*****
****ADMIN NOTE****
So today marks our 700th post! We’ve come a long way on this blog, with new writers and an expanded audience. We will continue to evolve and grow [||] to new heights with your support! Thanks for the love and here’s to 700 more!!
– Streetz
*******************
I never claim to be a master of the English language, but I feel like certain words/phrases shouldn’t be misused or pronounced incorrectly. Call me a snob if you will, but that can be so unattractive and make you look silly, all at once. I don’t harp on typos and such, but some words just set me off. Jada. So the good folks at SBM, along with yours truly, want to point out a few words that when misused, misspelled, or mispronounced, drive me 4loko!!
Supposebly
Now, suppoSEDly people know the correct spelling but just pronounce it wrong. It isn’t that annoying, but I have friends know people who dead-ass believe this word to exist! I understand that the suffix “bly” is used for words like horribly, but suppose does not utilize it, instead using dly. Even pronouncing it fast doesn’t make it inexcusable.
Their vs there vs they’re
Ahh the classic #Fail and bane of all of our language arts existence. If you were a nerd scholar like myself, you got this quick and were able to apply it well. For many of us, we get lazy when writing and typing and use “there” as a default for all three. This is more of an annoyance written then pronounced because you should jump off a high cliff if you can’t pronounce it. When reading blogs, news articles, review notes, etc, to see there, knowing it should be the contraction of they are or “their” pisses me off because it can make the smartest individual seem illiterate or careless. “Their” always upset me as a kid because it was the one that I KanyeShrugged, seeing no purpose. However, it you are chatting, blogging, typing, or reporting, please differentiate accordingly. Reading is FUNdamental after all right?
ValenTIMES Day
I had exes who would always bitch bring up how ValenTIMES Day was important to them. As you know, I don’t care for that holiday, and I think one reason is because I HATE that people say “ValenTIMES Day”. Valentimes. Shyts disgusting B. I mean, was St Valentine going by “time” as his tag name in the hood? Am I missing something? Son who rapped on “Deuces” (Was it Tyga?), perpetuated this nonsense even further, confirming that it’s not isolated. T-Shirt Time > Valentimes Day.
Loose vs Lose
You won’t find many more annoying mistypes than this one. I see this one EVERYWHERE! Now, I don’t think people realize that typing “loose” is incorrect 95% of the time that it’s used. For example:
“When Mike Vick was assassinating the Deadskins, they were bound to loose.”
or
” 4Loko is banned in NYC, damn I’m loosing right now!”
Those are incorrect! Loose is the opposite of tight. Lose is the opposite of win. Their pronunciation is even different! At times, I feel like God with an extra O, and don’t like to loose with one less O. Overstand.
Worse vs Worst
OK I lied. There is a more annoying error. This one bothers me more than loose, because not only is it improper usage, it’s a total disregard for tense. To differentiate:
Worse = a progression from bad
Worst = as bad as it can get; a progression from worse
So when someone tweets “Damn, I sprained my ankle last week and it’s getting WORST“, it makes me cringe! We MUST do better!
SanGwich
I almost ended friendships with every Caribbean/Latin American friend I have over this word. What.The.FCUK.Is.A.SANGWICH?!!!!! Does the shyt perform Karaoke? Seriously, its a SANDWICH, it doesn’t sing sh*t! This has to be my biggest pet peeve of mispronounced/bastardized words. Don’t try to G me with the accent swindle either, there’s no excuse!!
I’ve fulfilled my quota for one uppity post per year. Now I know there’s some grammatical/pronunciation feaux pas that grind your gears. What are they?
What is my motivation? I wrote this post at CAMBRIDGE!!
Lost vs Loss…My grandmother recently passed and even in my grief, it annoyed me BEYOND BELIEF to read "I'm sorry for your lost" O_o My grandma said fix that shit ninja. Which brings me to my next point…
"Passed vs Past"
YES!! I forgot those two! Sorry for your Lost pisses me off to NO end!
Condolences
The word that drives me the craziest is "Actually"
"Loose vs Lose" I always get those confused. No matter if I try to say them out alot.
I think the homonyms are what people typically mess up.
Congrats on the 700th post! Can't wait to see what else comes and what you guys have in store.
Are you implying that "loose" and "lose" sound identical? 'Cause they… don't. Similar, but not identical.
What I am implying is I have to say them aloud and I'm still confused. I know there's a difference just take a while
Gotcha.
Actually, "supposably" is a word. As in "I suppose… it is supposable… supposably…"
The others piss me off all the time too tho.
Touche, but people use the BLY thinking it has the DLY meaning
I totally agree with your list.. and just have one to add…
"Too.. Two.. and To.."
I am IRRITATED at the amount of people that confuse these.. What's even worse is that I'm an english major and have been known to bring stories (conversations etc) to a halt because I am correcting someone's speech.
When I read a post, my eyes immediately pick up on the errors and start reconstructing sentences for easier flow..
Then again, I wanted to be an editor, so I guess that falls in line..
Also.. what the f*ck is a "liberry?"
Liberry….LOL
Liberry! LMAO…I haven't heard that in a while…are you in the South?
YES!! I live in Florida…
Funny thing is, the guy that used this word (a lot) also said "skreet" and (gonna spell this phonetically) "ahm-sahm" when he was trying to say "ensemble."
then said that we would have a good future together..
#ThatsANegative
LOL…yeah, that's about right.
The liberry is down the skreet.
SMH.
Good one Nick!
Too, To and Two…gets my goat!
I knew you grew up with Goats!
