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Grammar Corrections

4K views 45 replies 28 participants last post by  Haldir 
#1 ·
Post your corrections, concerns or discussions here.

If you've happened to use incorrect grammar or spelling, people usually won't have corrected you if they're just wanting to value your ideas. This thread is intended to be a completely impersonal list of observations that in no way relate to the value of an individual's ideas.

Quotes aren't allowed.

What are some common grammar / spelling errors you've seen about the place (or other places)?

Do you have any grammar or spelling related things you'd like to understand better?
 
#2 ·
This isn't a correction, I just don't get it. How is it an anatomical representation of an emotion?

>_>

 
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#3 · (Edited)
Apostrophe's are more than commonly misused. This is the most bothersome for me.

Sentences often lack periods at the end

first letters of sentences are not capitalized.

Proper nouns, like john, are sometimes not capitalized.

Using dangling participles.

A large percentage of people don't know how to use colons(punctuation) and semi-colons. That; may or may not include me.

Some people don't use commas or split sentences into two It becomes difficult to read or comprehend what they're writing.


For the most part, you don't get that many GRAMMATICAL errors("Grammar errors" is grammatically incorrect) on the forums and there's barely any need to correct or point them out.
 
#11 ·
I probably misuse colon's, semi-colon's, hiphens, apostrophe's, and abuse comma's :wink: I also have a habit of using emoticons (spelling?) as periods :tongue:

If somebody would be so kind as to give this lazy ass a nice website that would explain all of them for me I would be appreciative.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I often go back latter to read my post and find a misspelling or use of the wrong word and if it's not to late I correct it. Most of you are gracious enough not out call of out my grammar mistakes and I appreciate that. I don't call out others mistakes unless their being obnoxious or arrogant and then it's fair game. Occasionally I see others here pick at a posters grammar or punctuation and I find that far more annoying that the grammar error itself.
 
#16 ·
I don't mind small mistakes such as writing "lets" instead of "let's". We all make mistakes at times.

Though I do get kind of frustrated when I see bigger grammatical mistakes such as when people write "there" instead of "their, and "then" instead of "than" and vice versa. There are of course many other grammatical mistakes that are quite annoying, but those are some of the more common ones.

Is it really that hard for people to think for one moment before write something and post it? If they had just considered the word "there" and its uses they would have easily come to the conclusion that it shouldn't be used in the place of "their", and the same can be said for a lot of other examples of misuse when it comes to the English language (or any other language for that matter).

There's one thing more annoying than bad grammar itself and that's when people use no (or close to no) paragraphs in their writing. Reading text bungled up in one huge wall of text is not pleasant to the eyes.

I might sound a bit like an elitist, but I would assure you that I am not. It's not my fault that I spot these grammatical errors and whatnot and immediately, it's an unconscious process that I cannot control. I can't just turn off my ability to spot flaws in things immediately.
 
#17 ·
Is it really that hard for people to think for one moment before write something and post it? If they had just considered the word "there" and its uses they would have easily come to the conclusion that it shouldn't be used in the place of "their", and the same can be said for a lot of other examples of misuse when it comes to the English language (or any other language for that matter).
A couple of years ago, I was an ESL teacher for a short period of time. I would say that my own English skills are adequate - not perfect. However, during my time as a teacher I learned that, yes, it is hard for some people to write down their thoughts without breaking grammar rules in the process. They don't do it on purpose and it's also not the case that they are hasty or careless. It is simply wrong to assume character flaws or ascribe negative personality traits to these people. They are not lazy or weak-willed.

I hold that Howard Gardner is right when he explains that being smart expresses itself in people in various ways. In his theory of Multiple Intelligences he puts forth the following intelligences: logical-mathematical, spatial, linguistic, bodily-kinaesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential. You, I and all other elitist linguistic purists (let's not kid ourselves) are apparently good (smart) with language. Good for us. However, according to Gardner we have no reason to look down on people for not being as apt as we are when it comes to using language. I recommend reading up on Gardner, so I can keep this post as short as possible.

