What is your pet peeve about grammar?

[kashzan]

Can I axe you a question?
Or , can i asx tou a question.
The word is ask

 

[Hikergirl]

Did you encounter it in written English? I know quite a few teachers who don't correct the "axed" pronunciation of asked in verbal communication, and they tell me that students generally use and spell "asked" properly in written communication. So they treat the mispronunciation the way they would any other regional accent or speech impediment, rather than as a usage error. And accents aren't a teacher's business to try to "fix".

That doesn't seem right, what happens when these kids grow up, move to another area and speak that way in their job interviews?
Saying "axe" instead of "ask" has nothing to do with an accent, it is about pronouncing the word wrong and teachers, and before that, parents should be correcting it.

 

[elgerber]

I seen. You seen. We seen. He seen. She seen. It seen. They seen.

This this this, 100 times this!!! Drives me absolutely nuts!!

 

[NotUrsula]

On the "axe" issue, I have a story for you teachers. An old friend of mine was a middle-school teacher in the suburban New Orleans area; the "Yat" accent of the area includes the "axe" issue. She had a trick for teaching this, because all of the kids were very familiar with Mardi Gras: she would write the word MASK on the board, and ask the students to pronounce it. Every one got it right. Then she put her hand over the M and did it again; most of them then saw the light.

I grew up in the Deep South. Pronunciation variations can be simple, or they can be more complicated. It's complicated when your accent makes you sound as if the word you are saying is a different word entirely, which is the case with this one. I don't think it is in any way prejudicial to require students to try to use standard grammar and pronunciation in school, because once they grow up and get a job, they will be expected to do so at work. I don't think it's necessary to insist that their pronunciation is wrong, but I think it's fine to tell them that it is non-standard, and that for schoolwork we try to use Standard American English in order to be universally understood. Most successful people who grew up in ethnic enclaves have learned to adjust their speech somewhat when at work, because not doing so puts you at a disadvantage.

My peeve is the use of the pronoun "they" as singular. I understand the reasons for it being adopted for gender issues, but it still makes me cringe. I really wish that the LBGTQ community would settle on an entirely new pronoun for this, because I just can't get used to "they" being only one person.

 

[Ben E N]

This always drove me bonkers. The apostrophe in place of a "g" in "loving" I can forgive. I never got what was cool about using a lower case "i" in "I'm", though.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I seen
For sell
I'll borrow you some money

Instead of texts people pronounce it like Texas

 

[kaytieeldr]

This is for sure my #1 pet peeve. Like a PP said, it seems to be one of those things that people are doing more and more, and thus is becoming more and more acceptable.

Other ones:
"All of THE sudden"
"I resemble that remark"

It's a quote from The Three Stooges .

There is a carnival that comes to town every June for 6 weeks. They hang the same banner year after year and it drives me INSANE!!!!

$12 BUCK TUESDAY.

What is 12 dollar buck Tuesday anyway?

Male deer get in for $12 on Tuesdays. Simple.

 

[princesspiglet]

All of the above.

I didn't know the Oxford Comma was a no-no in APA format. I am taking an online Master's program and I haven't been dinged on it yet! (The school purports to require APA in its guidelines). I even have a shirt that says "Team Oxford Comma" and another that says "You can have my Oxford Comma when you pry it from my cold, dead, ink-stained fingers".

My DH is taking online master's courses also and the school states that the Oxford Comma is required, and they are using APA. "APA requires the use of the serial (or Oxford) comma in lists of three or more items (i.e., Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo)."

 

[jetskigrl]

There aren't very many that really bother me except "I could care less."

If you can care less then that means that you do care, at least a little, about the topic of discussion. But that is generally not what the person saying or typing the phrase means.
If you really do not care about it at all then the proper wording is "I couldn't care less."

 

[MrJT]

there, their, they're

These bug me, but "they're" bugs me the most! It's two words that mean "they are", how do you make that possessive?

 

[PigletsPal2]

I thought of a couple more. News broadcasters do this all the time, and they're supposed to be professionals. "The police found the suspect where they were hiding in their grandmothers basement." Who was hiding? The police (they) or the suspect (he)? Whose grandmother? The police's (their) or the suspect's (his)?

