Okay, time for a little levity. No sticky situations, anxious anecdotes or dicey dilemmas from the commercial writing world. Just some good old-fashioned griping – about grammar. Got the idea for this post a few weeks back when I managed to run afoul of a friend’s pet peeve by writing, “I’ll try and do _____.” Ouch.
Well. He wrote back, deservedly taking me to task, explaining in exquisite detail:
“I must say — with all due respect — I HATE when writers and others say ‘try and’ (as you’ve done here) rather than the more accurate and appropriate, ‘try to.’ ‘Try and’ suggests TWO different acts: trying something, and then something else (e.g., ‘Try and be a better person.’ So you’re saying, ‘try’ (whatever) AND ‘be a better person,’ too. Whereas ‘try to be a better person’ says precisely what you’re meaning: try to be better.”
Just getting warmed up, he continued, “Almost as bad as when 99.9% of people say ‘could’ care less, when they really mean, and should be saying ‘couldn’t’ care less.”
Voila! Blog fodder. My pet peeves? Beyond the ubiquitous “you’re/your,” “it’s/its” and “compliment/complement”? Well, I’ll let you guys tell yours, and perhaps delve a little deeper while we’re at, and maybe we’ll teach each other something new in the process.
I’ll leave you with this…
Knock-knock.
Who’s there?
To.
To who?
To whom.
What’s one of your grammatical pet peeves (one at a time, please, so we can encourage more contributions from more of you…)?
If you’re an English purist, what are your “grammatical grudges”: those things that have been accepted into the vernacular, but IYHO, should never have been?
What are some obscure/esoteric points of grammar that so many people get consistently wrong, but you know better? 
Any fascinating grammatical/linguistic trivia you care to share (word origins, evolution of expressions, etc.)?
{ 93 comments… read them below or add one }
My biggest “grammatical grudge” is when people say “nother.” Most times they can just say “other” but for some reason they throw the damn “n” in front of it. Now “nother” is actually in the dictionary! What ever happened to ANother or just plain other? Is that really so hard?
I value precision, particularly in language. I hate lazy word-slinging that distorts literal meanings.
That’s why misuse of “range” (the mathematical term, not ranchland) hurts my eyes and ears. It happens regularly, particularly in print and broadcast news reports such as these: “Complaints range from high taxes to last trash pickups” . . . or “Healthful foods range from vegetables to tofu.”
No they don’t, literally. “Range” doesn’t mean “include,” a perfectly fine word that takes just two more keystrokes. Deployed correctly, range applies to anything with a clear, finite beginning and end:
The alphabet ranges from A to Z. Numbers range from 1 to 10. Presidents range from Washington to Obama. Peter’s readers range from Connecticut to California.
But colors on this site don’t range from tan to blue to green.
Too picky?
And oh yes, at risk of being Bower-slapped as disobedient, deliberate use of “healthful” up there is a couldn’t-resist allusion to another pet peeve: Misusing “healthy” in reference to food or activities, as though they — and rather than those benefiting from them — will live longer and more healthfully.
Done now. Your turn.
You’ve covered my biggest pet peeves when it comes to written mistakes. But I always get twitchy when someone mispronounces a common word, too. For instance: I have a friend who always says “supposebly” instead of “supposedly”. Drives me crazy.
Another one is a regional phrasing I noticed while living in the South: “in the floor” — as in, “Your shoes are lying in the floor.” We Midwesterners understand that nothing can be “in” the floor, unless it’s had a bad transporter malfunction, ala Star Trek, and is instead lying “on” the floor.
I’ll stop now.
My biggest pet peeves (besides your and you’re) are with punctuation. And I must cite two briefly:
When people end a question with a period. As in, “I’m asking you to do something, but no, it’s not optional, I’m really telling you.” “Will you please edit this document. Thanks.”
And my biggest writing pet peeve of all… is the overuse… of ellipses…. AAAAHH!!!I detest it…
I get frustrated with myself when a writer accidentally omits a word. My brain locks in on the omission and I have to read the sentence over again, sometimes repetitively. I suppose it is some form of OCD. In your case, it was “…while we’re at (it), and maybe…” where the word “it” was omitted.
