Let’s Be Clear Now. First, spelling is important. If you’re a author, or getting paid to write a book, I’m going to have higher expectations for you. I expect you to know how to spell basic words. I’ll provide a list.
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I am bored, because there is nothing to do. I am never board, because that would be physically impossible. Nor would it make sense. However, I could be boarding someone, boarded, or be boarding up a room. You might have played the game “light as a feather, stiff as a board” as a child. Notice you’re stiff AS a board. Not a board. Or if you were, maybe all those demonic mumblings and rumblings were true… 😛 . You offer someone congratulations. Or shorten it with “congrats.” Never in your life should you say (or write) “congrads.” It not only makes me think of the word “gonads,” but also know that you’re wrong. . Don’t be racist. (Ok so that isn’t a word you need to learn how to spell, but seriously. Don’t be ignorant. I’m going to think you’re a fool, and generally not a really great person.) |
Please know the difference between “too” and “to.” I have an opinion too. I am going to post this pondering and share it. Got that?
I know I mess up sometimes. I know my grammar is abysmal. Seriously. I don’t know grammar in any of the three languages in which I had to study/ do intensive grammar exercises. I also have dangling participles, prepositions, or whatever the hell else. I also had a mortifying experience where I typo’d the number of letters in the alphabet. I grew up with two alphabets as it were, one with 37 components, and one with 26. I pretty much learned to two concurrently, but it still doesn’t excuse me for saying the English alphabet has 27 characters. Don’t worry, I was seriously mocked. I can now look at it wryly, but I was really upset and mortified at the time. Er, also I obviously love sentence fragments. Oftentimes I post the way I speak. I assure you, I’m vastly entertaining. 
| There is a difference between the words “there” “they’re” and “their.” Learn it, love it. (And please don’t even mix tier in with those words.) . “Ain’t” isn’t a word. “A lot” is two different words. . You passed the ball. You passed the street. You did not pasted the house. You did not past the street. You may go past something, but you did not past it. You may have pasted the two sheets of paper together, as in you took paste (glue) and adhered two separate items together. However, you did not glue yourself to [the house]. Thanks. . I will allow the use of “kneeled” – although I generally prefer “knelt.” The same goes with “leaped” and “leapt” though this is more open. “He leaped after the ball” is fine. |
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Personally, I *hate* the excessive use of “I’ll not” in erotic romances. I actually get angry. Yes I do. I think the next time I hear someone, in real life, use the phrase naturally, I’ll give them a dollar. Honest – I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say “I’ll not” in real life. Ever. (Obviously, this precludes all future internet usage because I’ll know, or at least think you saw this post. And notice I don’t dislike the use of “I’ll” – I don’t like “I’ll not.”)
Do a quick study between the words “affect” and “effect.” I realize that at times they honestly are properly interchangeable. Nevertheless, I’m willing to say an equal amount of the time … they are not.
Do your research. If you’re going to wax poetic or brilliant about say, Classical mythology? I’m going to need you to get it right. Might I suggest Bullfinch’s Mythology? If I recall correctly, it’s a pretty accurate translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Please, unless you’re writing in vernacular (and while you’re at it- try to limit that), do not drop the “g” from the end of your words. If that is how you speak formally… *sigh*
Don’t make plural words… plural. Freshmen is more than one freshman. “Freshmans” is you about to get slapped. The same goes for mices. Geeses. However, use of “indices” is not only allowed, it is encouraged.
If you tell me we don’t all know the difference between “whine” and “wine” I might cry.
“While” and “wile” are different. A heroine might seduce the hero with her wiles. She might also wile away the time, waiting for him. However, this might take awhile. [Also, apparently “stay for awhile” is strictly verboten. While we’re waiting for said hero, let’s look to something else.)
Clever, and cleaver, are two vastly different words. For example, I might hope that someone thinks this is a clever post. I would also pray that no one take a cleaver to me for writing it.