Le odio Senor E-bragas!!!!! 😉
@BP
Dont lie to the ppl 🙂
"…reconstructing sentences for easier flow…"
This here is what I'm saying, they are spelled differently for a reason! I really can't read as effectively if you are going to be ignoring the rules of grammar!
I'm sure it's listed below, but "your" & "you're" and "here" & "hear" make me batty as well.
I believe it's faux pas (not feaux). Anyways…great post. I'm always correcting my kid sisters/cousins. I don't have the balls to correct grown folk…they should know better anyways. My (least) faves are:
sware (as opposed to swear)
board (as opposed to bored)
lightskin-ded/darkskin-ded (*sideeye*)
yeah I figured. Im so used to using eaux that I said eff it, lol.
you dont knwo how many times I reviewed this post so that people couldn't ether my english, lol.
*know
While I typically wouldn't criticize your grammar, writing a post on grammar lends to it… "than" versus "then" seems to be an issue here: "This is more of an annoyance written then pronounced because you should jump off a high cliff if you can’t pronounce it." (3rd paragraph)
You should have used "than" here. I'm just sayin'…
Good job on finding one of the Easter Eggs in the post! Im surprised you didn't catch the "talking good" one.
-____-
your vs you're!
^^^This bothers me!
Sometimes i say "sammich" don't hate me Streetz! lol
Personally, I think there's a difference between saying it tongue in cheek and believing that's the way it should be said/spelled. *empty stare*
This is true!
I got an A in my AP Composition and Literature Class.
The three that kill me are
more (any word ending with -er)
"That was more easier, more better, more funnier"
WTF hand me my gun. Gets me limp every time.
I be (any word with -ing)
I be chilling, I be saying, I be doing.
Ghetto girls and their rhetoric.
Specific and Pacific
One is an ocean
My sister will not hear me when I tell her that it's not pacifically. WTF is that, seriously?
minus whale
minus well
its MIGHT AS WELL
i started reading this site a few months ago and never cared to comment but this mistake bothers me so much i had to
i've seen the first two way to many times
Minus well made me laugh out loud… like seriously.
LMAO! D.E.A.D. I've never heard this one.
I've also head "mines well". I'll used that sometimes on twitter when trying to convey a certain sort of colloquial humor. But yea… "Might as well" is the correct term.
That said… you should have used "it's" as opposed to "its". The former is a contraction of either "it is" or "it has" the latter is a possessive pronoun.
Welcome back, I hope your anniversary getaway was spectacular.
Since you made it clear that this is your first comment (I've been MIA and can't tell who has already been here), Welcome! *pops e-champagne*
Further and Farther. Further denotes a theoretical distance, farther denotes a physical distance.
Dessert and Desert. Dessert is something you eat, Desert is like… you know… Sahara.
Mines
Mines are explosive devices. If you're trying to say that something is yours, use "mine" without adding an 's' at the end. If you've been saying it… no big deal, it's a common mistake, just know, people who don't say it are judging you so try to stop. If you are typing "Mines" you fail at life.
Your/You're… see second sentence in the above paragraph.
"Shrimps"
As in, "Red Lobster don't be putting enough shirmps in they pasta." The word "shrimp" is both singular and plural, and, oh yeah.. never, ever, replace the h with a k. There is no such thing as a "Skrimp."
This post is super – uppidity negro/our kind of people-ish. However… it's important we all know the basics.
Good job Streetz…
"Mines"
…my lawd…I was reading through some guy's Match.com profile the other day. Everything was good until he wrote "mines". Was it bad that that I exited his profile with the SWIFTNESS?!?
Does that make me *gasp* smug?? South Park.
^^^All of This^^^
He's baaaackk….
I purposely left mineS off of the list so you could comment my dude, lol. I know you HATE that one!
When i was on Kazo, mineS was like a mime of sort.
"Chicken wings and friend rice on mineS" S stressed lol
Alzheimer's = Alltimers/Oldtimers makes me vomit every time. I will roll my eyes at you so hard. WTF is Alltimers/Oldtimers?
…and the others on the list…But that^^^ is the WORST!
I especially love it when they try to argue and say that it is indeed old-timers.
Haha! This post is great! People often have a hard time understanding idioms if they have never seen them written. That is why might as well is often typed, by the unaware, as minus well.
One that still gets me because I feel like everyone has acknowledged the issue is converse vs. conversate The latter isn't a word, and the masses should know.
They should know it's not but if its a word in UrbanDictionary they think its a real word. 🙁
LOL…this used to bother me too. Well, actually it still does, BUT actually conversate is a word; someone corrected me on that one time and I had to look it up, promptly. As of 2000, I believe it became a word. I still refuse to use it though.
Here's a link to the dictionary.com entry:
Conversate
Go to Word Origin and History…it says "According to some, from Black Amer. Eng". Wow.
& this is the primary reason I don't use Dictonary.com
Anything can become a "word" after masses adopt it. They have an entry for bootylicious. -___-
LOL. Agreed. I didn't believe it either. I think it's on Merriam-Webster as well.
Orientate would also fall into this category. It's orient, not orientate.
I don't use either and I cringe when I hear them.
Congrats on the 700th post…
I love this post….screams everything that makes me want to tear my hair out especially on twitter……. another one i don't get is
I'm vs Am…
Can people also quit the excessive use of Instant Messenger language. e.g: how did 'cutie' end up being 'qtie'
I agree with your post! I may not use periods, commas, and all that where I am supposed to but I am spelling and using words correctly for the most part. I think, we may all miss something here and there but when it's consistent it usually means the person doesn't know any better..when you know better you do better..right?
I have to add another…. accept vs except….. I find this word being incorrectly used a lot.
