A lot is two words!

[Ohio12]

I am a former English teacher and I do not claim to have perfect grammer or punctuation, so this isn't coming with a snooty attitide. But I keep seeing this little mistake on this board and since we are all training the next generation, I thought I would gently point this out to everyone! I had a really great English teacher in tenth grade and she taught us to avoid the top twenty grammer mistakes. That was one of them. I wish I still had the list. Anyone else have one that they notice a lot?

[Laura in VA]

I am a former English teacher and I do not claim to have perfect grammer or punctuation, so this isn't coming with a snooty attitide. But I keep seeing this little mistake on this board and since we are all training the next generation, I thought I would gently point this out to everyone! I had a really great English teacher in tenth grade and she taught us to avoid the top twenty grammer mistakes. That was one of them. I wish I still had the list. Anyone else have one that they notice a lot?

 

Grammar is spelled g r a m m a r. ;)

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Grammar is spelled g r a m m a r. ;)

 

Yeah, I like that one, too. :001_smile:

 

A few of my favorites:

 

There is no "is because."

 

Alright is all wrong.

 

People are not whiches; people are who's or that's.

 

My Hawaiian cousin's name is LieLayLayLain.

 

Not a grammar rule, but worth remembering, I guess: With what measure ye meet, it shall be measured unto you.

[cathmom]

This reminds me of something I read once. A former President, I can't remember which one, was writing a book. Mistakes bothered him so much that he declared that his book would have no mistakes in it! He had double the number of usual proofreaders, in addition to going over it himself with a fine tooth comb. The result? There was a mistake in the first few pages!

[klmama]

I am a former English teacher and I do not claim to have perfect grammer or punctuation, so this isn't coming with a snooty attitide. But I keep seeing this little mistake on this board and since we are all training the next generation, I thought I would gently point this out to everyone! I had a really great English teacher in tenth grade and she taught us to avoid the top twenty grammer mistakes. That was one of them. I wish I still had the list. Anyone else have one that they notice a lot?

 

LOL! My high school English teacher wouldn't even let us use two words to say it! She always told us that "a lot" was a parcel of land, and she insisted we use "many" or other appropriate words to convey the same idea. It drove us crazy, but we did leave her class knowing that those of us who chose to defy her rules (in other classes) should at least use two words to do so!

[Jean in Wisc]

I started this once already, but my cat erased it. So...personal pet peeves:

 

Alright

He is better than me

10 items or less

 

:banghead:

 

I know most folks don't care, though, so I try to remember that I'm really, really not perfect in this, either. Sometimes I get the weebie-jeebies when I re-read my own posts! LOL!

 

J (wondering what I typed wrong on this post--my spellcheck has gone poof and that is a bad thing for me!)

[Laura in VA]

The one that my mother drilled and drilled and drilled into me was:

Never end a sentence with a preposition.

ie) Where is my book at?

 

But, here is a question for everyone. Is it ok to ask, "What are you looking for?". Or should we say, "For what, are you looking?" :confused::D

[Zelda]

I started this once already, but my cat erased it. So...personal pet peeves:

 

Alright

He is better than me

10 items or less

 

:banghead:

 

I know most folks don't care, though, so I try to remember that I'm really, really not perfect in this, either. Sometimes I get the weebie-jeebies when I re-read my own posts! LOL!

 

J (wondering what I typed wrong on this post)

 

Wonder no longer! It was "e r a s e d".

 

Completely tongue-in-cheek and meant to be good natured. :001_smile:

 

I refuse to be bothered by grammar and spelling errors.

 

ETA: Wait! Did I misread it or did you correct it???

Edited October 14, 2008 by Zelda
All nervous now about grammar.

[Laura in VA]

Wonder no more! It was "e r a s e d".

 

Completely tongue-in-cheek and meant to be good natured. :001_smile:

 

I refuse to be bothered by grammar and spelling errors.

 

ETA: Wait! Did I misread it or did you correct it???

 

:lol: You must have misread it, because it hasn't been edited. Too funny!!

[Jean in Wisc]

Ha! I did it in time! I posted and then edited just a fast as my little fingers could type. La!

[sleepy]

Ha! I did it in time! I posted and then edited just a fast as my little fingers could type. La!

 

:smilielol5:

[Laura in VA]

Ha! I did it in time! I posted and then edited just a fast as my little fingers could type. La!

