the spelling and grammar nitpick thread

[truthspeaker]

Rather than derail other people's threads (and be an asshole) by correcting their spelling, I thought I'd start this thread to collect the most common mispellings on DU as an attempt to educate the orthographically impaired. Please contribute your own examples. Here are a few to start you off.

advice is the noun
advise is the verb

"I would like some advice on bathing my cat."
"Please advise me on how to bathe my cat."

irregardless is not a word

[tekriter]

1. And you don't "loose" something

you "lose" it.

Drives me nuts.

[RebelOne]

3. You and me both.

And I have seen some educated people use loose incorrectly.

[Richardo]

9. HA! "Loose" vs "lose" was my first thought, too...

That and "breath" when they mean "breathe".

[TNDemo]

2. Occurrence has two R's.

Lose not loose.

And when you have a sign made for your front door with your last name it does not need an apostrophe! This drives me nuts. "The Smith's." The Smith's what? And who is that one Smith? There is more than one Smith living in the house, therefore it is pleural. The Smiths.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. pleural -> plural

This IS a nitpicking thread, right? :evilgrin:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

20. LOL.......i node that

[Karenina]

96. Of course you did!

:D but did you know that HYPOCRISY, according to a little count I did some months back, is one of the most commonly misspelled words on this board?

[tekriter]

8. YES!

I can't believe the number of times I see that - a message board I frequent has a moderator who puts an apostrophe in every word that ends in "s" whether it belongs there or not.

"We had to get new tire's for both car's", for example.

And, in keeping with the spirit of this thread - it's "plural", not "pleural"!

Sorry - just had to!

:P

[RebelOne]

13. The apostrophe in the name makes me want to scream.

When I see it on mail boxes, I am tempted to knock on the house door and point out the mistake.

[TNDemo]

35. Eek! I did pleural.

I work in the medical field and I am always spelling pleura or pleural and it just popped out. My bad!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. It's not "seperate", it's "separate".

[Intelsucks]

5. I see a lot of people use "then" for "than" on the internet

I doubt that it's a typo, because I see it so often. My English teacher would have a cow.

[sybylla]

25. This is my peeve

I don't think the differences are difficult to master either, which is probably why it bothers me so much.

[gator_in_Ontario]

40. You beat me to my pet peeve!

On the internet, I usually just let it go and "read between the typing" so to speak. And in fairness to DUers, the writing is of much higher quality than that found on many other sites...

[Bronco69]

7. The word "no one" when it is spelled

"noone" drives me nuts. :-)

[Intelsucks]

10. ATM machine = Automated Teller Machine Machine

This one drives me crazy.:crazy:

[arwalden]

12. NIC Card - Network Interface Card Card

[Intelsucks]

24. PIN number = Personal Identification Number Number

n/t

[ProdigalJunkMail]

51. ha

I hate that but sometimes, to alleviate confusion for the uninitiated , I say it myself.

theProdigal

[RebelOne]

11. Here's a couple for now.

There and their
There is an adverb
Their is a pronoun

Put the bag over there.
They had their first defeat.

It's and its
It's is a contraction for it is.
Its is an adjective the possessive form of it

It's now lunchtime.
The book has ungone its third rewrite.

[geniph]

79. "ungone"?

you mean undergone? ;-)

[Art_from_Ark]

14. You want nickpicking, you got it

According to Merriam-Webster: "Irregardless" originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is "there is no such word". There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech although it can be found from time to time in edited prose...

[RebelOne]

15. Another one -- horde and hoard

Horde is a large group or crowd.
Hoard is to gather or accumulate

[WildClarySage]

16. Rediculous

AUGH! Makes me wanna shake the idiot who doesn't know it's spelled Ridiculous.

Stupid morans.

[RebelOne]

17. Sheer and shear. I see this one often.

The sides of the cliff are sheer.
The farmer sheared the sheep.

[Dogmudgeon]

18. Damp vs Dampen

As verbs.

To Damp is to reduce the intensity or behavior of something.

To Dampen is to humidify or moisten.

"The results of the NH primary damped Joe Lieberman's enthusiasm."

vs.

"The snow dampened Joe Lieberman's new hairdo."

--bkl

[ConcernedCanuk]

19. hmmm - don't wanna nitpick - OH _ I'm SUPPOSED to nitpic here

.
.