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You’re going to a website. It is a site. Like a building location. Websight would… be some strange sort of psychic ability tied to the internet that nobody has yet discovered. Or mentioned. However, if you’re going to quote something from a book, you are citing it. If you get a traffic ticket, generally that is a citation. . You have a stake in a company. You grill a steak. Capiche? . You might bare your thoughts to the world. Then you would bear the burden of everyone knowing them. You would not bear yourself, unless you’re secretly a paranormal, ursine shifter. |
And guess what? It’s “you’re welcome.” As in, “you are welcome.” “Your welcome” would be… what you got when your friends greeted you at the door once you arrived at the party. Because that was a welcome, and it belonged to you. You responding to someone thanking you should have “you’re.”
One that really gets me is “then” and “than.” I am going to post this pondering. I am then going to be upset if I find mistakes because I will feel stupid. However, I might still find that more preferable than not having this posted at all. 🙂 I try to use examples when teaching my kids too. Hee. (Er – let me also add that when I say “my kids” I mean the 4th and 5th grade at risk inner city kids I teach once a week. 😉 That’s how I get my street cred.)
If you offer me a giant check, I am going to accept it. I will never except it, because… well frankly I don’t know how that would work. Not that I really understand commercial paper anyway – but hey – it doesn’t seem like our bankers do either! Yay!
Pour, pore, and poor is a grouping I wouldn’t have even though needed to be mentioned, but a friend brought it up and I realize that I have seen it misused. I am poor. I have pores. I will pour water, down the drain, much like the government.
Now, I will say I don’t mean typos. Like “hvae,” or “wil lsay” those are clearly whoops of the keyboard. I’ll let “tose” slide too.
When someone is here, standing next to me, I can hear them if they whisper. Someone will never be hear by me. However, said person might be heard.
I’m taking a break. While going to the store on said break, I might have to brake for a red light. Or a stop sign. I will never have a brake, other than in some sort of vehicle.
| All of these are merely things I’ve noticed. It’s a mere pondering. It’s not a mare, that’s for sure, because I haven’t seen a horse online for a while now. . “I could care less” makes my skin shrivel. This was a suggestion provided by a friend – and I wish I could record him. He has the most scathing tone – it’s quite a set down when he slams you. You likely could care less. You should be saying, “I couldn’t care less.” (Assuming you’re trying to say you don’t care- which is when the phrase, both properly and mistakenly is used.) . Proceeded and preceded are different words. . Right and rite are also different. I’m right handed. I have a right to do certain things under the law. Some of those rights allow me to perform rites, if I so choose. . Also, beat, and beet. I honestly didn’t believe this one. Was incredulous. But it came from a friend who works for the prosecutor. I guess the mistake is commonplace. |
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There. I’m done. I’m sure a missed a few that will make me go “O_O” but I think this is a pretty comprehensive list.
Oh wait –“tail” and “tale,” are different. Very much so. Though someone constantly telling tales, especially about people, might have a tail to go with that forked tongue…
I couldn’t resist- and was curious. http://www.bartleby.com/61/63/A0156300.html Apparently my instructors did too good a job and really imposed the “vulgarism” idea in me. The explanation itself isn’t harsh, but the description “a sign of ignorance” can be taken as such. I wonder why other contractions were/are more readily accepted.
And I think it’s interesting – the differences in speech patterns etc- I honestly still don’t think I’d be that surprised to read a deposition of myself. Maybe it’s all the oration/competitions.
LOL, who’s prejudiced opinion is that??? Gee, thanks for saying the entire western and southwestern United States is uncouth and ignorant! Guess I’ll have to tell all these attorneys I’ve been working with all these years that I’m just plain old ignorant!
And speaking of attorneys, when you’re finally in a law office, lime, you ask any attorney there how much they like seeing themselves on paper. I can guarantee you not one of them will like what they get back in their transcripts, even those who have been at it 30 years or more. Orations and competitions have nothing to do with it. It’s just human nature.
Sandy – apparently it’s The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language’s opinion.
HAH. Attorneys amuse me. We always like discussing the glaring errors in court documents, briefs, etc. And that’s not from pro se defendants. It’s just fact that at any given point, someone will wonder how on earth that person graduated from college, much less from law school and passed the bar. Politicians aren’t much better. In fact, they’re probably worse, and have their aides save them from foot-in-mouth syndrome all the time.
Profession doesn’t have that severe an impact on speech, in my opinion. And I really wish I lived closer because I would love to be deposed. I’m 87% sure I really wouldn’t be that surprised. Mind you, I’m talking about me. Not in general, not attorneys, or any other profession. And regardless of my background – I’m just trying to say, I honest to God write, think, and speak in the same manner.
Still a human being who wrote it and decided to call folks ignorant. And get paid for it! There ain’t a thing wrong with the word ain’t! Ask all those pioneers who settled the west.
And I think you just proved my point in talking about how lawyers and politicians speak. I’ve said all along that profession does not have an impact on speech, i.e., those experts I’ve mentioned several times.
So you’re telling me that when you’re so pissed off you can’t see straight that your speech still comes out exact, precise, every comma where it should be?? I really doubt that. And, believe me, defense counsel will piss you off in a deposition. He’ll do whatever he can to make you lose your cool and say something you shouldn’t. Hell, attorneys piss me off 98% of the time in a deposition, so it’s a good thing I have to keep my mouth shut! That’s why I keep saying it’s human nature, everyone — everyone — expert, orator, doesn’t matter, looks terrible on paper. LOL, at this point I’d love to take your deposition just to prove it to you!
Sandy – lol – I have no control over what that person in the Heritage dictionary decided to write.
And I’m not talking about professions – I’m talking about me. And actually, haha, yes. I do react the same way. If I can, I externalize my “auuugh” if not, I internalize it, then keep my mouth shut until I’ve got real words. I might say, “I can’t believe s/he even said that [to me].” I’ve never once messed up in CX and I’ve come across a lot of douchebags. (Ok, in that circumstance I might say “could you please repeat/rephrase your question?”) LOL I really wish I could be deposed. I think it’d be gads of fun.
I ALWAYS confuse affect and effect–sorry. And its and it’s! Sorry again LOL Luckily Raine usually catches me.
But Sneaked and snuck….sneaked feels weird in my head so it’s snuck 😀
And jen, sorry about the (lack of) commas LOL
Kristen….the piqued and peeked thing bugs me too.
>>And I luuuuuurrrve to make fun of dangling participles and misplaced modifiers.
Annoyed! Really ANNOYED!
Ames – YAY YOU! BIG COOKIES! I confuse its and it’s too. Story of my life. And now that you mention it … “I snuck in” = yes. I tried thinking of times I’ve used “sneaked” but… I don’t think I do. It feels awkward, just as you said.
Commas… oh I’m sure there are at least 5 errors I’ve made with that in this post alone. I … don’t know dangling participles and misplaced modifiers. 😀 No matter how many times I watch the School House Rock lessons. 😉
You mean you aren’t REAL annoyed?! Hee!
I only know dangling participles and misplaced modifiers if I see them–because I know they’re wrong, NOT because I’m a grammar genius! 😀 To me, they’re just phrases that don’t agree w/one another.
A lot of the stuff you mention are (is?) newbie writer mistakes. Mistakes I made as a newbie—esp the disagreeing phrases. I’m NOT saying all writers who make these mistakes are newbies, like I said, I still get confused over certain things, but I used to judge a LOT of contests…..
It’s one reason i advocate contests, esp if you can’t find a regular/solid crit group. Not only does it toughen you up, it can help you see the mistakes that new writers often miss.
Acceptance doesn’t equal correctness.
agreed Jen, however….I think writers can get away with more in dialogue than in narrative. Narrative IMO (esp in third person) should be (sorry ya’ll *grin*) more correct. Dialogue should be given more leeway to account for personal and regional quirks. Just my 2 cents.
I am not and never will be a a grammar queen 😀
>>One where the same page was on page one and page 161 word for word
Tammi that could have been a binding error…obviously I dont know without seeing the book but crap like that happens at the binder(y?) all the time 😀
Oh yeah, I overlook most sins in dialogue. I know I don’t talk perfectly in real life. 🙂
In fact, I judge dialogue completely differently than I judge narrative. I despise stilted, formal dialogue when it’s not necessary. I hate when dialogue is perfect. It just sounds phony.
