Which grammar/spelling errors are your pet peeves?

Had to get this one off my chest:

Adverse vs. averse: these are DIFFERENT words. I see "adverse" used in place of "averse" all the time, as in "I am adverse to....."

Averse: Disinclined, against, opposed. "I am averse to crowds." Often used in the negative as in: "I am not averse to someone handing me a free Birkin."

Usually a person is averse, or not averse. People are usually not adverse.

Adverse: Unfavorable, opposing, harmful. I don't like skiing in adverse conditions. The medication has adverse effects.

Usually adverse refers to things that affect people, not people: weather, traffic, etc. You wouldn't call your nasty neighbor "adverse" (although you might be "averse" to him or her!).
 
Misuse of apostrophe's. LOL. SHOULD be apostrophes, just in case...

The way to figure that one out - if it belongs to somebody named Apostrophe, then it's Apostrophe's. Not John's, but Apostrophe's.

the 's indicates ownership. Ex. misuses: You have many part's. NO YOU DON'T. You have many parts. Likewise, you can have as many handbag's as you want, but if you want to have them correctly, you have many handbags. John's wallets. NOT Johns wallet's.

Eh, I can't.

Good day!
 
Not one specific problem, but I spent a few hours today (together with my boss) going through a PowerPoint presentation by one of our junior staff. The presentation format and colours were attractive, but, as we requested changes in the text and I watched her type, I realized that her spelling was atrocious. She would type an approximation of words like "appropriate", and then pause to wait for autocorrect to do its job. We corrected her grammar errors like mismatch of singular noun-plural verb.

Sometimes when it's language fundamentals which are lacking, you are left wondering how to upgrade a person's work skills if a large part of the job role requires clear communication.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mewwwie and redney
Not one specific problem, but I spent a few hours today (together with my boss) going through a PowerPoint presentation by one of our junior staff. The presentation format and colours were attractive, but, as we requested changes in the text and I watched her type, I realized that her spelling was atrocious. She would type an approximation of words like "appropriate", and then pause to wait for autocorrect to do its job. We corrected her grammar errors like mismatch of singular noun-plural verb.

Sometimes when it's language fundamentals which are lacking, you are left wondering how to upgrade a person's work skills if a large part of the job role requires clear communication.
I don't think grammar and spelling are stressed in schools like they were when I was growing up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1LV and mewwwie
I don't think grammar and spelling are stressed in schools like they were when I was growing up.
They definitely are not stressed. As parents of younger kids, we were told NOT to correct their spelling etc but instead to let their originality flow through their writing. smdh And given that computers correct spelling and grammar, I guess they've crossed those subjects off their responsibilities.
 
  • Like
Reactions: whateve and mewwwie
Ooooh this is right up my alley! Mine: Myself. Example: "Bob and myself were given the opportunity to.....". GAH This makes me go apeshit. "Myself" was not given the opportunity......"I" was given the opportunity. It doesn't change to Myself just because Bob entered the sentence! If I get an email that reads "I'd like to schedule a meeting with yourself," I usually respond with snark, such as: "Thanks for your email. You can't schedule a meeting with myself, only I can do that. If you cannot learn proper use of the word, you get no meetings with me. Got it?"
 
"Bias" the noun used as an adjective instead of "biased"--as in, "I am bias against the color red for handbags." (There is in fact the adjective "bias," but it means diagonal, as in fabric. Irrelevant here.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: WingNut
Not one specific problem, but I spent a few hours today (together with my boss) going through a PowerPoint presentation by one of our junior staff. The presentation format and colours were attractive, but, as we requested changes in the text and I watched her type, I realized that her spelling was atrocious. She would type an approximation of words like "appropriate", and then pause to wait for autocorrect to do its job. We corrected her grammar errors like mismatch of singular noun-plural verb.

That is something I could hate no end!
 
  • Like
Reactions: xincinsin
Ooooh this is right up my alley! Mine: Myself. Example: "Bob and myself were given the opportunity to.....". GAH This makes me go apeshit. "Myself" was not given the opportunity......"I" was given the opportunity. It doesn't change to Myself just because Bob entered the sentence! If I get an email that reads "I'd like to schedule a meeting with yourself," I usually respond with snark, such as: "Thanks for your email. You can't schedule a meeting with myself, only I can do that. If you cannot learn proper use of the word, you get no meetings with me. Got it?"

I like your answer! :smile:
 
  • Like
Reactions: WingNut