Mar
13
Grammar Demons Exorcised!
Filed Under Everyday Tips, Writing Skills, Communication
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Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to bear with me today as I cleanse my soul of the pain I’ve been carrying for quite some time…
You see, I’m a comma compulsive. I’m a punctuation perfectionist, a giddy grammar gal. And ok, I’m an admirer of alliteration. As a lover of language, I loathe the linguistic lawlessness of our land.
Today, let us cast out the venom of our vocabulary and cleanse the palate of our pronunciation!
Ok….that’s a stretch. But you get the idea. Here are a few of my verbal pet-peeves. Feel free to add yours to the lists in the comments section below.
A Whole Nother
What the heck is a “nother”? Have you ever seen this infamous “nother” that people speak of? I swear I heard Barack Obama use this phrase and it almost made me change my vote! Seriously people. It’s become so commonplace we all forget that “nother” isn’t even A WORD! Instead of saying, “That’s a whole nother thing,” which makes my skin crawl, try any of the following: “That’s a whole different thing,” or “That’s another thing altogether,” or “That’s totally different, man!!” Just take the non-word “nother” out of the equation.
Irregardless
Regardless means “without regard”. The prefix “ir” means without. It’s redundant to put “ir” in front of a word that already ends in “less”. I have heard incredibly intelligent, professional individuals use this word and it’s truly upsetting to me. Regardless of what you’ve heard in the past, please take note: irregardless is irmeaningless.
Supposably
For the life of me, I can’t understand why people have such a problem with this word “supposedly”. I’ve heard people say “supposily,” “supposivly” and “supposably”. The word is “supposedly”. The “ly” is a modifier that is added to the word “supposed”.
I certainly hope this helps clear up any confusion out there. Might I ask that, in an effort to make the world a better place, everyone please pass this along to a whole nother person who might benefit 
And please add your own verbal violations below…I know you have them.
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23 Responses to “Grammar Demons Exorcised!”
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Nucular! It’s NU-CLE-AR, darn it!
Drives me crazy every time GWB says it!
potata salad
tomata sandwich
lazy, LAZY speech drives me crazy
Paula - OMG! SO true! Hate it!!
Laura - Ug. That does sound lazy. And uneducated….
Anyone else?
Piller - meaning pillow
Winder - meaning window
Drives me INSANE!
Great idea for a post. My biggest pet peeve is not just spoken language grammar errors, but written grammar errors (I could go on and on!). Perhaps you could do a post on that!
But for the record, I can’t stand it when people say “try and” instead of “try to.” Example: “I’m going to try and go to the store.”
No - it is “try TO go to the store!”
1) “…cleanse the pallet…”? Do you mean the “palate”? Or is “cleanse the pallet” an expression I’m simply not familiar with?
2) “A whole nother”: The word “apron” was originally “napron” and, over time, the n in “a napron” migrated across the space. (Check the Oxford English Dictionary.) “A whole nother” is just an example of the same process in the opposite direction. I’m not defending it! Just giving you a heads-up - in the future, the word “other” is likely to have become “nother.”
A true language lover recognizes how language morphs and changes through out time. Much of our beloved “proper” grammar would’ve been incorrect in a different time.
James, fantastic catch! I also enjoy cleansing my pallets!!
And the author used “cleanse” twice. Such a grammar goddess as yourself must certainly have a large enough vocabulary to be able to come up with a whole nother word to use in the same paragraph. (Maybe a lil proof-reading before posting is in order?)
I don’t want to say “A whole different thing”. I like my southern twang and I say “A whole nother” And while I’m in NYC, I’m keep eatin my tomatas and potatas. Cause our use of the language is beautiful and I love to see how people use it differently in different areas of our vast and diverse country. No need to be condescending to other people who do not speak the same way that you do.
I agree with V, just toned down. I also love GWB. Our president is so cute! Anyway, I have many younger sisters that I have coached because we grew up in the trailer park so we didn’t know any better than how we were taught to speak. Instead of saying something broke, it’s actually broken; using badly in lieu of I feel bad, etc. My step-mother constantly got on to me about ain’t. The way you speak can sometimes indicate your education level. I don’t particularly like pilar and windar, but tomata and potata is how my grandmother said it, along with my other Tennessee relatives - melts my heart. It is interesting to hear the different accents and dialects.
