10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

-Whose / Who’s

No: Who’s owl is biggest?

Yes: Whose owl is biggest?

Yes: Who’s coming to the owl sanctuary tomorrow?


- More

No: The owls are more sleepier today

Yes: The owls are sleepier today

Yes: The owls are more sleepy today (This one gets flagged by outlook, it suggests the sentence above - I think it’s OK.)


-Double negatives

No: We didn’t see no owls

Yes: We didn’t see any owls


(Note: Outlook picks up on each of these errors and suggests the correct replacement. With the excepting of the example highlighted.)

The "could of/ would of/ should of" error results from the failure of the writer to realise that they've been hearing a spoken contraction using "'ve" for "have", i.e., "could've/ would've/ should've" , and copying the mistake they've seen in print, as parroted by yet another unwitting soul.

[Quote] Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example". And a comma follows both of them.[/Quote]

No, that is textbook dogma; instead, if a comma serves no purpose, you should omit it. What does "i.e.," make clearer than simply "i.e."? Not at thing.

Um...impact is most certainly a verb. Check the OED!

One of my biggest pet peeves is using "good" when "well" is appropriate. Please learn to use them properly before I go insane and strangle someone!

More common errors:

Word's for plural instead of words.

Principles and prncipals.

No: what are you inferring?
Yes:what are you implying?
Yes:Am I to infer that you don't know English?

Yeah, see my web page (created July 1998) that covers some of the same spelling mistakes:
http://david.tribble.com/text/misspell.html

My page is listed on the third page of the Google search:
http://www.google.com/search?q=misspelled+words&num=30&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&start=60&sa=N

When it comes to "impact" not being a verb, the author is simply not familiar with engineering -- where "impact" as a verb is used to denote a specific type of action.

For instance, the man impacted the ground.

In this case, you cannot easily substitute "affect" into this sentence, as the man had precious little effect upon the ground, but the nature of the action was specifically an impact -- which much like "significantly", has specific meaning in some circles.

I reject the counter that the creation of accessory words is unnecessary. To take this stance would place one in the position of having only one question word: "what". Simply put, the other questions (who, where, why, when) can be asked using "what", but the others cannot ask "what". If we reject accessory words, then we must reject the other four questions words as being wrong.

You've created a great list, but I can't believe you omitted one of the most ubiquitous errors plaguing our emails today: the misuse of the apostrophe "s", especially when denoting plurality. Ahhhhhh.

More and more often you'll see "I like fast computer's." or "I'm sending you the report's." It is especially common with words ending in "y"..."Have you seen the new Blackberry's?": Plurality requires no apostrophe; it is neither possessive case, nor is it a contraction.

In general your article points out some common unintentional mistakes that people make when converting spoken language into written language. I thought I should point out though that #7, #8, the second half of#9 in your list, and #10, which aren't unintentional errors in writing in any form, but are perfectly valid linguistic constructions and thus shouldn't be on the list.

Spoken English is nothing more nor less than what people raised natively in the language speak. Language's evolve over time through a process of internal tensions between clarity and efficiency in the language's ability to provide for people to interpret and describe in a social context their world.

If the usage of the conjunction 'than' has changed since the 19th century heyday of prescriptive grammar, it wasn't done by carelessness or stupidity but because the linguistics centers of our brain learned and modified the use of the word for a concrete purpose. The same goes for 'if... then' constructions and the usage of the verb 'to lie' and 'to lay' - which isn't a different (or incorrect) tense of 'to lie' but, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a completely different verb with a different connotation and denotation. As a note, the same goes with 'impact' - there doesn't exist a stone tablet that declares what's a verb and what's a noun, only what people use to communicate and what they don't.

I would suggest that before you criticize other's grammar you read up on modern scientific linguistics. It's this sort of ignorance (I'm not speaking about you and aren't intending to imply anything about you specifically) that creates the false, and racist, impression in college-educated whites that when an African American kid speaking AAVE (African American Vernacular English) says "I done been doin' that" that he's an uneducated idiot, when in reality he's using an aspect marker to imply a verb tense that's completely absent in what's considered 'Standard English'.

Dan

For the "its / it's" mistake, there is an easy rule of thumb that will help writers to never make this error.

One never uses, in written communications, "it's". The reason? One never uses contractions in writing. Possessives and contractions can both be denoted by using apostrophe-s ('s). For example, "The desk's finish is worn" denotes a possessive and is acceptable. "The desk's in the hallway" denotes a contraction and is not acceptable for writing.

"Its" denotes a possessive and is acceptable for writing, "It's" denotes a contraction and is not. Therefore, one never writes "it's". A possible exception might be when writing a dialog.

"It's a good rule of thumb," everyone remarked.

For a description of the "impact" issue, see the usage note on dictionary.com...
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=impact

I have always been confused about "insure" and "ensure." Tocompensate, I avoid using either one.

Great article. I wish it was the top 15 or 20 grammar mistakes, though. One of my pet peeves that didn't make this list is the improper use of "myself". Business professionals, especially, are quilty of sentences such as, "The proposal was written by myself and Tom".

Another one is using "insure" instead of "ensure" (and sometimes even "assure" is used instead of "ensure").

Sincerely,

If I were you, I wouldn't forget the subjunctive. "If I was you" is incorrect, because you wasn't never me.

Good article. A common mistake I notice, mostly in speech, not text is the use of the pronoun "I" when "me" would be correct. "I" is used as a subject in a sentence, but "me" is used when the pronoun is a predicate.

Here's an example:
No: "A bouquet of flowers was sent to Fred and I."
Yes: "A bouquet of flowers was sent to Fred and me."

An easy way to not get mixed up - simply restate the sentence and omit the other person in the compound predicate.
No - "A bouquet was sent to I."
Yes - "A bouquet was sent to me."

Easy.

No: I could care less

Yes: I couldn't care less


The first version implies there are a lot of things less important to the speaker than the particular item being discussed.

I agree that people's dependence on spell checkers has caused the proliferation of errors like the examples in the original article. One that I seem to be seeing more and more often is the use of "lead" for "led,", as in "one thing lead to another." The first few times I saw this, I momentarily thought that an error in tense had been made, until I realized that the error was in fact the substitution of the name of a metallic element for its homonym: the past tense of "to lead."