 

:D

[camibami]

ATTN ALL WTM'ers: Any and all typos, misspellings, improper grammAr, etc by yours truly are apologized for in advance. Because, I'm not about to go back and fix every ding-dang error so someone with their panties in a wad can feel better. Feel free to put me on ignore, send me nasty PMs, etc...but please know ahead of time that I truly do not give a da*m!

 

Signed,

the happy grammar twister and Queen of Typos

[5kidsforME]

ATTN ALL WTM'ers: Any and all typos, misspellings, improper grammAr, etc by yours truly are apologized for in advance. Because, I'm not about to go back and fix every ding-dang error so someone with their panties in a wad can feel better. Feel free to put me on ignore, send me nasty PMs, etc...but please know ahead of time that I truly do not give a da*m!

 

Signed,

the happy grammar twister and Queen of Typos

 

:iagree::iagree:Amen Sista!!!! Don't we have enough on our plates without wigging out over other peoples spelling, grammAr and typos?? Jeesh.

[Ohio12]

Grammar is spelled g r a m m a r. ;)

 

 

I can't believe I did that!

[5kidsforME]

I can't believe I did that!

 

I can. We all make mistakes.

[Jean in Wisc]

ATTN ALL WTM'ers: Any and all typos, misspellings, improper grammAr, etc by yours truly are apologized for in advance. Because, I'm not about to go back and fix every ding-dang error so someone with their panties in a wad can feel better. Feel free to put me on ignore, send me nasty PMs, etc...but please know ahead of time that I truly do not give a da*m!

 

Signed,

the happy grammar twister and Queen of Typos

 

Oh, but isn't there ANYTHING that makes your head turn when you hear it? We don't have to be judgemental over it...there are just those items in speech or writing that I've learned (usually later in life, lol) that I now notice when I read/hear it. I DO go after my kids when they use them...but I would not mention it to others--life is too short for that.

 

I think this is a fun way to share what we notice. I'm reading this thread to see what I've missed!!!! It makes me smile and chuckle!:)

 

TEHO

Edited October 14, 2008 by Jean in Wisc

[Once]

ATTN ALL WTM'ers: Any and all typos, misspellings, improper grammAr, etc by yours truly are apologized for in advance. Because, I'm not about to go back and fix every ding-dang error so someone with their panties in a wad can feel better. Feel free to put me on ignore, send me nasty PMs, etc...but please know ahead of time that I truly do not give a da*m!

 

Signed,

the happy grammar twister and Queen of Typos

 

 

:lol: :iagree:

 

Now, if I was authoring the next amendment to the Constitution I would care but I'm not.

(Yes, I know I'm missing comma's!)

[Zelda]

Ha! I did it in time! I posted and then edited just a fast as my little fingers could type. La!

 

:lol:

 

Good catch!

[gardening momma]

LOL! My high school English teacher wouldn't even let us use two words to say it! She always told us that "a lot" was a parcel of land, and she insisted we use "many" or other appropriate words to convey the same idea. It drove us crazy, but we did leave her class knowing that those of us who chose to defy her rules (in other classes) should at least use two words to do so!

I looked it up at dictionary.com. Apparently "a lot"--used to indicate a great degree or extent, or very many, a large number--dates back to the early 1800's.

[lighthouseacademy]

I had an English teacher who would give you an automatic fail if you spelled its, it's, their, there, they're, to, two, or too incorrectly even once in an otherwise A paper... Those mistakes drive me nuts. I frequently make typos and punctuation mistakes and spelling mistakes and I am not perfect so whatever I suppose. BTW on another board (sewing related) I belong to, the moderator changed the auto-correct on the bulletin board to change "alot" to "a lot a lot a lot" :lol: to make a big point that it was two words.

[Amy loves Bud]

ATTN ALL WTM'ers: Any and all typos, misspellings, improper grammAr, etc by yours truly are apologized for in advance. Because, I'm not about to go back and fix every ding-dang error so someone with their panties in a wad can feel better. Feel free to put me on ignore, send me nasty PMs, etc...but please know ahead of time that I truly do not give a da*m!

 

Signed,

the happy grammar twister and Queen of Typos

 

Umm, that would be "da*n". :lol:

 

I'm sorry, but I really couldn't help myself!

 

And just to get my 2 cents in, there are few grammar and spelling things (lose and loose) that get under my skin, but mostly I feel like this is a place for casual conversation. I'm not going to take the time to go over every point of grammar in my posts. I already spend too much time here as it is!

