Grammar mistake that makes my ears bleed: "I seen it."

[Jenn in Mo]

I don't correct speech. I really don't. Never. Ever. Unless it's coming out of my child's mouth. I'm not a grammar snob. I make plenty of mistakes myself and few things even bother me (though print is a different story for some reason,) but THIS stabs through me every time I hear it.

 

"I seen it."

 

I have to resist replying, "No. No you didn't. You saw it."

 

I'm in southern Missouri and am assuming it's a local thing. Anyone else suffer through this in your neck of the woods?

[GWOB]

I seen (sorry, couldn't resist) people from all regions... I cannot even complete this. It is so grammatically incorrect. Trust me, it is not localized to this region. I've seen people from all over make this error. I am no grammar queen, but at least I try.

[ereks mom]

:tongue_smilie:

[Pretty in Pink]

I have also heard and seen people from all regions make this mistake, though I used to believe it was just a southern colloquialism. I have a girlfriend from Connecticut who updates her Facebook status frequently and makes this mistake several times a week.

[kalanamak]

 

I'm in southern Missouri and am assuming it's a local thing. Anyone else suffer through this in your neck of the woods?

 

I hear it every blasted day. A good portion of my co-workers live in what we call "Banjo Land" about 40 miles east, and "I seen it" is not so much Missouri as rural poor, or so it seems to me.

 

Drives me wild, along with "don't got none", "don't see none", and "I done got me a..".

[parias1126]

I know what you mean! "I seen it" just makes my skin crawl!

[Crissy]

A good portion of my co-workers live in what we call "Banjo Land" about 40 miles east

 

:lol:

[Crissy]

My biggest issue is not with the general public, but with the highly educated people who send me awful email messages.

I have always been hard on myself for not having a formal education past high school, and it frustrates me to read messages from those who apparently didn't take advantage of the classes they had the ability to attend.

This morning I received a note from the CEO of a major local company letting me know that, "Me and Jay can't go to baseball practice tonight." :001_huh:

[RoughCollie]

"I seen it."

 

From the most highly educated to the least, most of the people in my father's family say this and so do lots of people from their neck of the woods (KY, TN, MO, AR). I think it is part of a dialect. I'm so used to it that it doesn't bother me. I sometimes think I sound like a prissy prig when I'm around my extended family. The highly educated ones have that one grammar idiosyncrasy; the rest of them butcher the language fairly frequently. But you know what, I don't care. They are wonderful, loving people and I adore them all.

 

What does bother me is hearing an educated person say ain't, even in jest, even when they are quoting someone or something. Around here, ain't is a word in common usage. I feel like a prissy prig, sometimes, because I don't use it.

 

Our family has a live-in Grammar Nazi (DS1). It is hard to get away with any grammar mistakes around here.

Edited September 10, 2010 by RoughCollie

[Ellie]

:iagree:

 

"Should have went" also makes my ears bleed. :tongue_smilie:

[mrs.m]

I don't correct speech. I really don't. Never. Ever. Unless it's coming out of my child's mouth. I'm not a grammar snob. I make plenty of mistakes myself and few things even bother me (though print is a different story for some reason,) but THIS stabs through me every time I hear it.

 

"I seen it."

 

I have to resist replying, "No. No you didn't. You saw it."

 

I'm in southern Missouri and am assuming it's a local thing. Anyone else suffer through this in your neck of the woods?

 

Mid-MO too!

 

"I seen it. It was real bad."

 

"Real" for "really" drives me nuts.

[Dooley]

We moved from San Diego to Raleigh NC 4 years ago. I hear a LOT of awful grammar. My husband is starting to take on the local colloquialisms - he is saying "I'm all tore up". I have also caught myself saying y'all. :001_huh:

[Cinder]

:iagree:

 

"Should have went" also makes my ears bleed. :tongue_smilie:

 

GAH!!!

 

Me, too!

 

Cinder

[BikeBookBread]

A good portion of my co-workers live in what we call "Banjo Land" about 40 miles east...

 

:lol:

 

"I seen it!" makes my teeth itch. Yergh.

 

My (highly educated husband) is from Minnesota. Even 30 years after moving away from his home state, he still uses the local colloquialism, "I borrowed him my (lawn mower, book, etc...)" or "Will you borrow me your (shovel, DVD, etc...)" I didn't believe that anyone else in the world "borrowed stuff" until we travelled to Minnesota to visit his family and heard other people use these expressions. It just doesn't make any sense!

 

In homage to Mrs. Mungo, these examples have always driven me crazy: Boeing's, Nordstrom's, Target's... :smash: Are these expressions a Seattle thing???

