Grammar and spellling that make you twitch

[cwm]

Queue. And cue. And NOT, please not, que, which as far as I know isn't even a WORD in English.

I deal with this one at work. I've simply changed the word to Queue on the master roster (which I've somehow inherited as being in charge of), and any time someone asks me, I'll make sure to use the proper word in my response. It hurts me so much.

[cabbageweevil]

I may be a grammarian at heart, but I like ditties like that. Is there a source somewhere, online, that shows dialects for different parts of England? I have tons of English ancestors and have traced them to many parts of the country (Whitechapel in London, Yorkshire, etc.). It would be fascinating research.

Wish I knew of such -- unfortunately, I don't  -- only know random such stuff, heard of by chance in pre-Internet days. Hopefully more learned scholars than I, may be able to point you in the right direction.

[BeagleMommy]

Although I don't correct my dad, some of the things he says drive me batty.  Example:

fillum - film
furnitures - he thinks it's the plural of furniture; can't convince him that furniture is both singular and plural like pants
deers - see above only with deer (he says he's right because he orders "three beers" so deers must be plural)

Sigh.

[cabbageweevil]

Although I don't correct my dad, some of the things he says drive me batty.  Example:

fillum - film
furnitures - he thinks it's the plural of furniture; can't convince him that furniture is both singular and plural like pants
deers - see above only with deer (he says he's right because he orders "three beers" so deers must be plural)

Sigh.

I'm apparently assuming a role in this thread, of defending bad English-usage; but, our language is a crazily irrational and complicated and inconsistent one, as regards word-use.  You order "a beer", but  if ordering more than one, it's "x beers".  You kill one deer, but if you kill more than one, it's still "x deer".  The right locution has to be basically learnt, instance-by-instance -- is it any wonder that those who are not natural genius-wordsmiths -- even with English as their birth-speech -- sometimes muck it up?

[Liliane]

I feel the need to trot out this little piece of amusement from somewhere deep in the bowels of my email archive...

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

English really is a pain!

[joraemi]

The sticker on the gas pump at the corner - for *years* said, "please pre-pay in advance"

CRUD MONKEYS!

Thankfully, in the last 6 months or so, they have been replaced with new, grammatically correct stickers.

[Corvid]

Queue. And cue. And NOT, please not, que, which as far as I know isn't even a WORD in English.

Que?

[amandaelizabeth]

Not now Manuel.

[Mel the Redcap]

And Basil is in the ratatouille~! *sob*

[Liliane]

Here's one I'm not entirely sure about, but I look at it and it just seems...off.

"The method in which you do (x)" - shouldn't it be "the method WITH which"? How can you be in a method? It's certainly not a place.

[Mel the Redcap]

Here's one I'm not entirely sure about, but I look at it and it just seems...off.

"The method in which you do (x)" - shouldn't it be "the method WITH which"? How can you be in a method? It's certainly not a place.

I think I'd use "the method BY which you do (x)", but definitely not 'in'!

[Liliane]

Here's one I'm not entirely sure about, but I look at it and it just seems...off.

"The method in which you do (x)" - shouldn't it be "the method WITH which"? How can you be in a method? It's certainly not a place.

I think I'd use "the method BY which you do (x)", but definitely not 'in'!

Yes, "by" definitely works too! So glad it's not just me who thinks "in" is wrong...

[violinp]

Here's one I'm not entirely sure about, but I look at it and it just seems...off.

"The method in which you do (x)" - shouldn't it be "the method WITH which"? How can you be in a method? It's certainly not a place.

I think I'd use "the method BY which you do (x)", but definitely not 'in'!

Yes, "by" definitely works too! So glad it's not just me who thinks "in" is wrong...

In that vein, I'd like to submit "faced with." As in, "I was faced with a problem." NO! Walls are faced WITH things; people are faced BY them.

[missanpan]

I feel the need to trot out this little piece of amusement from somewhere deep in the bowels of my email archive...

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

English really is a pain!

This is brilliant!

[DaisyG]

I feel the need to trot out this little piece of amusement from somewhere deep in the bowels of my email archive...

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

English really is a pain!

Can I please submit these further poems:
http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/poems.php