Where you at? Texas, of course. Here everyone is fixin’ to do something. I’ve been here 30 plus years and I have just about given up. Even my grown children ask, “Where you at, Mom?” They know better but love to yank my chain.
I am definitely a grammar cop. I blow the whistle on my dad all the time. He frequently says “we was,” “you was,” and “they was.” And he gives lectures!
“It’s/Its” has become my biggest pet peeve because I see it written incorrectly so often, even in “professional” works. I recently caught the error in a help topic on my computer! IT’S not hard to remember. If you’re replacing “it is,” use the apostrophe. Why is there so much confusion?
An error I’ve accepted is the use of non-possessive pronouns before gerunds, like in the sentence, “We appreciate you attending our daughter’s wedding.” I want to say “your” instead of “you,” but I stop myself. I know it sounds stuffy.
“Irregardless” drives me crazy. Also, the widespread use of the apostrophe for no clear reason! Not possession, not contraction, but just randomly thrown in, as in “The chair’s were set around the table.” Argggggh!
I think it’s important be a grammar cop these days. People love to blame their keyboard for their mistakes – what’s wrong with going back and correcting mistakes?
pet peeve; so many writers use “loose” to mean “lose”. I see it everywhere! ” Don’t loose your head about it!”.
And, for some strange reason there are many people out there who spell “having” as ” haveing” !
Since you asked …
Using over /under instead of more than / less than is my grammatical pet peeve. Over and under are physical locations; more than / less than numerical quantifiers. A company has not been in business for “over 10 years.” Its been in business for “more than 10 years.” The misuse is so rampant it is almost accepted as appropriate. But I am compelled to silently correct the misapplied “overs” to “more thans.” (It’s the little things …)
I won’t bore you with my long list.
Instead, I’m posting to buck the trend: everyone else so far has a first name that begins with A.
I wince when someone (myself included) says, “Can I borrow that?” when they/I mean “May I borrow that?”
The word gotten, as the past tense of got, still sounds wrong to me. Even after almost forty years in this country. It’s considered archaic usage in Britain.
However, as dear old Mum used to say, “English is a living language, and life isn’t always pretty.”
Pet Peeve? The overuse of the word “that”. Most sentences are fine without “that”, they do not lose their meaning and the message is clearer. It’s the equivalent of the young person’s “like” or “you know” or, the worst offender, “you know what I’m sayin’?”. I don’t like and many times I don’t know. Use “that” when you need it, otherwise restructure the sentence or hit the delete key. ’nuff said.
William Safire, wordsmith and columnist for the New York Times, once wrote that he wanted to get a dog and name it “Peeve.” Then he could introduce it, saying, “This is my pet, Peeve.”
Mine are misuse of apostrophes (its/it’s, desk’s, desks’), twisting nouns into verbs (medal, impact, duet), and tossing in the word “of” where it does not belong (it’s not that big of a hill). Arggghh!!!!
Don’t throw tomatoes at me purists. I’m actually enjoying the loosening up of formality in writing. I’ve been teaching freshman comp for the past year and it’s been really interesting to compare my generation (I’m 40-something) with the younger generation. I also work in social media. With electronic media, we live in soundbites. Twitter has forced us to get really creative with the 140 character limit and I love it! It’s true economy in words.
I’m still in shock that they are teaching my 3rd grader to write in cursive. That’s a bit like handing him a movie to watch on a VCR or a telephone with a cord – never coming back!
One of the mistakes my students make often is the incorrect use of affect and effect. But I get it, I have to stop myself and figure out which is the noun and which is the verb sometimes.
Since about four out of five respondents so far have cheated on the “one only” request, I will too–but I’ll leave out ones already mentioned, and will set myself an 80-word limit.
-Dangling modifiers: “Wondering what to do, the clock struck twelve.”
-“They” for “he or she.” (There’s nothing sexist about using either “he” or “she” generically where both are given fair turns.)
-“That” instead of “who” when referring to a human being, as though people were objects.
Where do I begin? How about with the misuse of the reflexive pronoun “myself.” I noted getting two separate emails this week from online marketers containing such an error. One began with “Myself and Bob will be putting on a webinar this week.” The other stated “That is one thing that myself and the other members of my team do very well.”
