20 examples of grammar misuse

[China]

This topic always seems to bring up people's pet peeves. Maybe it'll give us something to talk about for a while other than politics.

20 examples of grammar misuse

Grammar just ain't what it used to be, it seems. When we explained the difference between "fewer" and "less than", following Tesco's policy shift on this matter, readers told us what grammar rules they see being flouted or find confusing. The list was a long one. Here are the best.

1. The one that really annoys me is how people suddenly seem to confuse "have" and "of", as in: "I could of learnt how to write properly." There's no excuse for it!

Pete, Sheffield

2. The phrase "for free" is becoming commonplace and is used often on television and it's wrong. It should be "for nothing".

Mary, Basingstoke

3. That guardian of our language, the BBC, is full of solecisms these days; just one example: 12 pm. There is no such time; "meridiem" as in am ("ante meridiem" means "before noon") and pm ("post meridiem" means "after noon") means midday. The 12th hour is neither before nor after midday. So please, BBC use either midday or noon with midnight the correct term for the other end of the day. This is not being pedantic; in these days of 24-hour days, it is often not readily apparent what time 12 pm might be.

Mervyn, Usk, Monmouthshire

4. If you do something to change a situation, then you "effect" a change. If your circumstances are changed by an action, then the change has caused an "effect". You cannot "affect" a change in something, nor can you be "effected" by one.

Rob, Lyme Regis

5. I get annoyed at the reckless use of apostrophes, for example, the plural of CD can't be CD's.

Shahed Alam, London

6. Many people, including public speakers, incorrectly use "I" instead of "me". For instance, they would say "She said some very kind things about George and I", thinking that they are being polite or grammatically correct. An easy way to remember which to use is: if you would say him or her on its own, use me; if you would say he or she on its own, use I. For example, "She said some very kind things about him".

Lorraine, Aylesbury

7. Incorrect use of reflexives make my blood boil. I think that for someone to say "yourself" and "myself" when they just mean "you" or "me" is possibly out of a false sense of politeness, or maybe the insidious effect of TV soaps, or both. Those who use it correctly can give "themselves" a pat on the back.

John Self, Wisset, Suffolk

8. How about "none of them is" and "none of them are"? Most people would use the latter whereas the former is correct. "None" is short for "not one" therefore "not one (none) of them is" would be used. Most newsreaders still get it right though - on the BBC anyway!

Emily, Bristol

NOTE: Fowler's Modern English Usage says that "none" is not short for "not one" and although using a singular verb is more common, using a plural verb has also been an acceptable option since the reign of King Alfred.

9. Similar TO, different FROM, compared WITH. Not "to" used for all of them!

Susan, Brisbane, Australia

NOTE: Fowler's Modern English Usage says: "The commonly expressed view that 'different' should only be followed by 'from' and never by 'to' or 'than' is not supportable in the face of past and present evidence or of logic." It adds that "compare to" is to liken and "compare with" or "compare to" is used to point out similarities and differences. The BBC News website style guide differs with Fowler's on this last point. It says that when pointing out differences, "compare with" should always be used.

10. Here's one they often get wrong on BBC news! BBC reporter: "Then they opened fire on us". This is incorrect. In military terms there are two methods of shooting at an enemy, controlled-fire and open-fire. I.E. you are not opening anything so using the past tense of open is incorrect. The correct expression should be "Then they open-fired on us"

JWTH, Belfast

11. I find the increasing, incorrect use of "literally" annoying.... "I literally went blue with anger!!" "Really?" I ask.

Ned, Wallingford

12. The proper use of "its" and "it's" seems to confound many people, with "its" being a possessive and "it's" being a contraction of "it is". I've seen this mistake made even in some rather lofty publications...

Eric, Berlin

13. It annoys me when people use "due to" when they mean "owing to". But then I'm a pedant.

Guy, London

NOTE: The BBC News website style guide says "due to" means "caused by" and needs a noun, but "owing to" means "because of" and relates to a verb. Hence, "the visit was cancelled [cancelled is the verb] owing to flooding" is correct. So too is "the flooding [flooding is the noun] was due to weeks of heavy rain".