[anissarobert]

Are we only talking about mistakes made on these boards, or can we discuss the newscasters and politicians who are now "going to do things different?" I have been wondering if there was a memo telling everyone to leave off the "ly" on adverbs and I missed it entirely.

 

I apologize for any mistakes on my posts in advance. I hope there will not be a lot of them.

[Hen]

I know it is two words, but I say it as one word, and think of it that way...so, when I am doing things quickly, like writing a post on a forum I don't correct myself on that. If I am writing a letter or something, or blogging- I do try to go back and correct it, but it slips through sometimes.

 

I know which is correct, but it is not a biggie for me.

 

sorry it bothers you.

 

tho' is not a word either, but I like that one too- in an informal way.

 

I also like 'cus too, but not as much.

 

I'm making your hair curl, aren't I?? sorry.:D

[Medieval Mom]

Using:

1. "good" instead of "well", as in "You did good."

2. "less" instead of "fewer"; "Which container has less toys?"

3. "a whole nother"; "That's a whole nother issue..." (conversationally)

4. pronouncing "when" as "wen", "what" as "wat", etc. My father was a stinkler on this point. However, it's so commonplace now that I think those of us who pronouce anything with a /hw/ are a dying breed... It doesn't really IRK me, but I do notice it when someone pronounces /hw/ very nicely :)

5. "utilize" instead of "use" just to sound fancy. (In the majority of cases, the word "use" is a much better fit.)

 

Ahhh! I love grammar. But we do all have our mistakes and personal preferences, don't we? (My father, for example, thinks I use FAR too many commas and exclamation points.) For email, blogging, and forum writing I worry very little about these things.

 

(As for ending a sentence with a proposition... This is a hotly discussed topic among grammarians. Those who adhere to an Germanic-based English grammar claim that ending in a preposition is fine! Those who adhere to Latin-based English grammar rules abhor ending a sentence with a prepostion. This is an overgeneralization...)

[percytruffle]

(As for ending a sentence with a proposition... This is a hotly discussed topic among grammarians. Those who adhere to an Germanic-based English grammar claim that ending in a preposition is fine! Those who adhere to Latin-based English grammar rules abhor ending a sentence with a prepostion(sp). This is an overgeneralization...)

 

 

Well, you'd better be careful about that...alot of men frequent these boards too...:lol:

 

"Alot" bothers me. It was drilled into my brain as a child.

 

I am a very poor speller and grammarian compared to others on this board, so I am apologizing in advance for my future infractions.

[Another Lynn]

a lot is one of those that I cannot get wrong (unless it's a typo) because I remember one teacher in particular who would mispronounce it on purpose to draw our attention to it. Anytime I see it written as one word, I hear his voice in my head putting the accent on the first syllable (rhymes with mallet) and I laugh.

 

(Hope I spelled mallet correctly):D

[3lilreds in NC]

Yeah, I like that one, too. :001_smile:

 

A few of my favorites:

 

There is no "is because."

 

Alright is all wrong.

 

People are not whiches; people are who's or that's.

 

My Hawaiian cousin's name is LieLayLayLain.

 

Not a grammar rule, but worth remembering, I guess: With what measure ye meet, it shall be measured unto you.

 

On Sunday my favorite pastor used "is because" more than once in his sermon. It nearly drove me to distraction. :lol:

[Bev in B'ville]

(actually a psychology professor) who had an almost crazy obsession with split infinitives. They bothered him so badly that if he found a single instance of this within a paper, it was automatically a zero!

 

(In case someone is scratching their heads, the best example of a split infinitive is the opening narrative of Star Trek: "...to boldly go where no man has gone before..." If I were writing this for a paper to that professor I would have to change it to "...to go boldly where no man has gone before...")

 

And while this is not a grammar or punctuation thing, I really hate hearing the word 'for' pronounced 'fur,' as in 'what fur?'

 

lol..that should read "I had a professor,..."

Edited October 14, 2008 by Bev in B'ville
grammar

[chaik76]

Yeah, I like that one, too. :001_smile:

 

A few of my favorites:

 

There is no "is because."

 

Alright is all wrong.

 

People are not whiches; people are who's or that's.

 

My Hawaiian cousin's name is LieLayLayLain.

 

Not a grammar rule, but worth remembering, I guess: With what measure ye meet, it shall be measured unto you.