While I do agree that language morphs throughout time and we should appreciate the unique dialects and cultures of other geographies, there is a difference between speaking with an accent (or maybe pronouncing words differently) and using a word incorrectly. A perfect example: “irregardless” in the original post is just wrong, “regardless” of how it is pronounced. But people who might pronounce something “tomata” would not use it incorrectly and *most likely* would not spell it that way if writing it.
Wow - people obviously have some serious opinions about this! That’s great! Keep it coming guys….
V - I mean no disrespect in this post. It was all in good fun. But no matter how you slice it, accent or no, using the word “nother” is, in my personal and humble opinion, silly. You don’t have to agree with me.
Yes, language morphs and I love accents as much as the next guy. I totally respect different cultures and customs and I hope I’ve always made that clear.
And of course, I do make mistakes - use words twice, spell things wrong….it happens. I’m not claiming to be perfect - just opinionated! I love writing and words - if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have this blog.
James, thanks for the catch on palate….changing it now….
Other thoughts guys??
My pet peeve is the word “pour” used instead of “pore” as in to “pour over” a book. What are they going to pour on the book? If one wishes to do an in-depth study of a book, one “pores over” the passages. One could also eliminate all confusion and do an “intent study” or “delve deeply into the meaning” rather than attempt to “pour” something on the book.
How about the pretentious over-correction of using myself in any and every case in which the simple pronoun “me” usually functions?
“I’d rather it be John or Suzie or perhaps even myself, for that matter.”
Much more common in the spoken word than in writing. That being said, I speak with a slight Southern accent that is magnified when I’m around those with deep Southern accents. I’ve undoubtedly launched a few “potata”s in my day.
This is a great topic. You covered my #1 - “irregardless.” I would like to add to the list “jewlery”. It makes me crazy when people reverse the l and e.
As for my own habits, I need to break myself of saying “like”. I’m not a Valley Girl but I’ve had that bad habit for years.
How about cuttelry instead of cutlery?
Or efisode instead of episode?
And people who think must’ve stands for “must of”?
Mind you, I have been sucked in by “irregardless”.
Imagine what happens if you have improper grammar on your resume? Right in the trash bin or the shredder!
Thanks,
Richard Rinyai
www.theprofessionalassistant.net
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The Worst Ever is a word we all usually use in the morning. A word that helps us start our days. The word is ‘Espresso’. Not EXPRESSO! Everyone always includes the ‘X’, even baristas at coffee shops say it incorrectly more often than not. It Kills Me!!
I abasolutely can’t stand when people use the words to, two,and two out of context. I recently graduated from college and I am the executive assistant to the CEO of a company which makes me the youngest person in my office. It boggles my mind how people are unable to use these simple words in proper context.
Two= a number
to= in reference “to” something
too= is used more as a description
I abasolutely can’t stand when people use the words to, two,and too out of context. I recently graduated from college and I am the executive assistant to the CEO of a company which makes me the youngest person in my office. It boggles my mind how people are unable to use these simple words in proper context.
Two= a number
to= in reference “to” something
too= is used more as a description
“laxsadaisical”
“tooken”
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Companies when they mean Company’s (plural vs. possessive)
One of my pet peeves is using “I” when “me” is correct, usually after “and”. I have heard this so many times from people who should know and do better! –such as announcers on NPR or network news shows.
Perhaps they think “I” is more formal or respectful.
“Susie and I are going to the movies” is correct.
“Harry made a cake for Susie and I” is NOT.
The rule of thumb I was taught (and that works very well) is to leave out the “‘name’ and” and see what sounds right. I don’t think anyone would say “Harry made a cake for I”.
The “and” is a way to shorten and combine “Harry made a cake for Susie” AND “Harry made a cake for me”. We don’t change from “me” to “I” just because there is an “and” in the middle.