14. As a secondary teacher, I'm beginning to despair when it comes to "they're", "there" and "their"; not to mention "to", "two" and "too". Why are we so afraid to correct these simple mistakes which make all the difference at a later stage?

Alexandra, London

15. There is also confusion over lend and borrow. I keep hearing school children asking "to lend your pencil" when what they actually mean is to "borrow" the pencil.

Ian Walton, Bedford

16. I cringe when I hear BBC reporters say "amount of people" when it should be "number of people"!

Jill Thistlethwaite, Leyburn, UK

NOTE: Fowler's says "amount" is used with nouns that are not countable, such as "amount of forgiveness" and "amount of glue" - but "number" is used with countable nouns, such as "number of boys" and "number of houses".

17. I don't like it when people say: I can go there "by foot" instead of "on foot"....the right preposition to use is ON.

Daniela, Urbana, IL

Click on the link for the full list

[shk75]

This topic always seems to bring up people's pet peeves. Maybe it'll give

5. I get annoyed at the reckless use of apostrophes, for example, the plural of CD can't be CD's.

Shahed Alam, London

I think this is correct I always say CD's nuts.

[BigMike619]

I screw up 4 myself. Its not that I dont know the spelling, I just cant figure out which one fits most of the time.

[dockeryfan]

Earlier in a thread I was reading, someone used the idiom "follow suite", where what they really meant was "follow suit" like to follow suit in cards (bridge, hearts, pinochle, etc)

[Dan T.]

I've collected a bunch of howlers over time used right here on Extremeskins. More word misuse or misspellings than grammar, but still...

Here are some of my favorites.

-Those high-paid athletes are a bunch of pre-Madonnas.

-You think you are so smart. Who are you, a Road Scholar from MIT?

-I have to get some official papers noterized. Does anyone know how to find a noter republic?

-This argument could result in fisty cuffs. A maylay might break out.

-This is all much adieu about nothing.

-That's so trendy, it's the sheik thing to do.

-Do you route for the Yankees?

-Starbucks is entirely too boushwa.

-These kids are running a muck.

-In lew of. (In lieu of)

-Per say (per se)

-That's a mute point. (This one actually works sometimes.)

- That team is a lock. It's a shoe in.

-The suspect is on the lamb.

[PeterMP]

I screw up 4 myself. Its not that I dont know the spelling, I just cant figure out which one fits most of the time.

If you use an article, you almost always want effect. "the effect" "an effect"

[Monte51Coleman]

I find it funny when people say they are/were standing on line instead of in line.

(Unless, os course, they are are/were actually standing on a line.)

[Oldskool]

There is a difference between cheap and inexpensive. Bugs the hell out of me when people confuse this fact.

[Larry Brown #43]

These days people are starting to confuse 'in lieu of' with 'in light of.' 'In lieu of' means INSTEAD of. But more and more, I hear people use 'in lieu of' when they really mean 'in light of.' For example, they'll say: "In lieu of this new information we've just received..." :doh:

Also, people have increasingly been saying, 'in that ASPECT' when they mean 'in that RESPECT.'

Both of these drive me nuts.

[Hunny]

You're and Your.

They're, There, Their.

Kind of bothers me when people don't know how to use these properly. It seems easy enough. But I mess up on a lot of other things, so.. I can't really say anything. =P

[Hubbs]

-Those high-paid athletes are a bunch of pre-Madonnas.

I always laugh at that one.

[Larry Brown #43]

6. Many people, including public speakers, incorrectly use "I" instead of "me". For instance, they would say "She said some very kind things about George and I", thinking that they are being polite or grammatically correct.

Come to think of it, this one drives me absolutely bat-****.

"They were talking about John and me," not John and I. You wouldn't say, "they were talking about I," and therefore you also wouldn't say, "they were talking about John and I."

[McMetal]

Disclaimer: English Major graduated Magna Cum Laude

5. I get annoyed at the reckless use of apostrophes, for example, the plural of CD can't be CD's.

Um, yes it can. CD is an abbreviation. CDs is a CD-Single.The object of grammar is to communicate clearly. Not using an apostrophe is counter-intuitive.

8. How about "none of them is" and "none of them are"? Most people would use the latter whereas the former is correct. "None" is short for "not one" therefore "not one (none) of them is" would be used. Most newsreaders still get it right though - on the BBC anyway!

