Common usage of words that drive me nuts.......

Most of the above (pernickety old bag!) but the examples currently annoying me most are 'enormity' used to mean 'of very large size' and 'infamous' apparently used to mean 'very famous'. Oh, and 'going forward'. And 'empathy'. I don't mind neologisms and I like dialect but I do object to using a word in a different sense from the normally understood meaning. It just leads to miscommunication.

I agree about "Can I get a coffee etc.," The reply should be "no, customers aren't allowed behind the counter."

I've heard this."can I get.... coffee,one of those"
Why?
When did that phrase start.

Yes Ana, I have seen it written as would of, and that is annoying.

To my ear, could've and would've sound very different from could of and would of. I doubt they would annoy so many of us if they sounded the same

I'm not much of a pedant, but this ordering food/ coffee thing and asking 'can I get' annoys me. A couple of weeks ago we were out with DD1 and partner, and I knew she would say this to the waitress ( and she did) it makes me cringe.I long for the waitress to reply' I'm afraid not Madam,only the staff here are allowed to serve the meals'.

Bellanonna, what they mean probably is 'would have' but some people definitely say 'would of' (I heard a woman say it to her friend in a supermarket last week and had to bite my tongue!) and some also write 'would of'.

I speak fairly quickly so my would have comes out as would've. Im sure most people mean have, just that they abbreviate it, as they do in don't and won't. Sometimes one can be overly pedantic. If asked whether I'd like a cup of tea I ought to reply ' yes, I should like one' but I'd say 'would like one'. I'm sure most of us don't stick with the first person shall/will, should/would rule even if we are aware of it. Most of us break the rules but I agree that some things can grate, especially when we hear them from news presenters and others from whom we expect ' better'. I don't say train station, but it has become part of our language. We say bus station, don't we? I also dont say driver's licence, but ditto. One of my DDs always asks to 'get' a coffee. Younger people absorb language change, which has been mentioned above along with actual incorrect grammar. I just accept that as long as we all understand each other that's what's important. But just dont let me hear "He text me". ! Subject of an earlier thread , and a particular bête noir of mine.

Suedoku sorry .... sue

Suduko!!!! We didn't have tv!!!

A friend of mine infuriates me by constantly saying "myself" and "yourself" instead of I, me, or you: example: myself and John are going on a course; Is it for yourself?

I have read all through this interesting thread so that I wouldn't repeat something that had already been said. Maisie D was squite correct when she said the teachers of today weren't taught the principles of grammar, also Elrel was right - the object is communication. (secret confession - found myself writing 'would of ' the other day)

I'm another one intensely irritated by "would of" instead of "would have". I correct my 6-y-o grandson when he says it and his reply is "But Daddy says WOULD OF". I'm not sure how I get around this one.

I've just thought of another one, that really does matter. It's when the spokesperson for some organisation, such as Volkswagen, when it has been caught out in deliberate wrongdoing, apologises for having "made a mistake." A mistake is something you didn't mean to happen!

I agree with Teetime - For me, it is when people say pacifically when they mean specifically. I'm also irritated by people saying disinterested when they mean uninterested. You hear both of these so often, even on radio and TV, that they seem to have taken over from the correct words. But hey, I suppose it's not really all that important in the scheme of things!

Reading these posts I'm clearly a lot less of a pedant than I thought

I seem to be becoming inured to train station' Was 'railway' too long a word?
The spoken use of 'chairs' for 'seats' on buses seems to be seeping in.

I doubt I shall ever be happy with 'different to' or 'different than'. Neither shall I accept 'bored of'.

In the long run, however, I wonder how important it all is. Clear communication is what really matters.

when answering a question every sentence preceded with "well you know what"

My brother always, always retells a conversation with 'and I turned round and said' followed by 'then he turned round...' I always have an image of a room full of people spinning round and round... but he probably takes after our dad who is infamous here for always starting a sentence with 'virtually speaking' ...no idea where he got that phrase from but in my head I'm yelling 'either you are speaking or you aren't...'

I believe that new words and new usage of old words, are fine. But grammar is the skeleton of the language on which the rest of it is based, and should be left intact. Phrases such as ‘between you and I’ are so obviously wrong to anyone who understand the basics.

Too few people are taught grammar: it isn’t difficult, and makes writing anything so much easier. It makes you far less likely to end up wondering if something is right or not.

It is like driving a car: if you understand the basics of what is going on under the bonnet, it makes driving easier when questions crop up. Of course you can still drive when you have no idea how it all works, but when something look dodgy you know whether to keep on driving or stop and get help.

I think the 'would of' happens because very few people actually say 'would have' and 'would've' sounds very like 'would of'. I have wasted hours of my life explaining to the children I worked with precisely why what they think is 'would of' is actually written as 'would've' but I think I was on a loser...

I think that much of the reason for inaccurate and erroneous word usage is the one mentioned much earlier; teaching grammar went completely out of fashion for a few decades. Consequently we have a generation of teachers who have a rather shaky grasp of it themselves. That, and the democratic notion that dialect usage should not be seen as inferior to 'correct' English. I'm not saying that all modern teachers have poor grammar but I have followed enough teachers' forums (fora?) and blogs to know that quite a few have.

Of course, much is defended with the 'language changes' argument but I don't think it changes as fast as people would have me believe.

Or even, 'If only this thread were on Pedants' Corner'

If only this thread was on Pedants' Corner.

My daughter's don't have wash basins they have sinks. It irritates me. Also I cringe when I hear my colleagues asking customers if they want something rather than would they like something. I feel like sounds nicer than want. I wouldn't make comments regarding grammar as I'm sure mine is far from perfect.

I found a rather nice statuette of a Hare in Next. Then I found that it's printed label said it was a "Laying Hare" I so wanted to tell one of the assistants that I had always thought it was the Easter Bunny that laid the eggs, but I had a feeling I would be met with a blank stare

Also driven mad by "Would of" "Can I get" "Different to"