Here is a list of the common grammar mistakes that people make too often that absolutely bug me out as a grammar-nazi. I'm sure some of you will come to agree with me on a few of these, and a few of you will find yourself very guilty. These pet peeves of mine happen everyday and will mostly likely never come to an end, but I will give a few lessons if you're guilty and want to learn how to write/say things correctly.
1. Alot
SURPRISE! A lot is actually two words.
2. Liberry
The nastiest sounding of berries out there. Library is actually pronounced the way it looks. LYB-RARE-IE. So unless you've just discovered a new species of berries, it's library.
3. Your pretty
My pretty? Do you see it anywhere? No, probably not. Unless you're talking about my prettiness, you probably meant, 'You are pretty'. If you meant 'You are pretty' then you meant to write, 'You're pretty'. And honestly at this point, don't even give me a compliment if you're going to use incorrect grammar because it's not cute :)
You're = you are, always put the apostrophe where the letter is missing, in this case, the apostrophe is replacing the A in ARE.
You're bad at grammar.
You're going to need a lot of help.
You're never going to use the wrong 'your' again.
Your = possessive. Possessive means belonging to someone or something.
Your terrible grammar makes me cry.
You're going to have to return to your 3rd grade teacher.
Your use of 'your' will be better after reading this article.
4. There eating together at 2pm.
I just felt so uncomfortable typing that and letting it stay there. There are 3 different types of this word and the uses are very distinct. The correct term for this sentence is 'They're eating together at 2pm'.
There = Refers to a place or location
Your grammar is over there, in the toilet.
He is sitting there, trying to figure out which 'there' to use before he sends the text to Stevie (me).
Their = Refers to possession (the same way your does)
Their grammar lessons are ineffective.
They are going to have to change their ways.
They're = They are (the same way you're = you are)
They're supposed to teach you things.
But they're bad at it.
5. Its raining outside
Who's raining? By not adding an apostrophe, you're inferring that someone's/something's raining is outside. It is raining outside, therefore, It's raining outside.
It's = it is, every single time there is an apostrophe in it's it means it is no matter what. If you reread your sentence and you're not sure which one to use, replace the word it's with it is and you'll be able to find out easiest that way.
It's = It is
It's a simple concept.
Its = refers to possession (belonging to something)
Its concept is simple.
6. You are very unique.
Unique means there is only one. It is impossible to be very one of something. The correct sentence should be 'You are unique'.
7. The cookies are for my brother and I.
This is a hard one to explain to those who think that using I after another person in a sentence is always polite and correct. I acts as a subject, but the subject in the sentence is cookies. Brother and I are objects of the prepositional phrase, for my. Who is it for? My brother. Who else are the cookies for? Me, not I. Therefore the correct sentence is, 'The cookies are for my brother and me'.
8. I could care less
Good! So you do care about how I tripped up the stairs while going to class today! I really enjoy when people say this because they are failing to make a sarcastic comment. The correct way to say it is, 'I couldn't care less' BECAUSE THERE IS NO CARE LEFT TO CARE ABOUT.
9. If you think you are better then me, than you should leave
This statement is true, but it's written incorrectly. I hope you noticed that the then/than used in this sentence are in the wrong places! It should be 'If you think you are better than me, then you should leave.'
Then = refers to time, an order in which someone/something does
He typed 'alot' and then got lectured by Stevie.
Stevie typed this article, then lost all of her friends.
Than = used to compare two or more things or ideas
Stevie has nothing better to do than write an article about how people piss her off.
People are probably more pissed than she is because she thinks she knows everything.
10. I have less friends now that I wrote this list.
Now that I'm burning all bridges with my friends who are guilty of having/using terrible grammar, here's one more to make sure they don't want to be my friend. The correct sentence to this is, 'I have fewer friends now that I wrote this list.' Here's why:
Less of something means something you can't count exactly.
There is less use of correct grammar now more than ever before.
--There is less grass on my neighbors lawn.
--I watch less TV than you.
Fewer of something means you can count a definite number of it.
I have fewer grammatical errors than you.
--There are fewer apples in my basket.
--Using fewer words in a sentence makes it less confusing.
$10 reward and permission to beat my ass if you find a grammatical error in this article.
Thank you for your time.