These two words are a likely source of confusion to one for whom English is not their native language, but, thanks to modern technology (and defective elementary education) it is becoming a common error among native English speakers.

Re: "insure" vs. "ensure:" To insure something is to establish a policy for reimbursement should something happen to it. One can insure one's life, house, or car.

To ensure something is to make it certain. One can ensure success, failure, or security, among other things.

Great article, and oh, so true. However, I would of (just kidding), would have included the further/farther quibble.

Many of these are homophones; they only show up in writing and fly right under the spell checker radar. Here are a few more:

discreet vs discrete
principal vs principle
nonplussed to mean calm, when it actually means agitated.
conscious vs conscience
waled vs wailed vs whaled
prostate vs prostrate
handy work vs handiwork
bonified vs bona fide
here, here vs hea,r hear
taut vs taught
fared vs fared
peaked vs peeked vs piqued
course vs coarse
troopers vs troupers
cloths vs clothes
wring vs ring
racked vs wracked
straight vs strait
staunch vs stanch
waved vs waived
waisted vs wasted
core vs corps
fewer vs less
retch vs wretch
reins vs reigns vs rains
ween vs wean
penaltys vs penalties, etc.

I kind of question the wisdom of writing an article like this and not providing reasons for the correct answers. For example (e.g.,

their=possessive pronoun

they're=contraction meaning "they are")

"Begs the question". My teeth begin to automatically grind when I hear someone say this because invariably they get it wrong.

YES!

It is so nice to know someone else cares about these things.

If I might point out one very common ommission: 'to' and 'too'. It is too bad that schools are no longer teaching kids to distinguish between these homonyms.

What about "myself?" We've all been taught that we don't say "Johnny and me," we say "Johnny and I," but we haven't been taught WHY. The lesson that seems to be learned is that "me" is a word we shouldn't use, not that it's incorrect grammatically in that case. So people are afraid to say "me" and instead say, "If you have any questions, you can contact myself at home." People, the only person who can contact "myself" is "me."

Few people really know the difference between i.e. and e.g. anyway, which is why they are used incorrectly so frequently. A better one to place on the list would have been the misuse of "I" and "me".

I agree wholeheartedly with all but item #4.

In conventional writing, 'i.e.' is virtually synonymous with 'e.g.', just as 'data is' and 'agenda is' have replaced the correct usage 'data are' and 'agenda are', repsectively.

I doubt any modern technology reader makes a serious distinction between the two and no points are deducted.

BTW, my understanding is that contemporary use leaves optional the comma.

The most common error I see is using "to" for "too."

Using the word gender where sex is correct. People do not have a gender(masculine, feminine, neuter) but a sex (male, female). Gender deals with grammer not physical characteristics. Also, if something costs a person no money they got it free or for nothing; not for free. Yet more to add to the mistake list!

My personal pet peeve: "congradulations" instead of "contratulations." I see it everywhere.

My pet peeve, and it's not so much grammar as general vocabulary and word usage. Many writers use the term - flags are at half "mast." Masts are on ships. Staffs are on land. Flags on land fly at half staff.

I really like number 10. It shows how what we say turns into what we write (i.e., could have = could've which sounds like could of!)

I really hope I didn't make any of those grammatical errors in this comment!

This is nuts (nut'z).

So, you expect everyone to write perfect English.
Wake up please. Lots of people are not even native English speakers, who give up their own language to make others understand what they're saying.
As long as we understand each other, all is well.
The British language as you know it is about to change, as it has done numerous times in the past. So please, get of the grammar horse and talk sense.
Bloody Englishmen................

You forgot the posessive "apostrophe s" misused on plurals, a much more prevalent mistake than "lay" for "lie". If I see someone write "The Simpson's" one more time...

How about "where it's at" instead of "where it is"?

Also the confusion of subjunctive mode with present tense irritates. For example

It is important that something is done

used instead of the correct

It is important that something be done

My favorite grammer faux pas, in speech not writing, "A whole nother." NO, there is no word "nother". People take the word "another", split it, and stick "whole" in it.

how about the old "you and I" vs. "You and me"?

I have noticed that people are saying bring when they should being saying take.

Gerard,

We do not expect non-native English speakers to have perfect grammar; that would be silly. To those native English speakers, we do expect more. We forgive them when they make mistakes verbally, but written mistakes can and should be corrected before we have to read them. With that said, I usually see better grammar and spelling from non-native than from us native (especially American) speakers. It makes me want to cry.

Dear Jody,

That is a great article. Unfortunately, these errors have transcended everyday grunts and moved up to our leaders and media. It is disappointing to hear virtually all our local news anchors say "There's lots of . . . ". Please . . . it should be "There are lots of . . . " What ever happened to the concept of Singular and Plural?

Maybe this is just an evolution of the English language as evidenced by new words that are now in the dictionary. I really did enjoyed this article. However, please note that you spelled "God" with a lower case "g" in flagrant mistake #2. It must be the "secular" you coming out in your work. {: - )

A glaring omission: "Breath" for "Breathe".
As in "Help me! I can't breath!"

RE: Larry Pedrick's comment - "One never uses contractions in written language?"

Why not? Just because you don't like it? Whoops, that one slipped in.

I would argue (strongly) that it is the author's right to decide whether or not a contraction is appropriate. For example, I chose not to contact 'it is' at the start of this paragraph because I didn't (whoops) think it'd (whoops) sound that great. But now that my style has changed to a not-quite-so-rigid informal style, I would say that it's a perfectly acceptable option.

What is the difference between, "everyone" and "everybody"?

No: "try and" - Yes: "try to" - This one annoys me every time I hear it.

Oh, Joe.....this could be an entire show! But, being a native of New Braunfels, one flagrant and "popular" mispronunciation that drives us wild is this: pronouncing New Braunfels as if the "s" had jumped its position and landed before the "f"....hence, NEW BRAUNSFEL".....YIKES!...and some people will actually argue the point...."oh, it should be NEW BRAUNSFEL or worse, NEW BRUNSFELS...........OK, let's put the "s" at the end of Dallas before the "l" and call it DASLLA......sounds OK, right? or maybe DALLSA?.....the other more universal error: "I COULD CARE LESS".....WRONG!!!....it is "I COULDN"T CARE LESS"....if you could care less, that must mean you do care some.... Thanx for the forum........luv y'all....oh yeah, it's Y'ALL and not YA'LL....teehee! (and thank you for getting our town right....I've heard you say New Braunfels and it is perfect!)