I find myself wanting to tear my hair out when I read such things. I, myself, never make such mistakes.
Has no one mentioned the split infinitive? Ever since Star Trek’s “to boldly go” (which always sets my teeth on edge), it has been used commonly and without qualm.
Ah, what fun…;) I KNEW this would be a well-visited post… Speaking of which, did I write that correctly? Is in “well-visited” vs. “well visited”? I know with all these grammar gurus in attendance, I’m sure someone can be the correct and final arbiter…
But, you guys have covered SO many of the egregiously common and commonly egregious offenders! I need to rack my brain a little to see if I can come up with any you haven’t noted, but I’m sure we have a ways to go…
My faves from above? The overuse of “that” (not technically or grammatically incorrect, but so unnecessary in so many cases, and by dropping it in much of your writing, you really make it more readable and more conversational. It’s something (that) I relatively recently had brought to my attention.
Also, using you vs. your (i.e., “I appreciate you reminding me of my appointment (wrong)” vs. “your reminding me…” So common it’s been accepted into the vernacular.
Ah, just thought of another one: using “more” instead of “fewer” when referring to thing that can be counted. Fewer people, not more people.
Okay, gotta run. In Maine with 7 friends, and lobster just came out of the pot… I know, not fair to rub it in…
Be back later…
PB
After reading about all these pet peeves, I could care less. Except that it really should be “I *couldn’t* care less,” but people misuse that expression all the time. That’s my grammatical pet peeve.
Fun topic, Peter.
@Peter: Did you really mean “more” vs. “fewer”? Or did you mean “less” vs. “fewer”?
Since moving to the Midwest 28 years ago, I’ve repeatedly encountered a peculiarity in the vernacular wherein the infinitive “to be” is omitted from phrases of necessity. Laments such as “The floor needs mopped,” “The dog needs groomed,” or “The oil needs changed” are commonplace. I don’t get it. I grew up in the deep South, where we know how to speak correctly: “The oil needs to be changed ’cause I’m fixin’ to carry my husband to the airport.”
There are a lot that bother me, but the worst is “most unique”. I hear it all the time!
Someone mentioned about having a question without a question mark. Much more common I find is adding question marks to statements. Like this?Aaagghh!
Thanks Julie,
Yeah, what she said…;)
I was obviously moving too fast when I wrote it, something one doesn’t want to do in the midst of a forum on bad grammar… Unless the goal is to keep providing comment fodder…
So, yes, “less” vs. “fewer,” for, as one grammar site defined it, “mass nouns” (less, as in less tape, work, sunshine, mess) vs. “count nouns” (fewer, as in jobs, pencils, friends).
And while we’re at it, further (for metaphorical distance; “he went further in life than his brother”) vs. farther (for actual distance; “he threw the ball farther…” But this one isn’t AS well-known, so we’ll cut some slack…
PB
I work with a lot of international clients. English isn’t their first language. My biggest grammatical pet peeve is when they say “advice me” instead of “advise me.” It’s a very common mistake with that group. I’m hardly a grammatical purist, but that one makes me feel like my brain might explode.
A HUGE annoyance from my retailing days: using everyday as one word when it doesn’t modify anything, as in low prices everyday vs everyday low prices. See it constantly in ads. Actually had to argue the point with marketing execs with who insisted on leaving as is. Even the retailer’s ad agency of record, (one of the biggest global conglomerates,) kept using it in their work.
I’m not really a grammar cop, but some mistakes bug me. “Often times” for example. Why can’t we just say “often?” Recently I’ve seen this phrase in several places: “could of” instead of “could have” or even “could’ve.”
Then there is the whole question of punctuation going inside or outside the quotation marks. I know that rule varies by location, but if they comments on this post are any indication, the trend is heavily in favor of the punctuation going outside.
Phrases with inherent redundancy. A few heard on the news:
After the crash, rescuers found two live survivors. (All the other survivors were dead.)
After setting off the bomb in Oslo, the man traveled to an offshore island (as opposed to an island ON shore which, in Norway, is simply called “land”) and began shooting students there.
I love this post. Some of the above commentors snagged some of my favorite peeves, but there are always more.
