[Closed] Somethink annoying

Should of, could of, would of etc...
The incorrect use of "epicentre"
Everything is a "chemical", not just compounds synthesised in a laboratory
Many numbers can be expressed as a fraction including ones greater than 1, so "fraction of" could mean "bigger than".

and drifting off topic...

the blatant mis-use and mis-understanding of numbers, fractions, percentages and ratios. Lazy numerical journalism really pisses me off.

Wooosh.
(sound of stoner's post going straight over my head)

The strength of the english language is its flexibility. It evolves.

It's one of the many things that makes us better than the french.

I can think of many but two examples I find really annoying are.

[i]"I aint done nuffink"[/i] and [i]"innit"[/i]

"Aks" instead of "ask" really pisses me off

People misspelling lose, it seems people think it is spelled loose.

I want to [i]lose[/i] weight not loose weight. [i]Loose[/i] weight is what you have already.
:o)

I don't care what people say, it's the rising intonation at the end of every ****ing sentence that really pisses me off.

"I went to the shops"

is not a question, ffs.

[i]The strength of the english language is its flexibility. It evolves.[/i]

A language should evolve to become better, not because morons can't speak properly.

"us" rather than "we",
"can us?"
Arrrghh!!!

Not so much annoying, but puzzling. I have frequently noticed news readers saying things like "An historic..." without dropping the 'h'. Surely it should be "A historic..." or, if you're Ray Winstone, "An 'istoric"

Tautology does my head in.

The most ultimate etc etc... "giving 110%" does as well, its not possible.

Oh goody, another opportunity to pontificate and feel superior!

‘Ten Items or Less’ signs; Less should be used with abstract rather than discrete quantities, i.e. less pollution and fewer pollutants.
Person A: “I’m sat here.”
Person B: “OK sure, but who was it that sat you there? Oh, no one, so you mean ‘I’m sitting here.”
Gotten – on my nerves
Who (who? What are you a bloody owl?) versus whom
Definitely spelt definately. Definately can’t believe this one is so prevalent
Oriented - how can you be 'oriented' unless your from China?
Apostrophe’s of possession being used in the plural form of a word – let us not even get started with plural possession.

Shortening Words like they do when texting really annoys me, like see you in 10 min instead of minutes 😡

This is weird, but interesting try and read it, I was surprised when I managed it without stopping to try and fathem certain words!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too .
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Pacific is an ocean - specific is not!

Using "Decimate" to refer to something being "damaged significantly" or "destroy or kill most of" - it means remove/kill 1 in 10 FFS!!!!

Sorry bad day today....

What's amazing footstomper, is that you can [i]type[/i] like that!
(But, yeah I found it easy to read :-))

[i]The most ultimate etc etc... "giving 110%" does as well, its not possible.[/i]

The 110% isn't sementically incorrect though. Your assuming that 100% is the maximum possible value under any circustance, whereas it could represent a maximum based on some other metric.

Used cars advertised as 'immaculate for year'. It's either immaculate or it ain't.

And people who use 'myself' instead of 'me' because they think it makes them sound clever.

Sementically - is that when you get semen in your pubic hair and it tickles? 😉

The truth of the matter is that I'm devastated about that. The true facts are that we are using real action to put in place somefink to help skulesnospitles.

(Is this where I say LOL?)

Ian Munro, I hear you, in theory you can give more than you have by borrowing etc ...but a sportsperson cannot give 110% effort, 100% is the most you can give.

Totally Rad(ical) is another... its either radical or it isn't

skellington and secutary

Also 'in an historic move yesterday Gordon Brown announced....'

Of course it was historic, it was yesterday!!

footstomper - it deos mtaetr in wcihh oedrr ltrtees are agearnrd - it's jsut taht in yuor pgprraah tehy are anraergd so taht the wdros are ulbtsrddnneaae.

[i]ulbtsrddnneaae[/i] ?
Obviously it does matter

[i]And people who use 'myself' instead of 'me' because they think it makes them sound clever. [/i]

That one crops up in Management Speak quite regularly: "If you require any further clarification please come and see myself"
Tautological phrases such as "progress forwards" do my head in too.

Use of the word literally to describe something that literally isn't happening.

People using 'I' when they should use 'me', because they think 'I' is correct.

"Why not come and see Steve and I?"