If an author inflicts one of his pet peeves on the reader then the reader will often ignore the writer's other points.

Ending sentences in 'at" is one I see frequently. For example, "Where is the party at?" or "When is the meeting at?"

Given the dumbbing of America, it is pointles to point out misteaks in grammer an speling.

Besides, today's grammar mistakes are tomorrow's grammar rules.

Thank you for publishing this article. We need refreshers like this to improve our communication. How about reminding people to use their spell checkers?

Many people don't know when to use "fewer" and when to use "less."

Once it was pointed out to me, I began to see this mistake quite frequently, even on the local news.

The author, Jody Gilbert, states that "impact is not a verb.' That may be news to Merriam-Webster, American Heritage and Encarta. They all list impact as a verb.

Gadfly wrote "Given the dumbbing of America, it is pointles to point out misteaks in grammer an speling.
Besides, today's grammar mistakes are tomorrow's grammar rules. "

I am assuming you are being sarcastic because your second sentence makes a good argument as to why your first is incorrect. And no, I didn't miss the intentional misspellings.

Personally, I avoid commas with i.e. because if the Latin was converted to english, it would be a simple clause.

Shouldn't your title have been "10 flagrant grammatical mistakes..." :)

The most ubiquitous sin is the mistake of using "me" where "I" would be the correct choice, as in "He's bigger than me" instead of the correct "He's bigger than I. The correct choice can be seen when you finish the truncated sentence: He's bigger tha I am. "He's bigger than me am" actually sounds ridiculous and obviates the mistake. But this mistake is common even to people whose occupation involves professional use of the English language, e.g., broadcast commentators.
Incidentally, is the such a verb as "commentate" which is supposedly what "commentators" do?

If we -as non native English speakers/writers- do not see a proper use of your native language, how do you expect we write it properly? Understand each other does not mean everyone can write as it goes. And wake up you too: It is not easy to understand some that is plenty of grammar mistakes.

Write properly is not only a way to avoid looking stupid, it is also a way to find pleasure at the time to know the other person will understand what I try to say, or even, that I am being kind enough for take my time and try to express properly the beautiful English language.

You need a comma in this sentence since you have two independent clauses.

"Yes: The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again"

Well actually it should be:
The laptop is overheating, and it's making that funny noise again

You left out my #1 pet peeve of all time, plurals. CD's, PC's, even car's. OK, sometimes people get confused when dealing with acronyms, but seriously, car's?!?!

You missed another primary mistake people make all the time. That is using "O"'s for zeros. There is no letter named zero and there is no number representing "O".

I can not spell LOOK as L zero zero k nor should you ba able to substitue "O" for the number zero.

They are clearly seperate on any keyboard or key pad. My students hit it on the head when they told me that this happens because of gramatical laziness.

I love the article and it's about time someone wrote one. I have a bit of a qualm, though. Impact is a verb.

http://webster.com/dictionary/impact

Excellent report. However, you left out the I/me syndrome. Many people inappropriately us I in a sentence.

see, saw, have seen.

This drives me crazy. People more and more it seems use the wrong tense in their sentences. e.g
I seen that error. I seen Joe at the store. They seem to use seen as an all-purpose verb. It sounds ugly and I don't understand how so many people can use it incorrectly.


Jeeze I hope I've stated this properly. It's a little off-putting pontificating about language.

I've noticed people don't use adverbs anymore! NO :"My computer works perfect" YES: "My computer works perfectly." - NO: "I can upload a file fast! YES: "I can upload a file quickly!"

Wrong: SUV's. Also wrong: CD's. when will people remember that apostrophes are for contractions and ownership?

You missed the most prevalent mistake: using an apostrophe to indicate the plural of a noun, such as noun's. This one drives me up the wall.

There is another mistake I commonly see even on business signs. Using an apostrophe incorrectly.
One sign proclaims, "We do nail's."
Another says, "All video's, 25% off."
I thought Apostrophes were used only to show posession, or in contractions.
Posession: It is Jim's coat.
Contraction: I didn't do it.

THANK YOU!!!
"Would of" has been one of my pet peeves. There is another 'goof' that makes a person look quite ignorant; that is when a sign states an item is .96 cents (sometimes using the c slash sign for 'cents'). Not realizing it, they have stated the item costs one 96th of a penny. Isn't this decimal concept taught in grammar school? Why do so many people err this way? It makes me crazy! The correct way to print it is $.96 if one wants to use a decimal, or just write 96 cents, (no decimal point).

How about "unique"? No such thing as very, really or most unique....it's just unique. Remember it is like pregnant....can't be very, really or most pregnant.. it's just pregnant.

With the exception of number 9, all of the supposed grammar mistakes are actually spelling or word selection mistakes. That oversight is certainly something to consider before calling other people stupid... :-)

Otherwise, the list is spot on.

Cheers,
Ed T.

How about an error that appears in nearly every email: not putting a comma before a person's name in the salutation (i.e., "Hello, Frank")?

okay here are mine:

'monies' the pleural of money is moneys (when referring to forms of payment). But I will bet you spell it 'monies'

'expressly' when it should be 'expressedly'

freshly brewed or darkly roasted. no and no.

8 page or 8 paged? 8 paged.

how about the possessive of Jones (or any singular noun ending in s)? I see Jones' but it's not; it's Jones's. Say it out loud.

And lastly, id es, or i.e, means that is, which does mean specifically as to be specific by example. Ex gratis means out of generosity, or in this case a clause that is gratuitous, meaning that the sentence and point could stand without it. Ex ample means example or out of plenty.

Simple means stupid but we don't use it that way any more. Elegant means simple, but we don't use it that way any more. While things are used in a way that under archane terms would be incorrect because of their use in such a way as to mean something else, can be construed as correct. check out a dictionary. the first spelling is the correct spelling and the second spelling is the form used socially and thereby accepted.

and let us not slam e.e. by jesus, he was romantic.

later dudes.
(typed but not proofed. gomen nasai).

