Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 more than a few members are guilty of one or more of these crimes. read and learn. 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we're in a hurry, quickly dashing off emails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I'm being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It's expected. It's no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that there's no confusion about what we're saying and so that we look professional and reasonably bright. In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, "Did she just say 'irregardless'?", but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten. That's not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in emails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, there's no going back. We've just officially gone on record as being careless or clueless. And here's the worst thing. It's not necessary to be an editor or a language whiz or a spelling bee triathlete to spot such mistakes. They have a way of doing a little wiggle dance on the screen and then reaching out to grab the reader by the throat. So here we are in the era of Word's red-underline "wrong spelling, dumb ass" feature and Outlook's Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). It's the other stuff — correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded — that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Here's a quick review of some of the big ones. #1: Loose for lose No: I always loose the product key. Yes: I always lose the product key. #2: It's for its (or god forbid, its') No: Download the HTA, along with it's readme file. Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file. No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again. Yes: The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again. #3: They're for their for there No: The managers are in they're weekly planning meeting. Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting. No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it. Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it. #4: i.e. for e.g. No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware). Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., Ad-Aware). Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example". And a comma follows both of them. #5: Effect for affect No: The outage shouldn't effect any users during work hours. Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours. Yes: The outage shouldn't have any effect on users. Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime. Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead: No: The outage shouldn't impact any users during work hours. Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours. Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours. #6: You're for your No: Remember to defrag you're machine on a regular basis. Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis. No: Your right about the changes. Yes: You're right about the changes. #7: Different than for different from No: This setup is different than the one at the main office. Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office. Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office. #8 Lay for lie No: I got dizzy and had to lay down. Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down. Yes: Just lay those books over there. #9: Then for than No: The accounting department had more problems then we did. Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did. Note: Here's a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you don't need a then. Then is implicit, so it's superfluous and wordy: No: If you can't get Windows to boot, then you'll need to call Ted. Yes: If you can't get Windows to boot, you'll need to call Ted. #10: Could of, would of for could have, would have No: I could of installed that app by mistake. Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake. No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town. Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town. source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violent Gangbanger Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid The different from is news to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T4M* Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid True, We all slang here and there. But I don't slang when ever it comes to explaining a situation that involves using those words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid this is nothing to do with slang, and has everything to do with saying the right thing. loose and lose are not interchangable. they have completely different meanings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violent Gangbanger Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid Half on a baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumPuncher Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example". And a comma follows both of them. e.g. stands for 'example given' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rental Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid the "if/then" one is super fucking anal...its not an error, its just unnecessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid e.g. stands for 'example given' well, they said "e.g. means", so technically they're correct too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rental Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid dictionary.com says e.g. is latin for exempli gratia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLIK$ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid are has/is interchangeable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*42 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid Either or, neither nor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumPuncher Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid yeah but they put full quotation marks around "for example". I could say M.I.A means "gone missing" but that wouldn't be totally right either. really I just had to find one mistake in the thing, but I agree this should be required reading for everyone with an internet connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid are has/is interchangeable? i suppose it depends on context/tense/rules of ownership. glik0 has a bucket of turnips. glik0 is a bucket of turnips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumPuncher Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid dictionary.com says e.g. is latin for exempli gratia I remember NB from school as Nota Bene or 'note well' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLIK$ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid how about this has nothing to do with something as opposed to this is nothing to do with something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*42 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid I remember people thinking '"A.D." meant "After Death" back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid how about this has nothing to do with something as opposed to this is nothing to do with something? you're trying to break my brain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viperface Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Issac Brock Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid What about are for our, "are stuff is right here," that shit is some really flagrant stupidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Jefe Uno Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid Grammar is for people who don't know how to sound cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid yeah isaac, the are/our thing really fucking annoys me too. it's just flat out 100% incorrect. one member who is guilty of that is sneakandcreep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milk Grenades Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid aqua teen hunger force colon movie film for theaters? Views: 112 Posted By Abracadabra Re: aqua teen hunger force colon movie film for theaters? hot fuzz is also going to be an epicly funny movie. is it epicly or epically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rental Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid hey, guess what? someone has two flagrant grammar mistakes in this thread title. dun dun dunnnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid is it epicly or epically? epically. i've been watching this show 'epicly later'd' on vbs which keeps fucking me up on that word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLIK$ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid i hate when idiots switch adsorption and and absorption Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid hey, guess what? someone has two flagrant grammar mistakes in this thread title. dun dun dunnnn hey guess what, i just did that on purpose to make teh funniez. lollers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid i hate when idiots switch adsorption and and absorption and and i hate that too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLIK$ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid i also hate when the fucking immigrant who works in the stability facility at my lab sends me a memo saying my development batch is separated. Considering the fact there are about 15 kinds of separations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Issac Brock Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid yeah isaac, the are/our thing really fucking annoys me too. it's just flat out 100% incorrect. one member who is guilty of that is sneakandcreep ban stick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rental Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Re: 10 flagrant grammer mistake that makes you look stupid liar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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