Mike, I'm literally with you on that one

[i]"Aks" instead of "ask" really pisses me off [/i]
Damn right. Every hep cat kno it's Ax.

[i]And people who use 'myself' instead of 'me' because they think it makes them sound clever. [/i]
first against the wall.

Know what really gets on my tits? The extraneous 'ch' in 'research' in footstomper's post.

And the worst thing? The BBC are guilty of using this one frequently.
'For free'.
gnaaaaah.

"I aint done nuffink" and "innit"

but I [b]neva[/b]!! I fink 'innit' is well brill innit :o)

People using 'I' when they should use 'me', because they think 'I' is correct.

actually, methinks* this can be quite hard to work out in any particular context, so it counts as snobbery!

* it was good enough for ol' Shakespeare...

[i]...but a sportsperson cannot give 110% effort, 100% is the most you can give.[/i]

I'm sure the most winningest ones can 🙂

it really annoys me how it says 'favorite' on this site 😀

And people who use 'myself' instead of 'me' because they think it makes them sound clever.

Beaten to it (and by crazy_legs, too).

I see it lots in emails from apparently educated people. Sometimes I wonder that they're scared of the word "me". They're clearly not as intelligent as they woulkd like to think.

Oh, and the incorrect use of "would", "should" and "could". you know, as shown on the overblown sentence so many people use as a sign off to their emails: "I would be grateful if you could send that to me." My immediate response is to think "I could. But why should I?". Of course, what they really meant to write was "I should be grateful if you would...", thus enabling - and requiring - the recipient to send the item.

The other, and it's much more prevalent in The North than The South, is the overuse of the progressive: "Is anyone wanting anything sending in the post?". "Yes, I'm wanting...." means "I'm giving you a running commentary on what I want without actually telling you that I want it". FFS. Idiot Northern types. Also used by the obesqueous when providing thanks "Thanking you". Arrgh.

Little of this affects (note, not "effects") our understanding, but that's only because some of use have the brains to understand how it ought to work, but also have to compassion to make allowances for the illiterate and imbecilic.

actually, methinks* this can be quite hard to work out in any particular context, so it counts as snobbery!

It's really easy to work out. If the other person or people weren't there, would you say 'I' or 'me'? That's the right one.

"Steve and I would like you to come over" cf "I would like you to come over"

"Come over and see Steve and I" cf "Come over and see I"

language is what we say it is. innit.

Verbification.......

The horrid trait of taking a noun and creating a new verb therefrom.

I recently heard "We aim to incent people with....". Incent? Incense, more like. Grrrr.

People who say "I am loving that". I want to punch them in the face and see if they love that too. And people who say "I'm chilling', or worse 'chillax' - spackers. In fact anyone who doesn't conform to my narrow views on what is right or wrong in the world 🙂

geetee1972 - Member
Oh goody, another opportunity to pontificate and feel superior!

Oriented - how can you be 'oriented' unless your from China?

Apostrophe’s of possession being used in the plural form of a word – let us not even get started with plural possession.

I guess that's an ironic use of [i]your[/i]? And not to mention your errant apostrophe in the plural of 'apostrophe'?

hehehe 🙂

The horrid trait of taking a noun and creating a new verb therefrom

Like "mountain biking", which should be "mountain bike riding"?

I also hate the people who do conform to my narrow views. They're just obsequious gits trying to get on my good side 🙂

Teh.

tomdebruin - Key Master
it really annoys me how it says 'favorite' on this site

Well, you're the man who can change that! I've been harping on about it for weeks now.... 😉

[i]Like "mountain biking", which should be "mountain bike riding"? [/i]
absolutely. 'biking' is a horrible word.

"Brought" instead of "bought"
Really makes me angry.

zokes - Member

tomdebruin - Key Master
it really annoys me how it says 'favorite' on this site

Well, you're the man who can change that! I've been harping on about it for weeks now....

Then there's the use of "Forums" as a plural, when we all know it should be "Fora".

Now, obviously someone will be along in a second with the dictionary, but they'll be wrong. Fora is the correct Latin plural and it's a Latin word. So nerrr.

Then there's the use of "Forums" as a plural, when we all know it should be "Fora"

Ahem:

forum n. (pl. forums)

1) a meeting or medium for an exchange of views.
2) (pl. fora) (in an ancient Roman city) a public square or marketplace used for judicial and other business. Origin ME: from Latin, lit. what is out of doors.