I might sound a bit like an elitist, but I would assure you that I am not. It's not my fault that I spot these grammatical errors and whatnot and immediately, it's an unconscious process that I cannot control. I can't just turn off my ability to spot flaws in things immediately.
Next to the probability that you cannot change who you are (in any major way), I don't think you have to either. There is nothing wrong with being smart when it comes to using language - just as much as it is not wrong to be smart or good at something completely different. However, I don't think we should see ourselves as the victims of our abilities. We should take responsibility for who we are and conduct ourselves in a way that minimizes suffering and increases happiness. In other words, we don't have to turn off our ability to spot flaws, but we do need to learn to be tactful and subtle. Keeping in mind that others will be better equipped than us at other forms of intelligence, we would do well to treat others gently in the hope they will return the favor.

PS. How big of a moral elitist am I? :tongue:
 
#19 ·
I've never envisioned grammar and language as a system, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. I'm extremely attracted to language and its use and why I find my job as an editor so fascinating. I’m constantly editing or mentally editing things, even when I don’t have to, and I love the patterns that language and its use has. I think part of it comes from the amount of reading I do; I’ve just picked up on the ebb and flow of the English language and what makes sense and what doesn’t.

I’m attending a conference of medical writers in October and one of the many interesting sessions available is one called “Writing, the Cherokee Syllabary, and the Nature of Language” (at the same time is a soft skills class that has more practical application). Another course I’m registered for is a course on rhetoric in medical writing. It’s interesting to look at the use of grammar as a theory and how grammar and the rest of it fit into the larger picture.

To get back to the original topic, some of my favorite dislikes are when prepositions are used at the end of a phrase; also, from a medical/scientific perspective, when people write “data is” instead of “data are.” “Data” is plural, people! I know I sound nitpicky, but scientific journal editors are much more picky than I am.
 
#21 ·
Annoying errors in English usage (that are as pleasant as off-key singing!):
"between you and I" (what's wrong with the word "me"?)
"give that book to John and I" (once again, "me" is a perfectly good word; why not use it?)
to try and do something... as an example: He will try and run the 100 meter sprint in the fastest time. This implies two equal actions: first the trying and then the running. It would be better to say "He will try to run..."
Less when fewer should be used, as in "less than ten toothbrush users preferred the toothbrush with the long handle, instead of the short handle." (Fewer than ten toothbrush users... if you can count them, even if you have to count really high, the word is "fewer," not "less").
Beginning a sentence with a numeral, instead of spelling out the number, bugs me.
Comma splices are annoying, as well. Example: I find comma splices irritating, just stop doing that. It's OK to use a semi colon!!!
"Alot" and "alright" are not actually words. You can't use them on a Scrabble board. It's a lot and all right.

/venting session ends.
 
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#23 ·
I don't know why, but I get very annoyed with the confusion of the words 'women' and 'woman'. My accent very clearly differentiates these two words and 'e' and 'a' aren't that close together on the keyboard, so it doesn't make much sense to me.

Someone already mentioned it but the mix-up of they're, there and their pisses me off too.

'Alot' rather than 'a lot' used to get me until I came across this site: Hyperbole and a Half: The Alot is Better Than You at Everything

Now I just smile and go 'N'aww, I do love you alot'. :laughing:

Personal problem: 'Who' and 'whom'. I know how to do it...I just don't know whether using 'whom' instead of 'who' in the appropriate context will make me sound like a pretentious dick or whether I will be criticised and get looked down on by a grammar Nazi who just assumes I don't know how to do it.

This inconsistency is intolerable! I propose that we either a) Always insist on differentiating appropriately with 'who' and 'whom' like in formal English or b) Kill the 'whom' fanatic grammar Nazis and scrap the use of 'whom'. FOREVER.
 
#28 ·
How many prescriptivists does it take to fix a light bulb?

Not all perceived errors are actual errors. Although I must heartily second, third and fourth those peeved by homophone sets involving apostrophes.