"irregardless is not a word" - psshawwww!!

hate to "nitpick" on the author, but - -

2 entries found for irregardless.

irregardless
adv : in spite of everything; without regard to drawbacks; "he carried on regardless of the difficulties"




on edit - I see Art_from_Ark did his homework too ! . . :thumbsup:
.

[RebelOne]

21. Among and between

Use among when referring to three or more.
Use between when referring to two.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

22. irregardless, this is "funner" than a thread about "ooching" along

them then's and than's get me everytime :7

[Robb]

23. This seems like the place to ask this question:

Are there any situations where it's appropriate to put the quotation marks inside of the punctuation?

Example:

He called himself "Harry".
He called himself "Harry."

:shrug:

[RebelOne]

26. Yes, for example

Who is doing the "looking"?

[ConcernedCanuk]

28. yes re:"punctuation on the INSIDE of the quotation marks"

.
.

Lets say you are posting something from an article,

then your "quote" be it one sentence or three paragrapghs

can be surrounded by " , including the last puncuation mark.


OOPS, I didn't reed the qweschun well enuf -

oh well !

[Laughing Mirror]

32. Quotation marks inside or outside of punctuation is a matter

of style. Generally, in Europe, quotations are put outside the punctuation. In US, it's the opposite, except if the punctuation is a colon or semi-colon.

Because it really comes down to a style decision, either style is correct so long as you are consistent. Don't switch back from one to the other. Choose the one you want and stick to it for the length of whatever you are writing.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

65. According to what I learned in editing class

it's actually the other way around. It's the Europeans who always put scare quotes (quotation marks used ironically or to introduce unusual terminology) inside the punctuation.

On this side of the Atlantic, quotation marks are usually outside the punctuation marks.

For example:

Bush calls himself "a compassionate conservative."

If Bush is "a compassionate conservative," than I'm Lucrezia Borgia.

If a question or exclamation is part of actual speech, then the quotes go outside:

Bush said, "I'm a compassionate conservative!"

Bush said, "Why can't you tell that I'm a compassionate conservative?"

Scare quotes that are not part of a quotation go outside periods and commas and inside question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons. I know it's inconsistent, but look at the Chicago Manual of Style.

I can't get over Bush calling himself "a compassionate conservative"!

How can Bush get away with calling himself "a compassionate conservative"?

Some "compassionate conservative": he cut the funding for that program.

[Laughing Mirror]

88. yes, of course, you are right, and I'm dyslexic

and in need of a proofreader. Thanks for the correction.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

27. Effect vs. Affect

My personal pet peeve.

[RebelOne]

30. Mine, too. And it is such a common mistake.

[earthman dave]

29. "Towing the line" - gah!

Toe, dammit!

[Tracer]

31. The confusion over ...

Insure vs Ensure

The use of "tow the line" instead of "toe the line".

... and (not on this board) in restaurants when they say the beef is served "with au jus" = "With with sauce".

[RebelOne]

67. It's assure and ensure.

Ensure is a formal guarantee. Assure means to make someone confident about something.

Example: To ensure the success of our project, we worked very hard. I assure you we will do our best.

[RebelOne]

33. One I just now saw over at GD

shoe-in for shoo-in.

This is so commonly misused.

[twistedliberal]

34. Unthaw.

Thaw is the opposite of freeze. To "unthaw" something, you would freeze it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

38. HAHA! Yes, I grew up using that word

because my parents used it. "thaw" and "unthaw" have the same meaning? I was probably in college before realizing the error of that one.


Also "hot water heater" - we don't heat hot water. It's a cold water heater, or just "water heater", but that's not a grammar problem, just general dumbnessy.

[twistedliberal]

36. "Stomping grounds" and "chomping at the bit"

It's "stamping" and "champing."

Also, when I see "Please RSVP by ____" on an invitation. Please respond please. Gah!

[Rabrrrrrr]

41. I can understand the usage of please RSVP

Because I can't tell you the number of people who never R-ed to me, so I often *am* tempted to say "PLEASE RSVP to me..." as a way to remind these knocking dunderheads that I need a fershlugginer response from them.

[VelmaD]

37. Everything listed so far...plus y'all

As a Southerner this one drives me nuts. It is y'all. The apostrophe replaces the missing letters in you all. Y'all. Not ya'll.

[Richardo]

39. ...and it's "Shoo-in" not "Shoe-in"; and "Toe the line" not "Tow the line"

x(

[spinbaby]

42. Their is a grammar problem?

I'm sure that if we just all toad the line and keep our eyes to the wheel and our shoulder on the horizon, we can overcome it.

;-)

[Beaker]

43. They're over there in their car, while I hear that you're here in yours...

...if you know what I mean.

[Beaker]

44. more important vs. more importantly

I'll die a happy man if I ever hear a newscaster use the right one.

[loftycity]

46. Some of us are Nit Wits

We have some good things to say. Sometimes it doesn't come out right.
I'm one of those Dyslexic types...lots of edits.

I admire all who have got it down...

[skippysmom]

45. "an historic"

As in "It was an historic day." No, it was "a historic day."

You don't need "an" in front of a word that begins with a consonant!

Not to mention people who confuse "historic" (meaning something notable) with "historical" (something pertaining to history).

(The history major, grammar nazi minor slinks away...)

[Rabrrrrrr]

47. No, you can go either way on that one

depends on how you pronounce the "h". And even in the US of A, one can use "a" or "an".

I always use "an".

[kmla]

49. To pick nits...

It is mostly a matter of preference. Please see the link below.

:evilgrin:

http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/determiners/determiners.htm#h_words

[truthspeaker]

68. technically "an historic" is correct

This is one of those rules that's left over from when h's were pronounced differently than they are now.

[RebelOne]

84. An historic is a no-no.

According to the grammar book "Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay," by Richard Lederer & Richard Dowis, never say an historic.

Below is a paragraph from the book:

The rule is that a is used with words that begin with consonant sounds, an with vowel sounds. The initial sound, not the initial letter, determines whether to use a or an. When the aitch (h) is silent, as in honor and hour, use the article an. When the aitch is pronounced, as in house, hamburger, history and historical, use the article a.

[Edge]

48. It annoys me when people use the form of...

"loose" instead of "lose."

I see people often write "I saw the New York Yankees loose the World Series this year."

Let me tell you all something: "loose" means

n Entry: loose
Function: adjective
1 a : not rigidly fastened or securely attached b (1) : having worked partly free from attachments <a loose tooth> (2) : having relative freedom of movement c : produced freely and accompanied by raising of mucus <a loose cough> d : not tight-fitting
2 a : free from a state of confinement, restraint, or obligation <a lion loose in the streets> <spend loose funds wisely> b : not brought together in a bundle, container, or binding c archaic : DISCONNECTED, DETACHED
3 : not dense, close, or compact in structure or arrangement
4 a : lacking in restraint or power of restraint <a loose tongue> <loose bowels> b : lacking moral restraint : UNCHASTE
5 a : not tightly drawn or stretched : SLACK b : being flexible or relaxed <stay loose>
6 a : lacking in precision, exactness, or care <loose brushwork> <loose usage> b : permitting freedom of interpretation
7 : not in the possession of either of two competing teams <a loose ball> <a loose puck>

Lose is the right word you want in that sentence:

"I saw the New York Yankees lose the World Series this year."

Also, there is NO such word as "irregardless"!!!!

GET IT RIGHT!!!

[Rabrrrrrr]

50. See some of the above posts

Had you read the the thread before posting, you would have noticed a couple posts about the legitimate existence of the word "irregardless".

This "no such word as irregardless" meme must be ended. :evilgrin:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

54. It's not actually a word.

Americans used it fucked up so much Webster's decided to make it a word. Just because it's in the Webster's dictionary doesn't make it a word. They just like to overcompensate for the stupid shit Americans say because it hurts their egos if you correct them or expect them to use correct grammar!!!
Duckie

[Rabrrrrrr]

57. No matter what our emotional attachments to language "purity" are,

if a word is used, and is used enough, it becomes a legitimate word.

Not wishing it weren't doesn't make any difference.

To take your logic, humanity should have but one word, because any word made after that one would not be "of the lexicon", though of course we would never have developed enough words to be able to tell people that their new word is not legitimate.

Dictionary's are NOT a legal list of acceptable words - dictionaries exist in response to and are reflections of the way language is being used and how it is evolving.

Sheesh.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

52. "irregardless" ..... adverb

irregardless

adv : in spite of everything; without regard to drawbacks; "he carried on irregardless of the difficulties"

syn: regardless, irrespective, disregardless, no matter, disregarding

[truthspeaker]

70. dictionaries list words as they are used w/o taking a position on correctn

correctness.

Here's why people object to "irregardless".

"ir-" is a prefix meaning "not" or "without"

"-less" is a prefix meaning "without"

"regardless" means "without regard"

So "irregardless" should mean "without a lack of regard". It should mean the opposite of "regardless", but people use it as a synonym.

It's listed in the dictionary because people use it. "Ain't" is also in the dictionary. But if you used either one on a school assignment your teacher would mark you off - and rightfully so.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

53. I think their are definately problams on this

What ever happened to actually teaching spelling and grammar? When I look back, it becomes aparent to me that most of my grammar-learnin' came from my German language class.

What is wrong with us?

theProdigal

[PVnRT]

55. "Your" is possessive, "you're" is a contraction

n/t

[twistedliberal]

56. Oooh! Another one:

"I could care less."

[Rabrrrrrr]

58. So then you do care?

Always want to respond that way. :-)

[SOteric]

59. The most widely misspelt word on this site is 'definitely.'

Most often it is incorrectly spelt as "definately," even from some otherwise educated persons.

:hi:

[zanana]

60. Take it from a former English teacher...

RELAX ALREADY!

[Intelsucks]

61. Hmmm... Former English Teacher? It Drove You Nuts Too?

n/t

[BurtWorm]

62. It's pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, fur crissakes!

Not "that lung disease with the long name!" :grr:

[RebelOne]

63. Oh my, oh my, one I just saw in another thread.

Aloud for allowed.

[RebelOne]

64. Farther and further

I can walk no farther.

She did not want to discuss it any further.

[RebelOne]

66. Why don't the Mods add a grammar check to the spell check?

It would help on some things, though even if someone used their instead of there, it wouldn't catch it.

[BiggJawn]

69. And there's only ONE "Ell" in "Anal Retentive".

The DU spell check is a less-than-rousing sucess for me.

[PVnRT]

73. Is anal retentive hyphenated?

:evilgrin:

[RebelOne]

76. Only if used as an adjective.

Bush is an anal-retentive idiot.

[BiggJawn]

81. LOL!

:7

[trof]

71. "Jeep, FWD, wench on front bumper"

Like this?

[oneighty]

77. Too wenche's

Troff.

810

[Lydia Leftcoast]

72. 1. Between you and I, for you and I, with you and I

and all the variations thereof.

Would you say "for I" or "with I"? Than why do you say "for you and I"? It's "between you and me," "for you and me," and "with you and me."

This mistake arose because too many teachers corrected students who said "You and me should do this" to "You and I should do this" without explaining the reasoning behind it. A lot of people than assumed that saying "you and me" was always wrong.

The same goes for "she/her," "he/him," "we/us," and "they/them."

"I have good news for both her and him."

"This is good news for us and them."

"There's been a long-standing feud between me and them."

2. "lie" and "lay"

"Lie" is what you do when you assume the position for sleeping. "I'm going to lie down." "Don't just lie around staring at the ceiling!" "If you lie out in the sun too much, you'll end up all wrinkled."

As one observer remarked, "lay down" means "spread the under-feathers of birds."

It is also what a flat object does instead of standing. "A strange-looking book was lying on the table."

"Lay" means to put something into a lying position. "Lay that strange-looking book on the table." "Lay the baby down for a nap."

It is also used figuratively but requires a direct object (something to receive the action): "I laid down the law."

The past tense of "lie" (confusingly enough) is "lay." Its participle is "lain."

"I lay on the floor all last night, wishing my head would clear."

"Have you ever lain down on the ground and looked up at the stars?"

"Laid" is both the past tense and the participle of "lay."

"I laid the baby down for a nap about 15 minutes ago."

"We have already laid the carpeting."

3. Not using past participles. This is particularly common in the Pacific Northwest.

It's "I have gone," not "I have went."

It's "I have eaten/drunk/written/done/come/seen," not "I have ate/drank/wrote/did/came/saw."

This misuse was illustrated dramatically when a man arrested for murder exclaimed (according to the newspaper account) "I ain't did nothing!"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

74. hear/here

Hear is "percieve sounds".

Here is "in this place".

There's a thread title with this mistake right now in the front page.

[TeeYiYi]

75. Nukular or Noookuler . . .

When shrub started using this one, his minions began to use it too. I guess it was an attempt to convince the world that "hey, everyone says it that way". I've noticed that even the rethugs are switching back to nuclear. Only so much lipstick to go around before they were forced to realize that it was, in fact, a PIG.

