Author Topic: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make (Read 2818 times)

MaterDominici · « **on:** July 20, 2017, 09:34:01 AM »

I don't know why I like reading these sorts of lists, but I thought this one could be quite useful. : )

43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Like it or not, words, spelling, and punctuation can leave a lasting impression on others. But even the most educated people often unknowingly make these common flubs.

When someone uses grammar incorrectly do you make an assumption about his or her intelligence or education? Like it or not, words, spelling, and punctuation are powerful and can leave a lasting impression on others. But even the most educated people often unknowingly make common writing and speaking flubs. Check out this long list of ubiquitous grammar mistakes. Guarantee: You'll either learn something new or find a few of your biggest pet peeves here. (And likely, you'll find fault with my own use of the English language. I welcome your thoughts, critiques, and insults in the comments.)
1. First-come, first-serve
It should actually be "served." Without the d, the phrase above suggests that the first individual who arrives will be the one who serves everyone, which is not the idiom's intent.
2. I could care less
Think about this one for a minute. The way it's written above suggests you possess care which still could be allocated to the situation in question. "I couldn't care less" is correct because it communicates that "I have no more care to give."
3. Irregardless
This is not a word. It's simply "regardless," as in "Regardless of what you think about grammar, you'll look silly if you use it incorrectly."
4. "I" as the last word in a sentence.
This mistake is remarkably common, yet a correct example would be "Karlee talked with Brandon and me." The trick to getting this one straight is to take the other person's name out of the sentence and see if your personal pronoun choice still sounds right. "Karlee talked with I" is awkward and incorrect.
5. "Me" as the first word in a sentence.
I hear people saying things such as "Me and Brandon met at Starbucks this morning" all the time, even though it's always wrong. "Brandon and I met at Starbucks this morning" is correct.
6. Shoe-in
"Shoo-in" is what you really want to write when you're trying to say that someone is a sure winner. It's because when you "shoo" something you're urging it in a certain direction.
7. Emigrated to
"Emigrate" and "from" always go together, as do "immigrate" and "to." To emigrate is to come from somewhere, and to immigrate is to go to somewhere. "Colin emigrated from Ireland to the United States" means the same as "Colin immigrated to the United States from Ireland."
8. Overuse of apostrophes
These little guys are ubiquitously misused. Apostrophes indicate one of two things: possession or letters missing, as in "Sara's iPad" and "it's" for "it is" (second i missing). They don't belong on plurals. "FAQs," for example, should not have an apostrophe. Also, people often make a mistake with their own last name. If you want to refer to your family but don't want to list everyone's first name write "The Johnsons" not "The Johnson's." Another big one: Decades should not have apostrophes. For example, "1980s" is correct but "1980's" is not.
9. Prostrate cancer
This one is a simple spelling mistake resulting from an extra r. "Prostrate" actually means to lie face down. The "prostate" gland is a part of the male reproductive anatomy.
10. Slight of hand
A "slight" is an insult, whereas "sleight" indicates dexterity or cunning. It's why "sleight of hand" is commonly used in the world of magic and illusion.
11. Honed in
Just know that to "home in" on something means to move toward a goal, such as "The missile homed in on its target." To "hone" is to sharpen.
12. Baited breath
When I think about bait, worms and lures come to mind. The first word should actually be "bated," which stems from the verb "abate," meaning to stop or lessen. So, if you're trying to say that someone is holding his breath, you can see that "bated breath" makes the most sense.
13. Piece of mind
If you want to share what you're thinking with someone, this could work if you add "my" before "mind." But if you're trying to indicate tranquility, then spell it "peace."
14. Wet your appetite
"Whet" means to sharpen or stimulate. As such, the latter spelling is more appropriate.
15. Make due
"Due" means "owed," and that's not the intent with this idiom. "Make do" is the proper way to say that you're going to get along with what you have.
16. Do diligence
"Due diligence" is the proper business and legal term. It means you will investigate an individual or company before signing a contract.
17. Peaked my interest
To pique means to arouse, so the correct phrase is "piqued my interest," meaning that my interest was stimulated. While the incorrect way it's written in the heading may suggest that someone's interest was taken to a high level, it's still wrong.
18. Must of, should of, would of, and could of
All those ofs should be "have." The proper versions were corrupted by contractions such as "must've."
19. Per say or persay