I am kind of a spelling Nazi myself. I work in a school..and one day I was walking down the hall and saw a sign with Knowledge spelled Knoledge? I believe she forgot the W but I had to let the Teacher who wrote it know…..How are you going to post a sign outside of your class and not see the spelling error…and to misspell the word knowledge?? How ironic is that..and I saw another sign where their was spelled thier…I didn't know who put that sign there..but, I used to grit on that sign every time I saw it…finally, someone took it down….and re-wrote it.
Good post Streetzie 🙂
QueenT: "I am kind of a spelling Nazi myself. I work in a school..and one day I was walking down the hall and saw a sign with Knowledge spelled Knoledge? I believe she forgot the W but I had to let the Teacher who wrote it know…..How are you going to post a sign outside of your class and not see the spelling error…and to misspell the word knowledge??"
This is inexcusable. And people wonder why I have little respect for most teachers.
Two commonly misspelled/misused words that bug me are:
1) "CongraDulations" instead of "congratulations" UGH!!!!
2) People using "alumni" incorrectly. "Alumni" is plural!!!! It makes me cringe when I hear someone (especially a college graduate) say, "I am an alumni of ___." So annoying!
This one is very tricky. I had to consult a dictionary recently to get it right. It's done wrong so often that most people don't even notice. Matter fact I introduced someone as an alumna which is proper for a single female…..I bet everyone in the room thought it was wrong.
"This is more of an annoyance written THEN pronounced…"
^^
I believe you meant to write "than" 😉 . That's another common typo 🙂 . #NoGrammarNazi
"This is more of an annoyance written THEN pronounced…"
^^
I believe you meant to write "than" 😉 . That's another common typo 🙂 .
SanGwich
I almost ended friendships with every Caribbean/Latin American friend I have over this word. What.The.FCUK.Is.A.SANGWICH?!!!!! Does the shyt perform Karaoke? Seriously, its a SANDWICH, it doesn’t sing sh*t! This has to be my biggest pet peeve of mispronounced/bastardized words. Don’t try to G me with the accent swindle either, there’s no excuse!!
^ I believe at the last Semi-Annual Black Folks Meeting we all agreed through a secret ballot vote that from that moment forward it would be pronounced and spelled S-A-M-M-I-C-H!
Please correct this immediately.
It really GRINDS MY GEARS when people use the word, "drawl" instead of "draw". Like, "I need to drawl this picture." The hell you don't! You need to fix your grammar is what you need to do!
Oooh ooh, and another one!!
"Ineligible" vs. "illegible"
Oh, you can't play at the D-I level because you didn't pass the NCAA Clearinghouse? Sorry boo boo, you're INELIGIBLE.
Oh, you failed out of your first semester because of your poor penmanship? Sorry boo boo, you're writing is ILLEGIBLE.
You put one in your headline…."Talking good" is not grammatically correct. "speaking well" is what I was taught is the correct phrase.
" 'Talking good' "
I think that was a joke….unless you're joking too?? In which case, HAHAHA!
sigh…
Happy 700th, fellas!!
Loose vs. Lose is the most annoying for me,because they are not homonyms. Not at all. So, if you think loose sounds like lose, you have bigger problems on your hands than spelling and grammar.
And people add an "s" to the end of things that aren't plural. This is usually done in speech, not in writing. Like, I know people who say things like, "I'm going to the Krogers." Kroger is a grocery store. Krogers is something you just made up in your head.
I don't have an issue with people who do these things because they don't know any better. I have a problem with college educated people doing it, and trying to defend it. smh…
That last paragraph… my sentiments exactly. I never fault people who don't know these things… I do, however, always correct them. I'd rather be the a**hole who corrects somebody causing a moment of embarassment, than have them go on the rest of their life being silently judged by others. Anyone who has ever been on a email distribution list with me knows this.
Now, when college educated people make these mistakes, it really grinds my gears and I pass all sorts of judgments about your work ethic, how much you value your education… the quality of education at HBCU's (#shots).
LOL @ your shots Most. But I agree w/ Nia's last paragraph as well.
What about when greeks say "NationalS, RegionalS, etc"
Some bros get TIGHT hahahahaa
yeah I've been critiqued about that by old heads so I try not to say it (in their presence, lol) I just say Convention. Regionals is hard to break though….
I love to put S on the end of words, for fun. lol I think I admitted I thought Krogers had an S for many years. but this is because a popular grocery store where I'm from ended with an S and we kind just lumped them all together.
loose vs lose bother me also
except vs accept
and the alumni thing grinds my gears as well.
My mother does it all the time. "Belks" "Nordstroms" "Lord & Taylors". lol.
I am guilty of Nordstroms. LMAO oh and I used to say Belks too when we had those. maybe its a Carolina thang!
My Big Mama always calls Walmart "Walmarts", now she's got us doing it all the time making fun of her…I feel you.
Yeah Valentimes day makes me want to kill somebody. Every year at that time 100 fools call into the radio station talkin about Valentimes day and the d@m DJ never corrects them.
This one is probably just local to DC………People that pronounce the days of the week Mondee, Tuesdee, Wednesdee, Thursdee…….
And as far as I can tell it is pronounced Veteran's not Vetran's
pronouncing the days of the week happening in the south too. I went to college in the south and would cringed every time my professor said something was due on a certain day. 'Folks, your paper is due on Wednesdee'. Really?! smh
Thought I was the only one LOL I hear it in DC all the time.
Incorrect use of "I" and "myself".
I had a boss who used to say "If you have questions, let Max or I know".
And I always hear people saying things like "My boyfriend and myself went to….".
Um, no. Try again please.
That is irritating. All they have to do is take the other name out to see how silly it sounds.
