Common Grammatical Errors

[OrangeSky]

"You know about Judy right? She's my sister backslash best friend."
or
"You know about Judy right? She's my sister slash symbol best friend."

Depending of course on which you say, slash symbol or backslash.

Minor notes regarding slash and backslash....

Firstly if you're going to say slash symbol instead of slash you'd have to say backslash symbol instead of backslash too.

Secondly there is a difference between slash / and backslash \

Slash slants forward and backslash slants backward.

You're absolutely right. I made a mistake there. Thanks Zanity.

Sometimes I try to post and run and it...uh...doesn't really work.

Obviously.

[tequathisy]

Something I've noticed creeping in lately is the use of the word of instead of have.

As in "You should of told me."

Instead of "You should have told me."

How on earth do you mix those two words up? They mean completely different things, but I've heard people say of instead of have. Do they think that when somebody is saying should've they're really saying should of?

[OrangeSky]

Do they think that when somebody is saying should've they're really saying should of?

Yep. That's exactly what they think it means.

[nibbles2]

One that I've seen a few times lately

my interest is peaked.

Wrong. that means that my my interest is pointy. The word is piqued. As is my interested is roused/excited.

[Janetfl]

Hey I'm the first one to admit when I'm wrong and I think I've done this one nibbles!!!!

One that I've seen a few times lately

my interest is peaked.

Wrong. that means that my my interest is pointy. The word is piqued. As is my interested is roused/excited.

Thank you for pointing that out because now I will use the correct spelling!!!!!

JAN

[jbangelo]

One mistake that I see A LOT (not just in fic, but in everyday language), is the usage of "you and I" versus "you and me."

I think a lot of people are under the misconception that it is grammatically incorrect to you use "me," and that "I" is always correct. Not so. The way I learned it is to say the sentence leaving out the other pronoun (or person's name, whatever), and see which one sounds correct.

For example:

If you want to say, "Pete and ___ are going to the store," simply say it to yourself leaving out the Pete. "I am going to the store." You wouldn't say, "Me am going to the store." Therefore, "I" is the correct usage in this sentence.

But if you were saying, "Sally followed Pete and ___ to the store," it would be "me." Again, following the same rule: "Sally followed me to the store." You wouldn't say, "Sally followed I to the store."

Hope all that made sense.

[nibbles2]

One mistake that I see A LOT (not just in fic, but in everyday language), is the usage of "you and I" versus "you and me."

I think a lot of people are under the misconception that it is grammatically incorrect to you use "me," and that "I" is always correct. Not so. The way I learned it is to say the sentence leaving out the other pronoun (or person's name, whatever), and see which one sounds correct.

For example:

If you want to say, "Pete and ___ are going to the store," simply say it to yourself leaving out the Pete. "I am going to the store." You wouldn't say, "Me am going to the store." Therefore, "I" is the correct usage in this sentence.

But if you were saying, "Sally followed Pete and ___ to the store," it would be "me." Again, following the same rule: "Sally followed me to the store." You wouldn't say, "Sally followed I to the store."

Hope all that made sense.

Good tip.

That works for she and her / he and him too.

Using the example above, I often see "Her and Pete are going to the store." You wouldn't say "Her is going to the store." It's 'She and Pete are going to the store / He and Pete are going to the store.'

[isabelle]

[quote="ultimatepickupline"]Okay, here's one that bothers me.

Barely vs. Barley

Barely is the one people ususally mean. It means something similar to "almost didn't". As in "I just barely got it done."

Barley is a grain. As in a food.

[quote]


While you're talking about Barely, I'd like to mention a related one. Bear vs. Bare.

Bear is an animal but it also is used to connotate a burden. Bare means you're naked. Therefore the sentance should read:

Michael couldn't bear to see Maria smiling and singing with Billy.

If you write: "Michael couldn't bare to see Maria smilling and singing with Billy", it would mean that he can't be naked when he sees that. Perhaps true, but I don't think it's what is intended.

[CandyDreamQueen]

[
If you write: "Michael couldn't bare to see Maria smilling and singing with Billy", it would mean that he can't be naked when he sees that. Perhaps true, but I don't think it's what is intended.

lol

Here is an error that my beta always has to correct me on. I often use the word “that” when I should use the word “who”.

For example, I will write: “Max is the guy that saved my life.” Instead of, “Max is the guy who saved my life.”

I believe the rule is that when you’re referring to a person you should use the word “who”, and when you’re referring to an object you should use the word “that”, but my brain always forgets to apply that rule. I’m getting better though. lol

<<<Candice>>>

[Galliard]

I was reading a published novel (grave secret by Charlaine Harris) and found this sentence:

Manfred Bernardo, developing psychic, was younger than I by three or four years, but he never made any bones about how attractive he found me.

Now, had I been the author, I'd have written "younger than me"; would I have been wrong? Why? Any help appreciated.