Both are incorrect because the Latin phrase which means "in itself" or "intrinsically" is spelled "per se." The best communicators speak and write clearly and concisely and probably avoid phrases like this one anyway.
20. All the sudden
Whether you say "all of a sudden" or "all of the sudden," the preposition "of" must be involved either way. But if you're really trying to say "suddenly," just do.
21. The first-year anniversary
The use of the word "year" is redundant. "The first anniversary" or "the 50th anniversary" suffice.
22. Worse comes to worse
"Worse comes to worst,"--note the t--is better because it indicates something has degraded from one negative plane to the lowest possible.
23. Unthaw
Even though people use this word as a verb all the time, the best way to "un-thaw" something would be to put it in the freezer. Is freezing what you mean, or thawing?
24. Hot water heater
If anything, it's a cold water heater. Just use "water heater."
25. Boldface lie
"Bald-face" means shameless or showing no guilt. When a person tells a bald-faced lie, they are openly lying. An acceptable variant of this phrase is a "barefaced lie."
26. Chock it up
The correct version--"chalk it up"-- comes from keeping score on a chalkboard.
27. Through the ringer
The incorrect example above is missing a w. A wringer is an old-fashioned mechanism which presses water out of clothes being washed by hand, a process indicative of giving someone a hard time.
28. Subject and pronoun disagreement.
This one is subject to debate, but here's my two cents. Take the sentence, "A person who smokes damages their lungs." See anything wrong there? You should. "A person" is--obviously--one person. But "their" is a word you would use if you were referring to more than one person. Correct sentences could either read:
"People who smoke damage their lungs."
or
"A person who smokes damages his or her lungs."
In the first bullet, "people" is more than one person and now agrees with "their." In the second bullet, the use of "his or her" can be awkward, so you can just pick one or the other as long as you're sensitive to any gender issues an audience might raise.
29. Given free reign
It's easy to see why this one looks correct, considering that "reign" is something that kings, queens, and other sovereigns do. Yet the correct idiom refers to the reins which control a horse. When you give a horse "free rein" you let it go where it wants to go.
30. Nip it in the butt
To "nip" means to pinch or to bite. Therefore, the correct version is "nip it in the bud," which refers to snipping off a flower bud before it can bloom. The idea is to put an end to something before it gets worse.
31. Tie me over
You don't really want someone to tie you on top of something, do you? The phrase "tide me over" is talking about sustaining someone through a difficult time and refers to the ocean's tide, which is capable of moving boats to a new location when the wind will not.
32. Tow the line
To "toe the line" means to follow the rules. It comes from runners who put their toe to the line before running a race.
33. Chalk full
The word "chock" is an Old English word which means "cheek" as well as "full to the brim." In other words, "chock-full" means "mouthful."
34. Throws of passion
Just know that a throe is a sharp attack of emotion. So, to be in the "throes of passion" is to be violently consumed by something.
35. A mute point
Mute means silent, so would you really want to make a point that doesn't say anything? A point that is "moot" is debatable or doubtful. So, a point can be moot, but not mute.
36. Overuse of "literally"
Some people throw this word around as an embellishment to intensify whatever they're trying to say. But "literally" means "actually" or "in a strict sense." So, if you say, "My head literally exploded," you are lying.
37. Expresso
The strong coffee drink brewed into a tiny cup is pronounced with an "s" in the first syllable and written "espresso."
38. Jive with the facts
Jive can be defined as a colorful form of speaking, or as referring to certain kinds of jazz or swing music. Since "jibe" means "to agree," the correct phrase would be "jibe with the facts."
39. "For-tay" for forte
If you're trying to say that something is or isn't your talent, the technically correct way to pronounce "forte" is "fort." The only problem: Lots of people understand what you're trying to communicate if you pronounce it "for-tay," which is incorrect. So, if you use the correct version you'll sound intelligent to the grammarians of the world but you risk alienating a certain percentage of people who will not understand your meaning. My approach: Avoid "forte" altogether and say, "It's not my strength."
40. Eccetera
Pronounce "etcetera" exactly how it is spelled. Lots of people bristle when a speaker drops the "t."
41. Deep-seeded
The incorrect spelling above seems like it could be right since something that is planted deeply in the ground would be firmly established. The correct expression, though, is "deep-seated."
42. Extract revenge
When you "extract" something, you remove it. "Exact," when used as a verb, means "to require or demand." Look it up if you don't believe me.
43. Sneak peak
A "peak" is the top of a mountain. The correct word is "peek," which means a quick look.