“If you have questions, let
Max orI know”.“
My boyfriend andmyself went to….”.#confession: I do that (take the other person's name out) every time I read or hear someone use a sentence like that.
It's a compulsion, to check if they used it correctly. *smh* Most grammatical errors pop out at me or hinder my reading comprehension so I can't help but notice them; but that one I actively seek out. #GrammarNaziNERD
*slowly raises hand* I do that too Starita 🙂
Me too. Recently I had to meet with a woman and she said, "Do you want anyone else to join the meeting?" I said, "No, just you and me is fine." My co-worker said, "You should have said, just you and I are fine." Honestly? I still don't know which one of us is correct.
The point goes to coworker.
Would you say "Me is fine" or "I am fine"? And being that there are two of you the "am" turns to an "are".
Eh, she got me THAT time but I still win hands down on the basic grammar skills! LOL Thx Star!
*tips hat* No problem M'lady. I'm here to Protect object/subject combinations and Serve your conjugation needs.
*groooooan*
I need a shower after trickin' myself like that…I feel so dirty.
This is yet another reason not to watch Tyler Perry movies. 🙂 I've noticed he always has these characters that are supposed to be affluent or big corporate types….but they speak english like his country bamma a$$.
Then again a lot of hollywood dialogue is funny to me. Working in DC with government officials it trips me out how in the movies government officials always freak out when somethin goes wrong. That is so not how it is.
I think that has more to do with the fact these actors are NOT big league businessman and are actual kneegrows playing a part. You can only fake an education for so long.
It may be a southern thing but I HATE when guys ask
"What your name is?"
Ay Streetz…..
"His defense is impregnable."
ROFL
Greatest Mike Tyson rant of all time.
"All praise to Allah!" ROFL
Greatest.Rant.EVER!
ROFL Epic Rant
I hate when Wocka Flocka talks.
ROFL
So I'm probably going to take some flack for this but I'm gonna go there… irregardless.
I HATE that word. Period. It's useless. It means the same thing as regardless but in a relaxed person's lexicon. I could throat chop people who say it. WHY the extra syllable? Whyyyyyy?
Websters has this to say:
"Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead."
Congrats on making it to 700 posts Senor E-bragas and fellow SBM writers!!!
I can't take it when I hear someone say "hurr" for hair or here it makes me cringe:
Girl you got some pretty "hurr"…
"Look over hurr"……..0_o
Also, I hate the phrase " You know what I'm sayin'?" after every sentence someone says. iCan't…take it!!
"Also, I hate the phrase ” You know what I’m sayin’?” after every sentence someone says. iCan’t…take it!!"
#confession I say "Know what I mean" or "You feel me?" a lot. lol….
That sh@t is like a nervous tic for some new york dudes. Makes you sound like a moron for real. LOL I've seen interviews with rappers that might be 5 minutes long and 4 minutes of it was him sayin "know what I'm sayin."
I think Raekwon is the worst I've heard. And Fredro Star.
I hate when a lot of black people pronounce my last name "Wurshington". What the #%$& is Wurshington? How do you get an "R" sound from a "SH"? The state in the northwest is not Wurshington! The capital is not Wurshington! MY LAST NAME IS NOT WURSHINGTON! Learn to speak, you mushmouth, half-literate bama!
Sorry, too much coffee this morning.
Many people with Northern Maryland/Baltimore accents do that.
They "wursh clothes" in Iowa (Eye-o-way) and Missouri (MissouRAH to the locals) too, it's an epidemic…the speech bothers me much less than the grammatical, written errors though, at least I know what they meant. The wrong "to" or "there" can really wreck my flow, ok. Darius.
I want to punch someone in the throat when a person says "conversate." When people are talking, they are NOT conversating… They are conversing. Please stop making up words! Okay, mini rant over….
Conversate is now a word…I saw someone comment that it was in the dictionary and checked. I guess any ol' word can become standard now lol
Supposedly donut became a word in addition to doughnut, thanks to the popularity of Dunkin' Donuts. Thru became an acceptable spelling/contraction of through thanks to the ubiquity of McDonald's and their "drive-thru" signs.
past vs pass is a conundrum for some people too.
(1) Case and point… #nodummy it's Case in point.
(2) Alta Matem… Ultimatum*
(3) People who insist on adding 's to things to make them plural, instead of adding an "s" or "-ies".
(4) New Yorkers who insist on saying, "Suttin" and they know they can't spell it and are mispronouncing it.
(5) People who end their statements with unnecessary additions, i.e., Ya dig, Yo, Ya feel me, …sh*t, etc.
**updated comment** LOL…
Oooh "case and point" is a good one.
"For all intensive purposes" is another one. Intensive purposes eh? Not intents and purposes?
"Case and point," while it should not be misconstrued with "Case in point," can be used effectively and correctly if it truly is a "case and point".
But you also committed one of those annoying lil habits, too. I hate when people use "now" for "know".
Do you mean suttin' and in "something" and nuttin' as in "nothing", because I do that all the time. This is more slang than not knowing the correct pronunciation, grammar usage, or spelling of a word.
I don't think we were talking about grammar, I think we were talking about just the overall use.
& for the record I thought I was the only one who fainted, rolled my eyes & dry heaved when Tyga said "Valentimes Day" on Deuces. OMG. I boycotted the song until the Remix hit just b/c of that. Like really son? And the emphasis on the 'M'? I agree w/ Streetz, "Shyts disgusting B."
First, great post Streetz! This joint has me literally, LOL.
So, I'm a spelling NAZI and proudly, I might add. I am part of the grammar police as well, just not a Nazi with it.
When did we start using "scary" to describe an emotion?