The worst is Wan't.

Where do they go to school?

Bring/Take are opposite of what I learned in high school forty years ago. When and how did that happen? And if I were to include bring/take/fetch the listener might think I was speaking to a dog about a stick.

I haven't seen anyone post this pet peeve: using "that" instead of "who" when referring to people. Politicians that vote...children that play...parents that teach...workers that unite. We really are so sloppy with language!

my personal favorite annoyance is when people say "And What Not" at the end of a sentance, instead of saying, et cetera, or even "and stuff".

"Setup" vs. "set up". I see this all the time! The word "setup" is a noun not a verb. If you are describing the process of setting something up, then you use the verb phrase "set up".

Great Article...

I'm glad IT'S not such a small group of people who would HAVE loved to see more of these added to THEIR [i.e ZDNetUK] article. You guys deserve a pat on the back and a LIE down on your bed :D

"...really helped me alot." - no, it's "a lot"
"...wait till we get home." - no, it's "wait 'til". The word is a contraction of "until"; "till" is a cash register or a verb used by farmers.

Good article - here's one more:

'less' used when 'fewer' should have been used. Eg 'we have less members than the other club'. Eeeech! Now a very common mistake...

On "fewer" vs. "less" --
Use the former for countable words and the latter for noncountable words. E.g., "This store has fewer books but that one less stock."

You should live here in NC, where they say "15 cent is your change". Also, how about waiting ON instead of waiting FOR? Only a salesperson or a restaurant server waits "on" you. Everything else you wait "for"- a phone call, your date to arrive, an answer to your e-mail, the lab tests.

I was really starting to think I was the only one left saying "different from" instead of "different than". I feel vindicated :)

how about using insure when you mean ensure? that one drives me nuts

I am so relieved to see that someone else knows that "begs the question" is being totally aboused and the meaning is being totally distorted. This has only been noticeable recently, in the past two or three years. Why has the general public--especially the media--begun to use this phrase incorrectly? To "beg the question" means to argue beside or off the point; it does NOT mean "to suggest the question."

I don't agree that i.e. and e.g. always requires a comma, but they do need one at times. And I don't believe they need ( ). Some proper examples include: Use an anti-spyware program e.g. Ad-Aware. I use an anti-spyware program i.e. Ad-Aware. I have used anti-spyware programs, e.g., Ad-Aware, but I still get a virus once in a blue moon.

"All the time cards must be with no corrections" How can you have "no corrections"? shouldn't it be "witout any corrections"? I have never had a no correction.

Surely the key issue here is that the whole point of language is to communicate, clearly and unequivocally.

Every time someone uses the wrong word, or the wrong sentence construction, they are making the user work harder than they need and risking the reader completely misunderstanding their point. I consider it a simple matter of politeness to make sure that what I write is as easy to understand as I can make it.

Having said this, there is a secondary point which concerns the inherent beauty and elegance of the English language. It is a shame when a perfectly good and useful word is subverted until it loses its meaning.

For example, the meaning of 'disinterested' is 'having no interest in the outcome', i.e., having nothing to gain from one outcome over another. A judge or referee should always be disinterested in the outcome of a case or game. They should never be uninterested!

How about the midwestern US favorite -- I borrowed him some money instead of saying I loaned money to him or I lent him some money?

My biggest pet peeve: lists of pet peeves that the author calls "grammatical" but that have nothing to do with grammar -- rather, that have to do with spelling. A real grammatical error is on the order of subject-verb agreement, or mistaking a fragment for a sentence, or mistaking a transitive verb for an intransitive one, etc. These aren't grammatical errors.

Calvary and cavalry. Calvary is a place, John Wayne made many cavalry movies.

Yikes, Erin Kennedy. I think you're misinformed.

<i>'monies' the pleural of money is moneys (when referring to forms of payment). But I will bet you spell it 'monies'</i>

Actually, both are correct. (Also, "pleural" is relating to the pleura enveloping the lungs, "plural" is more than one.)


<i>'expressly' when it should be 'expressedly'</i>

Not sure where "expressedly" came from, but as far as I am aware the word is expressly. Expressedly isn't even in the dictionary.


<i>how about the possessive of Jones (or any singular noun ending in s)? I see Jones' but it's not; it's Jones's. Say it out loud.</i>

Both of these are correct as well.

The contractions are easy, and I'm amazed that so many people get this wrong. As a non native speaker of english these mistakes are especially obvious since they translate into pure nonsense. On the other hand, the "should of" mistakes make absolutely no sense in english either, and they're still frequently used.

People who confuse Do and Have.

There used to be a "Head and Shoulders" advert in which "I didn't know you had dandruff" is said to a girl - and she replies "I don't". Aaaargh! You don't "do" dandruff, you HAVE it. The correct reply is "I haven't".

And one more, pedants who think that "data are" is correct. They're wrong. "Data" is a "mass noun" like, for example, chicken. One chicken, two chickens, some chicken. One datum, two data, some data.

#10 is my personal peeve out of that list.

Here is another of my pet peeves.
"I could care less about X."
Although it is not a grammatical error in the normal sense, I also really dislike that particular phrase by which some people express their disinterest. It seems to originate from the USA, but it can also now be seen in use by other nationalities who have picked up the phrase from the Americans.

No: I could care less about the World Cup because Ireland are not in the competition.
Yes: I couldn't care less about the World Cup because Ireland are not in the competition.

If you could care less about the subject, does that not imply that you at least care a little?
If you couldn't care less about the subject, aren't you saying that your interest level is so low that the subject couldn't possibly be of less interest.
For that reason the first statement above does not convey the intended point correctly, yet so many people still use it this way.

The number of comments this article has provoked (or do I mean evoked?) demonstrates that English is a language with different regional formats, all of which evolve over time. So (pardon my starting with a preposition, but it is useful for emphasis) today's mistakes are, indeed, tomorrow's rules.

But PLEASE don't write "principle" when you mean "principal" or vice versa. They are different words and using the wrong one can make nonsense of a sentence!