Also, I add the replacement of the auxiliary verb "have" with the preposition "of," thus: "should have" becomes "should of," "would have" becomes "would of," etc.
 
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#29 ·
How many prescriptivists does it take to fix a light bulb?

Not all perceived errors are actual errors. Although I must heartily second, third and fourth those peeved by homophone sets involving apostrophes.

Also, I add the replacement of the auxiliary verb "have" with the preposition "of," thus: "should have" becomes "should of," "would have" becomes "would of," etc.

Drives me nuts. Do you know if this is written anywhere as okay?

This just seems like poor English to me, but if I know of a rule somewhere it will be easier to live with. :tongue:
 
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#30 ·
"Would of". Grates me. To no end. I want to sucker-punch whomever writes it.
 
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#32 ·
My biggest grammar pet peeves:

-"If I was", "I wish it was" (should be "If I were", "I wish it were", please learn the subjunctive. I hear news anchors doing this)

-"On accident" (should be "by accident". It comes from "on purpose")

-"I loose a lot of money at the casino" (should be "I lose a lot of money". Loose as a verb would mean something completely different)

-"I feel badly for her" (should be "I feel bad". You don't feel sadly, you feel sad. If you feel badly, it means you do a poor job at feeling)

-"I'm apart of the team!" (should be "I'm a part of the team", because to be apart of the team would mean exactly the opposite)

There are other things that annoy me, of course, but these ones grate me the most. Especially the subjunctive one.
 
#34 ·
Redundant ends of sentences get to me. I.e. 'I make it intelligible to people'. I knew something was wrong with it, but couldn't work out what for a couple of minutes until I realise the guy saying it didn't need the 'to people' bit. He was talking about brain science and if he's managed to make that intelligible to animals or plants, I'd be very interested to know how.

'Your' instead of 'you're' is teeth-grindingly annoying. It's just common sense.
 
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#37 ·
People who say "I graduated college." It makes it sound like you conferred the degree instead of the other way around.

A grammatical construction we don't pay much attention to at least in the US is the pluralization of words that indicate a group, ie, family, team, etc. Technically it should be "family are," "team are," etc, but even grammar checkers in word processing programs flag this.

The other one is the use of e-mail vs email. I go with e-mail in my e-mails and personal writing because you are shortening the word "electronic," but dictionaries and "experts" increasingly claim that it doesn't matter which one you use. In fact, in the world of medical writing, email is preferred by the common style guides.
 
#42 ·
A grammatical construction we don't pay much attention to at least in the US is the pluralization of words that indicate a group, ie, family, team, etc. Technically it should be "family are," "team are," etc, but even grammar checkers in word processing programs flag this.
So, "The family is moving into a hotel," is wrong? Could you elaborate on that?
 
#38 ·
Adding: dislike when "since is used in lieu of "because," as in a sentence I saw today: "Since I earned 15 AP credits in high school, I took a semester off in college to do a co-op program." And that was another error I had to correct; the writer originally had it as "coop program."
 
#40 ·
If a person makes a simple error, it doesn't bother me as much, as long as they are trying to convey their message clearly. If I don't understand what they mean, then I will ask, but I won't go around, telling people that they should have used affect instead of effect. I care more about the creativeness of language, the bending of the rules, but I do value language that can be spoken effectively. I'm much more of a perfectionist with my own writing than with others, because I already have an idea about what I want to say and how I want to say it. It frustrates me when I can't translate my thoughts to be comprehensible to others. But, correcting my own errors is a joy, a fun process. I like editing as much as I like writing. The clicking together of wires and gears and screws to make a unique combination is pleasing to me.

By the way, I love Stephen Fry's take on language.

 
#44 ·
For some reason I get annoyed and act like a grammar nazi when talking or writing in English, but I don't even care when others make mistakes in my native language.
I'm not a grammarian, but I expect people to fix simple mistakes like homonyms and tenses.
Someone just told me "you was here". :frustrating:
 
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