Alright is considered an acceptable informal form of all right. (I don't use it though.)

[TraceyS/FL]

I am a former English teacher and I do not claim to have perfect grammer or punctuation, so this isn't coming with a snooty attitide. But I keep seeing this little mistake on this board and since we are all training the next generation, I thought I would gently point this out to everyone! I had a really great English teacher in tenth grade and she taught us to avoid the top twenty grammer mistakes. That was one of them. I wish I still had the list. Anyone else have one that they notice a lot?

 

Gee, did you have Sr Sheila too????

 

"If you are going to use a lot, you had better spell it correctly."

 

That is probably the ONLY thing i can get correct in the grammar/spelling area.....

[Pamela H in Texas]

Never end a sentence with a preposition.

 

I was having a lot of trouble with that and had decided to never do it again. Most of the time, I could make a good sentence that sounded fine, but occasionally, it was cumbersome. Finally, an appropriate thread came up on another board and an editor said that the rule wasn't absolute. She said that sometimes people make wild sentences in order to be proper when putting the preposition at the end would just make more sense.

 

BTW, this came up in my college course recently and it also said that there are plenty of acceptable exceptions :)

[GailV]

4. pronouncing "when" as "wen", "what" as "wat", etc. My father was a stinkler on this point.

 

Is "stinkler" a word? At first I thought you meant "stickler", but stinkler is much more fun. If it's a real word then I want to start using it.

 

 

Umm, that would be "da*n". :lol:

 

Hee -- I wondered if anyone else thought that!

 

 

And just to get my 2 cents in, there are few grammar and spelling things (lose and loose) that get under my skin, but mostly I feel like this is a place for casual conversation. I'm not going to take the time to go over every point of grammar in my posts. I already spend too much time here as it is!

 

I agree -- forums tend to have a conversational tone, so I often don't use such formal conventions when typing here.

 

I always get the lose and loose thing mixed up, and still can't keep track of lay/lie -- I know the rule on that one, but the fact that lie sneakily makes it past tense lay just confuses me. But it was just 4 years ago that I learned that "a lot" is 2 words, so perhaps there is hope for me yet on these other points.

 

Also, I am unrepentant on my use of y'all. I think English needs a 2nd person plural, and it's my personal goal in life to force one to appear. Plus -- bonus! -- it drives my kids nuts that I say it.

[Jean in Wisc]

Using:

4. pronouncing "when" as "wen", "what" as "wat", etc. My father was a stinkler on this point. However, it's so commonplace now that I think those of us who pronouce anything with a /hw/ are a dying breed... It doesn't really IRK me, but I do notice it when someone pronounces /hw/ very nicely :)

 

QUOTE]

 

We studied this in linguistics class. This is something that changes with dialect--the midwest tends towards "wen", but places on the east coast (and others)say "hwen". Midwesterners tend to say cot and caught the same way--we don't round our lips to get the "au" in caught. There are many other differences.... I learned the hard way; my professor use to ask me to say words for the class and then make fun of my pronunciation.

 

FWIW,

Jean

[Pamela H in Texas]

I can't believe I did that!

 

When I saw your message, I KNEW there was going to be a mistake in it. Almost always, a post like that has one :)

 

Unless it's a HUGE error and someone seems like a 3rd grader because of it, I don't cringe. But occasionally, I think, "and she's homeschooling?" But it's pretty rare on this board. Most of the moms here seem pretty intelligent and capable most of the time.

 

BTW, I personally like messages like yours as long as they aren't done in a snotty manner or against a certain person because they do help me hone my skills a bit.

 

Here is a link about grammar some may like: • http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/easywriter3e/20errors/

[mrsdash]

I have told the dc that spelling "alot" is the same as spelling "alittle".

[Chris in VA]

Thanks everyone. Tho its hard to be so humble, you all have helped me alot with my grammer.

 

JK

 

I use tho because it's quicker! Sorry if it bothers someone.

 

There's a certain poster who does not know what a comma splice is, I think that's my most irritating thingy.

 

And thingy is not a word.

[Jennifer3141]

Umm, that would be "da*n". :lol:

 

I'm sorry, but I really couldn't help myself!

 

And just to get my 2 cents in, there are few grammar and spelling things (lose and loose) that get under my skin, but mostly I feel like this is a place for casual conversation. I'm not going to take the time to go over every point of grammar in my posts. I already spend too much time here as it is!

