Your single biggest grammar pet peeve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

That will make it easier to spell. Just sound it out, forte. fort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People using the word mortified when they mean horrified and confusing weary and wary.

YESSSS

What is the difference?

Mortified means extremely embarrassed or ashamed but for some reason people routinely misuse it as a substitute for horrified/shocked.

Weary means that you are exhausted/fatigued whereas wary means you are suspicious or skeptical but again people tend to switch the two.

God, ALL of this. So many people are using mortified and wary incorrectly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

Only by rubes or Italians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

It is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

Only by rubes or Italians.

According to Merriam-Webster, both pronunciations are correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The towels "need washed" or the baby's diaper "needs changed." I understand this is a regionalism but it sounds so uneducated.

It's a PA thing (central and western, specifically). I agree that it's annoying, though I recently learned that particular construction is based on German grammar rules. Given the influence of German immigrants on PA, that's not surprising.

Generations later it’s not really an excuse for people who can’t speak German.

Ich kanne Deutsch sprechen. OK für mich, richtig?

If you’re saying “needs washed” your English needs work. It’s not brag worthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The towels "need washed" or the baby's diaper "needs changed." I understand this is a regionalism but it sounds so uneducated.

It's a PA thing (central and western, specifically). I agree that it's annoying, though I recently learned that particular construction is based on German grammar rules. Given the influence of German immigrants on PA, that's not surprising.

Generations later it’s not really an excuse for people who can’t speak German.

Ich kanne Deutsch sprechen. OK für mich, richtig?

If you’re saying “needs washed” your English needs work. It’s not brag worthy.

*IT IS ENGLISH.* Dialects are fully recognized as valid expressions of English language. In New Orleans, people say “make groceries” because it comes from the French “faire.” It is DIFFERENT than how other places would say “get groceries” or “buy groceries” but it is not wrong and their English doesn’t “need work.” Different dialects, such as AAVE, have their own grammatical and syntactical patterns that are valid and recognized as their own forms of English.

Paradoxically, despite your insistence only one of speaking sounds intelligent or acceptable, the more you double down on this claim that standardized English is the “only” English, the less intelligent you sound. Go research this , it’s actually very interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should of instead of should have
impacted instead of affected

Also, dangling modifiers and dangling participles. A dangling modifier is when a descriptive phrase doesn’t apply to the noun that immediately follows it. A dangling participle is when an adjective is being used to describe the wrong noun in the sentence.

It’s not should have that you’re hearing, it’s should’ve which is a contraction of should have. When people write it incorrectly, it’s because they are writing it phonetically - but they’re making the same basic mistake you are.

I’m not making a mistake. People who write it phonetically/incorrectly are making a mistake. Also, I know the difference between when someone is saying the contraction (should’ve) and when they’re saying it incorrectly as should of. Yes, they sound similar but I can hear the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"On accident" instead of "by accident."

"On my period" kind of bugs me, though it probably shouldn't.

That bugs me as well and is a legitimate peeve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

Only by rubes or Italians.

According to Merriam-Webster, both pronunciations are correct.

DP. Yes, now both pronunciations are correct but that’s only because people so commonly mispronounced it as fort-ay for so many years that the incorrect pronunciation became accepted. This happens often…people mess up a word so much that it becomes the common parlance and is actually eventually accepted into the lexicon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

Only by rubes or Italians.

According to Merriam-Webster, both pronunciations are correct.

DP. Yes, now both pronunciations are correct but that’s only because people so commonly mispronounced it as fort-ay for so many years that the incorrect pronunciation became accepted. This happens often…people mess up a word so much that it becomes the common parlance and is actually eventually accepted into the lexicon.

That is how language develops

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The towels "need washed" or the baby's diaper "needs changed." I understand this is a regionalism but it sounds so uneducated.

It's a PA thing (central and western, specifically). I agree that it's annoying, though I recently learned that particular construction is based on German grammar rules. Given the influence of German immigrants on PA, that's not surprising.

Generations later it’s not really an excuse for people who can’t speak German.

Ich kanne Deutsch sprechen. OK für mich, richtig?

If you’re saying “needs washed” your English needs work. It’s not brag worthy.

*IT IS ENGLISH.* Dialects are fully recognized as valid expressions of English language. In New Orleans, people say “make groceries” because it comes from the French “faire.” It is DIFFERENT than how other places would say “get groceries” or “buy groceries” but it is not wrong and their English doesn’t “need work.” Different dialects, such as AAVE, have their own grammatical and syntactical patterns that are valid and recognized as their own forms of English.

Paradoxically, despite your insistence only one of speaking sounds intelligent or acceptable, the more you double down on this claim that standardized English is the “only” English, the less intelligent you sound. Go research this , it’s actually very interesting.

First of all for those who are so passionate about the German influence that's not even correct. It's Scots-Irish.

Second, if you know better, you should do better. The rest of the country doesn't find "needs warshed" cute.

I didn't say it wasn't English, but outside of the very specific region it is non-standard. And we aren't in Pennsylvania right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The towels "need washed" or the baby's diaper "needs changed." I understand this is a regionalism but it sounds so uneducated.

It's a PA thing (central and western, specifically). I agree that it's annoying, though I recently learned that particular construction is based on German grammar rules. Given the influence of German immigrants on PA, that's not surprising.

Generations later it’s not really an excuse for people who can’t speak German.

Ich kanne Deutsch sprechen. OK für mich, richtig?

If you’re saying “needs washed” your English needs work. It’s not brag worthy.

*IT IS ENGLISH.* Dialects are fully recognized as valid expressions of English language. In New Orleans, people say “make groceries” because it comes from the French “faire.” It is DIFFERENT than how other places would say “get groceries” or “buy groceries” but it is not wrong and their English doesn’t “need work.” Different dialects, such as AAVE, have their own grammatical and syntactical patterns that are valid and recognized as their own forms of English.

Paradoxically, despite your insistence only one of speaking sounds intelligent or acceptable, the more you double down on this claim that standardized English is the “only” English, the less intelligent you sound. Go research this , it’s actually very interesting.

First of all for those who are so passionate about the German influence that's not even correct. It's Scots-Irish.

Second, if you know better, you should do better. The rest of the country doesn't find "needs warshed" cute.

I didn't say it wasn't English, but outside of the very specific region it is non-standard. And we aren't in Pennsylvania right now.

Ok, keep doubling down on your misunderstanding of linguistics and just refuse to accept new information. That is of course how most intelligent people operate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people put a qualifier with “unique”, which means one of a kind so it cannot be compared. It is incorrect to say very unique or a little unique or less unique. It’s just unique.

Also forte is pronounced without the e, like fort.

I thought it was pronounced "for-tay"

Only by rubes or Italians.

According to Merriam-Webster, both pronunciations are correct.

DP. Yes, now both pronunciations are correct but that’s only because people so commonly mispronounced it as fort-ay for so many years that the incorrect pronunciation became accepted. This happens often…people mess up a word so much that it becomes the common parlance and is actually eventually accepted into the lexicon.

That is how language develops

Now one would sound like a pretentious tw@t insisting upon the French pronunciation.