Your single biggest grammar pet peeve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Axe. It's ASK. And yes there are white people who say this. Scary that my kid's teacher is one.

Christ, I’ve never heard that. Will look out for it. Carrying an axe.

It is very much a black language thing.

No, it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lie and lay. No one lies down anymore, they lay down.

I really wish I understood this lie/lay thing, but I never have learned it! I have an advanced degree and I was 97th percentile on admissions tests... and still I've never really learned this.

People learn what is important to them. Many have evidently decided that the esteem of sticklers is not a sufficient reward for the effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peeve: "I could care less."

That is INCORRECT! If you COULD care less, then why don't you?

The correct phrase is: "I COULDN'T care less!" (i.e. you care so little about something that it is impossible to care even less than you do).

Idiomatic usage.

No. Just people who don't know what they are saying.

No one who says "I could care less" is misunderstood. You don't have to like it, but don't pretend you don't understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Nasty comment but back when I was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth, we were taught that pronouncing anything in it's foreign pronunciation was wrong. Thus fort vs fortay.

I say for-tay, yet what really sticks in my craw is when people say "foy-YAY" instead of "FOY-yer" for their home's entryway. So pretentious!! Figure that one out for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else hate the over use of “would?” Just read an otherwise beautifully written story. One section of the story suddenly shift into “would” territory - something like: “The king would go down into the town. He would seek out the poor and there he would give them gifts.” Why the would?

YES! It's ok to just use regular past tense. I recently read a cover letter for someone and the overuse of "would" made me see red "At this job, I would take care of patients and administer their medications. I would always ensure they were comfortable and knew what was happening." Gah! "At this job, I took care of patients and administered their medications. I ensured they were comfortable and knew what was happening." No need for "would" anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to hospital.

Got a call from a friend who is a no native speaker who said “sorry I missed you. I’m in the hospital.”

I said “oh no, what happened?”

She said “My aunt is sick!”

I said “Friend, you are AT the hospital!”

I am not a native speaker, like your friend, and I find your corrections extremely annoying. They won't be your friend for long if you keep talking down to them like this. Perhaps, learn their native language and see how you do with such fine nuances.

But are you not interested in learning the quirks of language in America? "I'm in the hospital" does in fact mean you are sick or injured. If you don't want to learn, are you ok with misrepresentating yourself?

Perhaps brush up on your native language? See the second to last word in your post.

It sounds like you believe that because sometimes native speakers make flubs, non-native speakers shouldn't learn the difference between "in the hospital" and "at the hospital."

I think that regardless of the fact that I personally made a mistake, it's still acceptable for others to learn our language quirks..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Peeve: "I could care less."

That is INCORRECT! If you COULD care less, then why don't you?

The correct phrase is: "I COULDN'T care less!" (i.e. you care so little about something that it is impossible to care even less than you do).

+1. I will die on this hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to hospital.

Got a call from a friend who is a no native speaker who said “sorry I missed you. I’m in the hospital.”

I said “oh no, what happened?”

She said “My aunt is sick!”

I said “Friend, you are AT the hospital!”

I am not a native speaker, like your friend, and I find your corrections extremely annoying. They won't be your friend for long if you keep talking down to them like this. Perhaps, learn their native language and see how you do with such fine nuances.

But are you not interested in learning the quirks of language in America? "I'm in the hospital" does in fact mean you are sick or injured. If you don't want to learn, are you ok with misrepresentating yourself?

Perhaps brush up on your native language? See the second to last word in your post.

It sounds like you believe that because sometimes native speakers make flubs, non-native speakers shouldn't learn the difference between "in the hospital" and "at the hospital."

I think that regardless of the fact that I personally made a mistake, it's still acceptable for others to learn our language quirks..

It is not about foreigners wanting or having to learn English. It is about your attitude and expectations with those who do not speak it perfectly. Please do not correct their English unless they at some point had asked you to or you are in a professional environment. That is, if you want to stay friends with them. They might smile and thank you, being polite, but they actually get upset. They will never tell you that or admit it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I tell you what burns my butt, and yes, I have been livid about this since a small child. It isn't a grammar point, but at this point, who cares.

Lime. Why do we use the same word for such vastly different things? Maybe it's a citrus fruit, but maybe it's the "caustic highly infusible solid that consists of calcium oxide often together with magnesium oxide, that is obtained by calcining forms of calcium carbonate (such as shells or limestone), and that is used in building (as in mortar and plaster) and in agriculture."

WTF? One is delicious (albeit sour), while the other is f'ing caustic. When I learned that soap could be made by treating animal fat with lime, I envisioned something much different than the reality. Jesus. I am still mad.

Wait til you hear about 'cleave'!

[Anonymous]

While calling someone, the caller says "I was calling to...."

