Grammatical pet peeves.

[M's]

What is your pet peeve about grammar usage. I am guilty miss using both of mine.

Mine is the incorrect use of.
affect, effect, and EG: IE:

[Will T.]

"It's" vs. "Its" makes me cringe every time I see it. It's gotten to the point that I now read improperly-used "its" as "the _____ that it possesses" in my head.

"They're," "Their," and "There" are also annoying. "They are," "His/Her," and "That location" are all mental auto-replacements for them in my head now. Although that last one doesn't always work.

[The Domer]

What is your pet peeve about grammar usage. I am guilty miss using both of mine.

Mine is the incorrect use of.
affect, effect, and EG: IE:

To help you remember e.g. and i.e.: e.g., stands for exempli gratia, so just remember exampli is similar to example, and it translates to for example. I.e., stands for id est and loosely translates to in other words, so I just remember that in other words starts with an i word, hence i.e.

I used to have a lot more pet peeves with writing, but I've relaxed a lot over the last couple of years for a variety of reasons. My two biggest pet peeves always used to be good/well and who/whom. Frankly, the English education I received was pretty crappy and it wasn't until I took foreign languages that I really learned grammar well.


TL;DR I gonna learn you good.

[Larry]

"Me and somebody"

My brother does this all the time.

[kallous]

"Me and somebody"

My brother does this all the time.

Your kidding...

[Boss Llama]

Incorrect of "your" and "you're" is near the top of my list. Other mix-ups, such as there/their/they're and it's/its are annoying to me as well, but for whatever reason, not quite as much as your/you're.

On the flipside, insistence on the technically correct "his or hers" in place of "their" for the third person neuter singular bothers me. English does not have a defined pronoun for that situation like most other languages do, and "their" is culturally accepted and understood without including a sexist assumption or preference. Given that language is forever evolving and adapting, I view this as the natural creation of a necessary term.

[kkpyro]

Mine is the incorrect (intentional) misspelling of a word.
Such as, bai for bye. There are many more, or should I say moar?

[Man In A Mask]

I dont feel like grammar mistakes effects me as much, their annoying at times, but its manageable. I feel like you're brain can just skim over it. Or mabe my brain is just two smart.

[Emily Brontësaurus]

I couldn't possibly list all my peeves in one post, but one that has been getting to me lately is the incorrect use of the semicolon. If you can replace the semicolon with a comma, you have used the semicolon incorrectly.

[M's]

I dont feel like grammar mistakes effects me as much, their annoying at times, but its manageable. I feel like you're brain can just skim over it. Or mabe my brain is just two smart.

I dun seen wut u did.

[Zork Nemesis]

Text-message inspired shorthand. In writing, you just look like an idiot and I have trouble picking up on abbreviations and acronyms to begin with. Please don't make it harder on me.

[The Domer]

Text-message inspired shorthand. In writing, you just look like an idiot and I have trouble picking up on abbreviations and acronyms to begin with. Please don't make it harder on me.

Oh man, and it's so unprofessional too. I hate when my students email me and use unprofessional writing such as text message shorthand. It's a sure fire way to ensure I'll skim over your question.

[Plinko]

To help you remember e.g. and i.e.:

A good mnemonic for these is e.g. = "example given" and i.e. - "in essence" - works without having to know/remember the actual Latin origins.

"Proper" grammar is less and less important to me all the time, what is much more important to me is clarity in general and good approximation of verbal vernacular in writing.

The only rule that I get disproportionately upset about is the Oxford comma. I am strictly, strictly against it because it violates the proper use of a comma as an directive for adjusting cadence and I get excessively angry whenever I read people making dumb defenses of it.

[NerevarineKing]

Incorrect usage of "good" and "well" bothers me for some reason. Basically everyone in my direct and extended family does this.

[Boss Llama]

Incorrect usage of "good" and "well" bothers me for some reason.

I'm right there with you! Also, "less" versus "fewer" is a very important distinction if you want to present yourself as educated - there are "fewer" of countable things, "less" of uncountable things. Example: There are fewer days in a week than in a month. There is less water in a quart than in a gallon. Bob earns less money than Alice because he works fewer hours.