And I don’t like formal narrative in an informal book either. But there’s still a difference between informal and completely incorrect. I’ll let most grammar rules slide for informal writing, but spelling and usage are still important.
Ames – I heart you. As for the grammar, sometimes I stop and think “is that ok?” Then I send it to a friend and watch the fireworks begin 😛
Jen (& Ames) – I have to admit I haven’t noticed too many mistakes in dialogue – they must not even register. I’m just consistent in my mistakes, in thought, speech, and words.
I think it’s fascinating to conversate with people w/ ESL (can you turn that into a thing? lol) – they speak formally and its so fun/cool. Especially the random non-Caucasian British educated!
>>I hate when dialogue is perfect. It just sounds phony.
Jen it’s like nails on chalk board.
Lime….LOL@fireworks!!! 😀
my personal peeve? naval vs. navel. as in, I doubt his tongue circled her maritime branch of the militaty on it’s way downtown.
my personal peeve? naval vs. navel. as in, I doubt his tongue circled her maritime branch of the military on it’s way downtown.
Jami – HEE! That would… *snort* and you know, I’ve seen that before. >.<
That also just makes me think of … a segment on the Daily Show where the joked about a “peaceful” branch of the military…
In terms of acceptance doesn’t equal correct, I’m going to have to add “conversate.” Nothing makes me grind my teeth louder than that abomination. The word is “converse.” Unless, like ain’t, it’s made its way into the dictionary.
And “ya’ll” drives me crazy too. It’s an abbreviation of YOU, not the addition of YA to ALL.
My other new pet peeve is weary vs wary. People telling me they’re “weary” of new authors because they don’t know what to expect. And I think, how can you be tired of something you’ve never experienced?
Venus Vaughn – I have to admit, I chuckled as I used “conversate” – and yes, it has made its way into the dictionary – and it doesn’t even say “nonstandard” – at least not in the one I checked. (It was the devil in me… only I lost all credibility as I checked before I even used it originally. I know – I’m a word geek! And you know, now paranoid.)
That’s a good one on the “weary” vs “wary” though 🙂 -and a great point. Thanks for stopping by!
Awe, just saw yet another author write “then” in place of “than” – in a blog. So no editor to blame there 😛
Also – I know I wasn’t going for speech, but I hate when people say “drawling” instead of “drawing” and “supposably” instead of “supposedly.” *cringe* Especially if they’re on the air.
Wow! I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time! he-he. Thank you!
On to my BIGGEST pet peeve in the whole wide world. The word conversate. IT IS NOT A WORD! It’s “I’d love to have a conversation with you about…” “Let’s converse about…” Conversate. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I hear that and it makes me want to cry. I’ve actually yelled at people for it. I was PMSing…shoot me. 😀
I took a test the other day on the words their/they’re/there and got a 100%. I think I was the only one. How sad is it that our language has gotten so bad? I blame text messaging and IMing. 😀
Oh and the other day while reading a book (won’t say who) I came across this lovely gem. Instead of saying “I went out to eat with *character* and *character*” the text said “I went out to eat with *character* and she.” I was scratching my head on that one. *eye roll*
When I’m writing my blogs and such, I don’t care too much about grammar. When I’m writing my books though, it’s a BIG deal. 🙂
Oh and I had neighbors from Texas for quite awhile and have never been able to kick y’all out of my own vernacular. So sad. That and all y’all. 😀
My mom’s biggest pet peeve is mispronunciation of words. For instance-often…pronounced with the ten. It’s offen (which is why you often see it misspelled).
Speaking of mispronouncing, I think a lot of it has to do with location. I live in Oregon (Ore gun) and it amazes me how many people outside of the west coast pronounce it Ory gone. How they got that I will never know.
The one thing I’ll never be able to live down (argh!) is when I pronounced beau as bee long u. I thought, since it’s the first four letters of beautiful, that it was pronounced that way. I got teased unmercifully and my mom loves to tease me about that 20 years later. Thanks, Mom. 😛
And another…sheesh, this commenting thing is getting ridiculous. But, I just thought of one I see ALL the time.
It’s the words aw, ah, and awe. LOL!