E.g. "That's why I don't like takin' your "scary" a$$ nowhere." or "She's so scary?" WTH?
It should be scared, not scary. Unless you literally mean that the person is frightful to see. I've heard it used in other contexts as well, and wrong all the time. When I heard it for the first time, I had no idea what the person was talking about. Then, I started hearing it more and more elsewhere and I finally got what they were saying.
Pit instead of put.
E.g. "I'm going to pit this on the table." Huh? Pit?
I can't stand this phrase more than anything though…this has to be the worst!
"I could care less." Oh really, so you CAN care less than you do right now? I know it's a common mistake, but if you actually thought about it, it doesn't make sense. I couldn't care less though, LOL.
I'm sure I'll be back with more.
Congratulations on your 700th post SBM!!!!..
*PopsDP'95'Cuvee*
I know this is a southern thing but it makes my fillins in my mouth hurt when they add extra "rr" after words like there, where, here, hair,etc..
The word "Ain't"… O__O
Oh and the word three is pronounced like the word tree — you know who you are.
Ahhh, I love pidgin. It's another language, our rules don't apply.
Get choke pidgin friends what like say tree afta two brah.
Waist vs. waste
One is a place on the body between the ribs and top of the iliac crest (or hips, in lay terms); the other is trash or garbage.
Oh yeah, Congradulations on the 700th post!! Haha…yes, I misspelled it on purpose.
Speaking of the word three………what's up with people rolling r's for no reason. Last time I checked the english language does not roll r's.
I love Nas, but next time you listen to him, notice he does this repeatedly.
my mom tells me that's a southern thing. Beyonce used to do it hard back in the Destiny's Child days.
That's a head scratcher for me. I hear people all the time roll their r's when saying through. I'm like why?
What do I hate you ask?
Querstion – flesh crawling.
Ursher – flesh crawling more
banded when they mean banned – like how the just banded the happy meal in San Fransisco.
http://www.lolblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/…
Ursher is another variation of Wurshington error. Some people just have trouble with that "sh" and somehow it gets mutated into "rsh" and the short vowel changes to an r-controlled vowel.
Also many people ad an r to the word "idea". Idear
Ugh! I ABHOR this error!
Once again I think it is just a regional thing cause I've heard many people say "idear" that speak english quite well.
They also say warsh clothes. Definitely in parts of Maryland.
If you watch the Wire the white charcters often have a very distinctive Maryland accent.
People who pronounce the word "says" as "saze." Realy WTF
Or my favorite from the black church……preachers that don't know when to use "has" or "have." They should have an English class for some pastors before they go on the WORD Network. I swear there was this one pastor I would call pastor bad english.
He who have ears, let him hear. *^#&*%@^ WTF
uuuugh i hate that one!
i remember listening to one of Blackstreet's albums and they had this one interlude where their moms had left them voicemail messages. and i think it was Teddy's mom that was like "…and always remember what your father have taught you. He have taught you to be kind. He have taught you to share with your brothers and sisters…"
I would not let my moms on my album talking like that, embarassing me. lol syke idk. maybe. cuz it's mom.
but….dang Teddy.
the have and has thing makes my skin crawl. It just sounds so bad when you get it wrong.
A lot is two words, not ALOT
irregardless is NOT A WORD.
Tree = Three
Is this just a West Indian thing? lol
Hey I say it like that! Next you're going to say we can't say mon! lol!
Some things are just an accent.
OMG! All of those and way too many more irritate my soul. I steady correct people on their English! I can't help it. My friends and family joke that I should have been an English teacher. I even got my 3 year old daughter correcting people.
it's one thing to honestly misspell words but if you really don't know the difference between your and you're then i have no sympathy for you. i see it across twitter all the time and people will tell you that it's just twitter. no you are just dumb. speaking of i can't stand when people spell dumb but leave off the "b"
for some reason the word i have the most difficulty spelling is "definitely" i don't know why. i always switch around the second "i" and the "t". smh
LMBO…Oh my gosh… I typed my post before I read yours.lol I hate it when people do that. I see it all the time too! It makes me have an attitude actually. lol
I work at an insurance company, and the many calls I get referring to CHIROpractor, but saying CHIOR-practor…. when I first heard this, I thought the caller just mispronounced initially, but then they kept saying it, over and over again. I was like WTF?? Are you serious? Then turns out, they weren't the only one… I understand if you, maybe, were looking at the word (for the first time ever) and mispronounced, somehow, but I'm pretty sure you had to have at least heard the word before to know it's not pronounced that way. UGGH…
choir-practor?? LOL wow!
Yes, CHOIRpractor. I'm thinking are you going for singing lessons or back problems??? I'm not sure what to quote here… lol
OMG CHOIRpractor! My mum says that and it drives me batty (pause?).
She also says "moostache" for mustache.
facepalm
Kills me now! Funniest Ish I've read all day.
Other than the misspellings mentioned, I absolutely cannot stand run on sentences! I especially hate when it is combined with misspelled words *pitbull growl*
Also:
your, ur, you're
pacific, specific
then, than
mine, mind
the, de, d
ne, any
son, sun
whyyyyyyyy
LOL Lets not demonize ebonics!
There's a difference between slang and dead ass thinking that you have correct grammatical spelling/pronunciation
Know what Im sayin?!
thank you. I know I personally speak in a lot of slang at times, but reading some of these comments makes me feel like I'd never want to have real live conversations with many people if you are gonna pick apart every single thing I say.
we don't have that problem though, twin. so its all good 🙂
You personally? Sit and think about that statement.
=)
(thats another one of my peeves.)
I did it on purpose. I'm glad it bothered you so. 🙂
I prefer to speak ebonics in my personal life. But only if the person I am speaking with understands it. Not all black people do.