Isn't it "I am calling to...." - present tense since you are actually doing it at that moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peeve: "I could care less."

That is INCORRECT! If you COULD care less, then why don't you?

The correct phrase is: "I COULDN'T care less!" (i.e. you care so little about something that it is impossible to care even less than you do).

Idiomatic usage.

No. Just people who don't know what they are saying.

No one who says "I could care less" is misunderstood. You don't have to like it, but don't pretend you don't understand.

Of course I understand what they intend. They people who are speaking are the ones who don't know what they are saying! They are saying that they COULD care Less... meaning they still care to some degree.

What they intend as their meaning is that they could NOT care any less than they do right now. So, THEY are the ones who don't listen to what is coming out of their mouths or they simply do not understand logic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peeve: "I could care less."

That is INCORRECT! If you COULD care less, then why don't you?

The correct phrase is: "I COULDN'T care less!" (i.e. you care so little about something that it is impossible to care even less than you do).

Idiomatic usage.

No. Just people who don't know what they are saying.

No one who says "I could care less" is misunderstood. You don't have to like it, but don't pretend you don't understand.

Of course I understand what they intend. They people who are speaking are the ones who don't know what they are saying! They are saying that they COULD care Less... meaning they still care to some degree.

What they intend as their meaning is that they could NOT care any less than they do right now. So, THEY are the ones who don't listen to what is coming out of their mouths or they simply do not understand logic.

Ahhhhhh, you’re insufferably pedantic. Are you like this in real life?

[Different PP; Editor PP]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who do not use "I" and "me" properly.

Susie and I went to the store. (CORRECT)

Tom went to the store with Susie and I. (INCORRECT).

Tom went to the store with Susie and me. (CORRECT).

I was taught that, when using a first person singular pronoun, the pronoun goes nearest to the verb such that your last example should end ". . . with me and Susie."

I am not sure where you were educated but it is NOT "me and Susie."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to hospital.

Got a call from a friend who is a no native speaker who said “sorry I missed you. I’m in the hospital.”

I said “oh no, what happened?”

She said “My aunt is sick!”

I said “Friend, you are AT the hospital!”

I am not a native speaker, like your friend, and I find your corrections extremely annoying. They won't be your friend for long if you keep talking down to them like this. Perhaps, learn their native language and see how you do with such fine nuances.

But are you not interested in learning the quirks of language in America? "I'm in the hospital" does in fact mean you are sick or injured. If you don't want to learn, are you ok with misrepresentating yourself?

Perhaps brush up on your native language? See the second to last word in your post.

It sounds like you believe that because sometimes native speakers make flubs, non-native speakers shouldn't learn the difference between "in the hospital" and "at the hospital."

I think that regardless of the fact that I personally made a mistake, it's still acceptable for others to learn our language quirks..

It is not about foreigners wanting or having to learn English. It is about your attitude and expectations with those who do not speak it perfectly. Please do not correct their English unless they at some point had asked you to or you are in a professional environment. That is, if you want to stay friends with them. They might smile and thank you, being polite, but they actually get upset. They will never tell you that or admit it.

Pp.
If they indicate they're offended, I won't say anything anymore. I think if someone keeps telling people they're in the hospital they may be confused about why people ask what's wrong with them. I'm ok with them being confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to hospital.

Got a call from a friend who is a no native speaker who said “sorry I missed you. I’m in the hospital.”

I said “oh no, what happened?”

She said “My aunt is sick!”

I said “Friend, you are AT the hospital!”

I am not a native speaker, like your friend, and I find your corrections extremely annoying. They won't be your friend for long if you keep talking down to them like this. Perhaps, learn their native language and see how you do with such fine nuances.

But are you not interested in learning the quirks of language in America? "I'm in the hospital" does in fact mean you are sick or injured. If you don't want to learn, are you ok with misrepresentating yourself?

Perhaps brush up on your native language? See the second to last word in your post.

It sounds like you believe that because sometimes native speakers make flubs, non-native speakers shouldn't learn the difference between "in the hospital" and "at the hospital."

I think that regardless of the fact that I personally made a mistake, it's still acceptable for others to learn our language quirks..

It is not about foreigners wanting or having to learn English. It is about your attitude and expectations with those who do not speak it perfectly. Please do not correct their English unless they at some point had asked you to or you are in a professional environment. That is, if you want to stay friends with them. They might smile and thank you, being polite, but they actually get upset. They will never tell you that or admit it.

Pp.
If they indicate they're offended, I won't say anything anymore. I think if someone keeps telling people they're in the hospital they may be confused about why people ask what's wrong with them. I'm ok with them being confused.

Asking what's wrong is something you might do regardless of whether they are visiting a patient or are a patient. However, the people in this area are so inward focused the only thing that matters is how it impacts them.