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pet peeve: homonyms and incorrect word usage

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by cwerdna, Feb 7, 2010.

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  1. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Another pet peeve of mine on forums, esp. when it comes to car discussion is the incorrect use of the word "break" when the poster meant "brake". It's come up even more in light of all the recalls and the seemingly impending 2010 Prius recall.

    In one thread, one poster claimed it was a "typo". Err, not in my book. The last three letters are in a different order.

    Another is the use of "your" when the poster meant "you're" or vice versa. I even knew a female communications (!) major who would commonly make this mistake.

    I'm not trying to be the grammar police here as I make mistakes too, but the above errors just irk me, esp. when I see them repeated over and over, sometimes by the same posters.
     
    #1 cwerdna, Feb 7, 2010
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    There and Their is another one that irks me as well.
     
    #2 Paradox, Feb 7, 2010
  3. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    I hear you. Can you believe people??? I'm bothered by people inserting their own form of word abbreviations into their posts instead of typing out words and thus, creating periods in the middle of a sentence where they shouldn't exist! ;)
     
    #3 bighouse, Feb 7, 2010
  4. octavia

    octavia Active Member

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    I would be the person driving you crazy with Your and You're. I get to typing and often use You're incorrectly. I would apologize but frankly the level of grammar and spelling competency on this board is far superior to that I have encountered on other boards and if I didn't have at least a few flaws left, I'd never make any friends. (notice the run-on)

    Therefor, I conclude that even though I know it irks you. I'm going to go right on being imperfect.
     
    #4 octavia, Feb 7, 2010
  5. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    Oh great, just ruin my entire opinion of you Octavia!
     
    #5 bighouse, Feb 7, 2010
  6. octavia

    octavia Active Member

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    PS.

    I meant my above post to be semi-humorous. I just forgot to put a smiley on it.

    :)
     
    #6 octavia, Feb 7, 2010
  7. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Octavia just knows that, if she comes off as perfect, all the guys will consider her inapproachable, and she won't find any love on Prius chat.

    Its vs. it's is one of my bugaboos. Plus the others. :)
     
    #7 Rae Vynn, Feb 7, 2010
  8. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    And that is such an easy one, IMO. If you can use 'it has' or 'it is' in place of 'it's' you can use 'it's'.

    But I shouldn't be talking about grammar because I know I kill it at times. I just blame it on growing up and still working in Brooklyn... :p
     
    #8 Paradox, Feb 7, 2010
  9. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    For an idiot, I do okay.
     
    #9 bighouse, Feb 7, 2010
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Yep. The communications major I cited also would frequently make that mistake. IMHO, a person in such a major shouldn't be making such mistakes. I was a computer science major and we had only one required English course in college.

    Side note: I remember a cartoon in my linguistics text book related to this. Too bad I can't find the actual cartoon on the net.
    Key Pout - LeaveThatThingAlone Photos
     
    #10 cwerdna, Feb 7, 2010
  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I've learned to live with this one on the forums, but was floored when a Seattle TV station (KING?) made this error on-screen this week. Twice.
     
    #11 fuzzy1, Feb 7, 2010
  12. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    Your right. Its amazing how often people get there word's wrong.
     
    #12 Stev0, Feb 7, 2010
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  13. octavia

    octavia Active Member

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    It's not "inapproachable" that chases em' off, it's the "lil bit crazy" that does em in.

    I knew someone would post that. :)
     
    #13 octavia, Feb 7, 2010
  14. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    Octavia,

    You have one of the most hubristically self-depricating signatures I've ever read. You might be a "lil bit crazy" but I think it's a good crazy.
     
    #14 bighouse, Feb 7, 2010
  15. vegasjetskier

    vegasjetskier New Member

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    Eye think your beeing hipercryticall. Gyve them a brake.
     
    #15 vegasjetskier, Feb 7, 2010
  16. octavia

    octavia Active Member

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    Good crazy for sure! :)

    hubristically self depreciating? I had to look up hubristically.

    I don't mean it that way. I think of it more in terms of my tenacity I guess. Well, and my willingness to try anything. I just never give up so I'm used to going for try 2, try 3, and so on... I really do have to try and not look astonished sometimes when I pull something off.
     
    #16 octavia, Feb 7, 2010
  17. mad-dog-one

    mad-dog-one Prius Enthusiast

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    Some written errors are critical, while others are inconsequential. When I cash a check, it is important for my bank to distinguish between nine and ninety, I want my doctor to know the difference between incidence and incidents, and demand that commercial pilots distinguish between weather and whether. Although I see a lot of grammar errors on Internet chat sites, I have learned important information about my new car in posts that included grammar anomalies. Rudyard Kipling and Samuel Clemens exploited use of imperfect grammar, adding character to their messages. Let's keep the focus on the brakes and encourage everyone to share their ideas. If I have included grammar errors in this message, I hope you will focus on the meaning of my message and give me a break. ;)
     
    #17 mad-dog-one, Feb 7, 2010
  18. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    That's what keeps me stalkin' ya! ;)
     
    #18 F8L, Feb 8, 2010
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  19. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I hate that so many people use "loose" when they mean "lose".
     
    #19 dogfriend, Feb 8, 2010
  20. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Depreciating? Only if you don't keep your assets up. Besides, women only get better with age. More extinguished, like. ;)
     
    #20 hyo silver, Feb 8, 2010
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