The mixing up of “imply” and “infer” by writers and journalists who should know better. I suppose I get a little flip when someone says to me, “So, are you inferring that ________?”
I can’t help responding with, “Well, I’m not inferring, but I’m definitely implying.”
I usually get a glazed look in return.
Alot instead of a lot.
Literally and figuratively. Heard a news anchorwoman say, “I literally exploded with laughter.”
THAT would have been a pretty sight, no doubt.
It’s real good, or real healthy, or real smart. Since when did “really” take so much more effort to use? I guess it’s real hard to figure out.
I make allowances for someone’s socio-economic background. After all, the most important thing is what is being communicated rather than the finess with it’s done. However, I make no such allowances for writers and professionals who are supposedly educated, and whose stock in trade is their ability to communicate well.
I work in the film and TV industry, and it is amazing to see the blatant grammar, spelling and usage mistakes by people who purport to be scriveners.
I could go on, but I’m getting real tired.
Aha, caught myself. I meant, “finesse with which it’s done.”
Writin’s real hard.
“A terrible tragedy occurred today…” as opposed to, what, a delightful tragedy?
Misspelled words. Ugh. To me it equates sloppiness, which is probably far from the truth, but that’s my mind for ya.
My college editing professor absolutely drilled that punctuation always goes inside the quotes.
Always.
Always.
Always.
Always.
She edited Time Life books for 20yrs and made $100+/hr as a freelance editor. I wasn’t gonna argue with her.
The Gregg Reference Manual (every writer should have one of these – awesome reference and the definitive on grammar) states that punctuation inside quotes is the preferred American style, while punctuation outside quotes is the British style.
Punctuation Queen, I am not. So the above manual is priceless. And no, I didn’t use it for this message!
Coming a bit late to the party.
This topic is always a winner.
I second the loose versus lose as a biggie. Loose is what you’re trying to lose.
My Dad’s pet peeve was effect versus affect so I always seem to notice that one. But, I think one that has me grinding my teeth is early on. Even media people use it. Early on what??? How about just early or earlier?
Thanks for the fun post, Peter.
Julie,
You’ll have to be more specific than “The Midwest.” I lived 21 of the first 24 years of my life in Illinois, plus one in Iowa. Then five more in Wisconsin. I never heard anyone speak that way. So it must be a rural thing.
Julie,
Ahh, I see you’re in Indiana. That explains a lot.
Michael and Julie,
I have lived in Northwest Illinois for most of my life and many people use “babies need changed” when speaking. I am probably guilty of it myself. I thank you for pointing it out so I can watch for it in my writing.
My biggest pet peeve is when my kids, and sometimes my wife, use the word “funner.” It has the same effect on me as the sound of the dentist’s drill. I don’t know why.
I was surprised that one of my most commonly-encountered errors has not been mentioned yet — using “insure” in place of “ensure.” I see it ALL THE TIME from business executives who promise their company will stop at nothing to “insure the satisfaction of every customer,” yada yada yada. I’ve even seen it on permanent signage (including a sign at a recently visited national landmark) that was probably proofed a hundred times. In modern usage, at least, “insure” refers to insurance coverage (to protect against financial liability). “Ensure” means to “make sure” something will or won’t happen.
While I do not agree that casual conversation must be as precise as formal writing, (it would be sad to lose all those regional dialects) I cannot stand when people say “pacifically” in place of “specifically,” pronounce the “t” in “often,” say “gesture” with a hard “g,” or put an “m” in the middle of “voluptuous.”
As for writing, an ellipsis with more than three dots is enough to make me lose my…
I agree with these comments 110%. Irregardless, I vow to try and make a 360° change in my bad grammar habits, and make sure myself and my friends do the same.
(And yes, I do know better.)
Thanks for the laugh.
My pet peeve is misuse of “farther” (referring to actual distance, as in “Main Street is farther away than you think”) and “further” (figurative distance, as in “nothing could be further from the truth.”) A fun book on this topic is “The Grouchy Grammarian – A How-Not-To Guide to the 47 Most Common Mistakes in English Made by Journalists, Broadcasters, and Others Who Should Know Better.” The author is Thomas Parrish. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
I noticed this thread topic has broadened to include grammar, usage, punctuation and spelling. I have pet peeves in all categories, but I’ll limit myself to three for now:
“Hopefully” describes a person’s mood. She bounded down the stairs hopefully, she looked up hopefully, she smiled hopefully. I keep hearing sentences like, “Hopefully, we’ll have it by Tuesday.”