The problem is when you cannot "code switch." When ebonics is all you know there is a problem. And some things, like saying pacific instead of specific, are not ebonics. It's bad english and bad ebonics 🙂
I'm picking up what you're putting down. Quite* a few of the things mentioned are just slang and/or accents and aren't going to change anytime soon.
*Speaking of, quite/quiet are a couple other words always confused.
Right! That's why some people get insulted when you correct them. You are insulting their culture and choice to speak a certain way. Some things are just regional pronunciations. Or if I'm choosing to speak ebonics than I will make some gramatical errors on purpose. It's funny how black people are the only ones that speak "bad english." Everyone else has an "accent."
For the all the grammer police here…..would you correct a latino for "bad english" or would you just say it's an accent.
IMO, it depends on what they said or how they used a particular word or phrase.
But in general, I'd give them a pass since English is not their first language. Or, maybe they picked up bad habits from someone else. Also, I've heard that English is one of the hardest languages to learn, so I keep that in mind as well.
I just have a problem with native (American) English speakers who have taken formal English classes for umpteen years, who don't know the basics. #nobueno
I don't have a problem w/ ebonics BUT there is a time and a place to use it and some people forget that……know what I am sayin'? Ha!
Can I just add breathe and breath? Only because I've seen it in the comments so many times. When people say breath, they are usually referring to the pleasant or not-so-pleasant odor that erupts from somones mouth. To breathe-is to inhale and exhale.
Absolutely hilarious! This post totally made my day because sooooo many people make these common errors!
I cringe when people say pattern as patt-er-ren" or southern as "sou-ther-ren" there is NO E IN BETWEEN.
*woosah*
Ok I'm over it.
As a serial blog-lurker-but-never-comment-er, I was moved to comment today.
DUDE, I perked up when I saw the title of this post in my inbox.
I learned the hard way a few years ago that correcting people's English is not the business. I truly thought I was doing my grammatic duty to mankind.
I now know to keep my trap shut, after getting my butt handed to me a few times by unappreciative damsels and gents in distress.
Anyhoo, it also pisses me off when people screw up "weary" and "wary".
As in: "When she kept asking about your man even after I told her y'all were together, I knew you needed to be weary of her. She ain't yo' friend."
Grinds my frickin gears.
Other faux pas I hate: "conversate", "interpretate", confusing "ideal" with "ideas" ("anyone have any ideals on our next group vacation?") aaaaaaaaaaaaaand….pronouncing "encourage" as enCARRIAGE.
"I think he just needs a little enCARRIAGEment".
I feel like I sound like a super snob right now. Whatevs.
Hate to hurt people feelings but correcting someone's english without being asked is tacky.
Some things you just don't do without being asked. Like if you see someone with some old beat up shoes you don't offer them a dollar.
If you absolutley must correct people the proper thing to do would be to say something like, "I've noticed you sometimes confuse worlds. I know you are very intelligent and wouldn't want it to hold back your career progression. Do you mind if I help out in that area?"
Now if you don't know the person. Than just be quiet and get over yourself.
"I learned the hard way a few years ago that correcting people’s English is not the business. I truly thought I was doing my grammatic duty to mankind.
I now know to keep my trap shut, after getting my butt handed to me a few times by unappreciative damsels and gents in distress."
Oh yeah, people tend not to appreciate kindly being corrected. I learned to shut my mouth a long time ago, and only correct people on my name now.
Also, welcome!
haha you feel me Sane.
thanks for the welcome
Yea i just don't say anything now, unless it's my name, which some people strangely find hard to pronounce lol
LOL, "ideals" instead of "ideas". I don't like that one either.
But, weary and wary are hard and not used very often I think. Even written, I don't really see it that much, but I understand though, LOL.
DUDE, I perked up when I saw the title of this post in my inbox.
^^
Thats what she said
lol good one, Streetz
Reading books can fix most of this.
i just thought of one more. i'm sure it's because one has never seen it written before but….
what sense does it make to make your point by starting with "for all intensive purposes…."
isn't it "for all intents and purposes"?
How intensive is the purpose?
Aaawh il Duce: lol. Just as some people need to learn that they are mispronouncing the English language, others of us had to learn that it's not necessary to correct fellow American's mispronounciations. Which is why I said I had to learn after getting blasted by people over it.
Some of us aren't stuck on ourselves, we were just a little too socially innocent on some matters lol
Actually, why even say for intents and purposes?
It's a phrase you really should throw away because it means nothing and adds nothing to what you are about to say.
Forgive me…..I sometimes run media training classes.
It's for the intent and purpose of the conversation, eliminating any other hypothetica scenarios.
or, for argument's sake. same thing.
I despise when I've heard women use the word "volumptuous" to describe themselves.
I still hate conversate as a word.
A lot of women who say that are voLUMPtuous, not voluptuous.
Oh.My.Gosh…Get out of my head.lol I feel you on this one. And don't forget
YOUR versus YOU'RE (as in contraction word- You are)
Grrrrrrr!!!! lol
il Duce: i have heard plenty of white and latino people with horrible pronounciation/grammar skills, and it's not just an accent.
the whites are american like us, so i'm less (mentally) lenient with them.
but a latino, asian or whatever may not have been schooled for 12 years in American grammar, so, yea with them it's more either an accent or not having a full grip on English grammar and vocabulary.
it's different from being raised here and still not speaking correctly. no diss to black or white americans.
and shout out to the code-switchers. you are more gifted than those who strictly ride grammatical d*ck. 😀
I feel you. I'm just amazed at times because a white person from the south can say something and everyone says "Wow what a delightful accent you have!" And a black person from the south can say the same thing and it's "broken english."
hmm. i never thought of that. i thought a southern accent was a southern accent. i like how they talk.
but the double standard is always present, so, that could very well be the case.
