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Post by BSnyder on Feb 22, 2025 21:20:54 GMT
This is meant to be a light thread. Not world changing or critical... Something that sticks out to me instantly is when in conversation people use "less" when they should be using "fewer." What happened to the word fewer? Where did it go? Less people? No, fewer people. Less pieces? No, fewer pieces. Less cookies? No, fewer cookies. No matter how many times I try, I cannot stop autocorrecting this in my head when I hear it. What terms or words do you often hear in colloquial convesation that triggers your mental autocorrect?
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Post by littlemama on Feb 22, 2025 22:06:35 GMT
Less vs fewer is a big one for me! If you can count it, use fewer. If you cant count it, use less.
Voisterous instead of boisterous although I havent heard that one in a while.
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Post by Merge on Feb 22, 2025 23:34:57 GMT
This is a huge peeve for my DH. Haha. I just find it mildly annoying.
Most of the misusages I’ve heard have come from small children and/or non-native English speakers, so I hardly notice them anymore (unless they’re super cute ones from kids).
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Post by gar on Feb 22, 2025 23:37:06 GMT
I notice when it’s used correctly because it’s so infrequent…but there are many grammar errors that annoy me far more 😁
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anaterra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,282
Location: Texas
Jun 29, 2014 3:04:02 GMT
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Post by anaterra on Feb 22, 2025 23:39:43 GMT
So when would it be proper to use less? Im pretty sure I use less way more then I use fewer... I also dont know when to use then vs than....
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Post by fredfreddy44 on Feb 23, 2025 0:12:55 GMT
To learn some grammar
Now, did I stammer
Work on that grammar
You should know when
It's "less" or it's "fewer"
Like people who were
Never raised in a sewer
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Post by littlemama on Feb 23, 2025 1:03:17 GMT
So when would it be proper to use less? Im pretty sure I use less way more then I use fewer... I also dont know when to use then vs than.... Fewer for things you can count. Less for things you cant. Bobby has fewer cookies than Sally. Bobby has less spaghetti than Sally
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Post by Merge on Feb 23, 2025 1:07:53 GMT
So when would it be proper to use less? Im pretty sure I use less way more then I use fewer... I also dont know when to use then vs than.... Someone else already explained less/fewer.
Then is for things happening in sequence. First this, then that. Than is for comparison. My dog is older than yours.
Hope this helps!
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Post by ~summer~ on Feb 23, 2025 1:13:42 GMT
I notice it too.
But the one that I really notice is “lay” vs “lie”.
In barre they constantly say “lay down”…arg!!
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Post by monklady123 on Feb 23, 2025 1:24:22 GMT
Yes, one of my biggest pet peeves! hahaha I would have mentioned grammar in that other thread but we were on our way out the door so I didn't have time.  -- less/fewer -- lay/lie -- loose/lose -- there/their/they're -- 's when they mean plural -- "we saw the Browns at the party" and they type "we saw the Brown's at the party" I see the loose/lose thing a lot because I belong to a couple of weight loss groups in Facebook.
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Post by quinlove on Feb 23, 2025 1:38:26 GMT
to and too there, their and they’re I should of - no, should have
That said, I seriously can not ever remember using the word - fewer.
eta - I think it’s - can not remember ever using the word. Ha
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Post by nlwilkins on Feb 23, 2025 1:48:00 GMT
for me it is your and you're Also I am finding constantly on YouTube that a space is added after the apostrophe making the last letter start a new line which makes it hard to read. Also, I've learned to ignore the his and her and plural type errors because many time these are wrote by authors with English as their second language.
One would think they would have these things read by a proof reader to correct errors.
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Post by smasonnc on Feb 23, 2025 1:53:06 GMT
You're doing God's work. I get unreasonably mental when I hear it used wrong by someone who should know better. My kids say I get more worked up about bad grammar than profanity and they're absolutely right.
ETA: When someone on TV says "less people" or "less items" we all say in unison, "It's fewer!"
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anaterra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,282
Location: Texas
Jun 29, 2014 3:04:02 GMT
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Post by anaterra on Feb 23, 2025 1:53:15 GMT
I screenshot the posts by littlemama n @merge Hope i learn it!!
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anaterra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,282
Location: Texas
Jun 29, 2014 3:04:02 GMT
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Post by anaterra on Feb 23, 2025 1:55:11 GMT
I also don't know how to punctuate correctly... it's why i use the dots...
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Post by Delta Dawn on Feb 23, 2025 2:57:58 GMT
You are is you’re Your means possession Remember when Ross and Rachel had the breakup again after the beach trip? I try to never make that mistake because it bugs me so badly.
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Post by BSnyder on Feb 23, 2025 3:01:03 GMT
Yes, one of my biggest pet peeves! hahaha I would have mentioned grammar in that other thread but we were on our way out the door so I didn't have time.  -- less/fewer -- lay/lie -- loose/lose -- there/their/they're -- 's when they mean plural -- "we saw the Browns at the party" and they type "we saw the Brown's at the party" I see the loose/lose thing a lot because I belong to a couple of weight loss groups in Facebook. I agree with all of these in writing, but in conversation none of these would register. Thank goodness!
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Post by lesley on Feb 23, 2025 3:09:52 GMT
Effect/affect Lose/loose Tenses - saying I sung, I’ve sang rather than I sang and I’ve sung, I seen rather than I saw, etc One that annoys me but admittedly isn’t particularly common, is hung versus hanged. People may be hung out of a window or hung from a platform, but if death is involved, they are hanged.
