TYT University: 10 Words You're Getting Totally Wrong

[WhoIsNumberNone]

It's nice to sound smart, but chances are you're getting a lot of words wrong. Check out 10 of the most commonly misused words and phrases, and for the love of God - start using them correctly.

#0 Sez: "She covers almost all of my pet peeves. Please take note folks- I like my peeps to sound smarter than the RWNJs"

PS:
Their: The Possessive
There: The Location
They're: They Are

And the one she doesn't cover:
Your: The Possessive
You're: You Are
Yore: The Past
Yor: The Warrior from the Future

[japple]

1. Love it. Another grammar nut K & R!

[RebelOne]

4. Grammar nut also. I am a former copy editor.

I am so happy she brought up its and it's. It drives me crazy that many people do not know the difference and always use the apostrophe.

[RufusTFirefly]

2. If you want to seem even smarter, be sure to use an "s" four times in "possessive", not three. n/t

[WhoIsNumberNone]

3. Embarrassing. Thanks.

Normally I run spell check because I'm a typo-machine, but this was a brain fart.

[alcina]

5. Two more for the list

In a recent email, an acquaintance introduced me to two rather entertaining errors:

1. "Rederick," as in "I'm tired of all his rederick. I wish he'd give me a straight answer."

2. "Little lone," as in, "It's been eons since I've written anything academic, little lone a White Paper."

Indeed.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. In the first one, she makes an error in thinking

I am glad she made the video and hope people pay attention. (Is "peeps" still current? Thankfully haven't heard that one in years.)

In the first word (the misuse of "literally&quot , she confused mind with brains. A person's mind can "explode" (be destroyed) without affecting brains much at all. Mind is like software and brains are like hardware, in a computer analogy.

[markpkessinger]

12. Using 'explode' to connote destruction in a broader sense is a figurative consruction n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Yes, but it's not "explode", it's her confusion between "mind" and "brains".

If she wants to write well she would not mix her metaphors. She could alter the example to say "head literally exploded", rather than "mind". Then her explanation would make sense about brains splattering the wall. A mind exploding will not splatter brains.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

24. When are we going to get a firmware update

Somebody must have an update for mind exploding by now, or is the firmware to keep the brain from exploding?

Great, now I have to go check my BIOS - I think my mind is messed up.

[LuvNewcastle]

26. I noticed that too.

I don't think it's possible for a mind to explode. Can a thought explode?

[Pangolino]

7. I've never gotten why people think 'literally' is misused.

Why do so many people not get that the whole point of using the word "literally" in a sentence like "My brain literally exploded" is ironic hyperbole? It's a weirdly pedantic complaint. Do they really think that people don't know what the word means? Why the hell would anyone say "My brain 'figuratively' exploded"? So as not to mislead people and have them call 911?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. "ironic hyperbole" is an excuse provided for weak writing.

If a person wants to use ironic hyperbole, just write "my head exploded".

There is no need to expose one's lack of understanding of the meaning of "literally" by inserting it where it is out of place.

[kenfrequed]

19. My question would be

How often do you encounter the word 'literally' in everyday conversation where it is used properly? Its use seems more as a way of augmenting the hyperbole. I know this is wrong, but there are elements of language that change over time.

Still, I agree with other people on this one, why use the word 'literally' at all?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. I had a friend who worked in the head office of a large print shop for 15 years...

The owner snubbed his entire crew for a promotion and hired his idiot kid to be their supervisor. The owner told his kid his first duty was to have the guys print up a memo of rules for all employees at all locations. He went to the office they gave him and was in there for the rest of the morning.

At lunch time the kid went to my friend in the cafeteria and asked, "How do you spell "spose-to?" (As in "supposed to&quot .

My friend along with a few coworkers there chimed in together, "s-p-o-..."

That's the way it was printed to all locations,.......with the kid's signature and job title "quality control manager" at the bottom.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Less is what makes Regardless 'without regard'.

Not 're'.

[Pangolino]

10. Wait a minute...

[JHB]

11. If you "pass mustard" you don't pass muster, stinky...

...and if you "tow the line" you're in the wrong position to toe the line.

[markpkessinger]

13. Here are a couple of my favorites . . .

1. "A person should be weary of accepting rides from strangers." (No, a person should be wary of accepting rides from strangers. Or they might be 'leery' of accepting such rides, unless, of course, they have accepted a lot of rides from strangers and are now kind of tired of hitchhiking.. But I am definitely WEARY of explaining this difference!)
   
   
2. "I can't believe the way New Yorkers flaunt the law with all their jaywalking." (As a New Yorker, I can't believe it either, because it doesn't happen -- unless you have seen someone happens to be conspicuously displaying a copy of McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York while jaywalking. But I will admit that in our jaywalking (among other activities) we frequently flout the law!)

[kag]

14. My favorite: notoriety

When it is used to mean simply "fame" or "celebrity" rather than "famous for some bad quality". I am literally notorious for correcting people on this.

[freebrew]

17. One she didn't mention:

moot.

I had a boss that kept referring to a mute point. She thought it made her look intelligent, but used the wrong word to do it. Her boss had even less command of the language.

Embarrassing to say the least, as being from Missouri, we're expected to be stupid. But, she didn't pay attention to Mr. Twain and opened her mouth and proved it.


edited to capitalize Twain. Just blew right on by...posted w/o proofing. Dumbass.

[kenfrequed]

18. I agree with everything except...

"I could care less"

This is a problematic phrase though most readings of the phrase indicate it as being sarchastic as in the yiddish-American "I could be so lucky." In fact I have rarely encountered "I could care less" being used in a tone that couldn't be interpreted as sarchastic.

So, technically it is off but colloquially it sort of makes some kind of sense. I suppose doing away with the use of "I could care less" is still probably a good idea.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

20. When someone says "I could care less"-

there's an implied "as if" or "as though" at the start of the sentence

i.e. "As if he could care less"

Probably still not grammatically correct, but that's how I always hear it. And I'm with you on the whole Yiddish-American thing. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not bad grammar when translated into Yiddish.

[cpwm17]

21. When I was young, everyone said correctly as "I couldn't care less"

Now people frequently say it wrong. It's my number one bad grammar pet peeve.

I heard a British football announcer say it incorrectly, so it isn't strictly an American error.

[KansDem]

22. Using "to go" in place of "to say"...

"I go, 'What are you doing?' and he goes 'waiting for the bus'"

-or the past tense-

"I went, 'Where were you yesterday?' and he went 'Why do you want to know?'"

Then there's '"to be" followed by "like" --

"I'm, like, 'Where were you yesterday?' and he's like, 'Why do you want to know?'"

[tclambert]

23. I can haz lolspeak as nu standerd?

Or may b we go 2 txt msg spk.

If you want to make sense of language, you'd have to start with a new alphabet. I mean, what is the letter 'c' for when you have 's' and 'k' also? Besides, English has about 44 sounds, 20 of them vowels, but the alphabet only has 26 letters. That definitely needs a makeover.

[pacalo]

25. Using "could of" for "could've" is a no-no.

It's not ya'll -- it's y'all.

The apostrophe in y'all denotes the missing letters "o" & "u" in the contraction for you all.

[Jamastiene]

27. Grammar Nazis of the world unite!

My step dad uses "irregardless" all the time. He thinks it makes him sound oh so intelligent. Instead, it grates on my nerves. On top of that, he is usually saying something incredibly idiotic when he uses that word.

I have always had a problem remember the proper use of "it's" vs. "its." I have always just felt that "it's" could be used to show possession because, for most words, we show possession by adding an apostrophe and the "s."