My journalism pet peeve is the use of “wife” or “husband” when the spouse is deceased. “Husband of Challenger astronaut” and “wife of slain civil rights leader” imply that the couple are still married. One is the widower, or widow, of a dead person.
Finally, when a doctor retires, he is still a doctor. He is not a former doctor.
I’m not sure how common a blunder this is, but I used to hear the word “conversate” quite a bit. As in: “Could you please stop interrupting? We’re trying to conversate.”
Ugghhh! That’s not a word! It’s just not!
Not only do we “conversate” nowadays, but we also apparently “orientate” our new employees. Once they’ve been properly “orientated” they are free to shout across the counter “I can help who’s next” rather than “I can help whoever is next.” And so it goes.
It seems people are orientated toward subtracting, or adding, nother syllable. Those creatures, pardon me, critters you see in the headlights are raccoons and opossums, not coons and possums.
Off topic, my least favorite twenty-dollar verb is “differentiate”, used instead of “distinguish.” My least favorite adjective is “miscellaneous”, used in print by people who can’t spell it.
Thanks to all – great stuff! And Marty’s comment (so true, by the way…) about new employees at a fast-food counter reminded me of one of my HUGE pet peeves. Now this one moves the discussion in a slightly different direction, but hey, I think we’ve covered a lot of ground, so let’s evolve it a bit!
It’s when waiters (or anyone in a service profession) say “No problem” in response to a thank-you on your part. And not trying to point fingers, but overwhelmingly, it’s young people doing it. It’s always bugged me and I couldn’t put my finger on why until I came across this great article from small-biz guru Jim Blasingame that nails it.
Bottom line, it implies that giving good service, while “no problem” in this case, might be a problem another time. Like they’re indulging you this one time, but hey, my mood could change at any time, so don’t get used to it.
I frequent this one restaurant in my neighborhood, and one of the things I love about it (besides the great food), is the service. The server doesn’t just say “you’re welcome” when you offer thanks, but rather, the even sweeter, “It’s my pleasure” (pointed out in the article). It’s amazing how much more “taken care of ” you feel with just a small change of words.
Anyone else bugged by the “No problem” trend?
PB
Regarding the “less v. fewer” peeve, I saw the new Mercedes-Benz 2012 C-Class Coupe commercial last weekend and the voice-over went on to proclaim, “More power, more style, blah blah… less doors.” Given the commercial was comparing the new coupe to its sedan sibling in the C-Class lineup, I thought it should have been “fewer doors.” In the commercial, a four-door sedan is chained to some rocks, speeds off, and two of the doors are ripped off to reveal the new two-door coupe.
That’s easy. “These ones.” As in “These ones over here.”
For me, it is like someone poking me in the spine with a needle. Repeatedly.
I hear you, Heather… But, hey, count your blessings that you’re not in the South, where (yes, outside the major metros), instead of “these ones” or “those ones,” they’d just say, “theezins” and “thozins”…
PB
oh..and hanged vs hung.
I absolutely cringed when the news lady said “Saddam Hussein was hung today.”
Honey. If he was hung today, he was probably hung yesterday too. But he died because he was hanged.
I taught “Effective Business Writing” on behalf of a training company. The instructional designer included a wonderful list of commonly misused words. Here are just a few of my favorite examples:
Capability vs. Capacity
Capability means having the talent or efficiency for.
Capacity means having the potential or being suitable for holding or storing
Wrong: He has the capacity for the job.
Right: The storeroom has the capacity to hold all our files.
Dilemma vs. Predicament
Dilemma indicates two specific and equally undesirable choices.
Predicament means a generally difficult situation.
Wrong: Her lack of finances is quite a dilemma.
Right: Her dilemma is having to choose between a man she doesn’t love and one she loves, but treats her like crap.
As for the “No problem” issue… Isn’t it the abbreviated version of “Never a problem”?