February 23, 2008
Wording Pet Peeves- Tell me yours & win
Written by Cindy Kirk in Jaunty PostOn one of the email loops I’m on the subject of wording peeves came up. You should have read the posts!! Lots of peeves.
I’m going to give you three of my peeves. If you share at least one of yours, you’ll be automatically entered to win an autographed ARC (advanced reading copy) of my May release, One Night Stand. If you’d like to read an excerpt from the book, the entire first chapter is available on my website www.cindykirk.com as an excerpt.
Never win anything? This could be your chance. Your odds are good.
Okay, back to the peeves:
1. Misuse of their, they’re and there
You know what horrifies me about this one….is occasionally I’ll send out an email and use the wrong one.
2. Misuse of lie and lay. One is a transitive verb, the other is an intransitive verb. Clear as mud? I thought so 
What do I do when I’m not sure which to use– I rewrite the sentence and not use either one!
3. Use of the word “irregardless.” Supposedly there is no such word. Which surprises me since I occasionally find myself using it. Shhh, let that be our little secret.
Okay I’ve told you some of my secrets, now you can tell me yours. Shy? Just think, if you’re the only one who posts a comment…you’ll win an ARC!
6:05 am | Share This
Shana Says:
I detest #1 because as an English teacher, I teach that every year and really notice their misuse. Cindy, everyone makes mistakes once in a while, so don’t feel bad!
My additional pet peeves are when people use comparative and superlative incorrectly, i.e. “That pillow was more soft than the other one.” (it’s SOFTER)
I also hate subject-verb agreement errors. That GROUP of kids IS loud. (People will put ARE because of the prepositional phrase).
Finally, I hate it when people make “mine” plural. Ex: “I want to read mines.” Mines? Are we talking about bombs?
Great topic!
Teresa W. Says:
Another word that also gets misussed is the word to, too, or two!
ellie Says:
I always notice that this is a big mistake - the use of lose and loose, also - choose and chose.
Dorothy Says:
My pet peeves aren’t so much grammar but pronunciation of words. It pains me to hear someone pronounce ‘libary’ instead of ‘libRary’ and ‘valentime’s’ instead of ‘valentiNe’s. Every time I hear someone mispronounce words, esp those two, I want to cringe.
ruth Says:
This is common and prevalent which really bothers me. dove and dived, drank and drunk.If I was or If I were. everyday problems with these.
Nathalie Says:
I write in french, and sometimes the ‘é’ and the ‘er’ in french are a bit hard at the end of the word, and it can get confusing!
Margay Says:
For me, it’s the use of its instead of it’s, which and that being misused, and the mishandling of who and whom and whose.
Margay Says:
For me, it’s the use of its instead of it’s, which and that being misused, and the mishandling of who and whom and whose.
Margay Says:
Oops, sorry for the double post.
catslady Says:
For some reason when principle and principal are misused. And not knowing when to use a or an with words starting with h - of course depending on his the word is pronounced.
catslady Says:
okay I should add typos - sorry - depending on HOW the word is pronounced
brownone Says:
All I can say is bless the person who invented spell check because I’ve been guilty many times over! I’m work from home doing reports for a couple of psychologists and what ruins me every time is a lot. I’ll type it as alot and then autocorrect will change it for me. I don’t know why I do this. Oh, and it took me forever to figure out the i before e except after c. I’m really dense that way.
Fedora Says:
Oooh… I hate #1, too. And like Margay, that whole its/it’s thing–I hate seeing that wrong in print! I do admit I often get the who/whom thing wrong myself though
Mary M Says:
I don’t like it when people say “I could care less” when they are trying to express that couldn’t care less.
Mary M Says:
That email got away before I could change it to “they couldn’t care less”.
Margo Maguire Says:
Mistakes using the possessive instead of the plural, especially when it’s on a public sign. Like “Geranium plant’s $4.99 today.” Or “turn in your used coat’s and …”
Cindy Kirk Says:
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Mary, I do this kind of thing all the time!
I love reading all these wording peeves. I find myself nodding and saying…um humm, I feel that way too!
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I once had a hero Nick Lanagan,,,spell check ased if I wanted to change Lanagan to Lasagna…I inadvertantly said yes…and SENT THE BOOK TO THE EDITOR THAT WAY!!
Virginia H. Says:
Hey I am not going to go into grammer. I am from KY need I say more. We don’t talk to good here much use words correctly.
My pet peeve is a dirty bathroom. I hate it. The rest of my house can be dirty but don’t let the bathroom be dirty. I can’t stand it.
Kathryn Says:
Oh definitely #1. And how about “I seen”. I HATE that. And while spell check is a god, please re-read your stuff anyway… if you use the wrong word and spell it right, you will still have the error!!!
ladydawgfan Says:
On the other hand, spelling errors can sometimes provide unintentional humor. I recently saw an obviously homemade bumper sticker that read “I break for deer and moose!” I thought, “I bet you will, especially if you hit them wrong at high speed!”
Jane Says:
I hate it when people misuse it’s and its, who’s and whose.
JSL Says:
I agree with #1. And misuse of “your” and “you’re” really irks me too - especially since I’m surrounded my a bunch of lawyers/future lawyers. (And of them think they’re the most brilliant thing ever, next to light bulbs.) Double negatives also bother me. Oh, and when people write “congrads” *cringe* And misuse of the word “real.” I have to admit though, I used to really like #3. I think I got a kick out of using it because it would drive one of my friends NUTS.
Amy Addison Says:
the difference between “effect” and “affect.” Yes, it matters.
“Couldn’t help but…” This one puts my teeth on edge.
Crystal B. Says:
Here are some that bug me:
the misuse of capital and capitol;
who’s and whose
Cindy Kirk Says:
I’m just loving all these examples.
C’mon, there’s still time to give us your favorite wording peeve and be entered into the drawing!!
JSL Says:
Oops - I’d like to correct my previous post from “surrounded my” to “by”
Good thing I didn’t put down typos as a pet peeve. I will admit to being annoyed at certain misspellings. Typos are ok - everyone makes them. But if you’re just misspelling a word - one which you claim to be an “expert” about, something is wrong. I also haven’t seen this in a while, but when people randomly pick foreign words to use, especially if they don’t really know the meaning - e.g. “kawaii” or “bishounen” [cute, and hot femme guys - both Japanese.] Or, when people mix e.g. and i.e.!
It seems like I’m a really picky person.
danette Says:
I agree with the misuse of there. I admit that I sometimes forget to write too instead of to. I think its modern technologies fault, “I pressed the spell check and it said no errors.”
Hugs, Danette
Cindi Hoppes Says:
Hi, The misuse of I and me doesn’t sit right with me. A teacher taught me in sixth grade how to figure out which one to use correctly in a sentence! Also, may or can I do whatever?! Your verses You’re is also a pet peeve of mine. Thanks,Cindi
Cindy Kirk Says:
I don’t want you to all think I forgot—-I am going to pick a winner of the ARC from all who’ve posted…and I’ll do it first of next week!