And yes, less and fewer really bug me. There was a supermarket chain in the UK that used to have signs at their faster checkouts which said “10 items or less”. There was such an outcry that they quickly changed it to “10 items or fewer”!
And as a linguistics graduate, one that I always pick up on that lots of people don’t notice is something like “an empty bottle of beer” or “an empty bag of crisps”. It’s an empty beer bottle and an empty crisp bag. It can’t be a bottle or bag of anything if it’s empty!
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Post by BSnyder on Feb 23, 2025 3:15:02 GMT
The loss of adverbs in spoken language also sticks out and tweaks my mental autocorrect. I never correct people's speech because I lack perfect grammar. It's funny how certain small things are so noticeable.
This dress fits me perfect. No, it fits you perfectly or it perfectly fits you. He drove so slow. No, he drove so slowly. That went quick. No, it went quickly.
I've noticed over the last number of years the -ly adverbs are becoming an endangered species.
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Post by smasonnc on Feb 23, 2025 13:19:46 GMT
Yes, one of my biggest pet peeves! hahaha I would have mentioned grammar in that other thread but we were on our way out the door so I didn't have time.  -- less/fewer -- lay/lie -- loose/lose -- there/their/they're -- 's when they mean plural -- "we saw the Browns at the party" and they type "we saw the Brown's at the party" I see the loose/lose thing a lot because I belong to a couple of weight loss groups in Facebook. Yesss! A kindred spirit. I'd begun to think I was the last of us. I'll throw in between and among. Something is between two of us, among the two of us. Having a grandmother who was an English teacher clearly had a profound effect on me.
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Post by mollycoddle on Feb 23, 2025 13:39:21 GMT
Not what I hear, but what I see. Why can’t people tell the difference between “your” and “you’re?” WHY?
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Post by Bitchy Rich on Feb 23, 2025 14:07:14 GMT
I am unreasonably annoyed by the use of "would of" instead of "would have" because it seems so ridiculously obvious.
I have never understood "alot."
People using weary when they mean wary or leery, but I can see how they got there.
I also find it so weird when people use a constant stream of ellipses to make the world's longest sentences. What in the heck is that about? It seems to be older people, online. Maybe they don't know how to make a capital letter on their devices?
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Post by quinlove on Feb 23, 2025 14:54:35 GMT
Forgot my main one that bugs me.
It’s not - the people that
It’s - the people WHO
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,844
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Feb 23, 2025 15:06:07 GMT
As a teacher: principal vs. principle. I see teachers get it wrong in my teacher Facebook groups and it makes me twitch.
I used to have a problem with affect and effect but I finally go it into my head that effect is a noun.
Sell/sale is ridiculous. When did people start getting that wrong? How can you get it wrong? It is bizarre. It sounds so bad if you use the wrong one.
Lose/loose. I think I see it wrong more often than I see it right.
Good vs. Well. I'll admit sometimes I use good when I should use well. And after I said it I flog myself. Ugh. Adjective vs. adverb.
While I understand that language is fluid and changes all of the time, I was taught grammar by my teacher mom who was born in 1938, so I'm old school.
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anaterra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,282
Location: Texas
Jun 29, 2014 3:04:02 GMT
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Post by anaterra on Feb 23, 2025 15:12:42 GMT
I read a lot but i feel completely illiterate on this thread.... lmao
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Post by worrywart on Feb 23, 2025 15:15:10 GMT
I do not use the word fewer and it stands out when I hear someone say it. Nothing wrong with those who use it but it is rare that I hear it!
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,948
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Feb 23, 2025 15:17:29 GMT
Effect/affect Lose/loose Tenses - saying I sung, I’ve sang rather than I sang and I’ve sung, I seen rather than I saw, etc One that annoys me but admittedly isn’t particularly common, is hung versus hanged. People may be hung out of a window or hung from a platform, but if death is involved, they are hanged. And yes, less and fewer really bug me. There was a supermarket chain in the UK that used to have signs at their faster checkouts which said “10 items or less”. There was such an outcry that they quickly changed it to “10 items or fewer”!
And as a linguistics graduate, one that I always pick up on that lots of people don’t notice is something like “an empty bottle of beer” or “an empty bag of crisps”. It’s an empty beer bottle and an empty crisp bag. It can’t be a bottle or bag of anything if it’s empty! My local grocery store has a sign on one checkout that says “12 items of fewer” and on a different checkout that says “12 items or less.” At least be consistent and pick one. I mentioned it to the woman in front of me and she looked at me like I had two heads.
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Post by Merge on Feb 23, 2025 16:09:47 GMT
Not what I hear, but what I see. Why can’t people tell the difference between “your” and “you’re?” WHY? Yes. What I see bothers me far more than what I hear.
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Post by Merge on Feb 23, 2025 16:13:09 GMT
I screenshot the posts by littlemama n @merge Hope i learn it!! You’re a Spanish speaker, correct? Don’t worry - you’re doing great. I’ll just be over here trying to sort out ser/estar, por/para, and whether the verb gets se before or after it.
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Post by atomicdog on Feb 23, 2025 16:18:21 GMT
I had a second grade teacher who made us differentiate between “Can I” and “May I”. If someone asked “Can I open the window?” She’d respond with “I don’t know if you’re physically able to do that or not. If you want to ask to open the window you should ask May I?”
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