https://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/43-embarrassing-phrases-even-smart-people-use.html

josefamenendez · « **Reply #1 on:** July 20, 2017, 09:42:37 AM »

Thank you! That was really good. I never realized how many of these errors I make. That was an eye-opener! ( I hope eye-opener is not really "I" opener!)

josefamenendez · « **Reply #2 on:** July 20, 2017, 09:49:07 AM »

It probably should be "my eyes were opened".
When does an error filled colloquialism become a language standard ?(About the same as telling a lie long enough so it's believed to be true...)

Stubborn · « **Reply #3 on:** July 20, 2017, 01:01:55 PM »

I bet Neil can add a lot to that list - which is pretty darn good imo.

Croix de Fer · « **Reply #4 on:** July 20, 2017, 01:21:27 PM »

Good lessons:

The Grammar Commando - Irregular Verbs 101

Lesson #2

MaterDominici · « **Reply #5 on:** July 20, 2017, 01:27:36 PM »

The gun guru teaches grammar!
I'll have to check those out.

Capt McQuigg · « **Reply #6 on:** July 20, 2017, 04:38:24 PM »

Great post.

However, irregardless is indeed a word. It is in the Oxford Unabridged Dictionary and, by default, probably in every unabridged dictionary but I'm not looking it up in all of the them. It's an awkward and better to never be used word, but still a word.

Seraphina · « **Reply #7 on:** July 20, 2017, 11:58:50 PM »

Most of the errors are amusing! Here are several more I've encountered.

From the days when I was still on Facebook;
"...your husband 'puts you up on a pedi-stool.'"
"..it's a 'foreground conclusion'..."
"He sent me on a 'wild Jєωs chase'..."

A few more common mistakes;
mixing up "then" and "than" "whose" and "who's" "your" and "you're" "there" and "they're" and "their"

Misplaced modifiers:--
From a Church Bulletin, circa 2009
"The villagers watch as Fr. Thomas attempts to mount an elephant in his cassock."

Ignorance of subject matter:-
From a major city newspaper article about the arrival of Spring; caption beneath a photo,
"A dairy cow looks longingly from his stall at the lush meadow."

AlligatorDicax · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2017, 04:32:33 PM »

Quote from: Seraphina on July 20, 2017, 11:58:50 PM

Quote from: (unidentified) Church Bulletin, circa 2009
"The villagers watch as Fr. Thomas attempts to mount an elephant in his cassock."

To which the prompt Marxist[✡] response might've been [♫]:

"And how an elephant could've gotten in(to) there, we'll probably never know!"

-------
Note ♫: Cue "Hooray for Captain Spaulding".

Note ✡: As delivered by "the one--the only" Groucho!

1st Mansion Tenant · « **Reply #9 on:** July 25, 2017, 04:26:10 AM »

Neil hasn't found this thread yet? Really?

TKGS · « **Reply #10 on:** July 25, 2017, 07:06:39 AM »

Quote from: MaterDominici on July 20, 2017, 09:34:01 AM

4. "I" as the last word in a sentence.
This mistake is remarkably common, yet a correct example would be "Karlee talked with Brandon and me." The trick to getting this one straight is to take the other person's name out of the sentence and see if your personal pronoun choice still sounds right. "Karlee talked with I" is awkward and incorrect.

This is merely the most glaring mistake in this list. There are multiple errors on the list. Apparently, the author really doesn't know much about English grammar.

While the example used here is correct, it is simply dumb to say that the mistake in English grammar is using "I" as the last word in a sentence. For example, the correct grammatical answer to the question, "Who is it?" might be, "It is I." The "I" being the...last word of the sentence. This is because the being verb (is) requires the pronoun to be in the subjective (or nominative) case so that it compliments the subject exactly. The reason the example shown is incorrect is not because the "I" is the last word of a sentence, but because it is one of the objects of the preposition, "with". The prepositional phrase is, "with Brandon and me," and pronouns used in a prepositional phrase should be in the objective case.

The error would still exist even if the "I" was not the last word of the sentence. It would still be wrong to say, "Karlee talked with Brandon and I about the weather." The rule concerning prepositional phrases is still in effect even though the last word of the sentence isn't "I" or "me". The sentence should be, "Karlee talked with Brandon and me about the weather."

N.B.: This error also occurs when the incorrect pronoun case is used for indirect and direct objects. One often hears this from sportscasters using "he" when the correct form of the pronoun should be "him".

AlligatorDicax · « **Reply #11 on:** July 25, 2017, 10:00:32 AM »

Quote from: TKGS on July 25, 2017, 07:06:39 AM

Apparently, the author really doesn't know much about English grammar.

That conclusion about original author DesMarais is needlessly specific, because she really "doesn't know much" about any grammar[‡]. Altho' she describes her blog entry as presenting a "long list of ubiquitous grammar mistakes", strictly speaking, only 12% (5 of 43) of the errors she counted are genuinely errors of grammar (i.e., violations of the syntax of a language).