None refers to multiple people, so it should require a plural verb. It is not short for not one. Collective nouns should not be an obstacle to clear speech.

12 and 14 are very tiresome, I agree.

I would like to once and for all repeal the so-called prohibition on ending sentences with a preposition. There are specific instances where it is much simpler and more direct that creating some clumsy phrasing that obscures the actual intended meaning.

[China]

The one about ending sentences in prepositions reminds me of the old joke:

A young man is entering Harvard as a freshman. He is wandering around lost looking for the administration building. Finally, he goes up to another student and asks "Where the administration building be at?"

The student pompously replies "At Harvard we do not end our sentences in prepositions."

The freshman responds "Where the administration building be at, *******?"

[Mass_SkinsFan]

I've got a great example of this.....

The Union negotiating team I'm part of just got a counter-proposal today for a section of contract language related to when an employee can be recalled to work after hours. The original language used the word "he" or "his". They replaced each instance with the word "they" even though proper language etiquette would be "his/her" and "he/she". You would think that a multi-billion dollar, multi-national company would have legal and human resources people who knew something about the English language.

Besides, neither of these changes were necessary since the FIRST WORDS in the preamble of the proposal are: "Whenever reference is made to masculine gender throughout this agreement, feminine gender also applies"

[cyfar]

I guess the one pet peeve that I have is when people use the phrase "I could care less" when they mean, "I couldn't care less".

[MintHillSkinsFan]

14. As a secondary teacher, I'm beginning to despair when it comes to "they're", "there" and "their";

This is the one that drives me absolutely bananas!! And it's more common for someone to screw it up than not. It's bad enough when you read it on a message board but it really kills me when it comes from a Senior VP of a multi million dollar corporation! It's just unprofessional and makes you look stupid! And they call me uneducated!

[JeffSchmeff]

You're and Your.

They're, There, Their.

Kind of bothers me when people don't know how to use these properly. It seems easy enough. But I mess up on a lot of other things, so.. I can't really say anything. =P

I have those down. I can't stand double negatives.

My ex-gf was an English major, and she used to always correct me on this one:

6. Many people, including public speakers, incorrectly use "I" instead of "me". For instance, they would say "She said some very kind things about George and I", thinking that they are being polite or grammatically correct. An easy way to remember which to use is: if you would say him or her on its own, use me; if you would say he or she on its own, use I. For example, "She said some very kind things about him".

Lorraine, Aylesbury

[bobisimo]

I consider myself a grammar nazi (and I love lists like this, thanks for posting!), but I usually poke fun at people who criticize others on point eleven:

11. I find the increasing, incorrect use of "literally" annoying.... "I literally went blue with anger!!" "Really?" I ask. - Ned, Wallingford

Most every (if not every) modern dictionary acknowledges "literally" as an intensifier before a figurative expression.

[illone]

"irregardless" is one that I always get a kick out of.

Built in double negative word:laugh:

[Riggo-toni]

5. I get annoyed at the reckless use of apostrophes, for example, the plural of CD can't be CD's.

Shahed Alam, London

This and the its vs it's are my two main pet peeves.

While we're on this subject, did anyone see Sam Donaldson on the Ali G show a few years back? The dumbass tries to correct Ali G by saying "The media is" instead of "the media are." Uh, Sam, learn proper grammar before you start correcting others. Media is the plural form of medium.

[Riggo-toni]

My ex-gf was an English major, and she used to always correct me on this one:

I can relate. I dated an Englsh major in college, and one night I asked her, "Can I f*** you up the arse?" She got all upset and with her finger wagging scolded me - "It's 'May I,' not 'Can I'!"

[DiscoBob]

we could come up with 20 mistakes in a 30 second monologue by Emmitt Smith...

[Busch1724]

I hate how lately there are people using "an historic" instead of "a historic". Drives me nuts!

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I find it funny when people say they are/were standing on line instead of in line.

(Unless, os course, they are are/were actually standing on a line.)

I believe that is simply a regionalism.

My main language pet peeve is "and etc."

Etc. means "and so forth."

"And etc." means "and and so forth."