[i]Then there's the use of "Forums" as a plural, when we all know it should be "Fora" [/i]

[pedantic mode on]There should be a full stop at the end of that sentence.[pedantic mode off]

Like "mountain biking", which should be "mountain bike riding"?

actually "mountain bike rider participation" to remove the final wicked "ing"

Then there's the use of "Forums" as a plural, when we all know it should be "Fora"

dictionary.com has:

fo?rum [fawr-uhm, fohr-uhm]
–noun, plural fo?rums, fo?ra ?

(I love the edit feature....!)

Sports people who reply to an interview question and use both yes (yeah) and no in the same answer.

Fora is the correct Latin plural and it's a Latin word. So nerrr.

I missed that on first reading, but perhaps the writer has forgotten that we are using English ?

amo,amas,amat,hic,haic,hoc

perhaps it's churlish to suggest that this is not in fact, "The marketplace or public square of an ancient Roman city", and at the time parchment was not able to connect to the interweb...

[i]Sports people who reply to an interview question and use both yes (yeah) and no in the same answer. [/i]

It's not just sports, my former boss used to answer most questions like that, by starting "Yeah, no it's...."
And verbification as pointed out by Captain Flasheart was annoyingly prevalent in the Olympics coverage: "And more news from the velodrome where .... has medalled in the .... event"
Has WON A MEDAL! Not MEDALLED.

And breathe...

Can we please make it a regular friday thread?
So I can keep in touch with the correct use of the English language.
I am fearing that one year in France with no or very little practice, will not do any good to my rather poor grammar.

[i]Has WON A MEDAL! Not MEDALLED[/i]
From the OED
1. trans. To decorate or honour with a medal; to confer a medal upon as a mark of distinction. Usu. in pass.

1822 BYRON Let. 4 May (1979) IX. 154 He was medalled. 1860 THACKERAY Nil nisi Bonum in Roundabout Papers (1899) 174 Irving went home medalled by the King. 1900 Nation (N.Y.) 4 Oct. 269/2 It would have been much more to the point, anyway, had he [sc. Herr Menzel] exhibited and been medalled [at the Paris Exhibition] as illustrator. 1973 L. M. BOSTON Memory in House ix. 120 Outside it I was introduced to the young illustrator who was also being medalled. 1985 New Yorker 18 Mar. 125/1 He was eulogized..and was renowned and medalled for his war record.
2. intr. U.S. Sport. To win a medal (i.e., to come first, second, or third in a sporting event or competition).

1966 Valley News (Van Nuys, Calif.) 9 June 34 Divers from the Rita Curtis..Club gold-medaled in all of the events but three... In the boys competition the following RCVAC divers medaled:..Phil Loyola, 2nd; [etc.]. 1979 Washington Post 19 June D6/2 Our women are coming along beautifullythey've medaled well recently. 1984 Marathon & Distance Runner Oct. 18/1 Gabriella Dorio made her break too early, otherwise she could have medalled. 1994 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) 6 Feb. E1/1 U.S. bobsledders haven't medaled since 1956.

In the boys competition the following RCVAC divers medaled

thak'll learn ya crazy-legs 🙂

[i]so "fraction of" could mean "bigger than".[/i]

That would be an "improper fraction of".

Verbification.......

The horrid trait of taking a noun and creating a new verb therefrom

Verbing rocks.

when we say "a fraction of something", I think we usually imply a [i]smallish[/i] fraction. I'm not sure where the notional limit would be, something less than 1/8th I think, above which we'd call it a "part" or a "considerable fraction". Interestingly, as it's unspoken, perhaps people have different ideas of just how big a part counts as a fraction in these terms ?

You lot would explode if you lived in the BVI. Grammar here follows a whole different set of rules and drives me bonkers.

Where a word ends in T or ED it's not pronounced so "ACT" is pronounced "ACK", "BAKED" would be pronounced "BAKE" ie, "Tonights special is bake chicken".

The one that realy annoys me though is "Police" used as singular and plural without being prefaced with "The" and "is and are" are frequently used in the wrong context. Even in the media.

ie Police is investigating the Murder, or "Winston is a Police".

From the OED
1. trans. To decorate or honour with a medal; to confer a medal upon as a mark of distinction. Usu. in pass.

