I thought I would start a list of commonly misused words, followed by the words that should have been used. Let's see how many we can get. Here we go.

1- Wander- wander (v.) To move about without a definite destination or purpose.
wander (v.) To wander across or through: wander the forests and fields.
wander (n.) The act or an instance of wandering; a stroll.
I have seen this word used instead of wonder.
Wonder- wonder (n.) One that arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration; a marvel:“The decision of one age or country is a wonder to another” (John Stuart Mill)
wonder (v.) To have a feeling of awe or admiration; marvel:“She wondered at all the things civilization can teach a woman to endure” (Frances Newman)
wonder (v.) To feel curiosity or be in doubt about: wondered what happened.

2- Break- break (v.) To cause to separate into pieces suddenly or violently; smash.
break (v.) To become separated into pieces or fragments.
break (n.) The act or an occurrence of breaking.
I have seen this one used in place of Brake.
Brake-brake (n.) A device for slowing or stopping motion, as of a vehicle, especially by contact friction.
brake (n.) A toothed device for crushing and beating flax or hemp.
brake (n.) A lever or handle on a machine such as a pump.

3- Noone- No definition as it isn't a real word. The real words are no one or none.
None- none (pron.) No one; not one; nobody: None dared to do it.
none (pron.) Not any: None of my classmates survived the war.
none (adv.) Not at all: He is none too ill.

Your turn.

Ah ... fingers on the blackboard time.

Spelling:

Lose (v.) -- The opposite of "find"
vs.
Loose (adj.) -- The opposite of "tight"

Idea (n.) -- Something that you think of
vs.
Ideal (n.) -- A desirable example, e.g. of moral or ethical behavior

Grammar:

"Me and my friend, we went ...."

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 03-25-2008).]

one every electronics person hears:
its got a "short". usually - it is the exact opposite - it has an "open".

People who use irregardless are making me loose my mind.
Do they annoy you to?
But I digest. Your waisting you're time unless your sure about who your talking too.
You now, there are to many posts like this already, most people could care less.
No wear are my keys at? I now I seen them hear somewear....

Groin.

@ MM: Misusing ideal/idea really says dunce better than a hat ever could.

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 03-25-2008).]

The one that gets me the most is "prolly."

It's spelled PROBABLY!!!!!!!!

It's two more letters!! Is it really that hard to type???

"itterate" and "reitterate"-this old guy i work with went on for prolly 2 hours about how the two words mean the same thing. he had a pretty good point. that guy was really stuck on it though.

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1986 Fiero GT
1992 Chevrolet Beretta GTZ
2000 Chevrolet Blazer ZR2

" I guess I've learned that there's more to life than racing, but not much more."
-Paul Menard

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: People who use irregardless

That is my biggest pet peeve right there.

Here's a few more without their definitions (I'm lazy that way)

-accept & except
-affect & effect
-climatic & climactic
-then & than
-their & they're & there (a popularly misused set of words)
-to & too & two


I could go on and on and on.......I think part of it is bad typing, but I think a majority of the people out there have no clue how to spell. Somehow, correct spelling is no longer viewed as being particularly important at school and the longer one "gets away" with misspelling something the more it is accepted as being the norm. I think this is how languages "evolve" and why if one were to go back in time a few hundred (or thousand) years they would not be able to understand or be understood.

quote Originally posted by FieroJimmy: The one that gets me the most is "prolly." It's spelled PROBABLY!!!!!!!! It's two more letters!! Is it really that hard to type???

I have actually heard this one Pro-y. Without the L sound.HORRIBLE!

Anywho...AAAAAGH! IT IS ANYHOW or ANYWAY!!...'There are WAY too many people using this'..it is FAR too many!!..'I could care less..'...that means you DO care somewhat!! Yes...break instead of brake, and vice versa, that is a pain!! OOOH!! There are LOADS of them
Nick

Is this the "OFFICIAL" thread on this?