You are incorrect in your statment about different than/from. When used with than, a conjunction, the error is (usually) the omission of the ending verb in the secondary clause.

Yes - He is no different than all the others are.
Yes - He is no different from all the others.

The universal condemnation of "different than" is elitest and ignores valid grammatically correct regionalisms.

youre right. They're are so many stupid poeple wheir i Work than they dont' no how to spell nothing

In the following, there should be a period after 'shortly', the word 'on' should be 'about', and the word retain should be pluralized.

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I once wrote 'admired by his piers' on a guy's evaluation, and my supervisor said, "You mean the short kind that you take a long walk on?" It is peers.

I like you Brits humor. Funny reading your remarks.

I hate that leet speak crap. lol

'You've got mail' should be 'You have mail'.

It is rebellion that causes each generation to depart from the established language, incited by the Devil, for the purpose of causing the Bible to become difficult or impossible to understand (at least for the common folks).

I'm going to bring it where I'm going at. That's what a kid I used to know said and he didn't know the difference, but then his dad chewed his sandwiches with his mouth open because, he said, the kid's mother wasn't around.

David Wildgoose wrote:
People who confuse Do and Have.
There used to be a "Head and Shoulders" advert in which "I didn't know you had dandruff" is said to a girl - and she replies "I don't". Aaaargh! You don't "do" dandruff, you HAVE it. The correct reply is "I haven't".

And one more, pedants who think that "data are" is correct. They're wrong. "Data" is a "mass noun" like, for example, chicken. One chicken, two chickens, some chicken. One datum, two data, some data.

Actually, David, the girl who said "I don't" was speaking, not writing, and her statement was a common spoken truncation of "I don't have it." Also, your use of 'like, for example' is redundant. I also looked up advert and pedant in the dictionary and they are both contained therein. Both words find little usage in the United States, but the latter might be said of someone who makes grammatical mistakes when writing about someone else's grammatical mistakes. As for 'mass noun', I know what you mean, so I won't bother to say that 'plural noun' would have been easier for the reader to understand. By the way, 'Aaaargh' is not in the dictionary, but aargh and argh are in Wiktionary. Also, your chicken to data analogy didn't match up. Look at it again.

(Note: Outlook picks up on each of these errors and suggests the correct replacement. With the excepting of the example highlighted.)

HOW CARELESS OF YOU !

"With the excepting of the example highlighted." is not a sentence.

You should have written:
(Note: Outlook picks up on each of these errors and suggests the correct replacement, excepting the example highlighted.)

Or, better:
(Note: Outlook picks up on each of these errors and suggests the correct replacement, except for the example highlighted.)

Or, much better:
(Note: Outlook picks up on each of these errors and suggests the correct replacement, except for the exception mentioned.)

How about 'verbal' rather than 'oral' - this is now commonly used in Personnel management when talking ( sorry about the pun) about spoken warnings as opposed to written ones . I would love to know what the a non-verbal warning was - A fire alarm? ...or is that an 'Aural' warning!

You should add the incorrect use of "As per". It makes no grammatical sense and is used all the time.

You wrote:
These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally.


Ironic that you make such a blatant grammar error. The word verbal does NOT mean spoken out loud. It means to use words, written words are verbal.

I cannot believe that there has been no mention of "brought" being used in place of "bought". It annoys me so much I ask whoever says it to clarify why they felt the need to "bry" whatever it was they "brought".

Attempting to use "leverage" as a verb.

Shows you up to be a Sales/Marketing geek who is unsure of what else to say.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for your entry "Impact is not a verb."

Thank you. That's all I can muster. I've thought about egging the offices of the American Heritage Dictionary on a daily basis for their acceptance of impact as verb, but I can't afford that much breakfast food.

No: "don't set children on the counter"; Yes: "don't sit children on the counter"; No: "don't sit bags on glass" Yes: "Don't set bags on glass"

How many times do you inform others that, "I am on the computer", "I am on my PC", etc. As sad as it may sound, you are actually "using the computer."

No: "I am waiting on line for tickets." Yes: "I am waiting in line for tickets. No: "I am working inline over the internet." Yes: "I am working online over the Internet." Internet is a name and it is capitalized.

"A better way to Internet" says peoplepc online. Anyone who uses the word 'Internet' as a verb does not get my business. I would be worried that if I needed to call their phone support, they might ask me, "Did you Internet today? Maybe that's your problem."

Brought instead of bought? Where, UK only? I know people in the northeast US say Rs where there aren't any and drop Rs where they do exist, but I never heard of the above error before. In Boston they say "Pock the caw." for "Park the car." and they say "I have an idear to open the winder." for "I have an idea to open the window." It not only makes them sound stupid, it means they are stupid.

Thank you for the article, I am thrilled to see at least one other person in the world who has decided that 'impact' used as a verb is impacting proper usage. Kudos!

NO: We have been lead to this conclusion.
YES: We have been led to this conclusion.
YES: This box is made of lead.

My bugbear #1!

There is no difference between everyone and everybody.

By the way--it's used with 3rd person singular verbs.

But what about: That's me? And You and me?

"Brought instead of bought? Where, UK only?"

Hi Alawishus,

I'm in the UK, but - as far as I know - this is true all over...

Brought is the past tense of bring - so you can say *I brought a friend to the party".

Bought is the past tense of buy - "I bought a loaf of bread".

It is more obvious in the present tense - no one would make the mistake of saying "I am buying a friend to the party".

HTH

"Brought instead of bought? Where, UK only?"
Hi Nina!!!
You made my point, however, what I was saying is this is not true all over. No one in the US drops the r out of brought, that's what I meant by...
I know people in the northeast US say Rs where there aren't any and drop Rs where they do exist, but I never heard of the above error before. In Boston they say "Pock the caw." for "Park the car." and they say "I have an idear to open the winder." for "I have an idea to open the window."
It's great to have a pen pal in the UK, though!!!
And a girl, too, think of that!!!