Aw means Oh, I’m sorry or that’s too bad.
Ah means a-ha! I got it!
Awe means, well, awe! As in I am in awe at the sheer grammatic genius that is JenB. 🙂
Bridget – lol, this post does seem to bring out the commenting, dooesn’t it? 😛 Heh – I think Jen’s intimidating with all her grammar-ness. I know next to nothing about grammar rules.
I will have to defend my use of the word “conversate” – it amused me at the time, and it is a word in the dictionary, but all of those aren’t as compelling as the fact that it isn’t labeled “nonstandard” – which some of the other words mentioned here are. I feel like that legitimizes it [more] – although, yes, it is slang. And now I wish I hadn’t used it because only I see the humor in it. Also, I think the usage of it depends almost on culture/race. (Uh oh, can of worms there…)
People mispronouncing words – well for me it depends on what word. I can’t stand when people say “mischievous” incorrectly, or misuse words (e,g, “epiphany” instead of an idea or even statement”). I think Oregon throws people off because they don’t want to be saying “organ” as a state name. I say it both “Ore-a/i-gun” or “Ore-a-gone” – depending (meh I don’t know how to actually write the pronunciation without all the weird characters). Haha, and your post made me go check – :X you might want to send a note to dictionary.com about their pronunciation.
And I agree about awe/aw – O_o I’ve never seen “ah” get mixed up with those two.
Heh…well, I had good teachers. I did major in two languages. 😀
OMG, “ofTen” drives me nuts. So does “nucular”. Um…”thru” instead of “through” is gross too.
And I hate hate hate hate HAAAAAAAAATE excessive use of 2nd person pov. There’s a Proactiv commercial that drives me nuts. Subject/verb disagreement AND 2nd person in the same sentence: “I used the masque before I went to bed, and the next morning you had clearer skin.” WTF???
I’m reading a book right now that is written in 1st person, but the narrator tries to include the audience in the conversation by slipping into 2nd person…argh…makes me want to throw things.
Oh, that’s another one!! “In the THROWS of passion”. *kicks something*
You know what’s also hilarious and sad at the same time? Being laughed at for using a word correctly. I said something was “rote” (meaning mechanical/stiff or memorized) and the other person looked at me weird and said, “Huh? You mean written?”
*dies*
Oh oh oh!! Cavalry!!! Dude, listen…”CAVALRY” is soldiers on horseback (root word “caval”=horse). “CALVARY” is where Jesus died.
LOL! Go Jen with your ranting. he-he
Lime-Honestly it’s pronounced Ore (like the metal) and gun. Ore gun (the E is silent)
We have a river that divides Portland in half. It’s spelled Willamette. Will-am-ett.
It gets pronounced Willa met long e. Drives me UP THE WALL!!!!!
There’s my pronunciation guide for the day. he-he. If I ever talk to y’all in person and you mispronounce, well shame on you! LOL!
Bridget – lol; I REALLY want you to go to dictionary.com now and click on the sound file(s) for Oregon. I go b/t what you said – “Ore-gun” and “Ore-a-gone.” No idea why – depends on my mood I guess.
Of course I pronounce Appalachia with a soft (?) c and Diane Sawyer doesn’t – all of us in the area also (not that far from Appalachia really, considering) pronounce it that way too so… wtf.
Bridget,
two things…
1. Will-am-ett and Willa-met look like they sound exactly the same to me. Where’s the emphasis in the correct pronunciation and in the incorrect one? You said something about a long e… are you saying it’s (mis)pronounced Willa-meet?
2. I eventually learned that there are a few things I can correct someone’s pronunciation on, and other things where I have no right to say whose pronunciation is correct.
For example, if I went to Oregon and a native of the state said “Willa-MEET”, despite what my eyeballs and knowledge of English rules say, I would just have to accept that that’s how people in Oregon say the name. And then would continue to pronounce it that way out of respect.
However, I can’t tell an Englishman they are pronouncing schedule wrong, I can’t tell a Bostonian that there is no “h” in Bahstan. Sometimes others ARE saying the word correctly for all the linguistic rules, mores and dialects they know – they’re just pronouncing it differently from our expectations.