Dont forget "immigrate" and "emmigrate".

For mrfiero, on accept and except. I walked into a truck stop one night where this sign was sitting on the counter at the diesel fuel desk:

We do not except ( a particular credit card )

I pointed to the sign and asked the woman at the register, whose name tag said " Shift Mgr.", "So, how long have you taken
this credit card?" She looked at me strangely and said," We don't take that card." I said, "That isn't what your sign says." I am sure that to this day she has no clue.

Personally, I see a differince in further and farther. Farther means a greater distance; further means to advance.
As in: Furthering my plans for the Fiero means it will take me farther.

Nick, " I could care less, " is sarcasm, not enthusiastic commentary, but if it bothers you, well, I could care less.

.

[This message has been edited by JazzMan (edited 12-05-2008).]

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: Of course, there's proper English and colloquial English. The looser colloquial style allows more abbreviations and modified words such as prolly for probably and addy for address, etc. I think the more formal style and the more casual style are equally appropriate for their given contexts and situations, as well as personal writing styles. Personally, I would much rather that people used proper punctuation and grammar that follows at least some basic rules as that makes things much, much easier to read. Use of slang words that are common in the vernacular are fine with me as they don't hinder my comprehension of what the poster is trying to say anywhere close to as badly as their using long run-on sentences with no punctuation or capitalization to use as a clue to sentence structure. There are a few people here on PFF whose posts I don't bother to read because of that. JazzMan

Nick

[This message has been edited by fierofetish (edited 03-25-2008).]

Hella is a brand name, ah-ight?

How about punctuation?

Apostrophe s ( 's ) shows ownership. "This is Tim's Fiero."

An s on the end (no apostrophe) is for pluralization. "How many Fieros does Tim own?"

Please, people, get it right!

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1986 SE 350 V8

crocodile --->


alligator--->

These two are often confused.

Smart ass: have you ever seen one? Heard from a few, butt could not comprehend the fart's meaning

Downsizing: like that means what it really if?

Politically correct: if it's has anything to do that topic how correct can it be?

quote Originally posted by FieroRumor: crocodile ---> alligator---> These two are often confused.

Too true, FieroRumor!! Every time I´ve been to the zoo, they are ALWAYS confused !!

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: People who use irregardless are making me loose my mind.

People who use "irregardless" make your mind less tight?

"irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it, including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis. Irregardless first appeared in the early 20th century and was perhaps popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s."

Here's one that even used correctly annoys me. Why does "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing? Kind of like regardless and irregardless?


Another of my peeves is people who type like they talk. They're like you know say they're Fiero belongs to are family and there brother is like I would of fixed it when i seen it brake.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 03-25-2008).]

For all intensive purposes

For all intents and purposes

drove / driven
drink / drank / drunk

im sure there are others that i always screw up, i'll have to ask my fiancee`, she is always correcting me

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My Photography
My Designs
87 Fiero GT 5-speed.
99 CSVT 5-speed.On life support, waiting its fate
99 Accord 5-speed (Annonomity)

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Why does "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing?

Blame it on the foreigners.

In the French language, the word "inflammable" translates to "flammable" in English. And in Spanish, the word for "flammable" is "inflamable".

quote Originally posted by FieroRumor: crocodile ---> alligator---> These two are often confused.

A croc is usually longer than an alligator. The easiest way to tell the two apart is an alligator's bottom teeth are not exposed when the jaw is shut. A croc's bottom teeth stick out when the jaw is shut. Of course this means to tell the two apart you have to get close enough to look at its mouth.

Most of you have no idea how bad the English language gets butchered. I've seen grammar that would make a 4th grade English teacher cry. Working in trucking I've seen sentences that are incomprehensible. It is one thing to use slang and abbreviations, its another to have not grasp on how to spell. Like the idea/ideal example. Heck just sound it out, when you say "I have no idea" you don't say "I have no ideal" well maybe some do.

