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AIBU

Are you irritated by incorrect grammar.

(209 Posts)
Quizzer Wed 12-Jan-22 10:01:45

I am all for regional accents, even though some can be mildly irritating.
However what really annoys me is blatantly incorrect grammar. On the news this morning I heard a senior politician using the phrases “you was” and “we was”. Unfortunately my brain automatically reduces my perception of the speaker’s IQ by about 20 points.
Am I alone in this, or are there any other glaring errors which really irritate you?

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 09:53:47

Blossoming in a similar vein, what used to really annoy me on here (but you hardly see it anymore) was far too many full stops in an ellipsis.
You especially saw it in thread titles.
It’s only three folks, not this………………

Blossoming Fri 14-Jan-22 09:48:16

Lack of punctuation (see thread title) can be confusing, but I find too much punctuation hard to read!!!!! Why use so many exclamation marks, or question marks?????

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 09:19:29

Thanks Jacky
I didn’t realise that about the US usage

JackyB Fri 14-Jan-22 09:17:54

FannyCornforth

eazybee I always have to really think about practice and practise.

Does anyone know, is there a clever way of remembering which one to use?

I always check back with "advice" and "advise". There you can hear the difference: the verb has the voiced "s" (the "z" sound) and the noun has the SS sound.

I advise you to take care
I practise my scales

My advice is to take care
My piano practice takes an hour each day.

I think the American spelling is with the "c" in both cases which may be the cause of the confusion.

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 09:13:30

S verb
C noun
Got it. I’ll try to remember it like that Mary smile

Marydoll Fri 14-Jan-22 09:02:19

FannyCornforth

eazybee I always have to really think about practice and practise.

Does anyone know, is there a clever way of remembering which one to use?

A parent once wrote a message to me on his daughter's homework jotter, to reprimand me for spelling practice incorrectly.
I politely wrote back explaining that it was in fact he, who was wrong.

Practise, the verb
Practice, the noun.

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 08:58:39

Lauren I find that quote admirable of your chap!
It’s quite pragmatic and utilitarian.

My husband is brilliant at crosswords, but cannot spell for toffee.
I don’t know whether it’s because he is dyslexic or barely had an education, I suspect the latter.

He came from a massive, very working class family; and many of his siblings were quite salty characters.
He was consistently the best at maths in his year, but was punished because they thought he was cheating sad
He was also a talented cricketer but wasn’t allowed on the team because his parents wouldn’t/ couldn’t buy him the kit.

Education these days may not be perfect, but it’s a different world.
DH these days would be considered a huge success story instead of being completely written off.

Beswitched Fri 14-Jan-22 08:49:39

I totally agree Fannycornforth. Picking up grammatical and spelling mistakes on online forums is ridiculous. People are posting quickly while taking part in a conversation. They're not sitting an exam or submitting a proposal to their boss.

Lauren59 Fri 14-Jan-22 08:44:32

The misuse of your/you’re and there/their/they’re is rampant.

I once dated a man who only used “your” and “there”. I may be very shallow for feeling this way, but it bothered me.

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 08:40:52

eazybee I always have to really think about practice and practise.

Does anyone know, is there a clever way of remembering which one to use?

eazybee Fri 14-Jan-22 08:36:24

Well then, I won't comment about practice and practise.

Marydoll Fri 14-Jan-22 08:10:29

Fanny, totally agree! Pulling posters up for making spelling or grammatical errors, may lead to people being reluctant to post. ☹

I am always surprised ( I shouldn't be by now) that there are people, who feel the need to correct others. Who actually cares if everyone/every one is not a compound word? I don't, the meaning was clear.

By the way, it is Letterland, Fanny, just in case you wanted to know. ??

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 07:44:09

Totally right CanadianGran
Spot on smile

FannyCornforth Fri 14-Jan-22 07:42:46

I’ve been teaching phonics since 2006 and have never come across Letterland (or indeed Letter Land wink)

And can I just clarify; I know that everytime is not a compound word.
It was a mistype.
I type my replies as quickly as possible, in order to maintain a ‘chatty’ flow.
I never preview.
I don’t treat GN posts as essays. smile

CanadianGran Thu 13-Jan-22 19:25:55

Obviously some here are better than others with grammar and word usage. On board forums such as this there are very few times when something will jump out at me, but realize that people are typing on ipads or phones, so easy to make mistakes. At least here we don't see text-speak, as in 'C U 2mrw"

The only time grammar mistakes really bother me is in business correspondence. We have one employee in management who has terrible grammar, and I flinch in embarrassment sometimes when copied in to correspondence.

Marydoll Thu 13-Jan-22 19:20:37

Mogsmaw

EllanVannin

The double use of off/ of---get off of there. What's that about ?

Being from Renfrewshire.
It’s dialectic usage. Not a grammatical error.

A Paisley girl here, who was known to shout that at/to ? her pupils. ?

Mogsmaw Thu 13-Jan-22 19:11:27

EllanVannin

The double use of off/ of---get off of there. What's that about ?

Being from Renfrewshire.
It’s dialectic usage. Not a grammatical error.

Ravelling Thu 13-Jan-22 19:04:47

FannyCornforth

Did the dog correct you, Ravelling?
That’s always mortifying!

grin

Jaxjacky Thu 13-Jan-22 18:54:21

Maybe it was only taught in Hampshire as the local accent is notorious for dropping its h’s , hence ‘ampshire og’ ??

grannyrebel7 Thu 13-Jan-22 18:51:15

I absolutely hate bad grammar. It drives me crazy and detracts from what is being said. However, I have a little sympathy for Angela Rayner's bad grammar now as I thought she gave a great performance in the House the other day in Keir Starmer's absence. What an achievement for someone with her background to have become the deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Serendipity22 Thu 13-Jan-22 18:45:17

Us Yorkshire folk always drop our 'h'. Admittedly we sound like old washer women ( or i do when i ear myself ) hahaha... sorry any *washer woman young or old ... x
flowers

Granniesunite Thu 13-Jan-22 18:45:14

No marydoll it’s not.

Marydoll Thu 13-Jan-22 18:39:50

By the way, is Letterland still used? I sincerely hope not.

Marydoll Thu 13-Jan-22 18:37:59

Oh dear! I am not suggesting aitch for hat. Of course it's hhhhhhat!
I am talking about the letter name, which is a totally different matter from the sound.

I give up.

Mollygo Thu 13-Jan-22 18:30:47

Aitch for hat, confusing yes, but equally confusing is the hard c for cat with the letter name cee. Letterland never landed in my children’s school for which I was truly grateful, though it was less confusing than ITA.