Whereas 56% (24 of 43) are errors of semantics (they are not grammar errors because most of these errors are simply instances of substituting the wrong word from the same correct part-of-speech). She might've been well advised to have written instead a separate blog entry about the 63% (27 of 43) of her listed errors that result from confusion of writers by words that are homophones (less precisely called homonyms during my formative years) or are very nearly so.

Might this be because the large majority of youts[sic] nowadays who survive to the (U.S.) legal age of majority have read far fewer pages than youths did in comparable economic circuмstances in past generations? And because by comparison, they hear many more hours of the substandard English that's common among athletes [×] and sports announcers? And because the public-education establishment decided that it was more important that teachers not risk any decrease in the self-esteem of their students, than that they actually educate their students, the latter including correcting their students' errors when they appear? So student errors persisted unchallenged, and became practically permanent in adulthood?

Note ‡: Those of us who have formal training in the technical formalities of language grammars can be expected to be quite particular about such matters, especially since the 1980s, when the mainstream news media began popularizing cluelessness about relevant terms during a scandal in the Clinton Administration.

Note ×: I reject a widespread more optimistic point-of-view: That just about any athlete who would be shown on a t.v. is "college-educated"--well, at least nominally. And that the athlete had to be among "smart people" to even be admitted to that college.

AlligatorDicax · « **Reply #12 on:** July 25, 2017, 11:00:44 AM »

Quote from: AlligatorDicax on July 25, 2017, 10:00:32 AM

Might this be because the large majority of youts[sic] nowadays who survive to the (U.S.) legal age of majority have read far fewer pages than youths did in comparable economic circuмstances in past generations?

Which "past generations"? My oversimplifications below consider only multigeneration-native [×] and immigrant families thro' the 1st 2/3 of the 20th Century, as concluded with these major factors:
· end of the "Baby Boom" (ca. 1965); and
· signing by Pres. Johnson of the Hart-Celler Immigration Bill (1965).

Working-class Catholic families would likely have had a missal containing epistles & gospels translated into the language of the household, altho' not necessarily the English most desired by 2nd generation youth(s) eager to assimilate. And maybe also a Challoner-Douay-Rheims Bible (or a local variation such as were published in Ireland and England). Traditio Network periodically claims that half of the students in U.S. private & public schools (combined but likely excluding elementary-school levels) took classes in Latin[†].

Nearly all Protestant "work-ethic" families could be depended upon to have a King James Bible.

The situation was more favorable for Catholic or Protestant families who could obtain some publisher's encyclopedia set. They might also have access to popular young-adult mystery-fiction, such as the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, or Tom Swift series. How many of the more senior readers among us remember sneaking a flashlight under a blanket to keep reading such books in defiance of the lights-out bed-time that parents decreed for their children? We were usually correct in assuming that the parents would remain away in the living room, watching the 1 & only t.v. in the house.

-------
Note ×: My oversimplifications might be a lot less applicable before World War II to multigeneration-native-U.S. descendants of former black slaves.

Note †: I don't doubt Traditio's claim; I was among those students--in a public school in preDisney Florida. Altho' by the Vatican II decade, there might no longer have been many young teachers of Latin left (but my sample size for the latter is waaay too small).

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2017, 07:43:27 PM »

Quote from: Stubborn on July 20, 2017, 01:01:55 PM

I bet Neil can add a lot to that list - which is pretty darn good imo.

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HAHAHA - I'd be stretching it to say I can't.
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My experience as an English tutor taught me something in the "hard knocks" school, namely, that there is a growing contingent of foreigners who actually have an abiding contempt for proper English, and even if they have the requisite intelligence to learn proper grammar (syntax, spelling, punctuation, semantics, whatever) they have no desire to improve their language use. I had students who stared me in the face and repeated their erroneous habits with utter defiance.
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The list is all good. My only regret is it doesn't offer enough examples to make the point clear. Someone who is prone to making these mistakes AND has a modicuм of inclination toward improvement could use a few "e.g.'s" to drive the point home.
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Quote

13. Piece of mind
If you want to share what you're thinking with someone, this could work if you add "my" before "mind." But if you're trying to indicate tranquility, then spell it "peace."

.
For example, the author is giving the reader in this list "a piece of his mind" and providing for readers who already know these proper usages "peace of mind." Saying, "...then spell it 'peace'," doesn't make the point as clear as it could with one practical application.
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Quote from: Seraphina on July 20, 2017, 11:58:50 PM

Most of the errors are amusing! Here are several more I've encountered.

