Grammatical mistakes EVERYONE makes

[Vigormortis]

I tend to see a LOT of people confuse 'then' and 'than'. Also, "effect" and "affect"; "here" and "hear"; "their" and "there" and "they're"; "were" and "we're"; "its" and "it's"; etc, etc.

everyone starts a sentence with the word "and" though your not suppsoe too. EVERYONE, even world renowned writers do it.

It actually isn't a hard and fast rule. It's perfectly acceptable from a grammatical standpoint to start a sentence with "and" or even "but". However, this didn't stop well meaning English teachers telling small children not to because it often results in fragments. You may even start sentences with "because", or "however."

True, but only as long as you immediately follow that "And" or "But" with a comma.

 

[xavi]

Than(should be then)

In what context?

Because if it's 'Better than you' that is correct but if you try telling me it's 'Better then you' I may kill someone.

Than = A comparison "This is better than that"
Then = A measure of time "I did this then I did that"

I rage so hard when someone makes that mistake.

Usually girls I know do it.
Example:"I went to the store than we went swimming" SHOULD be then but instead than is used.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Than(should be then)

In what context?

Because if it's 'Better than you' that is correct but if you try telling me it's 'Better then you' I may kill someone.

Than = A comparison
Then = A measure of time

I rage so hard when someone makes that mistake.

Well I'm not sure what xavi was stating; but seeing as they were beating on text talk, I'd wager that it's this common mistake:

"X is better then Y!"

Which I see a often in Facebook status updates. People spelling things the way they would say them.

Usually girls I know do it.
Example:"I went to the store than we went swimming" SHOULD be then but instead than is used.

Or this *shot*

 

[Ickorus]

Than(should be then)

In what context?

Because if it's 'Better than you' that is correct but if you try telling me it's 'Better then you' I may kill someone.

Than = A comparison "This is better than that"
Then = A measure of time "I did this then I did that"

I rage so hard when someone makes that mistake.

Usually girls I know do it.
Example:"I went to the store than we went swimming" SHOULD be then but instead than is used.

I see it more the other way around with people using then instead of than.

"Im much better then him at this"

I think most of my hatred for that mistake is from some guy I considered a friend stealing my girlfriend several years back; he made that mistake all the time.

 

[NeutralMunchHotel]

I get infinately annoyed with people who fail to notice the finer points in grammar.

 

[nebtheslayer95]

"I could care less".

This. Also, mixing up when to use an and a is annoying.

 

[Je Suis Ubermonkey]

I hate it when people refuse to believe that cannon is the plural of cannon. Especially when they clearly know very little about the English language and historical warfare.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Some of my personal faves (and apologies if they've been done many times already):

"should of" instead of "should have" (or would of, could of...you get the idea)

Improper use of 's to pluralize things. That one drives me 'round the bend, and you see it constantly, even in official and printed material. Awful, truly awful.

 

[oppp7]

I'm really close to saying "fuck it" and going back 2 talkin lik this. I mean, most of the people on this site are extremely against elitism because they don't like the site's negative image and feel the need to overcompensate, but hell, grammar nazism is one of the biggest and most pointless forms of elitism.

Seriously, I can understand using grammar nazism when it's a formal thing, but in speech and a FUCKING INTERNET FORUM, who cares?

Edit: A mod posted above me. Awesome.

 

[HollywoodH17]

There's one that almost everyone makes during their daily conversation, and I've already hinted at it in this sentence. The contraction of "there's" equals "there is" and should be used to refer to a singular noun. "There are" should theoretically be shortened to the much more cumbersome "there're" however this is not technically a legitimate word.

The offense comes when people refer to a plural set of things as "there's" because saying "there're" or "there are" is, apparently, a pain in the ass.

"You know, there's people that would pay good money to see..."

"There's three apples on the tree still..."

Next time you say "there's..." in your daily conversation, stop to think about whether you actually mean "there are."

 

[Heart of Darkness]

People tend to grossly misuse and overuse commas, especially on the internet. The OP contains several offenses. I don't often notice errors in grammar anymore. I cannot imagine how Grammar Nazis on the internet keep their sanity.

We don't. *laughs maniacally*

OT: See the avatar. This, by far, is one of the most prevalent misuses of homophones. That, and a complete butchery of punctuation. *shudder*

 

[HollywoodH17]

"Anyone knows what this means?"

Yes. Absolutely everyone and anyone knows what this means aside from you, you mother****ing noob *** piece of **** ****tard.

No need to be unpleasant.

 

[GrinningManiac]

I still don't funny understand the correct implementation of ; (comma + dot)...the semicolon!

 

[NeutralMunchHotel]

I still don't funny understand the correct implementation of ; (comma + dot)...the semicolon!

I don't think 'funny' was intentional.

And that angers me.

 

[MKScorpion]

its and it's
they're and their

Even though that's spelling and not grammar, those type of mistakes still annoy me a bit.

 

[Queen Michael]

What are some accepted grammatical mistake you frequently see people making?

The split infinitive. "To boldly go" when it should be "to go boldly".

 

[NiceGurl_14]

A good poem that will make you laugh.

God, that would be so hard to read out loud for me. It was funny but in my mind I was correcting what he was saying.

People tend to grossly misuse and overuse commas, especially on the internet. The OP contains several offenses. I don't often notice errors in grammar anymore. I cannot imagine how Grammar Nazis on the internet keep their sanity.

We manage... somehow...

 

[JRShield]

I mostly see Dutch mistakes, but I doubt anyone will understand them here.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

its and it's
they're and their

Even though that's spelling and not grammar, those type of mistakes still annoy me a bit.

Actually, it is a grammar mistake, because using one instead of the other results in convoluted sentences.

Its = Possessive, belonging to a singular object.
It's = It is

"The dog ate its bone." =/= "The dog ate it's (it is) bone."

They're = They are
Their = Possessive, belonging to a group of people

"Their yacht sank." =/= "They're (They are) yacht sank."

 

[Mr Montmorency]

I get infinately annoyed with people who fail to notice the finer points in grammar.

Infinitely.

It's also not "definately". Definitely.