[Haiku]

My oldest (now 16) learned this when she went to school in 7th grade. After several months of correcting her, I told her that every time she said "I seen," she had to wrote the correct sentence, in its entirety, 25 times. After doing that twice she was miraculously cured. I will not have my oldest corrupting my youngest, who already had speech and language problems and was starting to pick up "I seen." ;)

 

Oh, and btw, making your child call the children's librarian on the phone and apologize for saying, "My bad" instead of "I'm sorry" or "Excuse me" when she crashes into him is a good cure for the "My bad" habit. :D

 

Tara

[Remudamom]

What about "gone missing" and "we was"?

[Haiku]

"Me and Jay can't go to baseball practice tonight."

 

I used to say "Me 'n Angela" about myself and my sister. My dad cured me of this by repeatedly saying, "But Angela's not mean!"

 

I have been corrected by people for using "me" as an object. People insist it should be "I." They get a grammar lesson. :)

 

Tara

[LauraGB]

Drives me wild, along with "don't got none", "don't see none", and "I done got me a..".

 

Oh yeah. "I seen it" is all over the place, along with these monsters above. I think there are only 2 members of my extended family (and I mean both parents' very large families and all their kids and their kids etc) who know better :001_huh:; a cousin and me.

 

I'm kind of glad about this thread. My family's grammar has always embarrassed me (I care a lot less now than I did when I was a kid/teen). It's nice to know it common everywhere ;).

[unsinkable]

I hear it every blasted day. A good portion of my co-workers live in what we call "Banjo Land" about 40 miles east, and "I seen it" is not so much Missouri as rural poor, or so it seems to me.

 

Drives me wild, along with "don't got none", "don't see none", and "I done got me a..".

 

As a joke, my parents used to say to each other, "You ain't got no couth.":lol: They'd just giggle themselves silly over it.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I've always assumed that people were saying "I've seen it" and just swallowing the 've

 

Or that my French ears were just not picking it up (the 've)

[Haiku]

I've always assumed that people were saying "I've seen it" and just swallowing the 've

 

Or that my French ears were just not picking it up (the 've)

 

Oh, no, they are just slaughtering proper grammar. :D

 

Tara

[kalanamak]

Oh, no, they are just slaughtering proper grammar. :D

 

Tara

 

:iagree:

[southcarolinamom]

Yep, we hear "hacked to pieces" grammar a lot in SC ...

[Perry]

My inlaws say this. They were teachers. :eek:

 

My dh, who knows better, often says "(ds) and me are going for a bike ride". I think he thinks it sounds folksy. To me, it sounds uneducated. I've pointed it out before, and he still does it, so I just keep my mouth shut. But it really irritates me.

[FaithManor]

Yeah, we hear it, I cringe, my face twitches, and then I try to smile.....grrrr.....but here is another one that just makes my brain seize up and explode! "Them are good...."

 

Them are good

Them are good

 

UHM.........AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...the scream heard around the world.

 

Faith

[~Tara~]

I've always assumed that people were saying "I've seen it" and just swallowing the 've

 

Or that my French ears were just not picking it up (the 've)

 

This is what I think about my dd. I *think* she's saying "I seen..." or "I done..." but we don't talk like that, nor is she around people who do. So, I think she's just not *hearing* the 've part to apply it to her own sentences. Either that, or *I* am not hearing *hers* LOL

 

Either way, I correct/remind each time she says it.

 

 

This whole thread has made me cringe. I have a rather dear online/board friend who frequently says "I seen..." actually, come to think of it, there are 2 or 3, anyway, oh. my. goodness does it ever drive me batty!!

 

Then the next thing to pop into my head is .... and you're home schooling your child? And I know, that's bad of me to say. We all make mistakes and have gaps of our own, yet we teach our children and fill in the gaps as we go. Or at least, that's the plan, right? But I can't help but feel like these people aren't doing that part. These people have old enough children and should be far enough along in their grammar studies to have learned better, to have caught this mistake.

 

Again, I know that probably sounds horrible and many could point out similar mistakes in me, but, I had to get that out!

[Perry]

Then the next thing to pop into my head is .... and you're home schooling your child? And I know, that's bad of me to say. We all make mistakes and have gaps of our own, yet we teach our children and fill in the gaps as we go. Or at least, that's the plan, right? But I can't help but feel like these people aren't doing that part. These people have old enough children and should be far enough along in their grammar studies to have learned better, to have caught this mistake.

 

I can't speak for everyone, but I know that my dh and in-laws KNOW it's incorrect, they just use it as if it's slang or a colloquialism or something. Not sure if that makes it worse, or better. :glare:

 

I wonder if my in-laws just want to blend in, as they live in a rural area where everyone speaks that way.