From the days when I was still on Facebook;
"...your husband 'puts you up on a pedi-stool.'"
"..it's a 'foreground conclusion'..."
"He sent me on a 'wild Jєωs chase'..."

A few more common mistakes;
mixing up "then" and "than" "whose" and "who's" "your" and "you're" "there" and "they're" and "their"

Misplaced modifiers:--
From a Church Bulletin, circa 2009
"The villagers watch as Fr. Thomas attempts to mount an elephant in his cassock."

Ignorance of subject matter:-
From a major city newspaper article about the arrival of Spring; caption beneath a photo,
"A dairy cow looks longingly from his stall at the lush meadow."

.
I had to look twice for these. I've never seen an elephant wearing a cassock, but if I were Fr. Thomas, I wouldn't want any elephant to be wearing MY cassock!! And a dairy cow in "his stall" must be a transɛҳuąƖ bovine. No discrimination there!!
.
A foreground conclusion? Really? A pedi-stool? Cute. A wild Jєωs chase? This is getting interesting.
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BTW it ought to be "a wild Jєω's chase," or "a wild Jєωs' chase," depending on how many Jєωs are involved. ;D
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To be fair, I ought to explain that the proper phrase is "a wild goose chase," since I recently had the experience of having to explain to a foreign exchange student with little experience in American culture that "conspiracy theory" draws down a whole world of implication. The student had never heard the term.
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These errors go way back. I can recall 50 years ago when I heard grammar school teachers (yes, multiple teachers) telling the class, that so-and-so "could - care - less." (Emphasis and separation between the words, as if they really mean what they're saying.) This was especially tragic since it is the duty and purpose of such instructors to lead their students into proper diction and education. Any teacher who merely re-enforces such bad habits is doing nothing for the students and their edification for which he is responsible.
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Some members here have flattered me with their posts...
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Quote from: 1st Mansion Tenant on July 25, 2017, 04:26:10 AM

Neil hasn't found this thread yet? Really?

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Gosh. I'm embarrassed! :-[
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But seriously, we should keep our chin up, and gently encourage proper English whenever possible.
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Unfortunately, when we let mistakes accrue and say nothing about them, we end up encouraging them in the future. The long time CI members might recall when I first started posting I was much more critical of poor grammar and such, but I quickly found that some CI members who are prone to these errors are a lot like my students who really had no respect for how they OUGHT to be sounding. So when someone doesn't WANT to learn, it's a waste of your time to try to change their outlook by persistently correcting them. They don't want to hear it. And our current (non-)education system has devolved into a system of re-affirmation of bad habits.
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Not to go off-topic, but "Common Core" and such like agendas are devoted not to raising the level of education in the students, but rather to form them into cookie-cutter socialist robots who act according to their irrational feelings, instead of a well-formed intellect and conscience. They are deliberately causing the next generation of Americans to be dedicated left-wing practitioners of liberalism (which is a sin), who think that the only sin there is, is to be environmentally insensitive or to fail to put the so-called rights of animals ahead of any human endeavor. And they use "inventive spelling" and improper grammar as a means of luring innocent children into their ideology when they feel good about having their bad grammar acceptable and even celebrated.
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Neil Obstat · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2017, 08:04:20 PM »

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I recently experienced an eye-opener, when reading archaic texts.
.

Quote

A few more common mistakes;
mixing up "then" and "than"

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I had been under the impression that when someone says "I would rather be here then there," or "It's better then not having any car," that they're just slipping into a colloquial idiom of bad spelling which is found mostly in the Southern states. Well, it goes way back. Several hundred years ago in England, the word "than" was not used as often as "then," in the same context.
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This error becomes rather annoying in the discussion of logic. "When it rained then the ground is wet," becomes "When it rained than the ground is wet." Or, "We have more cars on the road than in the parking lot" becomes "We have more cars on the road then in the parking lot," both of which are not incomprehensible (since the cars on the road might be waiting in queue for a parking space), but only one of which makes any sense in the context of comprehending the lesson at hand. That is, anyone who is prone to this error will have a much harder time getting the logic lesson under their belt in time for the mid-term exam. So, when you help him learn to use the proper word in context, you're helping him to pass his tests.
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Author Topic: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make (Read 2818 times)

MaterDominici

43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

josefamenendez

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

josefamenendez

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Stubborn

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Croix de Fer

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

MaterDominici

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Capt McQuigg

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Seraphina

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

AlligatorDicax

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

1st Mansion Tenant

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

TKGS

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

AlligatorDicax

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

AlligatorDicax

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Neil Obstat

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

Neil Obstat

Re: 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make