Which grammar/spelling errors are your pet peeves?

QuelleFromage

QuelleFromage

Not my circus, not my monkeys
O.G.
Jan 15, 2011
11,870
41,535
#1
I'm curious to hear if grammar and spelling errors bother other people, and if you ever correct them. They bother me, but I would never bring it up to anyone. I know my use of language is not perfect, but there are certain things that really bother me. (Let me clarify that I am only bothered if English is the speaker's native/first language. I make horrible grammatical errors in every other language I speak.)

What are your grammar/spelling pet peeves? Or do you not care at all?
Mine:

He offered my husband and I a case of champagne . ( "my husband and me".)
"Per say" (per se)
I would of done that if I could. ("Would have")
I got a sneak peak at the new collection. ("Sneak peek")
My son's English class is predominately female. (Predominantly)
 
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#7
restricter said:
Loose instead of lose
Me and _____
Defiantly instead of definitely
Should/could/would of instead of should’ve/would’ve/could’ve
Click to expand...
I'm wondering if "defiantly/definitely" are a result of autocorrect because this is such a common error in fanfiction.
Another common mistake in fanfiction: "wither" gets substituted for "writhe" ("writhe" may be uncommon in regular speech, but tends to be used frequently in fantasy fanfic).

I once read a story about a beautiful woman who was described as a "ravenous beauty" instead of "ravishing". This was printed in a mainstream broadsheet (IHT, I think), and I wondered how it got past proofreaders.

A misspelling that drives me crazy: wierd. I had people argue that "weird" is the incorrect spelling.
 
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#12
floodette said:
the usual its / it's, there / their / they're

but also definately i/o definitely

and quote specific to my non-english-speaking country: scraft i/o scarf
Click to expand...

restricter said:
Loose instead of lose
Me and _____
Defiantly instead of definitely
Should/could/would of instead of should’ve/would’ve/could’ve
Click to expand...

YES - definately and defiantly make me crazy too. Perhaps "defiantly" is autocorrect - but I never get that in my autocorrect.....
 
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#13
xincinsin said:
I'm wondering if "defiantly/definitely" are a result of autocorrect because this is such a common error in fanfiction.
Another common mistake in fanfiction: "wither" gets substituted for "writhe" ("writhe" may be uncommon in regular speech, but tends to be used frequently in fantasy fanfic).

I once read a story about a beautiful woman who was described as a "ravenous beauty" instead of "ravishing". This was printed in a mainstream broadsheet (IHT, I think), and I wondered how it got past proofreaders.

A misspelling that drives me crazy: wierd. I had people argue that "weird" is the incorrect spelling.
Click to expand...
Oh no - the ravenous beauty was withering in delight?!

I hate "wierd" too. I think it's weird :P
 
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#14
Maybe I'm pedantic but I subscribe to the belief that things become faulty, while food and mood get spoilt. Singapore English loves to use "spoilt" in place of "faulty" or any other description meaning less than pristine.

The lights are spoilt. (The lights are on the blink.)
The car was spoilt. (The car broke down.)
Don't spoil my dress. (Don't crease/rip my dress.)

I drilled this into my kids' brains. And then one of them brings home his English homework with a multiple choice question where the only possible answer was "The TV set was *spoilt*". :shocked:
 
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