Question of the Week
Grammar Pet Peeves
Does it bug you when folks say "different than" instead of "different from"? Or when folks don't know when to use the predicate nominative ("it's me" rather than "it's I")? What's your grammar pet peeve?
Replies (38)
Posted by
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"the data is" instead of "the data are." It's like saying "The children is home."
Sep 8, 2011 2:00 pm
by Golem100 -
It bugs me when folks write "should of" instead of "should have"... as in, "I should of known better."
Sep 8, 2011 10:54 pm
by moengey -
"Bring that over there."
Sep 9, 2011 4:27 am
by dustin -
When people ask "Where are you at" instead of "Where are you?".
by MargotO -
Mine is "revert back". Can you revert forward???
Sep 9, 2011 6:50 pm
by Gram -
you know - no I don't.
Sep 14, 2011 8:02 am
by nomad -
"The data are" is questional given the fact that you could be referring to a single data point.
Sep 15, 2011 10:44 am
by rak.patel -
Since i love to be pedantic, i have to point out that a single data point is a datum. However, I will admit that the battle (my personal battle, that is) over "data are" versus "data is" may be already lost. Just like "It's on the agenda" versus "It's on the agendum." Well, ok, an item may be on more than one agendum, so the first example can be correct, but i hope you get my point.
And what irks me the most about "data is"/"data are"? It's mostly people in IT that don't know which is correct.
by Golem100 -
My pet peeve? Kids - instead of Children. Kids are young goats!
Sep 26, 2011 9:05 am
by alegna -
Idiot jounalists who don't know the difference between your and you're.
by andrejules -
I can also add two, to, too, as well as there and their.
Sep 26, 2011 4:16 pm
by Compulsion -
I visited a bakery recently, and there was a display of beautifully decorated cookies all emblazoned with the words "Your Great!" I bought one as a treat for a grammar-nazi friend of mine, but didn't have the heart to point out the typo to the folks who had spent so much time decorating them. I think the mistake that irks me the most is the use of "could of" or "should of" instead of "could have" or "should have."
by artofambivalence -
Misuse of apostrphes, mostly for plurals. Sadly, I see this on billboards, signs, newspaper articles, and in other places where ad executives and editors should know better.
by Moby -
Farther vs. further.
Dec 19, 2011 9:50 am
by mellowbeing -
My pet peeve is the misuse of the words "less" and "fewer". I don't have less pennies than you, I have fewer pennies than you, which means I have less money than you.
by Mom1 -
I agree with all of the above-mentioned ones...my pet peeve is "there's" (used for plurals) when it should be "there are"
Jan 1, 2012 10:01 am
by Christina5360 -
Use of "I" in a compound object--e.g., "He spoke to John and I." I think we get the "polite" usage of "so and so and I" (I coming at the end) as a subject that we automatically use it in all cases.
Jan 10, 2012 12:12 pm
by jeirich -
Sorry: that should have read, "we get the "polite" usage of "so and so and I" (I coming at the end) *so drilled into us* as a subject"
by jeirich -
irregardless is so NOT a word
Sep 17, 2012 8:08 am
by eperea -
Why don't people "make" decisions these days? When they take a decision, where do they take it? Pretty soon they'll be bringing decisions - I also agree with Dustin, that one drives me crazy but has become very common.
Sep 18, 2012 9:20 am
by PrairieLynn -
' at about ' Noooooo. Either at or about.
by JulieBuch -
I'm hearing people say, "All of the sudden." It should be, "All of a sudden."
Sep 20, 2012 8:55 am
by litlover -
Improper use of you're and your.
Sep 20, 2012 1:17 pm
by aprilfool -
I think "different than" is correct American English and "different from" is correct British English. Vive la difference!
Sep 21, 2012 3:29 am
by DavidM -
I have two:
1) try and when it should be try to (what else am I doing while trying?
2) when waiting somewhere with a bunch of people it has become popular to say you are on line, no I'm in line not surfing the webSep 21, 2012 6:43 am
by kberry01529 -
The use of "then" instead of "than" and "your" instead of "you're". I loose a couple of hours of youth each time I see those.
Sep 21, 2012 6:52 am
by narami -
when people say exact same or the same exact
Sep 21, 2012 9:01 pm
by spanish2011 -
"Different than" is moronic. It doesn't make any sense. Claiming that it's correct American English is a lazy excuse. If I construct a sentence badly in French, I can't claim that it's "correct English French".
by stemps -
When our first grandchild was born, we ordered a big (pizza-sized) chocolate chip cookie for our daughter-in-law from a mall bakery that specialized in them. When we picked it up, the inscription said, "Congradgulations, Pam!" Yes, we made them fix it.
by litlover -
The Oxford Dictionaries website http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/different-from-than-or-to says the following, "Some people criticize different than as incorrect but there’s no real justification for this view. There’s little difference in sense between the three expressions, and all of them are used by respected writers."
by DavidM -
"in regards" to the word is "in regard" to No S!
by Shandiest -
irregardless
by sgammon -
This makes me absolutely crazy - "Alls I have to do is X & Y." I've heard "All's well that ends well", but that's all......However malapropisms just make me laugh. I heard someone refer to a "soup latrine"....No no. It's a soup tureen!! (good grief!)
by Annmariev -
Confusion about the use of less and fewer; your and you're; saying "ta" instead of "to"; between (refers to two entities) and among (more than two entities); misuse of to, too, two;
Spokespeople who don't care enough about their presentation to be SURE they have the correct pronunciation, tense and form. It's the difference between sounding literate or idiotic and should matter more to the talking heads than it does.Oct 2, 2012 8:48 am
by vsmvp4649 -
bored of instead of bored with
and saying 'he should of done it' instead of 'he should have done it'Oct 7, 2012 10:41 am
by Lilacj -
I remember when people would say, "As far as xyz is concerned....." but nowadays I hear people saying, "As far as xyz....." and leaving out the "is concerned". Really bugs me.
by DavidM -
This is a lost cause-but when people say I'm done. No a cake is done you are finished.
by dreamdust -
Using acronymns assuming that the person reading will know what it means
by Victorianera