 

I'm with Amy on this one. (Is that grammatically correct to say? :D )

 

I've seen very few posts here where the grammar or typing is so bad that i couldn't understand the post and had to just move on.

 

But this is a message board. Tomorrow, this thread will be 8 pages back. Hopefully, every parent here today will also be spending a great deal of time with their DC. I'd rather people did that instead of spending precious time correcting themselves here.

 

Some of these errors can also simply be typing errors too.

 

Jen

[Jean in Wisc]

Thanks everyone. Tho its hard to be so humble, you all have helped me alot with my grammer.

 

JK

 

I use tho because it's quicker! Sorry if it bothers someone.

 

There's a certain poster who does not know what a comma splice is, I think that's my most irritating thingy.

 

And thingy is not a word.

 

:lol:

[Soph the vet]

In Minnesota it is perfectly acceptable to ask "Do you want to come with?" I have lived here for 18 years and soooo many times, when I hear this, I scream in my brain "ME...ME...DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH ME?"

[kiana]

This is the sort of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put!

 

:):):)

[Rich with Kids]

I have to really pay attention when we sing All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name. Prostrate...Prostrate not prostate...:001_huh:

 

My first husband was a card carrying redneck. Every time I hear, "Where you at?", I want to knee someone in the ba!!s. :glare:

Edited October 14, 2008 by Rich with Kids

[charlotteb]

Here are two things that really bother me:

 

When someone uses an apostrophe to make a noun plural (who is it who has something about that in their quote? Too funny! ) For example- I bought pant's at the store ::shudder::

 

Or when a store has food for .99 cents. Wow- less than a penny? Ok, maybe that's more of a math thing, but you get my point! :)

[Scarlett]

Oh, but isn't there ANYTHING that makes your head turn when you hear it? We don't have to be judgemental over it...there are just those items in speech or writing that I've learned (usually later in life, lol) that I now notice when I read/hear it. I DO go after my kids when they use them...but I would not mention it to others--life is too short for that.

 

I think this is a fun way to share what we notice. I'm reading this thread to see what I've missed!!!! It makes me smile and chuckle!:)

 

TEHO

 

Me too. I also learn a lot. :) Seriously, though I do. For instance, Colleen posted recently about misplaced quotation marks and I realized I am guilty of that! I've tried very hard to clean that up.

 

The one that makes my spine go all rigid is ending a sentence with the word at. I know it is incorrect to end a sentence with any preposition, but the word 'at' (was it ok to use quotation marks there? Hmmm) just screams out at me. I don't believe in correcting my dh's grammar, but I recently told him (in a discussion about his business image and his southern accent when traveling) that he needed to stop that.

 

Also bring and take being used incorrectly. I hear that one often.

[cathmom]

And thingy is not a word.

 

 

I disagree! Thingy (although I spell it thingie) is the MOST important word next to chocolate!

[Pamela H in Texas]

My first husband was a card carrying redneck.

 

It took 15 years but my hubby finally no longer says brung.

[Scarlett]

In Minnesota it is perfectly acceptable to ask "Do you want to come with?" I have lived here for 18 years and soooo many times, when I hear this, I scream in my brain "ME...ME...DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH ME?"

 

 

Oh my BIL's girlfriend says this. I HATE it. Makes me think of Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impersonation where she just abruptly stops talking as if she has finished a sentence but she hasn't.

[Scarlett]

My first husband was a card carrying redneck. Every time I hear, "Where you at?", I want to knee someone in the ba!!s. :glare:

 

Hee hee...I don't have quite that violent of a reaction when my dh says "Where are you at?" but it does REALLY bug me.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

There is no "is because."

 

On Sunday my favorite pastor used "is because" more than once in his sermon. It nearly drove me to distraction. :lol:

 

Please enlighten me! What's wrong with is because?

[elegantlion]

ATTN ALL WTM'ers: Any and all typos, misspellings, improper grammAr, etc by yours truly are apologized for in advance. Because, I'm not about to go back and fix every ding-dang error so someone with their panties in a wad can feel better. Feel free to put me on ignore, send me nasty PMs, etc...but please know ahead of time that I truly do not give a da*m!

 

Signed,

the happy grammar twister and Queen of Typos

 

:iagree:

 

The only one that bothers me is judgmental people. There is no "e" in judgmental.