Creative Reviews discussion
Tips and Tricks
>
Common Errors in English Usage
date
newest »
newest »
Thanks Katy, looks very usuful, I saved to favorites.
You're all very welcome - I was astounded to learn that I - yes, ME X-D - I was making a "common mistake" whilst editing a UK-based novel by changing "towards" to "toward." "toward" is American English, true - but "towards" is British English! So ... VEEERY useful
Mod
Very cool site. It'll be tough, but I'll endeavor to use them all in one book.Wait...what is the list for again? :)
S.L. wrote: "Very cool site. It'll be tough, but I'll endeavor to use them all in one book.Wait...what is the list for again? :)"
BWHAHAHA! Yes, please do use them all in one book! That would be hilarious!
That site makes me feel very...inadequate.Splitter
Katy wrote: "S.L. wrote: "Very cool site. It'll be tough, but I'll endeavor to use them all in one book.Wait...what is the list for again? :)"
BWHAHAHA! Yes, please do use them all in one book! That would..."
Or rather sad, if the usage was unintentional....
C.S. Splitter wrote: "That site makes me feel very...inadequate.Splitter"
No no - look at it from the bright side - you will be able to make sure you're using the right words this way, by having this site open whenever you are writing/editing! Very useful!!
What a wonderful resource! I'm loving it. When I saw "bumrush" right next to "buttox", well, I could see this was going to be the 'go-to' site for me!Thanks Katy!
Thanks for the link, Katy. I love this one under apostrophes: "Get this straight once and for all: when the S is added to a word simply to make it a plural, no apostrophe is used..." One of my pet peeves!
Katy wrote: "You're all very welcome - I was astounded to learn that I - yes, ME X-D - I was making a "common mistake" whilst editing a UK-based novel by changing "towards" to "toward." "toward" is American En..."Thanks for the link! I was actually aware of that "toward/towards" one, but I love English lit so much I sometimes use towards just to be more British! :-) I also like "grey" instead of "gray."
Katy wrote: "You're all very welcome - I was astounded to learn that I - yes, ME X-D - I was making a "common mistake" whilst editing a UK-based novel by changing "towards" to "toward." "toward" is American En..."gee... my spellcheck underlined it when I wrote "toward" with "US English" turned on! So when do you put that damn "s" in American or British English???
(asks the poor writer of English as Second Language)
Mod
Just goes to show you that you can't always rely on it.
"Towards" is perfectly acceptable in British English. Not commonly used in American English.
Amy wrote: "I don't like spellcheck most of the time. It kept telling me that beaded was not a word...It wanted me to change it to bearded!! LOLJust goes to show you that you can't always rely on it.
"T..."
Spellcheck can be useful to help catch really egregious things, but yeah, not to be relied on - not to EVER be relied on. Otherwise ewe could end up with sentences like this won ...
My grammar checker is not very bright - it is constantly telling me to change to completely ungrammatical things. I'd turn it off, but once in a great while it actually catches something I needed to know; otherwise I ignore its ignorant self ...
Mod
But you can read the poem here:
http://ifaq.wap.org/computers/spellch...
It is HILARIOUS!!!
Thanks Katy! I just got White Smoke, which has really helped with this stuff!http://www.whitesmoke.com/landing_fla...
Amy wrote: "I just posted something about the spellchecker on my facebook page (random plug! LOL) http://www.facebook.com/Theeyesforedi...But you can read the poem here:
http://ifaq.wap.org/computers/spell..."
LMAO
Very interesting! I quick browse through the site marks me as a language conservative. Two things that often annoy me in American English are the use of 'alright' for 'all right', and the use of 'insure' when the sentence structure indicates the correct word is 'ensure'. The website says that both versions of each word are in common usage, but that my preferred versions are technically correct. And it's written by an American, so I am doubly gratified (and impressed).