Eager means looking forward to; anxious means dreading. Also, if you say "not only" you have to say "but also."

I wonder why writers don't like editors?

Queen Colleen

 

[RangerPooh]

Did you encounter it in written English? I know quite a few teachers who don't correct the "axed" pronunciation of asked in verbal communication, and they tell me that students generally use and spell "asked" properly in written communication. So they treat the mispronunciation the way they would any other regional accent or speech impediment, rather than as a usage error. And accents aren't a teacher's business to try to "fix".

Half the time it was spelled correct, the other half was spelled 'axed'. The problem that I have is that grammar errors like this are being passed down through generations. If the student was a non-native speaker learning the language it would be one thing, but this was not the case.

As for accents, the south has plenty and I can generally role with them. But this bugs me way too much.

 

[PollyannaMom]

there, their, they're

definitely my number one

To, too, and two

a close second

"axed" instead of "asked"

and next on my list

I'm a fan of the Oxford comma.

Me too!

My peeve is the use of the pronoun "they" as singular. I understand the reasons for it being adopted for gender issues, but it still makes me cringe. I really wish that the LBGTQ community would settle on an entirely new pronoun for this, because I just can't get used to "they" being only one person.

I definitely understand that one, because the reason is important. But I do agree that a completely new pronoun might make more sense than talking over the plural.

 

[RedAngie]

Fixed it for you, Red. False modesty is so unbecoming. And btw - that hat looks fabulous on you!!

Just because I have a Bentley budget doesn't mean I'd buy one (or more).

The only luxury item I've ever purchased was that $40 per pound cheese. A one-time thing. Everything else I waste money on is a NEED, not a want.

As for hats, I'm more impressed with Camilla's style than Elizabeth's.

 

[RedAngie]

"I resemble that remark"

It's a quote from The Three Stooges .

.

Yeah, I recognized it immediately from The Three Stooges. My father and exH used to say it. DH still does. Must be a guy thing.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Half the time it was spelled correct, the other half was spelled 'axed'. The problem that I have is that grammar errors like this are being passed down through generations. If the student was a non-native speaker learning the language it would be one thing, but this was not the case.

As for accents, the south has plenty and I can generally role with them. But this bugs me way too much.

If you really want to be grammatically correct, there's two mistakes in your post. "Correct" should be changed to correctly as an adverb, and "role" should be roll as a verb. Role is a part in a play, and is a noun.

 

[North of Mouse]

Half the time it was spelled correct, the other half was spelled 'axed'. The problem that I have is that grammar errors like this are being passed down through generations. If the student was a non-native speaker learning the language it would be one thing, but this was not the case.

As for accents, the south has plenty and I can generally role with them. But this bugs me way too much.

See? That's the problem with trying to correct someone else as we all have mistakes with the English whether we want to admit it or not!

Also, I'm deep south (near the Gulf south!) around the Cajun French, and trust me, 'axe' is definitely part of their heritage and isn't going away anytime soon, nor are most of the words that are not pronounced according to the 'correct' English! One such word, 'fixin' - most say that and it's going nowhere soon - me included!

Doesn't bother me at all, and as far as someone mentioning this being a job hindrance in other areas, nope, not for anyone I know! It's accepted along with their accents!

 

[kimblebee]

Just because I have a Bentley budget doesn't mean I'd buy one (or more).

The only luxury item I've ever purchased was that $40 per pound cheese. A one-time thing. Everything else I waste money on is a NEED, not a want.

As for hats, I'm more impressed with Camilla's style than Elizabeth's.

That top picture looks like someone scattered seeds in her hair and waited six weeks.

 

[DebbieB]

Spelling the word lose incorrectly- e.g. “Did you loose your magic band?” I see it all the time and it drives my crazy.

Yes!

 

[DISNEYSQUIRRELS]

My coworker uses 3 words that make me a little
1. Draw instead of drawer
2. Scrapegoat instead of scapegoat
3. Acrost instead of across
More pronunciation than grammar... but please stop.