Southern accent and ebonics are almost the same thing. Yet one is acceptable and the other isn't. Chalk it up to subtle racism.
If I say "How yall doin" it's assumed I don't know any better.
Yet I've seen white people start meetings that way. It's assumed that it's just a southern thing.
Double standard.
Yea…I'm from Louisiana, and I work really hard to control my accent, because although I know proper grammar, sometimes "y'all and similar sayings comes out. The way I pronounce things have a little twang. Men up north like it because it's not "too" bad, but as far as being around my peers in class and with work, I just try to keep it to a bare minimum.
Okay, so after reading the other posts, I see that people have already pointed out Your and you're…Glad we're on the same page.lol
And also…
"New to the blog…Love it!"
since v. sense and sometimes cents
Confession time
In 5th grade we were having a discussion in class, i forget the topic.
The teacher asked my opinion and I shout
"It don't mean nothin!"
She said
"It doesn't mean anything right?"
Me
*BBM can't watch smiley** Yeah….true.
Class
**laughs**
Hilarious!
Lol, SBM is guilty of #2 (+ your vs you're) though. Just didn't want to be a grammar Nazi. Lemme run back to work before I get stoned. I shall return.
*chuckling*
Who knew that an improper grammar post would result in "Winners Swallow, Quitters Spit" or "Men ain't ish!" type comment numbers?!
Grammar is not a game. Point taken.
But it's kinda like that Bill Cosby book. The people that need to read it don't read.
The people that need this post probably don't read posts about grammar. LOL
They're somewhere watchin reruns of House of Pain and the second daily episode of Maury. ROFL
(I watch Maury whenever I'm home from work)
Who knew that an improper grammar post would result in “Winners Swallow, Quitters Spit” or “Men ain’t ish!”
*files this away in memorable quotes memory bank*
u just made me lol at this post. good thing im the only one in the office.
You know which posts make me come. Oh Streetz. Well here i go.
Congratulate. Congradulate. Congrats. Congrads. And it's always these college kid saying it. Education system failed them.
Woman vs women. A lot of you are guilty suckas for this but @spellrightSuki retired. This women? These women. These woman? This woman. Get it together. One's plural. Other is – you guessed it – singular.
That lose vs loose sh*t drives me WILD. Here's how to remember. You lose if you have a loose poon (girls).
Then vs Than. Idc who you are. The A and E make a big @ss difference and you're missing it
One is time related. The other is used in comparing.
"I before E except after C." (not counting the exceptions) – that's an elementary school rhyme. If I know it, you know it.
That's enough. Thank you Streetz.
"You know which posts make me come. Oh Streetz. Well here i go."
^^^
The biggest #TWSS moment on SBM in 2010!
Lmao. Oh. My.
Haven't read any comments so forgive me if I repeat…
"Rather or not" instead of "whether or not"
"Minus well/mind as well" instead of "might as well"
People who confuse the use of "or and are", "for and far", "want and won't"
Their or many more but I want list them all *giggles*
*Bonus Giggle* – Saw a guy write a comment on FB and he said "you should smile and show a few teeths" – he then made a new comment to correct his error and said "tooth's"
"Bonus Giggle* – Saw a guy write a comment on FB and he said “you should smile and show a few teeths” – he then made a new comment to correct his error and said “tooth’s”
NOOOOOO. lmao smh
YES! And when I called his error to his attention he said he needed to "freshing up on his grammar"
o_O Just.Stop.Typing.
My goodness. Poor kid lmao I feel for him.. Just a tad though lol
You wouldn't if you had to read his thoughts! lol
LMAO! And you SHO called him out! Then why'd he further screw himself by trying to correct it and made it WORST!
(yes, the error was done on purpose…smh)
I couldn't help it Star, I usually just smh and do a *mad hard eyeroll* but my Inner Mean Girl would not be denied…LOL
That IMG brings me oh so much joy and laughter. 🙂 Don't you even think about checkin her!
Converse vs conversate. Grr >_<
Exactly!!! Think of the shoe ppl, think of the Shoooooe!!!
Can we have a moment for axe and axed, as in "I axed you a question" or "I want to axe you something"…
How I hate this!!!
THIS!!!
I always say to people when they say "Axed" that you just murdered me… because if you ASKED me a question instead of Axeing me Id still be alive!
**rimshot**
**ducks tomatoes**
I realize I'm late on this one…but what about when people (i.e. Americans) use conversating/conversate??
….It's actually converse/conversing as in "We were conversing about…"
Rimshot? Streetz you nasty… Can I have one?
I think for the first time in the long time, I don't agree. Proper grammar is important and ought to be used, but when it isn't, it doesn't bother me as much. I guess because this isn't my strong point, although I have a blog. I won't even say my studying engineering is an excuse because everyone speaks and writes. It's more so I just don't care.
Being articulate and knowing proper grammar is an indicator of intelligence. It's certainly a factor that shouldn't indicate intelligence–education is more appropriate. I know many people who are doing quite well in life, and their "there's" are all the same.
Perhaps I ought to care, but I don't. #shrug
Disclaimer: it can't be broken English.
Grammar defintely not an indicator of intelligence.
The ability to analyze, synthesize and evaluate yes.
Sorry, I meant it's a factor of intelligence…
We definitely agree.
How do you all feel about double negatives?
Like it's nails to a chalkboard? *shrug*
Peak, peek, and pique are NOT the same word.
1. Peak- (n.) apex, height
They finally reached the PEAK of Mt. Everest.
