer reply or opinion to the rather revolting-sounding term feedback.

[Glen]

I always thought the relative pronoun who is used for people, while that is used for objects or ideas. They seem to get confused, but only in one direction:

He is the guy that I saw.
I met some people that know him.

Maybe it's because of wanting to avoid uncertainty about whether to use who or whom, but it sounds strange to me.

Reminds me of a phone call:
- Hi, is this ...............?
- To whom do you wish to speak?
- Aw, reckon I got the wrong number. Nobody that I know says "whom."

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Glen

Reminds me of a phone call:
- Hi, is this ...............?
- To whom do you wish to speak?
- Aw, reckon I got the wrong number. Nobody that I know says "whom."

I try to avoid people who don't say 'whom'.

[JPablo]

So maybe you avoid Bo Diddley (Rolling Stones), as he wrote "Who Do You Love?" of whom the Grammar Girl says was "grammatically incorrect" in writing so...

I checked the entry in Random House, (under "who") and the entry for "whom" in Oxford shorter... (very interesting)

"Whom Do You Love?" probably more grammatical and "correct" but per Random, the usage of "Who" at the beginning of a sentence is widespread and "more natural".

1. Whom do I trust?
2. In whom do I trust?
3. Who do I trust?

I tend to think, I trust the guys who ask questions 1 and 2, more than 3... but 3 at this stage of the game doesn't seem to be that "incorrect" nowadays...

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

"Whom Do You Love?" probably more grammatical and "correct" but per Random, the usage of "Who" at the beginning of a sentence is widespread and "more natural"....

Or more ignorant. The loss of 'whom' is directly attributable to lack of knowledge of grammar. No doubt the dumming down of language will result in everybody just grunting. Then somebody might hit on the idea of communication and invent another language, starting a new cycle.