Pet Peeves

[dysert]

I have some pet peeves, mostly related to grammar and writing. I thought it might be fun to see what others' pet peeves are. They don't have to be writing related.

 

[dysert]

My biggest pet peeve is the misuse of "its" (or "it's"). It seems that most people believe that a possessive must have an apostrophe, so they almost always use "it's" for the possessive. For example, "The dog ate it's bone". This is wrong. It should be, "The dog ate its bone".

I use two memory tips to help me remember the difference between "its" and "it's". First is to break apart "it's" into "it is" and see if it makes sense: The dog ate it is bone. That doesn't make sense, so "it's" must be wrong. The second tip is to remember that the other personal possessive pronouns don't use apostrophes, like "his" and "hers", so why should "its"?

I have other pet peeves, but I'll leave it at this for now because I want to hear from others.

 

[dysert]

Well, this is going over like a lead balloon :-(. Despite the lack of action, I'll post another pet peeve, and it's relevant to CF. Another pet peeve is when people spell the book of Revelation with an "s" on the end, i.e., 'Revelations'. There is no "s" in the book's name.

 

[lucypevensie]

Well, this is going over like a lead balloon :-(. Despite the lack of action, I'll post another pet peeve, and it's relevant to CF. Another pet peeve is when people spell the book of Revelation with an "s" on the end, i.e., 'Revelations'. There is no "s" in the book's name.

Or when someone says Psalms 23 (or whatever number). It's only one Psalm, not multiple Psalms.

 

[dysert]

Or when someone says Psalms 23 (or whatever number). It's only one Psalm, not multiple Psalms.

Yeah, that one bugs me too. As does another grammar problem (you might guess by now that I'm kinda big on grammar). The misuse of "their" vs. "they're". The former is possessive, and the latter is a contraction of "they are" (or "they were"). These things are more than just peeves -- it makes someone's writing hard to understand sometimes. I think people should pay more attention to what they write so they can effectively communicate their [sic] ideas.

 

[Rhapsody]

1. Knowing I'm going to be late.


2. A hint in the place of a fact, when the fact would be just fine.

 

[LaSorcia]

NON-POSSESSIVE PLURALS DO NOT TAKE AN APOSTROPHE!!!

 

[LaSorcia]

Why don't people understand what the word literally means nowadays? They use it in place of actually in a lot of cases.

Also, (this one really gets me) there are more verbs in the English language than "was like"!

 

[lucypevensie]

The way men are portrayed on tv/movies/commercials as clueless, bumbling idiots. It was never funny to begin with, now it's unfunny and unoriginal.

 

[Strong in Him]

When people hear the phrase "he would've" - i.e he would have - and write it as "he would OF"

 

[lucypevensie]

I often hear people say the word "strong" as "shtrong". Or "strength" as "shtrength".

 

[LaSorcia]

I often hear people say the word "strong" as "shtrong". Or "strength" as "shtrength".

Really? How odd. Must be a regional accent thing I guess?

 

[dysert]

Of course there's the old chestnut, "irregardless", but it's so old that it's become more of a joke than a pet peeve to me.

 

[joyshirley]

The way some people pronounce sussed (out) as sussded (out). Spell check just came on there.

 

[lucypevensie]

Really? How odd. Must be a regional accent thing I guess?

I don't know. I first heard it when a woman in church was doing some sort of dramatic reading, and it bugged me. Since then I notice it every single time I hear it. It's a very subtle thing. It's not just the word "strong" but in other words with an ST letter combination. There's a toothpaste commercial where a girl says the phrase "and my teeth are shtronger too". Michelle Obama talks in an ad for the Show Your Shtripes organization. It all drives me batty!

(I have the annoying ability to hear little things like that which no one else even notices, and then I obsess about it)

 

[lucypevensie]

Tailgaters

 

[LaSorcia]

I don't know. I first heard it when a woman in church was doing some sort of dramatic reading, and it bugged me. Since then I notice it every single time I hear it. It's a very subtle thing. It's not just the word "strong" but in other words with an ST letter combination. There's a toothpaste commercial where a girl says the phrase "and my teeth are shtronger too". Michelle Obama talks in an ad for the Show Your Shtripes organization. It all drives me batty!

(I have the annoying ability to hear little things like that which no one else even notices, and then I obsess about it)

Ever since you first said that, I started noticing people around here who mispronounce initial tr sounds as chr, like chruck instead of truck. Still no sht though. Thankfully, it doesn't bother me. I have enough grammar and vocab issues lol.

 

[LaSorcia]

Writing that is one contiguous block of text with no paragraphs.

 

[Winter_Rose]

Being bitten by mosquitos (Got 5 bites already).

 

[brinny]

denial.