2. Peek- (v.) to see
The kids tried to PEEK at their Christmas gifts.
3. Pique- (v.) intrigue
He PIQUED her interest before the first date.
I see this all the time and it's killing me softly!!!
"Wet" versus "whet" kills me.
And for the West Indian massive…
"Hello, good night" drives me nuts. "Good evening" is a greeting, and "good night" signals the end of a conversation.
Ha! "Hello, good night" is the standard greeting in my family. Doesn't get any more West Indian than that.
^^^ LOL! I could never get used to that when I lived in St. Thomas. My BF at the time would say it every time I called, LOL.
LMAO!!! SANGwich!!! Oh man I know exactly what you mean!!!
This is a super uppity "I'm fancy" post… and it has Streetz written all over it lol
Good one!
Lets not forget
COULD OF instead of COULD HAVE,
SHOULD OF instead of SHOULD HAVE,
and last, but certainly not the least,
WOULD OF instead of WOULD HAVE
OOOOO….OOOOO…. here's another one I hate
……..Can you ITCH my back for me….???
Please, itch for me….
NO, but I can SCRATCH your back….
OR
Can you borrow me some money?
Instead of "Can I borrow some money?"
"OOOOO….OOOOO…. here’s another one I hate
……..Can you ITCH my back for me….???
Please, itch for me….
NO, but I can SCRATCH your back…."
Just. Stop. Now.
I literally have tears rolling down my cheeks! I haven't heard that in a minute.
Am in Minnesota….. Moved here bout 8 years ago… I was like, quit playin… ya'll are not serious… with the ITCH IT and the BORROW ME…. lol
Great post – it reminded me of this video which is exactly what you're (not your) talking about!
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1943669
LOL! CLAS-SIC!
I know she didn't "open up her thighs to the sky!" lol
Niiiice!
#confession: I didn't know that "alright" wasn't grammatically acceptable. *blush*
TOO (NOT TO) FUNNY LOL
My grammatical pet peeve is when people say "li-berry" rather than "library". WTH is a liberry? Grrrrrrr.
IKR!!! LOL…. probably the same place you get SCRAW-berries…. or maybe across the SCREET from it. lol
OR maybe the place you buy SCRIMPS lol.
Heal vs. heel…
Ugh!
Heal- To restore to health or soundness; cure
Heel- a. The rounded posterior portion of the human foot under and behind the ankle.
b. The part, as of a sock, shoe, or stocking, that covers the rounded posterior portion of the human foot.
c. The built-up portion of a shoe or boot
I mean, they're NOT EVEN related….
"It is a lot of people in here"
Correction:
"There are a lot of people in here"!
subject verb agreement!
Oh, and "alot" vs "a lot" is a big one, too.
Oh and misuse of between and among. There is a difference people, please learn what it is.
Affect vs. Effect
One is a noun & the other a verb….
I had a man tell me that if I didn't want to be with him he could except it. WTF?
You guys have covered all my pet peeves, it seems, so I'm just going to add others that may not necessarily annoy me, but that I will always take note of:
– "would of" vs. "would have"
– "who" vs. "whom"
– "good" vs. "well" is one that I actually slip on more often than I'm comfortable with. I really had to force myself to start responding properly when asked how I am. It doesn't help that most people around me respond with "I'm good, thanks."
– "compliment" vs. "complement"
– "who's" vs. "whose"
– "definately" vs. "definitely"
– "neither, or" vs. "neither, nor"
– "were" vs. "where"
Just checking in on FB and one was sitting pretty waiting for me: "bare" vs. "bear"
What she said: "Bare with me…"
Good to know I'm not the only uppity negro running around here.
it's faux pas… not "feaux" pas. That grinds my gears. >__<
You forgot two my good man… Then vs. Than &
Whether vs. Weather….
(The Power of Correct Grammar) "With that I say Good Day Sir."
I hate when people don't use words correctly. All the big nerve workers are listed above, it makes me stop reading the blog/commenting depending on how serious the offense.
I also hate when people try to talk above their reading level (sound smart). Someone asked me(I'm not even sure if you can call it a question): "Mike, Can you inquire me as to why….?" I got an instant headache.
OR I was going back and forth with someone in the comment section and they let this one LOOSE
"nevermindtheless" as opposed to "nevertheless". I suspended my participation. I won at that point.
The irony of complaining about grammar and spelling while making a grammatical error in the process is, well delicious: "This is more of an annoyance written then pronounced because you should jump off a high cliff if you can’t pronounce it."
Then/than is another commonly misused word grouping. Then there's "I could care less," which of course means that you COULD care, but less. It's "I couldn't care less."
My favorite is the use of "anxious" when the speaker really means "eager." Our smug, self-important, and (allegedly) accurate media are quite often the most egregious abusers of the "anxious-eager" misused word grouping. Further, whenever I hear a media mogul blurt "the fact of the matter is…" I instantly conclude the speaker doesn't know the truth of the matter.
Now, a fairly new development in mispronunciations among the African-American community is pronunciation of any word beginning with "st." Why we've begun pronouncing this grouping like Germans do is beyond me. Listen to any A-A sportscaster pronounce "struggle" or "strike" or "straight." I was appalled when I heard the maddeningly mispronouncing Dick Vitale struggle with the pronunciation of any word beginning with "st," but I'm particularly irritated that we have adapted his horrific speech pattern.
If we want to sound stupid and unsophisticated, let's keep speaking the way we do…and get defensive with a heaping helping of "attitude" whenever someone, anyone, attempts to help us by correcting our extremely sloppy speech. If we want to speak English, then, dammit, let's do it with accuracy and care.