I don't see what the major issue is. So people make some small grammatical errors, GET OVER IT! If someone understands what you wrote, then there is no harm done. I figure that, yes, people should try their best to use proper grammar, but today's elementary schools do not provide the same teaching that they once had. That is because a lot of teachers don't even know how to use words properly. Now, teachers show you the correct way to use certain words, but don't show you why it is right or wrong. Very quickly, children forget what they were taught, and they are unable to figure out the proper use due to lack of knowledge. If you want to blame anyone for grammatically mistakes, blame today's educational system and improper teachings.

This is obviously not a site for people who don't care and obviously many people do care. There are huge ramifications in not being able to understand the English language as it was used by previous generations, including, but not limited to, interpretation of law by judges, which in the case of the U.S., is getting way out of hand as liberal judges are "enacting" new law and calling it "proper interpretation". Furthermore, it is the learner who learns to remember how language is to be properly used, not the teacher (you are obviously in the first category), and for those of us who understand just how important it is, there has never been much difficultly in properly speaking or writing in our mother tongue.

Why care? If for no other reason, you should care because a lot of people care. In other words, you will encounter people who form judgements and opinions of you based on your use of language. These people may decide whether you are employed, or whether you get a date that night. Don't blame "the education system" and say it must be ok, be part of the solution. Look up one new word every day and use it, correctly, in a sentence. Pay attention to the impact words have on the world around you. Care.

Nina - you would only say "I brought a friend to the party" if you were actually AT the party. In the example you used, you would say "I took a friend to the party."

I know it's not on point with brought vs. bought, but it's part of the bring/take misuse disease sweeping the English-speaking world! With your help, we can eradicate it -- one person at a time!

Though "impact" should have minimal uses as a verb, it does have uses as a verb!

I can make up bad sentences and then put them though a grammar checker. Why not explain why they are WRONG.

If a person's content is good I overlook grammer mistakes. I read for ideas after all. If a person's ideas are bad, however, I make fun of their grammer (e.g. then I make fun have they're grammer).

It is interesting, but not unexpected, that the people who keep posting questions like 'Why is it WRONG?' to be stupid, also seem unable to read the answers already given.

How about people using 'less' when they mean 'fewer', as in, for example:

"There were ten less people here today than yesterday"

or

"Ten items or less" supermarket express checkouts

Grr.

I cringe whenever supposedly learned people use "disconnect" as a noun.

I am a international student, have been here one year. In my mind, Britain is a great country and Brithish people are very friendly. That's why I came here to study my master degree.

If you are british people, if you are free, do you mind take your couple minutes to help me do a research for my dissertation, I am very grateful for that!!!

This is the website of my research questionnaire:
http://www.surveyconsole.com/console/TakeSurvey?id=247330

Totally! I can get a bee in my bonnet seeing common mistakes like the ones listed. After reading some of the comments, I feel compelled to respond. The one pertaining to the usage of "me". They told me WHY, and that is, use the "me" or "I" in the sentence without the "Sue and" and which ever sounds correct, that is the one to use. e.g. When you get the information, please contact Sue and me.
Sue and I will review the data and make a recommendation.

oh... and the use of an apostrophe S! UGH!

According to Merriam-Webster, both insure and ensure mean to make certain.

Dear Peeved: Merriam-Webster actually says: ENSURE, INSURE, and ASSURE are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain or inevitable of an outcome, but ENSURE may imply a virtual guarantee <the government has ensured the safety of the refugees>, while INSURE sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand <careful planning should insure the success of the party>, and ASSURE distinctively implies the removal of doubt and suspense from a person's mind <I assure you that no harm will be done>.

Also, please note that Merriam-Webster is a liberal dictionary accepting meanings that words do not really have.

On a can of Pringles Fat Free chips, the banner across it actually says 'Less Calories'.!!

"Could care less"- if that is the case, then make a decision!!! If you are indifferent, you "could NOT care less." I hear this mispoken or written incorrectly 99.9% of the time, and it drives me batty. If you think about what you are saying, the correct is obvious!

"Not at thing." Who wants to be the first to point out the multiple grammar mistakes about this one?

OK, I will. "Not at thing." 1) is not a sentence, 2) makes no sense, 3) makes me think you heard it from another meth addict. I know a computer programmer I work with who tries to explain stuff and when his mind won't come up with the right words, he just replaces whatever he should have said with "...and, thing." That makes me nuts, because if he doesn't know what he's saying, I'm sure I don't, either. But then he is one of those ham radio geeks. You didn't mean to write "Not a thing.", did you?

I don't blame the educational institutions, I blame people like you.

Education is a lifelong endeavor. One can not and should not expect teachers to fill their heads with everything they need to know.

I must admit, I have fun addressing the their/there/they're and lie/lay mistakes.

For the first problem, I like to give my students sentences like these:

They're leaving their money over there.

And for the second, I remind students that building workers are "bricklayers," not "brickliers." Also, I point out that when they're talking about what they do behind closed doors, they should remember that someone has to lie down so that someone else can get laid. And, if one is talking about last night, whoever was on bottom lay down, but whoever was on top still got laid!

"Insure" and "ensure" are, in fact, nearly opposite.

When you "insure" something, you are guarding against its loss.

On the other hand, when you "ensure" something (usually an outcome), you are making certain that it will be.

"Insure" and "ensure" are also confused with "assure," which means telling someone that everything is all right. Thus, what is commonly called "quality assurance" shoud be "quality ensurance."

In response to:
[Quote] No, that is textbook dogma; instead, if a comma serves no purpose, you should omit it. What does "i.e.," make clearer than simply "i.e."? Not at thing. [/Quote]

If we replace the Latin abbreviations “i.e.” and “e.g.” with their English translations (i.e., “that is” and “for example” respectively) we will invariably find their use in the form of a parenthetical phrase or comment. Thus, to remain consistent with proper parenthetical punctuation presupposes the use of a comma, e.g., the punctuation for their use in these two sentences.

But the one that drives me crazy is when people pronounce the letter H (aitch) as haitch. AAAARGH!!! For God’s sake look in the dictionary!!! I know it’s not a grammatical error; it’s just ignorance.

Also, how about phenomena instead of phenomenon, as in “this is a strange phenomena”.

And myself when they mean me.