[babysparkler]

Poor grammar drives me batty. My children were all perfect in their grammar until I sent my dd off to public school for Kinder & 1st... her teacher and all of the kids continuously slaughtered English and she picked up bad habits :banghead: that I am STILL fixing. It drives me crazy. :rant:

[lllll]

..

Edited January 2, 2013 by ksva

[Parrothead]

I used to say "Me 'n Angela" about myself and my sister. My dad cured me of this by repeatedly saying, "But Angela's not mean!"

 

I have been corrected by people for using "me" as an object. People insist it should be "I." They get a grammar lesson. :)

 

Tara

"Angela and me," or "me and Angela," doesn't bother me nearly as bad as "Angela and myself," or "myself and Angela."

 

When I first started hearing it, it was all the rage among public servants - cops, EMT/paramedics, and firefighters. Now it seems to have infiltrated the speech of the general population. But I still hear if mostly from my dh who is in law enforcement.

[SamanthaBea]

Since English is a living language, I don't mind colloquialisms, slang, etc. I think regional and ethnic differences add to the flavor and the texture of the language.

 

What I do mind, is people not being able to speak and write proper English when the situation calls for it. A job interview is not the time to be saying that "y'all ain't got none" (or whatever your particular dialect is).

 

Everyone needs to learn proper English and know when to use it.

[m0mmaBuck]

The use of the non-word "irregardless" in place of "regardless" makes my ears and eyes burn. "Irregardless" of the situation, that is not the correct word.

[Kathleen in VA]

I have a friend who says "sawl" for "saw." She pronounces several similar words like this. Where does that extra "l" come from???

 

I also do not like it when I hear "I am going to lay down." I invariably ask, "Lay what down?":D

 

Oh, and one more that gets to me is using her/him instead he/she. An example:

 

"Tom is stronger than him." If you add the verb "is" to complete the thought it becomes apparent that "him" is the wrong word choice. Granted, saying "Tom is stronger than he," does sound rather pretentious, but all you have to do is add the verb and it sounds fine.

 

BTW: Isn't it scary to post a comment on a grammar thread? I'm completely paranoid about using incorrect grammar while trying to rant about some else's incorrect grammar.:lol:

[Parrothead]

 

BTW: Isn't it scary to post a comment on a grammar thread? I'm completely paranoid about using incorrect grammar while trying to rant about some else's incorrect grammar.:lol:

I think as long as myself does not make the mistake myself is ranting about myself is okay. :lol: But irregardless...

[Cinder]

Oh, and one more that gets to me is using her/him instead he/she. An example:

 

"Tom is stronger than him." If you add the verb "is" to complete the thought it becomes apparent that "him" is the wrong word choice. Granted, saying "Tom is stronger than he," does sound rather pretentious, but all you have to do is add the verb and it sounds fine.

 

BTW: Isn't it scary to post a comment on a grammar thread? I'm completely paranoid about using incorrect grammar while trying to rant about some else's incorrect grammar.:lol:

 

That gets me, too. As in: Him and me are going to the store.

 

ACK!!!

 

I'm not only paranoid about my grammar, I'm also paranoid about using proper punctuation on these threads! :D

 

Cinder

 

(ha ha--I've already caught an error. I hope there aren't more!)

[ColoradoMom]

Since English is a living language, I don't mind colloquialisms, slang, etc. I think regional and ethnic differences add to the flavor and the texture of the language.

 

What I do mind, is people not being able to speak and write proper English when the situation calls for it. A job interview is not the time to be saying that "y'all ain't got none" (or whatever your particular dialect is).

 

Everyone needs to learn proper English and know when to use it.

 

That's kind of my take on it too. I better things to do than pick apart people's grammar. I do notice it - but it doesn't really bother me.

 

DS 13 declared on Tuesday (our first day of school) that he didn't need to do language arts anymore because he "speaks English perfectly and he'll never have to write in life anyway." I think I can remember saying that in junior high myself - "Why do I need an ENGLISH class - I SPEAK English!"

 

I do believe many kids actually think this is for real though. Needless to say he didn't make any headway with me on the issue. :glare:

[Laurie4b]

Not local. It's common among lower socio-economic groups of different ethnicities and regions.

[~Tara~]

Ha! To add to this thread, just earlier today, a gal who commonly says stuff such as "I seen" "I done" "Me and so n so done such n such" etc. posted a gripe on FB about gramatical (her spelling, just to further drive home my point/irritation) mistakes in signs. She asks if people really are that stupid.

 

Wow was it hard to not respond.

[shanvan]

 

"Should have went" also makes my ears bleed. :tongue_smilie:

:iagree:That is one of my all time favorites! I cannot seem to cure my husband of this. He learned it from his parents (who would annoy everyone in this thread with their grammatical mistakes and amusing folksy expressions---like the word 'yous'). He thinks I'm picking on him---but the kids are listening and one of them is beginning to use this lovely expression.

