Grammar Peeves

[dalesys]

Non lysdexic people who use diffuse when they mean defuse.

De-Fuse: To remove the triggering mechanism from a bomb or explosive situation so it doesn't go BOOM!

Dif-Fuse: To spread out. As one of my daughter's students (7th grade) said: "So is that why when I fart, at first only I can smell it, then the people near me, and then the whole room?"

[BookstoreEscapee]

People who say "tenant" when they mean "tenet"...I see it a lot in religious discussions. Your religion doesn't have tenants, unless it owns rental property. I just saw this one used today (in a different context) and they didn't even spell tenant correctly.

[fireheart]

One I see ALL the time online:

People who say "your" when they mean "you're" or "there" when they mean "their".

It's sad though that when I call people out on it, they chide me for being the "spelling police".

[firecat88]

1) People who use the word 'literally' when they mean 'figuratively'.

2) Improper is/are and was/were usage. This one drives me even crazier than the first one.

[Food Lady]

Would of: It's supposed to be would've, which is a contraction for would have. My others have been named already.

[MoonCat]

Bare = naked or uncovered
Bear = as a verb, means to carry or hold; as a noun, the animal
Loose = opposite of tight
Lose = opposite of win
too = also (not spelled "to")
discrete = separate
discreet = with restraint

And the your/you're thing drives me nuts, too.

No one uses "comprise" correctly, either. Something is not "comprised of," it just "comprises". I see this in news stories all the time; you'd think professional journalists would know better.

I generally don't bother pointing these out online as long as I can tell what the person meant. But some of those letters on PFB or M3C are difficult to understand because of all the spelling and grammar errors.

[flybye023]

mute/moot

You mute the sound on TV
Your point is moot if the underlying argument no longer exists. (the dictionary said "obsolete")

bear/bare
Bare is to uncover
Bear has many different meanings depending on context but does not mean bare.

[dalesys]

Let's go bare hunting.

[Cookie]

My peeve is people who correct everyone else's grammar while spelling it "grammer".

[chikenlady]

Using more with superlative adjectives ( more bigger)

[blas]

I HATE would of could of should of.

Seriously, people at work think I'm boobs for brains, yet I at least can say it and write it correctly. These geniuses also think that when you say "Go get 'em", it's spelled "Um".

Every time I get a text from this person, asking me if I've "cooked um" yet, I just want to kill them, or that they "could of" gone home.

It's more important to me that they can't even get it right. Um is a substitute filler word for when you are drawing a blank, or some people are just addicted to "um". 'Em is a cut off word short for "them".

I never said I was smart. I said they say I'm boobs for brains. But at least I have a few up on them. Namely, I don't text people "Your really getting on my nerves, I should of went home earlier!"

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Overuse of the word "literally." Every time I hear this, I think "your parents should literally have their privates ripped off just for bringing you into this world."

Here's some pretty pictures for y'all. I take pride in being one of those people who has his shit together when it comes to semicolons.

[Jester]

"Axe" instead of "ask." This is used by either uneducated people, or people trying to act more badass than they actually are (such as white suburban kids trying to be "ghetto").

There is a huge difference between "ask" and "axe" as words, and we are not simply talking about regional dialect here.

THEM: "Let me ask you something."
ME: "Sure!"

THEM: "Let me axe you--"
ME: "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! CALL THE POLICE! HELP!"

An inquisitive person ASKS.
A psycho killer AXES.

I take pride in being one of those people who has his shit together when it comes to semicolons.

My father actually wrote a letter to the editor of our local newspaper in the late Seventies lamenting the fact that the semi-colon was becoming endangered. And yes, they printed it, too! I'll see if I can have my Mom dig it up for me....

[antlan87]

I take issue to people who seem to think teh is a proper word. I also hate text speech, such as C U l8r. I partially blame my Philosophy and Religions (two different classes) teacher, as he was an English teacher, so correct spelling and grammar was a must on final copies of essays. Made reading my English translated copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms a nightmare. I swear they had 20 different errors for "the" in it, among many other errors. As a reprint, you would think they would correct the errors this time, they had 50 years to find them. Avoid the C.H. Brewitt-Taylor translation.

[BrenDAnn]

They're/there/their has been covered...your/you're is also a big one for me. Another is when someone says they "could care less" when they actually mean that they "COULDN'T care less" about something. There IS a difference, people. Learn it. Oh, and unnecessary apostrophes annoy the fuck out of me! Example: Banana's for sale! or I like bike's! Gah...stop doing that! Also seen/saw. Don't tell me that you "seen" a movie last night. You SAW a movie, fucktard. While we're on the subject, here's a fun and useful linky for you all: Common Errors In English Usage. I keep it bookmarked, as it's a great reference for my writing.

ETA: I thought of another one. "Supposeably"...Is. Not. A word! The word is supposedly. I grit my teeth and fight telling whoever says that non-word off every time I hear it.