Chris hoy was medalled [i]by[/i] the IOC. To say that Chris Hoy medalled is incorrect.

I stood or I was standing.
Not, I was stood, arrgg.
Would people say.... I was slid down the slide no.

[i]You lot would explode if you lived in the BVI.[/i]

Borough of Village Idiots?

[i]thak'll learn ya crazy-legs [/i]
Er no, accoridng to miketuelly above, my post stands as being correct. So there. 😛

Chris hoy was medalled by the IOC. To say that Chris Hoy medalled is incorrect.

BVI British Virgin Isles?

Gotten is a normal word, some people just don't know where to use it. Also, can't get wound up about decimate, the original use was killing one in ten, but as SFB continues to tell us, languages evolve, and now it's taken to mean to "destroy utterly"

loving pedant threads.... 😉

I think Humpty Dumpty has the last say:

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

Oriented annoys me too.

I don't think the fact that the language "evolves" so fast is a good thing, it makes learning it harder and means less of it gets used and fewer people bother to learn the correct ways - they just get lazy. The one thing I've noticed moving from England to Glasgow is the fact that the people I work with now have a much larger vocabulary than the English people I worked with (on the whole, certain exceptions) and the students seem to have a far better grasp of grammar. Its really nice to see (hear!), I can understand their every word and they can create a descriptive and concise sentence. In England the vast majority seem to start with "err" or "innit just". They might both know the same detail but Crist do the Scots sound more intelligent when they talk! Maybe it shouldn't, but it really does affect the way you think of them, and it affects their written output too, of course.

Obviously we all use scrappy English on forums for speed of response so I'm not professing to be perfect!

Anyone listen to Stephen Fry's podcasts? The latest is on this very topic and he's had a bit of a change of heart. He ridiculed miserable gits who spend their lives moaning on about incorrect apostrophes. Almost converted me...

As he says, Shakespeare made verbs out of nouns all the time!

U-turn Fry, don't listen to him, says whatever gets a laugh.

Our septic friend like to surveille things rather than observe or watch!

On this very site (pre-hack) "Singletrack is a mountain bike magazine based out of Europe".

Since you lot are waaaaay more anal than me, I'm sure I don't need to explain why this is so very wrong.

for sure

[i]cordage, signage and transportation[/i] - always used when a shorter more simpler word would do.
[i]utilised[/i] - nearly always used when used is appropriate
people how use [i]headed[/i] when the appropriate English term is [i]heading[/i].

Shakespeare spelled his own [b]name[/b] 5 different ways, and I found Jane Austen using different spellings for quite a few words in 'Pride & Prejudice'

In a sandwich/coffee shop: '[i]Can I get[/i] the tuna mayo…'. You're in Bracknell, not [i]Manhattan[/i], where we say 'please may I?'

On the train: 'this train will shortly be [i]arriving into[/i]…'

I've given up on the apostrophe. I even find myself in two minds about using it at all, because I know some people will think I've used it incorrectly and judge me, when in fact they'd be wrong.

Slightly more worryingly for me, I've started instead to get annoyed when people use three full stops ... instead of an ellipses … or a hyphen — where they should have used a dash, like that. :-/

Lynne Truss has so much to answer for, I'm glad to hear Stephen Fry has distanced himself from the amateur army of petty pedants who like to sneer at greengrocers' signs.

I'm willing to forgive most minor typos and lax usage of English, but there are a few things that "boil my piss" (including that).

Me: "Have you got the remote control?"
Wife: "I do."
Me: "You mean you have?"
Wife: "I mean I do have."
Me: "No you don't, you were trying to be all American."
Wife: "Shut up."

My pet peeve that I see at work all the time, is people putting a decimal point inbetween the hours and minutes when they write the time. 4.30 instead of 4:30.

4 point 3 hours is somethink (sic) entirely different.

Me: "Have you got the remote control?"
Wife: "I do."
Me: "You mean you have?"
Wife: "I mean I do have."
Me: "No you don't, you were trying to be all American."
Wife: "Shut up."

I do [have] is perfectly acceptable?

init.!

I'll go again....

People saying "Haitch" instead of "aitch" for the letter H.
People saying "I'm just itching myself" - NO YOU'RE NOT!
Can you borrow me a... [starting to see red]