For an IT orientated article I'm surprised this one got left out!
"Data" is a collective noun that should be used in the singular. We
don't say "the weather are good today", or "the traffic are bad
today", we use the singular tense, "the weather IS good today" and
"the traffic IS bad today".
As a final proof of the matter, let us consider the use of the word
"information" as an alternative word for "data". I've yet to hear
anyone say "the information we have ARE good". It not only sounds
wrong, it is wrong. The correct form is, "the information we have IS
good".
The use of "Data are" also sounds wrong. In English it is a collective
noun and is used in the singular sense. Oh, by the way, did anyone
notice the use of "English" as the collective noun using the singular
tense, or should I have said, "In English it ARE a collective noun"

Pip pip
Zorba Eisenhower

You are so behind the times.

We no longer teach the little darlings punctuation. Both ie & eg should now be empasised in lower case without any punctuation (ie no to dots and commas, yes to bold or italic)

Interesting that this should be predicated on the spelling and grammar check issue.

"People do not have a gender(masculine, feminine, neuter) but a sex (male, female). "...

Try telling that to the average English Teacher. I remember getting a big (red) pen mark through essays on so many occassions for using correct spelling and grammar.

I guess its a case of "those who can't, teach".

Although things could be worse you could start a story on how our pupils are taught to manage information and understand source materials. My son's history teacher has advised her class that James Cameron's film, Titanic is a primary source for the evants of that historical time period.

And feel free to stick the apostrophe where you feel fit. And even start your sentences with "And".

Excellent work. Easy to understand.


<a href="http://www.iphoneconverter.com/iphone-video-converter/"><strong>iphone video</strong></a>

Mistakes using the apostrophe in plurals are known as "grocers' plurals". The reason for this is you so often see cards on the stall advertising "tomato's", "potato's" and "leek's".

M-W is an American publication and as such is about as useful a tome on English grammar as a first year Swahili resident in an English class is!

it's incorrect to assume that "He's bigger than I" is the truncated version of "He's bigger than I am". A correctly formed sentence needs a subject (He); a verb (is) and an object (me).

The sentence "He's bigger than me" is not a shortened version of "He's bigger than me am"; it is a complete sentece in its own right. However, the sentence "He's bigger than I" is incorrect because it contains a verb (is) and two subjects (He, I) with no object.

Even "He's bigger than I am" is incorrect because "I am" does not actually have an adjective to link to the state of being "I am"... "I am" what?

At least, it certainly was not at one time. If it were a mass noun, then you couldn't count it ("one datum, two data, three data, et c, would make as much sense as "one air, two airs, three airs"). Chicken can actually be either a mass noun or a count noun depending on the circumstances. We may refer to the living, discrete animals as "several chickens" (or even "several chicken" - the lack of a distinct plural word does not imply that it is a mass noun), but regardless, we would eat a certain quantity of chicken.

A mass noun is simply a noun that cannot be counted without a unit of measurement. "One air" makes no sense, but "one pint of air", while an uncommon request, is technically a valid description of what is left in my glass when I leave the pub.

In modern times, the word "data" has become a mass noun due to the frequent but grammatically non-robust usage by computer scientists. My statistics text book still refers to "data" as a plural word, asking me, for example, "to use all the data that are provided in the table below". For the non-classicist, it may make more sense "to use all the pieces of data that are provided".

A verb should not end a sentence.

No - He is no different than all the others are.

Yes - He is no different than are all the others.

A good many of these mistakes are flagged by SpellCheckPlus.com, a free online grammar checker.

terry

The word &quot;data&quot; used as a plural noun is little more than an antiquated status marker used in more formal contexts. You make the claim that &quot;data&quot; couldn&#039;t be counted if it were a mass noun, but, in fact, one rarely, if ever, counts &quot;data&quot;. Furthermore, you are suggesting that the singular of plural &quot;data&quot; is &quot;datum&quot;, but, in fact the latter is effectively never used nowadays, and even when it is, it&#039;s used in a sense separate from the of &quot;data&quot; (furthermore, the plural of &quot;datum&quot; in that case is &quot;datums&quot;). And at the end you top everything off by insisting that &quot;data&quot; as a mass noun is &quot;grammatically non-robust&quot;, but completely fail in substantiating such...

Anyhow, this essay (http://nxg.me.uk/note/2005/singular-data/) covers the issue much more eloquently than I could ever hope to.

very nice article :)
I always confuse between &#039;effect&#039; and &#039;affect&#039;, but now ... not anymore.

Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd
waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan
mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the
ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is
taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
Th e rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed
it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid
deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as
a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot
slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs psas it
on !!

Those signs that say "Report any suspicious bags"
How the hell can a bag be suspicious?
It should read
"Report any suspect bags"

Also, the whole rule about "Me and Johnny", "Johnny and I", this has got so ridiculous that people use "and I" when they should use "me"
e.g in friends Joey says

"and if that goes wrong, you can live with Chandler and I"

I actually wanted to scream at the tv

The other thing is people who say grammar isn't important. I think that anyone who learned the rules of English grammar finds it hard to break them, and it annoys me when people say they don't matter, I don't quite get how "We was" can sound right my mother.

Grrr

that should read "teaching they once did"

:-)

I have actually heard people use the word "online" to refer to waiting in a line to purchase something. You cannot stand "online" because online refers to the use of an electronic device (e.g., a computer) that is connected to a network, such as the Internet.

Yes: I waited in line to buy a computer.

No: I waited online to buy a computer.

I agree with you. Someone in the discussion said they think impact is a verb, possibly because it has the word "verb" next to it in Merriam-Webster. However, the only correct usage is that something can "have an impact" on you. It cannot "impact" you. Also teeth can be "impacted" but they cannot actively "impact."

Rather than saying "we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally," it should read "we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do orally."

The person who says SUV's and CD's are incorrect is right, but not for the reason stated. Apostrophes are for contraction and ownership, but also for clarification in some instances, much like commas. If, for example, you were to say "My son had all A's on his report card", that apostrophe would be necessary for clarification. Without the apostrophe, it would look like the word "As". However, in the cases of SUVs and CDs, there would be no confusion, therefore the apostrophe is unnecessary.

Here's a mistake that bugs me every time.
No: Joe and me are going to the meeting.
Yes: Joe and I are going to the meeting.
No: Give it to Joe or I.
Yes: Give it to Joe or me.
No: It's between you and I.
Yes: It's between you and me.