We have a street here called “Wilmot”, half the time radio announcers call it “Wilmont” – but the rest of the city does not, so I’m sticking hard and fast to what my eyeballs tell me. If I hadn’t been here so long though, I might think they’re right.
Hi Venus, thanks for joining in the discussion! I’ll agree with you that place names are “dangerous.” The etymology of the word oftentimes leads to it being pronounced in a counterintuitive way. (That only locals will know.)
Hee. Bostonions. Getting in a cah to go to Hahvahd can be dangerous 😉
Speaking of commercials, there was one for Kitchen-Aid that made me grit my teeth every time I heard the line: “High on a gleaming pedestal, all will cheer my arrival.” Um, dude, how will they even know you’ve arrived if they’re all crowded up there on that pedestal and you’re way down here?
A newspaper ad for a local stable asked: “Do you inspire to be a better rider?” Not exactly.
As for mispronounced/misused words, I think it was that magnificent bastard, PJ O’Rourke who recommended not actually correcting people (how embarrassing!) but instead simply using the word in question at least five times in the next fifteen minutes of conversation while pointedly making eye contact with the offender, in order to “gently shame” them into improving. I love the way that guy thinks…
Hi Kirsten! Welcome back! >.< Those ads make my head hurt.
Haha – I like PJ O’Rourke’s method too. I’ve done it before, to be nice about it -but … I will get less nice when the person doesn’t notice. In college, I had a roommate that called recitation “resuscitation” all the time. She’d be complaining about it, and say how “resuscitation” sucks – and I’d respond, yeah, recitation is often pointless… but she never got it. *sigh*
Now I guess my friends are all bastards, because we’ll correct each other. Oh I can’t remember the most recent one, but inevitably someone will pipe up with “oh you mean the [correct word]?” Or mock the mistaken person. We’re so nice. >.<
We need to keep this going ’cause it’s fun. 😀
Have we already done “suppose to” (supposed to), “should/could of” (should/could have), and “nauseous” (nauseated)?
lol Jen – I think should’ve was covered- but not “suppose to” – major cringe there. What’s the mistake with nauseous?
And – feel free to link to this in one of your posts or tweet it so people join in 😛
*frowning* Doesn’t “nauseous” exist? Like if I I have an upset stomach after eating something bad, I’d say I’m feeling nauseous. I would have used “nauseated” if I’d hear or seen something horrible, like a child being beaten or a festering wound, that made me feel sick.
Mary – If you adhere to proper grammar rules and etymology, nauseous means “causing nausea” and NOT “feeling nausea”. Unfortunately (for me), it has come to be accepted both ways due to years of incorrect usage.
Scholars and sticklers still consider “I feel nauseous” to be incorrect. I wouldn’t correct someone for using it that way, but you’ll never catch me using it that way myself. EVER.
Very interesting – Jen- that prompted me to do a quick search:
The two literal senses of nauseous, “causing nausea” (a nauseous smell) and “affected with nausea” (to feel nauseous), appear in English at almost the same time in the early 17th century, and both senses are in standard use at the present time. Nauseous is more common than nauseated in the sense “affected with nausea,” despite recent objections by those who imagine the sense to be new. In the sense “causing nausea,” either literally or figuratively, nauseating has become more common than nauseous: a nauseating smell.
Lime – Yeah, the words have had an interesting history. It also depends which source you check, when the source was written, and whether you’re looking at British or American English.
When I feel sick, I say “I feel nauseated”.
You know, this is one of my English nightmares: two people with completely opposite explanations that both look valid., and I’m supposed to pick one. Argh.
On the other hand, I have to say my French-English dictionary says “to have waves of nausea, feel nauseous/sick”
lol Mary – sorry! I found my explanation in a dictionary. I really have/had no opinion until Jen brought it up. I’m pretty sure I’m guilty of saying/writing “I feel nauseous.” But the more I think about it, the less I’m sure.
Jen – I dunno – the dictionary said both “definitions” are 17th C English – so… I’m going to bank on both those being British English- perhaps different regions. I’m too lazy to look up more 😛