Is it just me or have a lot of people been using these two words incorrectly? Not just here on FT, but everywhere, it is driving me crazy seeing this mistake made by people that I know are intelligent.

Yep, it's a very common one but I think a lot of the time it's people not thinking when they're typing. Same with the their/there ones.

The other ones that jump out at me are advise/advice and effect/affect.

Drives me nuts as well. Spell check doesn't work so well if people can't spell in the first place.

I have one engineer I work with - whom I've taken to adding to his auto correct on a regular basis.
Apart from the above mentioned words there is: it's, enquiry / inquiry and words such as chassis - which become interesting as a plural....chassisses!
*aaaaaaarrrrggggghhhh*

.... and don't get me started on 'definate'.
Actually MarchHare, I THINK (not sure) that both versions of inquiry/enquiry are OK.

"... and don't get me started on 'definate'."

Or me on 'sep.a.rate' - Ren!

I was taught to make 'Inquiries at the Enquiry Counter!'
Now I look it up Ren - they Are virtually interchangeable!
Now I'm Just Confused!

"I could care less"

Oh? You could? 99.44% of the time they mean "I couldn't care less".

"alot" is another one that makes me cringe along with everything else in this thread so far.

What about"Very Unique"?

And of course there is the current favourite - the use of "then" when they really mean "than". I saw an example of it in our local newspaper last week (and by quite a reasonable journalist, too). The sentence had two quite contradictory meanings, depending on whether you took the word to be a "then" or "than". But I am told I am a grammar nazi!

"Alot" drives me insane, as does the use of "everyday" when what is really meant is "every day". Two quite different meanings!

My baby grandson has a DVD witch he love's, it has nursery rhyme's and other song's and much to my annoyance in Jack and Jill they go up the hill to fetch a pale (sic) of water!

People often stick apostrophes in plurals, agh.

*shudder*

Ouch. That post hurt, Sue.

I'm a grammar nazi too. Everything on this thread mentioned annoys me. However, I often make the its/it's mistake, especially when typing quickly and not thinking. I know is as soon as I see it though, and delete it immediately.

Knowing when to use *I* and *me*! One of the most common mistakes: She gave the present to you and I. Leave out *you and* - She gave the present to I?? AGH!

Deja vu. Seems like we've had this thread before. But anyway...

I have trouble with stationery/stationary and seperate/separate.

But to/too/two, their/there/they're, your/you're, then/than seem so simple that it's hard to understand why people misuse them.

Yes, yes, YES, to all of the above!

I really *try* to be understanding, and give the benefit of the doubt that some of these errors are from typos or haste, but...


I remember stationEry by thinking that we use EnvElopEs with stationEry.


And if something is sePARate, it is aPARt.


The only time you use an apostrophe with it's is when you mean "it is" - never at any other time.


Another one that I see often (especially here on FunTrivia) is "learning new things". What?... as opposed to "learning old things"? If you "learn" something, it is of course 'new'.

Thanks for the tips Verbonica. Learn something new every day

Other than those already mentioned here, the mistakes I see most often on FT are except/accept and were/where.

I think I've mentioned this one before, but it drives me crazy when people don't know the difference between woman and women. Like, a personal ad that reads "I'm looking for a nice women".

It's not that hard! It's the same as man vs. men!

I'm picky on these things, too, but had a lesson in humility a few years ago that I try to keep in mind.

When Johnny Cash died I went to his official website, found a spelling error, and reported it to the webmaster, who sent back an angry note demanding more respect for them in their grief. I took the reprimand to heart and immediately apologized, and since then have sincerely tried to overlook such things.

Still, how you write does tell me something about you.

I have to admit in the OP I had written alot, before I caught it and fixed it. Those apostophes in plurals get me though, at a local deli there is a sign reading "Security camera's in use", argh!

ETA, when I went to my adult ed classes there was a sign in the office that said "Employee's only", my english teacher pointed this out to her boss, but it never got changed.

Wouldn't the deli sign be correct if they only have one camera?

Quote:

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Deja vu. Seems like we've had this thread before. But anyway...

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Yore/your/you're right wayman , in September http://www.funtrivia.com/ubbthreads/show...e=1#Post1165722

Wayman, a good way to remember stationEry and stationAry is Envelopes and Automobiles.

I will admit to adding an apostrophe sometimes to 'its' when I mean possessive, it's more of a typing error though, than lack of knowledge. Still, it slips through sometimes. The fingers are faster than the brain sometimes.

Thanks Mags, that was the thread I was thinking of.

FunTrivia should be a required course in school. Between all the quizzing and helpful tips from others, I've learned more here in 17 months than all my years of school!

There is a movie shop near our dance studio that advertises 'DVD's' and 'No late fee's'

It's a new shop, so I went in there and pointed it out. He still hasn't changed it, and he just gave me an odd look.

I thought I had seen all the possible apostrophe abominations, then recently I saw a van belonging to a local motor mechanic declaring that his company carried out....

services and repair's

Should be glad there was just the one apostrophe, I suppose.

It is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me when I hear someone say 'whenever' when they really mean 'when'. *shudder*