Truth is most of us cheat a little. How many posts start out with the paragraph indented? As long as its understandable I don't mind. Horrible spelling, vast run on sentences, huge paragraphs with no break just a steady stream of thought, that stuff is annoying.

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“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” -Henry Ford

Alligators and crocodiles are both crocodillians. Here's (here is) one that tees off the brits. Aluminum and Aluminium, both are considered correct here.

Alot because a lot is 2 WORDS

Are in place of Our. I've seen it many times, and it can't be only to shorten the amount of typing required!

When my father-in-law forgets something he says "I must be coming down with old-timers disease" instead of Alzheimer's disease. Its sort of funny to hear because he really thinks that's what it is called.

That's not really a spelling error, more of an "old man from the country" error.

quote Originally posted by Xanth: For all intensive purposes For all intents and purposes

I could care less.

Cuz = because. - I'm shor mos of da time dis iz tentional.
Anal retentiveness = What this thread is about

Sure basic grammatical skills should be expected, but if the message is received then mission accomplished.

Jim

"He should of", "He would of" etc. instead of "He should have" and "He would have". Drives me nuts.

'Off of'...he took the kettle off of the stove'..drop the 'of'!! it isn´t neccessary..and sounds so clumsy
And another thing that drives me mad, although it is not a misuse of words..
'Well, I said to him...and then he TURNED ROUND and said....'' aaaagh!! Why do people always talk to somebody else's back?
Nick

your and you're

imprecise language is very often the cause of misunderstanding. misunderstanding leads to conflict.

now, i frequently use shortcuts. i rarely capitalize except for proper nouns, i don't double space between sentences, and sometimes i omit apostrophes and the period at the end of the last sentence of a post.

i rationalize that these do not impair understanding. the first word in a post is usually the first word of the first sentence, so capitalization, though conventional, is generally redundant. same for the last period in a post, it's redundant. why capitalize "i"? can it be confused with another word? "cant" is a word, so it needs an apostrophe, but "dont" isnt, so it doesnt. same with "isnt" and "doesnt".

ok, basically i'm lazy. i learned spelling and punctuation in elementary school, and i know better. but an internet forum is informal, and there have always been distinctions between formal and informal writing. u kn b shure eye dont rite lak thys wen im ritin a papur fer skul.

quote Originally posted by FieroJimmy: The one that gets me the most is "prolly." It's spelled PROBABLY!!!!!!!! It's two more letters!! Is it really that hard to type???

Its prolly not the two more letters that are the problem, but WHERE the letters are located on the keyboard... I dunno...

[This message has been edited by SLOWnSTEADY (edited 03-25-2008).]

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: 'Off of'...he took the kettle off of the stove'..drop the 'of'!! it isn´t neccessary..and sounds so clumsy And another thing that drives me mad, although it is not a misuse of words.. 'Well, I said to him...and then he TURNED ROUND and said....'' aaaagh!! Why do people always talk to somebody else's back? Nick

"he bought the Fiero off of his uncle Jack."
Whom he had just helped off of a horse.
Or did he help his uncle Jack off a horse?


[For my non USA friends, Jack off = Wank.]

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 03-25-2008).]

there / their / they're (They're over there with their....)

its / it's Which one is the possessive? (Who had to do a double take on this one )

Cheers

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Why does "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing?

Why has my doctor diagnosed me as having an "inflammation," but never a "flammation?"

I think it's funny when people say they're fixing to do something. Example: "I'm fixing to go to bed." Are you fixing the bed, so you can sleep in it?

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 03-25-2008).]

Homonym confusion at its best:
Bear and bare.

People always type "Please bare with us" - even in publications. You want us to get nude with you?

Get and Got

Got is the past tense of Get. Most often you can replace the word got to have. "I got that" "I have that".

The phrase "and what not." to finish a sentence is annoying to me.

Also! The sign at a check-out lane "10 items or less" should be "10 items or fewer".