TYY

[Mrs. Venation]

78. Bigoted Has Only One T

I lose my mind when someone misuses loose.

The word is separate, not seperate.

I won't hold my breath waiting for someone to breathe life into a moot (not mute) point.

And the biggie: using less instead of fewer. That makes me want to scream bloody murder!

[geniph]

80. I have entirely too many

"alot" and "alright" are not words. The correct usage is "a lot" as in "a lot of Republicans are neo-cons" or "allot" as in "volunteers will receive an allotment of supplies" or "all right" as in "I feel all right about this."

"rein" "rain" and "reign." One tightens or loosens "reins," which control an animal that pulls a load. "Rain" is liquid precipitation that falls from the sky. "Reign" is to rule, as in "the reign of the neo-cons is nearly at an end."

The obvious ones, like dropping the terminal "e" from the verb form "breathe," using "loose" when one means "lose," and my personal pet peeve:

When used as a personal pronoun rather than a contraction of "it is," there is no apostrophe in "its." Would you put an apostrophe in the other personal pronouns - "his, hers, theirs"? (Then again, I've seen the apostrophe in "theirs" - but I have yet to see someone try to put one in "his".)

As a former copy editor, I generally refrain from pointing any of these out except in threads created for that express purpose. Spelling flames in threads on other topics are somewhat rude.

[RebelOne]

85. As a current copy editor, I want to scream when I see the spelling

and grammatical errors in these threads. So I am glad someone started this thread where I point out some of these errors. It's all I can do to refrain from correcting some of the awful spelling and grammar.

[redqueen]

92. Actually

'Alright' is now an accepted (although nonstandard) word.

Add it to irregardless and 'new-kew-ler'.

[RebelOne]

95. Alright is only accepted in informal writing.

And according to my grammar books, it is best not to use it, even though it is in the dictionary.

[twistedliberal]

82. Only applies to speech,

but I almost scream when I hear someone say they don't swim because they're afraid of "drownding."

There is no 'd' at the end of "drown." Only if it's in the past tense (drowned), which is certainly not "drownded."

[RebelOne]

90. How about when someone says they had their dog spaded?

It is spayed.

[RebelOne]

83. Oh, groan

Someone on another thread used theirs for there's.

[MissMillie]

86. Unthaw

You don't "unthaw" something to cook for dinner.... you thaw it. "Unthaw" is equal to "freeze".

[qwertyMike]

87. Pored and poured

"He pored over the legalities of the contract"

Unless he spilled coffee on it

[northzax]

89. can I just point out

that there are amny people posting on this board for whom English, at least the Queen's English, is not their native tongue. I think, just for one day, we should only do DU en espanol, so we can laugh and nit-pick at each other's Berlitz Spanish. ok?

on edit: there should be a required test for anyone who wants to criticise the spelling ot grammar of another poster. First, you must successfully diagram the folloring sentence:

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit / Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste / Brought death into the world, and all our woe, / With loss of Eden, till one greater Man / Restore us, and regain the blissful seat, / Sing, Heavenly Muse, that on the secret top / Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire / That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed / In the beginning how the heavens and earth / Rose out of Chaos: or, if Sion hill / Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flowed / Fast by the oracle of God, I thence / Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song, / That with no middle flight intends to soar / Above th' Aonian mount, while it pursues / Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.

for those of you who will fail in this task, you can, rather, simply identify the source of this sentence. We will then allow you to make one spelling or grammatical error per 11 posts. Should your ratio exceed that, you will be issued a special grammarian warning. Five grammarian warnings and you will be cast back into the freeper pit from whece you came.

[redqueen]

91. Irregardless is a word, and 'new-kew-ler' is an accepted pronunciatio

Both drive me absolutely bonkers.

As does everyone saying that something or other is or is not their 'for-tay'. It's pronounced fort! Makes me nuts.

Also I bristle at misuse of single and double quotes.

Also, it's 'hear hear', not 'here here'.

There are many more, but that'll do for now. :)

[northzax]

93. well sure, but what happens when you need to say...

"playing the violin forte is not my forte, I prefer pianissimo?"

ah, makes me long for Aramaic. Now that language made sense.

[redqueen]

94. Then you get to use both.

:)

So are you looking forward to the new Mel Gibson movie, then?