Verbal pet peeves - Page 9

redhead65 · ‎05-16-2015

I just don't understand how people who went to school here in our country misuse the word "then" for "than" ?

Its a big curiosity to me.

I read it and hear it all of the time lately.

Someone will say something obvious like:

"Today I should use my free time for a manicure then finishing my ironing."

I see so much of this, it drives me nuts, too!

I don't see how you can consistently transpose them.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Winkk wrote:
@beach-mom wrote:
I teach English, so I've probably heard them all!

Some of the ones mentioned are cultural dialects. Two others that come to mind for me:

"bu-tt" - when it means a specific part of your body

"Me and (insert name)" used as a subject

We were waiting in line once for a popular ride at a theme park. The wait was about one hour (our children were young at the time). The party in front of us kept changing, as different members would come and take the place of others waiting. That was bad enough, but one girl in her late teens kept turning and shouting to someone, "Me and Jen are going on (insert ride) after this." And when I put "insert ride," I meant she named them ALL - over and over at the top of her lungs. She was right on top of me when she turned around. She was also hot and wet from another ride. It was all I could do not to correct her!

That relates to what I was going to ask you. This topic of saying things wrong, one of my pet peeves is when people put themselves first in a sentence. For instance me and my Mom went shopping. I thought you always put yourself last, my Mom and I went shopping. I hear this all the time by everyone and it drives me crazy. Or, am I wrong?

Sorry winkk - I didn't see your post until now - thanks to the new "easy-to-use" board!

You are definitely NOT wrong! You always list yourself after others. I think the "me and (insert name)" started way back as a regional way of speaking, then caught on with the younger crowd. I never tolerate it in the classroom, and my own children were used to me following them around correcting them! When they were in high school they would just roll their eyes, but now they both never list themselves first. DD even gets annoyed with her friends when they do, but she doesn't say anything!

Another one of mine: "myself" should be used for stress only, like "I, myself, will take care of it." I hear people saying, "Give it to myself" all of the time. I want to say, "Give it to ME"!

As I said before, a lot of the posters brought up examples that I consider regional and that usage doesn't bother me at all.

sallybusky · ‎01-06-2013

"EYE-talian"

SHIRAZ · ‎06-27-2010

People who say "little girls' room" or "little boys' room" instead of restroom. I want to say, "What are you, 3? Just last week a man came into our office and asked for the "little boy's room." I was glad I was not the one to have to direct him, because my teeth started gritting, and my hackles started raising, and I really needed a few deep breaths.

"It doesn't matter if the glass is half-full or half-empty as long as you still have the rest of the bottle."

SparklyTiara · ‎08-16-2012

@Marienkaefer2 wrote:
@SparklyTiara wrote:
Another one, though I hear it more in movies and on television than in real life, is when people talk about speaking "American" instead of English.

Bad spelling gets me just as much as bad grammar. Reading something loaded with improperly spelled words is not only difficult, but annoying (to me, at least)! As some have touched on here, the advent of texting did not help things in that department!

Maybe we should just blame it all on AutoCorrect . Pretty soon, we won't have to worry about bad grammar and bad spelling; we'll all communicate exclusively through emoji!
***If you went to the UK, you would learn that we in the US speak American English, and by British standards, British English is the gold standard. A colleague of mine from Scotland once told me that I don't speak English, I speak American. This, while I was on a Fulbright scholarship teaching English in Vienna, Austria! It didn't bother me though, as her German was crummy and I spoke it on a near native level.

True, there is American English and British English, but both are still English; there is no officially recognized language simply called "American." I can understand your colleague using that as a joke, though. Many Americans do butcher the English language . I hope it was a joke, anyway, and not meant as derogatory. I'm sure your English was (and is) quite up to snuff! It certainly sounds like your German was .

SparklyTiara · ‎08-16-2012

@keithsmom65 wrote:

I just don't understand how people who went to school here in our country misuse the word "then" for "than" ?

Its a big curiosity to me.

I read it and hear it all of the time lately.

Someone will say something obvious like:

"Today I should use my free time for a manicure then finishing my ironing."

I see so much of this, it drives me nuts, too!

I don't see how you can consistently transpose them.

I come across that sometimes, but it sounds like you come across it a lot! On a similar topic, the good 'ol "your/you're" and "there/their/they're" mix-ups are also abundant. Though indistinguishable verbally, it is a pet peeve of mine to see them used incorrectly when written. That just goes to show how difficult a language ours really is!

Another verbal pet peeve of mine: saying "hashtag [insert something here]." I'm not a fan of the hashtag sensation across social media, anyway, but verbalizing it is so annoying! On a side note, when did the pound sign become a hashtag? Fun fact: it's technical name is "octothorp!" Not very catchy!

lulu2 · ‎03-09-2010

@lulu2 wrote:
@lolakimono wrote:
Mine is the use of the adjectives male/female. People use these as nouns.

"The 18 year old male was caught..."

"The females in my family do this..."
I must be missing something here. In my dictionary, male and female are either an adjective or a noun.

I'm still hoping the OP will return and explain to me what I'm missing.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@baker wrote:
@kittymomNC wrote:
People who should know better saying "jewlery" instead of "jewelry" - SG designs and sells it, but she never pronounces it correctly!
I think it's just a slip of the tongue, she knows better, she's an educated woman.

I don't think it's a slip of the tongue, I think it's more of a regional dialect or accent. She also says lenth for pants instead of length.

I pronounce roof more like ruff.

garmer · ‎03-16-2010

@keithsmom65 wrote:

I just don't understand how people who went to school here in our country misuse the word "then" for "than" ?

Its a big curiosity to me.

I read it and hear it all of the time lately.

Someone will say something obvious like:

"Today I should use my free time for a manicure then finishing my ironing."

I see so much of this, it drives me nuts, too!

I don't see how you can consistently transpose them.

The quoted sentence is akward. Are you saying "then" should be "than" in this example??

Topaz Gem · ‎03-10-2010

@dooBdoo wrote:

The odd pronunciation of words ending in "ing."

It's as if the "g" is silent and the "in" is pronounced like "een" (as in "teen" -- "listing" becomes "listeen" for example). Where did the "g's" go?

I even hear it on tv shows... listen to the ubiquitous "coming up next" teaser before a show goes to commercial. Often it's pronounced as "com-eeen up next."

The same people will pronounce the "g" on words like "ring," "thing," "sing," etc.