6 Grammar Mistakes that Make Me Cringe
12:01:00
Before people shun me off
for being too petty and judging others for their grammatical mistakes, let me
clarify one thing. This is my PERSONAL opinion. It is something that upsets me,
a pet peeve, just like someone who cannot stand messy work stations or someone
chattering during a movie. SO read on ONLY if you are ready to welcome the Grammar
Nazi version of me!
I understand that English
is a second language to many and hence such mistakes are common human errors.
What I don’t understand is.. Why do people make the same mistakes continuously?
Especially once they’ve been corrected. And hey, if you can’t remember or if
you don’t want to fix the mistakes, WHY do you wish to continue using the
language? Many a times, people will use their English to impress others, not realizing
that their incorrect usage of words ends up becoming a repellent agent, e.g. “YOUR
beautiful.” MY beautiful WHAT???? *deep breaths*
Following is a list of my
‘favourite’ five mistakes. In my dictionary, if you had the privilege of going
to an English-medium school, you have NO excuse of getting these wrong!
1. There, Their, They’re
I think this is
the most common grammar error made worldwide. But, I think if you try to practice
the three forms, you can remember which one is which in NO time. ‘There’ is used to indicate place. ‘Their’ is used to indicate possession. ‘They’re’ is a contraction for ‘they are’.
Here is how to use them correctly in a sentence:
Can you please put the book there and bring me my
pen?
The twins didn’t like sharing their toys.
They’re going
to Disneyland for the summers.
2. Your, You’re
Another VERY
common mistake but definitely something that is EASILY distinguishable. It is
very similar to the one above. ‘Your’ is
used for possession. ‘You’re’ is
used as a contraction of ‘you are’. Honestly,
anyone who mixes up these two, including my friends (I love you guys, but this
is just NOT on), gets a little lecture from me.
Here is how to use them correctly in a sentence:
Your new
hairstyle really suits you.
You’re beautiful.
(Why thank you!)
p.s. writing ‘ur’
instead of the full form does NOT save any time, in fact, it is nothing but an
eye sore for your reader!
3. Were, We’re, Where
Same as stated
above, ‘where’ is used to indicate
place, ‘were’ is the past tense of ‘are’
and ‘we’re’ is the contraction used
for ‘we are’. Here is how to use them correctly:
We’re getting
late, the movie is going to begin in fifteen minutes!
Were
you present on the day of the surprise quiz?
Where
is the nearest gas station located?
4. Missing out
articles: a, an, the
Okay so this one
is not very common. But I have come across many people who eliminate articles
out of written text, sometimes when they’re doing a literal translation or just
because they don’t put in enough effort (yes that’s what I feel when you omit
articles when you talk to me). Tell me yourself, which of the below sounds more
eloquent?
I went to park/ I went to the park.
He would like to eat apple/ He would like to eat an apple.
They gave me gift/ They gave me a gift.
I’ll let you be
the judge on this one.
5. Wrong
prepositions: in, on, at
Similar to #3 but
slightly more confusing. Okay, I accept that many a times, it is not easy to
choose which of these is correct, e.g. The children are at school or The children
are in
school (both seem correct, however, in all technicalities, the first is
the right way to say it). But, my grammar police-ness activates when people use
these incorrectly in the strangest of sentences:
“The cup is in the table.” HOW can it be IN a
table? Like is it inside it? How? Right? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just say: “The
cup is on the table.”?
“The files are at my room.” AGAIN? Does it not
sound incorrect to you? Just say: “The files are in my room.”
6. Subject Verb
Agreement
This too is not
something I expect everyone to understand; just the people who HAVE studied
English as a second language throughout their life. What is Subject-Verb
Agreement? Basically when the verb is correct according to the specific
subject, e.g. we all (should) know the correct present tense of the verb “be”:
I am
You are
He/She/It is
They are
And of the verb “have”:
I have
You have
He/She/It has
They have
So now the
question is… Why do most people STILL end up making this basic error?
You has to stop eating junk food—You
have
to stop eating junk food.
The train are left the station—The train
has
left the station.
I am not going
into details of all other verbs and other tenses for now, but you get an idea
yes?
Among a billion
other grammar mistakes, these six definitely top the list. And I really do hope
that this list can help someone learn and hence avoid to make these errors in
the future. Also, I do want to add that NO one is perfect. I still make the
mistake between stationery/stationary and practice/practice sometimes but the
key is : take initiative to FIX your mistakes rather than being lazy/proud
about it! Do share your personal pet peeves, grammar mistakes and/or others!
5 comments
Another common mistake, which is technically subtle : Adverbial Nouns
ReplyDeleteexample: I am HOME vs I am AT HOME
Haha... that one i think everyoneeeee says!
DeleteI can totally relate to this! LOL! I'm a grammar Nazi haha >__<
ReplyDeletexo, sharon
http://www.stylelullaby.com/personal/how-i-blog-everyday/
I am so glad there are more of us! Hehe! thanks for the checking my post out! :)
DeleteGrammar is so important, you're so right. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDelete