20 Common Grammar Mistakes

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Kizmet, Feb 2, 2012.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Kizmet, Feb 2, 2012
    #1
  2. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    My pet peeve is their, they're, there.
     
    Bruce, Feb 2, 2012
    #2
  3. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    One of my pet peeves is accept/except. I'm more tolerant of non-native English speakers, although their grammar is often better than native English speakers.
     
    perrymk, Feb 2, 2012
    #3
  4. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    I see a lot of assure/ensure/insure issues.

    I haven't read the linked article yet, but I'm sure it would make me squirm. :)
     
    Petedude, Feb 2, 2012
    #4
  5. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    The perspective of an amateur poet and professional translator: A textbook example of how useless and often counterproductive prescriptive grammar is. Languages change over time, but not without its opponents. The purpose of language is to communicate, duh, to allow another human being to formulate the same picture in his or her mind that you hold in yours and vice/versa. If English is working towards becoming more efficient by deleting purposeless features, then we will all benefit with increases in clarity and richness of expression. Let it be.

    Another contention I have is with the article writer's insistance that this or that word is used incorrectly. Sheesh, every heard of etymology? It's a big thingy-thing for a self-professed language expert to miss. In 200 years, textbooks will describe that the word "moot" was of Modern English origin and it's original definition faded out and was replaced sometime in the early 21st century. Not without its opponents, of course.
     
    Maniac Craniac, Feb 2, 2012
    #5
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    My favorite part of the article was a comment from someone responding to the prohibition on use of "impactful":

     
    SteveFoerster, Feb 2, 2012
    #6
  7. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    I have found that non-native English speakers have unacceptable written grammar in most cases. I work in IT and see it every day.

    Here is an example from RoseIndia.net Simple JSF Hello Application

    If I were to write something like this in a paper, I would certainly receive a horrible grade.

    "This is the simplest JSF application that enables even a novice to understand easily the steps to follow to create own JSF application. In this example we will explain all you need, to develop this application like how to use JSF tags in JSP pages, how to configure the application through faces-config.xml, and web.xml, directory structure of the application etc. A detailed explanation of this example will definitely form a basis for you to develop your own JSF application with more advanced functionality of JSF."

     
    ryoder, Feb 3, 2012
    #7
  8. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    And what are the 20 most common Grampar mistakes?
     
    Ted Heiks, Feb 3, 2012
    #8
  9. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Say there, Bruce, 25 more posts and you are in the 7,000 Club.
     
    Ted Heiks, Feb 3, 2012
    #9
  10. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I have special respect for people who develop fluency in a second language, especially if they can speak/write in a grammatically correct way. I know a guy, born in Massachusetts, not Latino who not only speaks fluent Spanish but he can pretty it up for a boardroom discussion or he can bring it doen to the street. He knows accents and regional colloquialisms and can adjust from Mexican to Puerto Rican to Peruvian, etc. I think this requires a special kind of brain and he is using his in his role as an international business guy. I don't think I could do it.
     
    Kizmet, Feb 4, 2012
    #10
  11. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    I have a cousin who 'picked up' several languages as a teenager. He grew up in Corfu and hung around tourists, especially from the cruise lines. I’ve made several strong attempts and have grasped some basic greetings of a couple of languages, but no real speaking ability.
     
    perrymk, Feb 4, 2012
    #11
  12. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    The most common mistake, by far, that I have seen in 25 years in higher ed is singular-plural disagreement. I find it constantly, because we often tend to speak that way. For example:

    If a teacher completed a masters degree, then they will get a raise.
     
    Anthony Pina, Feb 4, 2012
    #12
  13. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    Yes I know. This one is common among American English speakers. I use grammarly.com to detect problems like this. It costs about 100 bucks per year but is well worth it. People also use "they" when referring to a company, as if the company is not its own entity. Everybody knows that corporations have personhood and exist as a singular entity.

    For example, the following is wrong:
    Google is a great company. They strive for excellence.

    This is correct.

    Google is a great company. It strives for excellence.
     
    ryoder, Feb 5, 2012
    #13
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Legislation and case law may say that a corporation has personhood, but common sense suggests otherwise. Personally, in your example, I'd prefer something like this:

    Google is a great company. Its employees strive for excellence.
     
    SteveFoerster, Feb 5, 2012
    #14
  15. okydd

    okydd New Member

    I think your correction may have an error. It is called anthropomorphism. Grammer is not my thing.
     
    okydd, Feb 5, 2012
    #15
  16. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Nor is spelling.
     
    Ted Heiks, Feb 6, 2012
    #16
  17. okydd

    okydd New Member

    You are correct. I marvel about my successes. Talent is not everything.
    *
     
    okydd, Feb 6, 2012
    #17
  18. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I have helped many others in learning second languages and I can tell you from experience that there is no greater obstacle in the world than...
    Therefore, you probably can't. Nice job doing that to yourself :)

    If you one day decide to learn another language, including different accents and dialects, then the first thing you need to learn is that your brain is a miracle. It is capable of much more than you might give it credit for.
     
    Maniac Craniac, Feb 7, 2012
    #18
  19. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Says who? The subject of the second sentence does not need to be the same subject as the first (even if the identity of the pronoun subject is not explicitly identified), especially when the second subject is implied by the word "company" which is used both as a singular noun and as a collective noun (which I suspect that is why companies are called companies). Even more so, your suggested alternative leaves a lot to be desired.

    That is not correct. That is a fallacy of hypostatisation*.

    It is rarely a good idea to engage in prescriptive grammar critique, especially given how arbitrary and oppressive the history of prescriptive English grammar has been. Trust me. I do languagy things and stuff for a living.

    *EDIT: I just realized that some might disagree that this is a fallacy given that it doesn't look like it is an argument, so I just wanted to point out that this is a syllogism with an implied major premise that "All great companies strive for excellence."
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 7, 2012
    Maniac Craniac, Feb 7, 2012
    #19
  20. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    You're probably right. What may be closer to the truth is that I just don't care enough about it to try. Too busy doing other things.
     
    Kizmet, Feb 7, 2012
    #20
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