Iola, I'm with you. All wordsmiths have personal bugaboos. I agree with the 'all right' one! (And ensure....) One of mine is 'normalcy'. I've heard it my entire life. The proper word is 'normality'. However, because it's been abused for so long, it found it's way into dictionaries and is accepted Americana. Ick.
I remember when "ain't" wasn't considered a word but it is now. It's a synonym for isn't. Or is it anonym? I can't quite remember at the moment, kind of sleepy...
Mod
I'm sorry, but ain't will NEVER be a word to me, I don't care how many dictionaries they put that stupid collection of letters in...ggrrrr....
Ok, that is one of my pet peeves...
Amy, if you feel that strongly about "ain't" I'll bet you're disgusted by "gonna". Remember "going to"? It's still largely in print, but it's a rare movie or TV show that uses it. "Gonna" took it over.
Mod
This is another great example of why textspeak is a BAD THING!!
Sheesh...
A. wrote: "Amy, if you feel that strongly about "ain't" I'll bet you're disgusted by "gonna". Remember "going to"? It's still largely in print, but it's a rare movie or TV show that uses it. "Gonna" took it o..."I ain't never gonna believe that!
OMG! I remember when my teachers and parent's would get on me about using ain't and you know what I'd throw back at them?It's in the dictionary....deal with it!
I think I was like 10,,,,yes I have always been this way.
Feel free to send my parents a condolence card....
S.L. wrote: "A. wrote: "Amy, if you feel that strongly about "ain't" I'll bet you're disgusted by "gonna". Remember "going to"? It's still largely in print, but it's a rare movie or TV show that uses it. "Gonna..."lol
how do I write how old a person is??? Do I put an s to "year" do I put dashes or what??? seven-hundred-years-old or seven-hundred year old?
And can't you pleeeeeez agree between Brits and Yankees???
Barbara wrote: "how do I write how old a person is??? Do I put an s to "year" do I put dashes or what??? seven-hundred-years-old or seven-hundred year old?
And can't you pleeeeeez agree between Brits and Yankees???"
For me, it's fifteen-years old. Dash between the number and year with an s at the end.
Really? In UK-speak it would be either "she is fifteen years old" or "she is a fifteen-year-old" but never a mix. Depends whether you're putting her in a subset of people or referring to her specifically.JAC
J.A. wrote: "Really? In UK-speak it would be either "she is fifteen years old" or "she is a fifteen-year-old" but never a mix. Depends whether you're putting her in a subset of people or referring to her specif..."I theoretically learned British English first... but then moved to American spelling and got confused! :-( Now I have no idea how to be consistent anymore, because I can't remember what different editors said on the topic...
feeling very lost, sigh! :-(
Barbara, one thing I notice about American Eng is how many of the differences appear to come from the Italian!Don't know if it's true but it does hold for a few differences at least.
JAC
J.A. wrote: "Barbara, one thing I notice about American Eng is how many of the differences appear to come from the Italian!Don't know if it's true but it does hold for a few differences at least.
JAC"
not sure about that... anyway, would it be very wrong if I stuck to the British usage for age even if I have general American Spelling? I do use punctuation the European way as well... could it be considered part of my voice or just plain wrong?
I DO declare I'm not a native after all...
"would it be very wrong if I stuck to the British usage for age even if I have general American Spelling? I do use punctuation the European way as well... could it be considered part of my voice or just plain wrong?"As long as you are consistent, it shouldn't matter too much.
Barbara wrote: "J.A. wrote: "Barbara, one thing I notice about American Eng is how many of the differences appear to come from the Italian!Don't know if it's true but it does hold for a few differences at least.
..."
What Iola said. Consistency is key here.
there, their and theyre i tend to use the wrong ones still even though i should know better! haha. also through and threw, my book uses threw instead of through alot i didnt notice until a month ago..its so simple of words to misuse
The one thing I know is my good English talkin'.As a Catholic school graduate from the days when teachers could beat you for making mistakes, you learn the right way pretty damn quickly.
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/...