quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Double negatives:

I didn't steal nothing (I stole something)

I don't have nobody to mow my lawn. (I have somebody to mow my lawn)

This gem is not uncommon. (This gem is common)

I can't barely see where I am going in this fog. (I can see where I am going in this fog)

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone (there is sunshine when she is gone)


The character Anthony on Blue Bloods uses double negatives all the time and there are not infrequently jokes about it at his expense

The gem sentence is correctly used, however.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Double negatives:

I didn't steal nothing (I stole something)

I don't have nobody to mow my lawn. (I have somebody to mow my lawn)

This gem is not uncommon. (This gem is common)

I can't barely see where I am going in this fog. (I can see where I am going in this fog)

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone (there is sunshine when she is gone)


The character Anthony on Blue Bloods uses double negatives all the time and there are not infrequently jokes about it at his expense

The gem sentence is correctly used, however.

It's correctly used by an intelligent gentlemen such as yourself, but I can assure you that there millions of dullards that use it incorrectly.

There are nearly 329.2 million people in the United States which means:

164.6 million are of below average intelligence

even if generously estimating only 3% butcher the English language that's still nearly 9.9 million people

For all intensive purposes (wrong) vs. for all intents and purposes. “I could care less” and “irregardless” are like fingernails on a chalk board for me...

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:

For all intensive purposes

Are you sure that this is not about dolphins?

Intensive porpoises?

My pet peeve is just about everyone believes we live in a Democracy.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
“Bring” vs “take”

Yankees. Down here we tote things, in either direction!

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
“Bring” vs “take”

Yankees. Down here we tote things, in either direction!

Schlep

Tenet: An underlying principle.

Tenant: Somebody who pays rent.

Read a report by the Chief of a middling-large fire department. I hope he was better at Fire Science than he was at English.

My favorite was "by enlarge" when he meant "by and large".

 
premise - premises
 
A premise is what forms the basis of a theory.
 
Premises is a lot, building, land, or combination thereof.
 
I have heard many LEOs say they are going to search the premise, and other misuses of the words. Premise is not the singular of premises.

Using the word literally when you aren't being literal. I saw a judge on AGT say that her jaw literally hit the floor over a contestant's performance. Her jaw may have in fact dropped but I'm confident it didn't hit the floor.

My former boss authored a paper on liquid petroleum measurement and emailed it to everyone.

He titled the preface as forward instead of foreword. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and politely replied via email (only to him and not reply to all) that Microsoft’s spell check changed foreword to forward. Nope! Illiterate son of a bitch did it intentionally and proceeded to argue it was correct.

Nice topic. I’d say one that bugs me is the improper use of “myself.” I see this a lot in reports and often hear it in conversation too.

“Myself and Officer Smith arrived...”

Should be, “Officer Smith and I.”

“Myself” is a reflexive verb. “I pinched myself.” But I hear a lot of younger cops say it as if it were replacing “I” or “me.”

“Flammable” has bugged me for a long time. “Inflammable” was (and arguably still is) grammatically correct. I suspect people assume the “in” means “not” as in “inability” (lacking ability) when actually it comes from “inflame.”

It seems many folks think “flammable” and “inflammable” are opposites now, and that “inflammable” now means that something won’t ignite. Oy!

I also heartily agree with @12131’s comment on “fitment.” It’s “fit!”

Could you borrow me $20 until payday?

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
'Begging the question' when they mean 'raising the question'

One of my favourite pet language peeves.

Another is "hard road to hoe." Yeah, I should think so. Particularly if it's concrete or asphalt . It's "hard row to hoe." As in a row in a field that being hoed to plant crops.

"I seen." I have an otherwise very smart friend that uses that, and I have so far been unsuccessful in convincing him it's incorrect syntax. "I seen that." No, you saw that. Or you have seen that. Or even you had seen that.

quote:

Originally posted by RogB:
Starting a thread with "So". Just drop it,it adds nothing to the substance of your post and no doubt is ungrammatical.

ITYM "starting a sentence?" It's a grammatical device. As such: It's perfectly valid. The problem is over-use, of which I'm guilty. So, I'll try to avoid that (I also overuse commas.)

quote:

Originally posted by terma-nator:
"No problem" instead of "You're welcome" in response to "Thank you".

I rarely use "no problem," but I do occasionally respond "No charge!", just for the laugh.

Using the object “me” as a subject instead of “I.” “Me and my girlfriend went to the movies.”

The opposite is even worse.

“Would you like to go to the movie with my girlfriend and I?”

Are you trying to sound smart? If so, it ain’t working.

'Legal council' = a lawfully constituted governing body or committee, alternatively, a meeting - a 'Council of War'

'Legal counsel' = an Attorney or lawyer, legal advice or advisor.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Could you borrow me $20 until payday?

Sure, I'll email you my shipping address.

quote:

Originally posted by tsmccull:
Is it inflammable or flammable?

Remember the "Non-Inflammable" signs on gasoline tanker trailers?

How about folks who decline to use the subjunctive? Would that we were able to convince them otherwise.

One that really is annoying is using "seen" in place of "saw," as in "I seen that."

Overuse of "myself" as stated earlier.
Mute points
Deteriate
Supposably
Ambidextrious
Heckler and Kotch
Counsole instead of console
Ashphalt