dailylit

Read books by email or RSS.
FAQ | Blog | Learn more »

Welcome, guest!
Log in | Register to join DailyLit.

Question of the Week

Grammar Pet Peeves

Does it bug you when folks say "different than" instead of "different from"? Or when folks don't know when to use the predicate nominative ("it's me" rather than "it's I")? What's your grammar pet peeve?

Reply

susandanziger

Posted by susandanziger (admin)
Sep 8, 2011 1:28 pm

Replies (18)

Posted by

  • "the data is" instead of "the data are." It's like saying "The children is home."

    Golem100Sep 8, 2011 2:00 pm
    by Golem100

  • It bugs me when folks write "should of" instead of "should have"... as in, "I should of known better."

    moengeySep 8, 2011 10:54 pm
    by moengey

  • "Bring that over there."

    dustinSep 9, 2011 4:27 am
    by dustin

  • When people ask "Where are you at" instead of "Where are you?".

    MargotOSep 9, 2011 3:22 pm
    by MargotO

  • Mine is "revert back". Can you revert forward???

    GramSep 9, 2011 6:50 pm
    by Gram

  • you know - no I don't.

    nomadSep 14, 2011 8:02 am
    by nomad

  • "The data are" is questional given the fact that you could be referring to a single data point.

    rak.patelSep 15, 2011 10:44 am
    by rak.patel

  • Since i love to be pedantic, i have to point out that a single data point is a datum. However, I will admit that the battle (my personal battle, that is) over "data are" versus "data is" may be already lost. Just like "It's on the agenda" versus "It's on the agendum." Well, ok, an item may be on more than one agendum, so the first example can be correct, but i hope you get my point.

    And what irks me the most about "data is"/"data are"? It's mostly people in IT that don't know which is correct.

    Golem100Sep 15, 2011 1:21 pm
    by Golem100

  • My pet peeve? Kids - instead of Children. Kids are young goats!

    alegnaSep 26, 2011 9:05 am
    by alegna

  • Idiot jounalists who don't know the difference between your and you're.

    andrejulesSep 26, 2011 2:16 pm
    by andrejules

  • I can also add two, to, too, as well as there and their.

    CompulsionSep 26, 2011 4:16 pm
    by Compulsion

  • I visited a bakery recently, and there was a display of beautifully decorated cookies all emblazoned with the words "Your Great!" I bought one as a treat for a grammar-nazi friend of mine, but didn't have the heart to point out the typo to the folks who had spent so much time decorating them. I think the mistake that irks me the most is the use of "could of" or "should of" instead of "could have" or "should have."

    artofambivalenceSep 27, 2011 12:12 pm
    by artofambivalence

  • Misuse of apostrphes, mostly for plurals. Sadly, I see this on billboards, signs, newspaper articles, and in other places where ad executives and editors should know better.

    MobySep 28, 2011 11:51 am
    by Moby

  • Farther vs. further.

    mellowbeingDec 19, 2011 9:50 am
    by mellowbeing

  • My pet peeve is the misuse of the words "less" and "fewer". I don't have less pennies than you, I have fewer pennies than you, which means I have less money than you.

    Mom1Dec 19, 2011 9:51 pm
    by Mom1

  • I agree with all of the above-mentioned ones...my pet peeve is "there's" (used for plurals) when it should be "there are"

    Christina5360Jan 1, 2012 10:01 am
    by Christina5360

  • Use of "I" in a compound object--e.g., "He spoke to John and I." I think we get the "polite" usage of "so and so and I" (I coming at the end) as a subject that we automatically use it in all cases.

    jeirichJan 10, 2012 12:12 pm
    by jeirich

  • Sorry: that should have read, "we get the "polite" usage of "so and so and I" (I coming at the end) *so drilled into us* as a subject"

    jeirichJan 10, 2012 12:16 pm
    by jeirich

Login to post