 

One I see on this board a lot is people asking for 'advise' instead of 'advice'. Depending on my mood I sometimes assume it's a hasty typo. But then I wonder.....

 

Shannon

 

Edited to clarify the level of error in the home: My husband does not use the word 'yous' (as his parents do). I don't think I could live with that in the house! He does use the expression 'shoulda went' or even 'shoulda did'. Drives me nuts!

Edited September 10, 2010 by shanvan

[unsinkable]

"Angela and me," or "me and Angela," doesn't bother me nearly as bad as "Angela and myself," or "myself and Angela."

 

When I first started hearing it, it was all the rage among public servants - cops, EMT/paramedics, and firefighters. Now it seems to have infiltrated the speech of the general population. But I still hear if mostly from my dh who is in law enforcement.

 

my firefighter brother says it, too!!! :lol:

 

I think people are afraid to use "me."

[Mom-ninja.]

My in-laws, all of them, speak that way. In fact the whole area does. It's worse than fingernails on a chalk board.

 

I. can't. stand. it.

 

"I seen it."

 

"You was there yesterday."

 

"I were at the store."

 

My mom has started to pick it up from living here and I correct her every time. I do not correct the in-laws. However, I do correct my children if they use incorrect grammar in front of my in-laws. Maybe they'll pick up on it?

 

The worst part is that I hear *teachers* speaking that way. shudder.

[gaillardia]

How about "I seent it" ?

[Dobela]

Since English is a living language, I don't mind colloquialisms, slang, etc. I think regional and ethnic differences add to the flavor and the texture of the language.

 

What I do mind, is people not being able to speak and write proper English when the situation calls for it. A job interview is not the time to be saying that "y'all ain't got none" (or whatever your particular dialect is).

 

Everyone needs to learn proper English and know when to use it.

:iagree: Some of my most educated family members can use dialect that makes me cringe but when doing business use their 'business dialect' LOL. I live in AR, grew up in SE MO, have family from very rural West Tennessee so I hear more than my share.

 

However, the one that makes my ears bleed is when someone says to me, "I'll learn ya that if ya wanna know how tuh do it." :banghead:

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

Since English is a living language, I don't mind colloquialisms, slang, etc. I think regional and ethnic differences add to the flavor and the texture of the language.

 

What I do mind, is people not being able to speak and write proper English when the situation calls for it. A job interview is not the time to be saying that "y'all ain't got none" (or whatever your particular dialect is).

 

Everyone needs to learn proper English and know when to use it.

 

I agree.

 

I do think it's neat that we can go to a different part of the country and find English spoken in a whole new way. We lived in New England for a while, and one day I came home from church to tell my husband (who was sick that day,) "Well, did you know there's a new character in Bible? Marther? You know....Mary's friend?" Where did they get that "er" from?

 

It would also crack me up everytime I'd hear the commercial for Toyoter of Newport.

 

However, I did not laugh when I'd hear "might could." As in, "We might could do that." Nails on the chalkboard for me.

[kalanamak]

My inlaws say this. They were teachers. :eek:

 

 

This is what really makes my stomach turn. I get a tight chest when I hear teachers using bad grammar.

[Chelle in MO]

I don't correct speech. I really don't. Never. Ever. Unless it's coming out of my child's mouth. I'm not a grammar snob. I make plenty of mistakes myself and few things even bother me (though print is a different story for some reason,) but THIS stabs through me every time I hear it.

 

"I seen it."

 

I have to resist replying, "No. No you didn't. You saw it."

 

I'm in southern Missouri and am assuming it's a local thing. Anyone else suffer through this in your neck of the woods?

 

You do realize, don't you, that even though I have good English grammar I will have to use that on you if I EVER get to meet you?

 

;)

[Jenn in Mo]

Okay, Chelle, but I'll drop all of my "to be's". :D

[TrixieB]

In homage to Mrs. Mungo, these examples have always driven me crazy: Boeing's, Nordstrom's, Target's... :smash: Are these expressions a Seattle thing???

Boeing's and Nordstrom's, yes...

 

but Target's is from Minnesota I think.

 

:lol:

Edited September 12, 2010 by TrixieB

[Chelle in MO]

Okay, Chelle, but I'll drop all of my "to be's". :D

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I changed my mind! I won't do it! I won't! I promise!

 

The way my memory is failing these days, I wouldn't have remembered anyway!

 

:D

[Jean in Newcastle]

Not grammar, but in written communication like on this forum or e-mails, the absence of capital letters or punctuation. Unless you are e.e. cummings, you can't get away without using capitals!