"I" is used as a subject, and "me" is used as an object. People seem to grasp this when using it alone, but get confused when there is another person in the sentence. It's easy to double-check, however: mentally omit the other person when re-reading the sentence, and see if it still makes sense. Or better yet, mentally substitute the plural; you would never say "Us are going to the meeting," "Give it to we," or "It's between we."

I think these mistakes everywhere made by no englishing speaking countries.and most people will understand only make us a little unconfortable.

Flagrant means "intentionally flamboyant." Errors are rarely flagrant.

None of these are grammar errors. All but #4 are lexical errors. #4 is simply incorrect. Both i.e. (id est) and i.e. (exempla gratia) precede examples; you use IE when your list is complete and exhaustive (ie when every possible correct outcome is investigated), but e.g. when the list is incomplete (e.g. when putting out a sanctimonious author's low quality of english to be seen by all.) Grammar errors put are things place wrong like when you in the.

#2 is particularly galling: you cannot download something along with the things inside it; whereas the sentiment the author is fumbling towards is apparent, the other mistakes they make set the well educated reader's teeth on edge.

The second half of #2 is even worse, as the "its" there is extraneous and incorrect. A conjunction is sufficient to conjoin; one need not, and indeed must not, put in an ancillary pronoun.

#5: Impact certainly is a verb, you giant lummox. Granted the thing you're trying to admonish against is wrong - impact does not denote effect - but yes, an asteroid can impact the moon. Don't be a dunce.

#6: "on a regular basis" is a horrific britishism. The word is "regularly". You would do well to read on language usage regularly. For someone who wants to lessen the effect of the misuse of impact to turn around and be confused about the much simpler word "basis" is frankly hilarious.

#7: No, you tremendous gonce. "Differs from". Not different from. Have you any concept of conjugation?

#9: There's no such thing as a sub-peeve; peevishness is not correlated to or determined by size. Furthermore, when a sentence begins with if, you're doing a bad job at writing, and should start the sentence again. It doesn't matter what's required at that point, as you've begun writing crap. Then is _not_ implicit; it's extraneous. I have no doubt you'll insist there's no practical difference on the heels of an article about getting details correct.

#10: No, you might have, not could have. Could have refers to possibility, not happenstance; it applies only in the abstract. A ZDnet author could have failed grammar school; you might have.

And by might have, I actually mean should have.

Please don't labor the internet with your savant elocutions anymore, good sir or madam. And ask your editor why they aren't saving you this embarrassment. It's their job, don'cha know.

It's things like this which make me wish ZDnet editors were publically visible. This kind of piss poor sanctimony is becoming increasingly common at a site which pretends to be about technology and business, and if the editors were made aware how thoroughly disgusted their readers were with the bathwater quality of writing they pass, they might get back to editing.

Congratulations, Jody: you've hit a new low for ZDnet writing.

http://fullof.bs/zdnet_writing_skills/

Please catch up to the average fifth grader in quality of language.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12474/12474-h/12474-h.htm

I wish I could pretend to be surprised, but hey.

We'll see if they erase this one too; after all, what's a little pointing out everyone else's errors, then burying their own, right? Nothing dishonest or hypocritical about that.

I mean seriously, when someone gets up on a soapbox about quality of language, shouldn’t they, y’know, get their language up to par?

* Flagrant means “intentionally flamboyant.” Errors are rarely flagrant. Flagrancy is not about how wrong someone is; an error is only flagrant when someone makes it knowing full well that it is an error, and even then only when they are making the error solely for the purpose of angering someone. (Like, y’know, a bad writer with delusions of language quality.)
* None of these are grammar errors.
o All but #4 are lexical errors.
o #4 is simply incorrect. Both i.e. (id est) and i.e. (exempla gratia) precede examples; you use IE when your list is complete and exhaustive (ie when every possible correct outcome is investigated), but e.g. when the list is incomplete (e.g. when putting out a sanctimonious author’s low quality of english to be seen by all.)
o Grammar errors put are things place wrong like when you in the.
* #2 is particularly galling: you cannot download something along with the things inside it; whereas the sentiment the author is fumbling towards is apparent, the other mistakes they make set the well educated reader’s teeth on edge.
o “Along with” is never correct. It’s “alongside”.
o The second half of #2 is even worse, as the “its” there is extraneous and incorrect.
+ A conjunction is sufficient to conjoin; one need not, and indeed must not, put in an ancillary pronoun.
* #5: Impact certainly is a verb, you giant lummox.
o Granted the thing you’re trying to admonish against is wrong – impact does not denote effect – but yes, an asteroid can impact the moon. Don’t be a dunce.
* #6: “on a regular basis” is a horrific britishism.
o The word is “regularly”. You would do well to read on language usage regularly.
o For someone who wants to lessen the effect of the misuse of impact to turn around and be confused about the much simpler word “basis” is frankly hilarious.
* #7: No, you tremendous gonce. “Differs from”. Not different from. Have you any concept of conjugation?
* #9: When a sentence begins with if, you’re doing a bad job at writing, and should start the sentence again.
o It doesn’t matter what’s required at that point, as you’ve begun writing crap.
o Then is not implicit; it’s extraneous.
+ I have no doubt you’ll insist there’s no practical difference on the heels of an article about getting details correct.
o There is no such thing as a sub-peeve. Peeves are not scaled by size.
* #10: No, you might have, not could have. Could have refers to possibility, not happenstance; it applies only in the abstract.
o A ZDnet author could have failed grammar school; you might have.
o And by might have, I actually mean should have.

Please don’t labor the internet with your savant elocutions anymore, good sir or madam. And ask your editor why they aren’t saving you this embarrassment. It’s their job, don’cha know.

It’s things like this which make me wish ZDnet editors were publically visible. This kind of piss poor sanctimony is becoming increasingly common at a site which pretends to be about technology and business, and if the editors were made aware how thoroughly disgusted their readers were with the bathwater quality of writing they pass, they might get back to editing.

Congratulations, Jody: you’ve hit a new low for ZDnet writing.

I thought so; thanks for clearing that up