Slovenly speech, incorrect grammar etc.

We have a member of our group who starts every sentence with "basically", and repeats it every few words. Drives me mad.

My nephews say things like the 'thing what I saw/read/bought' etc which reminds me of the Morecombe and Wise sketches - 'the play what I wrote'.
I'm not sure if they'd find them funny as they don't understand why it's wrong. I would find it embarrassing to correct them so I don't. Their mother doesn't exactly speak the Queen's English either. I keep my mouth shut but cringe inside.

I love my sister dearly and sympathise with her health problems but it drives me nuts when she talks of the pain in her knees caused by Arthur-itis and all the X-erays she's had....grrrr.

*rant over

Everything is being brought down to the lowest common denominator, and that is usually very common.

It is not fashionable to have standards.

An English teacher I know, flatly refuses to answer any teenager if the sentence is peppered with “ like” ... you know like .... it drives him round the bend, like !!

Agree with all of you, especially Bradley Walsh on the Chase (makes me laugh). But don't get me started on Steve Wright. I know a lot of people think he's great but Radio 2 goes off at 2 pm, unless he's on holiday. Marmite DJ I guess .

The superfluous use of the word 'like' really irritates me. Also misuse of 'there, their and they're,' which I often see on FB from a former colleague of mine (we were both teachers!)

I think most of my pet hates have already been mentioned. A new person joined a group I go to, a retired teacher. She uses most of these constructions especially "kna wha Oi mean". I dread to think how her ex-pupils speak!

I agree with all of these, but I'm a pedant. Sometimes it's the voice as much as the grammar. I turn off some programmes because the voice grates, eg the "Cruise" series with Jane MacDonald or a past series on Cathedrals with Janet Street Porter.

Nellie, Jay Brave is a "spoken word artist",! Makes you wonder.

Hi NonnaW
Tautology is when the same thing is said using two different words, when one would have been sufficient.
In the example I gave, the word ‘originated’ means where the nerve gas came from, so adding ‘from’ wasn’t necessary.
The newsreader should simply have said ‘where the nerve gas originated’.
The meaning would have been the same and the style so much better.
It may seem pedantic (but this is Pedants’ Corner after all), but whereas in ordinary conversation, or even in a Gransnet thread other than in Pedants’ Corner, you wouldn’t notice the odd bit of tautology, I do think that BBC newsreaders should know better.

As for prepositions, it used to be taught that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition, but I think it’s now accepted that it’s a rather rigid convention and it isn’t necessarily incorrect.

TV presenters speaking of Drawrings

I wonder if for some people, 'So' has replaced 'Well' when starting a sentence.

What do others think about hearing theatre pronounced 'thee-etre' im not sure whether or not it is incorrect but it sounds really awkward to my ears?

So many spring to mind. Words such as ..something..nothing..being pronounced ending with a K. We brought a new car today!...instead of bought. And of off...I have noticed this much more living in the south than the north, is it a southern expression? Also starting a sentence begining with So... Think I had better go now in case I drop a clanger as well!

I am astonished at the “was” instead of were.
I was once speaking to a young graduate with a Masters in English and a PGCE, she was struggling to find a job and I offered her a few pointers, she thanked me and then said “ was you a teacher”. Speechless

Recent post on eBay 'Chesterdraws' . Just had to laugh.

“Sort of “ irritates me! ( Along with quite a lot things already mentioned on here).
Starting a sentence with “so” is another bugbear.

Jeremy Paxman on University Challenge should know better than say "The next set of bonuses ARE on...." Set is singular and so it should be "IS".

Children asking 'can I go toilet' or even worse, 'can I do toilet' drove me to distraction, often on their way to the Libery.

Yes Nellie, I now scroll past ...
Lots of the above annoy me but yous drives me nuts!

I think I'm a glottal stopper. I didn't realise it was frowned upon until very recently, and I was never coached out of it.
I expect my teachers did it too..

Febury.

Now look, you know I don't, like, like, or, like, I'm good, and, you know, glottal stops. It's all, like, lazy speak and, like, not being able to, you know, string a sentence together, like, without like needing something to, you know, give you, like, breathing space. Know wha' I mean?

Youse. Grr - "you" is singular AND plural.

"Generally" instead of "genuinely", as in "I generally like you".