Frustrating English

[Shining Wizard]

It’s hard enough for us native speakers, but I majored in English at school and these still frustrates me:

Most/best unique
Unique is a word that cannot have a quantifier. It is either unique or it is not. I used to get rapped over the finger if I used a quantifier with “unique”

Lastly: the word is “finally”.

Off of: you are using two words that mean different things. Are you going off the place, or are you going of a place?

I know it’s sounding like I’m a grammar person from Germany in the 40’s
But what are the inconsistency and incorrect usage that bothers you?

 

[Andy M.]

I feel your pain. it's our native tongue and many people still have issues with English language basics.

There needs to be a nationwide ad campaign on all media to explain how the word "literally" is supposed to be used.

 

[Katie H]

I feel your pain.

I spent many years as a newspaper proofreader and came across material that made me want to slit my throat.

And...the grammar "police" should be out in force to arrest our so-called newscasters/reporters. Some of what I hear gives me palpitations!

 

[HeyItsSara]

I hate to burst your bubble but because so many people use Unique with a quantifier, it became standard English. I would not do it but apparently those who do, aren't considered wrong anymore.

 

[thymeless]

There is prescriptive grammar. Language according to the rules.

There is descriptive grammar.
Language as it is actually spoken.

Lannguage changes and evolve. The words used the most and the least tend to stay the same. The mediumly used words drift.

English used to have gendered nouns and case declination. Now it doesn't.

It's like the nonsense around ending sentences with prepositions. It's not wrong in English but was an attempt to make English more scholarly appearing like Latin where those constructions don't occur.

 

[Kathleen]

Two things that I am constantly in debate with my English teacher friend are my love of the Oxford comma and that I continue to use two spaces after a full stop (period) at the end of a sentence.

Just so all are aware, I intend to continue my use of both of these items.

 

[dragnlaw]

I've always used two spaces after a full stop as well. I find that many programs automatically take out one space. The same with several empty lines. I can understand inches of empty lines but there should be some allowance.

As well as the times one doesn't know if the person just made a typing error or really doesn't know how to spell it. I often make typo's as I'm in a rush and don't go back to proofread.
Should English not be their mother tongue is something I can let slide. I don't correct them for fear of being misunderstood with them thinking I'm criticizing when I'm really honestly am trying to be helpful.

 

[thymeless]

The two spaces after a period is a typewriter hold over because of n-spaces and m-spaces in a printing font set. More technical word processing software like FrameMaker allow you to set one or two spaces after a period to accommodate different typists. You can also have it convert a double space into an m-space and such things automatically.

 

[Andy M.]

Many years ago, there was language writer at the Boston Globe. I complained to her about then general misuse of the word healthy instead of the correct healthful. I was told to get over it. That battle had been lost.

I used to do the double space at the end of a sentence. That's how I was taught. I weaned myself off it eventually.

I had to look up the Oxford comma. I don't use it as I was taught not to.

My biggest grammar pet peeve is the incorrect use of apostrophes. I was taught to use the "apostrophe s" to designate ownership or a contraction. Too many folks use it whenever pluralizing a word.

 

[Shining Wizard]

I was taught that the apostrophe is about ownership versus plurality.
I still use the double space after the full stop because that’s how I was taught.

 

[HeyItsSara]

Do we still have genders? Actors/actress? Hero/heroine?

 

[thymeless]

Actress is taking out of favor

 

[HeyItsSara]

Host/hostess? Steward/stewardess
waiter/waitress
Nurse/murse

doula/male doula

 

[dragnlaw]

What about indented paragraphs?

Even I am now using And, But to start a sentence. Was certainly a big no, no in my English class.

 

[dcSaute]

don't forget, AI is going to take over everyone's job.
in today's headlines:
"There is a 'rot of antisemitism' being aloud to fester, author warns"

we are utterly doomed.

 

[dragnlaw]

Too many folks use it whenever pluralizing a word.

I believe when you are pluralizing a word that ends with s, you use the apostrophe after the s to indicate plural.

 

[Katie H]

I guess I wasn't taught to use the Oxford coma. I was instructed to use a comma if 4 or more things were written, then followed with "and," a comma was used.

For example: Mary had pears, apples and peaches on her shopping list. Only the one comma was used.

If Mary added bananas to her list, it should be: Mary had pears, apples, peaches, and bananas on her shopping list. We have 3 commas now.

 

[dragnlaw]

It's true - last book I read had those extra commas before the 'and'.
You see it everywhere. Drives me batty!

 

[caseydog]

It’s hard enough for us native speakers, but I majored in English at school and these still frustrates me:

Most/best unique
Unique is a word that cannot have a quantifier. It is either unique or it is not. I used to get rapped over the finger if I used a quantifier with “unique”

Lastly: the word is “finally”.

Off of: you are using two words that mean different things. Are you going off the place, or are you going of a place?

I know it’s sounding like I’m a grammar person from Germany in the 40’s
But what are the inconsistency and incorrect usage that bothers you?

Australian English catches me out on a regular basis. Example: Using the name capsicum for bell peppers. All peppers are from the genus Capsicum. so it was very confusing the first time I saw it in a post, I believe by rascal.

A lot of people aren't sure when to say "me" and when to say "I." There is an easy trick for that choice.

Bill is going to the store.
I am going to the store.
Bill and I are going to the store.

Would you like to go to the movies with me?
Would you like to go to the movies with Jane?
Would you like to go to the movies with Jane and Me?

CD

 

[caseydog]

I've always used two spaces after a full stop as well. I find that many programs automatically take out one space. The same with several empty lines. I can understand inches of empty lines but there should be some allowance.

I can actually explain that??? It has to do with typography. If you use double spaces at the end of sentences, it crates visual "rivers" of white on a page of text. That looks messy, and actually makes it harder to read the page.

Before I learned typography, I used double spacing after sentences. Now, I don't.

CD