ugh....users of the english language, read this.

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by The Devil Inside, Aug 25, 2006.

  1. The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    8,213
    hole---a cavity "the grand canyon is a big hole."
    whole---complete "the pie was whole before it was eaten."
    there---pertaining to a place "hey, look over there!"
    their---possessive "their monkeys ran away."
    were--- "we were in the park."
    where---pertaining to a place "where the hell are we?"
    your---possessive "your feet smell."
    you're---a conjunction combining the words "you" and "are"...."you're a good footballer!"


    this is a short list of words i see being wildly misused on this forum by (primarily) native english speakers.
    if you have a gripe about a word you see misused, feel free to post it here.
     
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  3. RubiksMaster Real eyes realize real lies Registered Senior Member

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    I don't really see many misused on this forum, but in day-to-day life, a lot of people mix up 'loose' and 'lose'

    I also hate it when people use an apostrophe before the 's' on a plural word.
     
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  5. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    site--- a location
    cite---give a reference

    prof---short form of professor
    proof---evidence
     
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  7. Absane Rocket Surgeon Valued Senior Member

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    8,989
    You're hole whole iz big. Their ain't no bigga!
     
  8. The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    chose--- to select (past tense)
    choose--- to select (present tense)
     
  9. spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    America - a great continent.
    USA - a shithole.

    (he he - couldn't resist)
     
  10. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    I suspect it's still true that the majority of people who post here are very young, as young as 13. They're victims of America's government-run education system, which is as ineffective as almost all public enterprises. They're accustomed to IM, where speed is more important than accuracy, and text messaging, which I believe was invented solely for the purpose of demonstrating that humans are superior to the other apes because it's the one thing we can do with just our thumbs, no matter how badly.

    The people here who are obviously adults generally write very well.

    America is actually two great continents. Or three continental and subcontinental regions. "NAFTA" does not include Central America and it's not the only common use of that paradigm.

    Most of us who live in the USA do not find it to be a shithole. Neither do the millions of foreigners who vote with their feet and immigrate here, quite a few from places that really do qualify for that appellation
     
  11. imaplanck. Banned Banned

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    I've seen a huge increase in 'wont' used to mean 'want' lately. wonder why?!?
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2006
  12. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    24,690
    The word "wont" in "... as she is wont to do" doesn't help at all.

    Also "loth" vs. "loathe."

    I disagree with the people who claim that English is easy to learn just because it doesn't have a lot of inflections to memorize. Our traps are spread out everywhere so they can't be listed neatly in a paradigm.

    Even educated people have given up on lie/lay/lain vs. lay/laid/laid.
     
  13. The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    english is simple, in the respect that our words mostly stay the same when changing tenses, and that there are more rules than exceptions.

    in the flemish language, there are about 40 times more exceptions than rules, and they change from city to city...making it an incredibly difficult language to learn, if you have no background in it's parent languages (german/french). i learned it fairly easily, but i am a polyglot of sorts...languages are my second love.
     
  14. pragmathen 0001 1111 Registered Senior Member

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    It's driving me crazy! What is? Its usage.
     
  15. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    Also people, lern to spel.
     
  16. imaplanck. Banned Banned

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    fuck it is hard noot to mizz one noew and agen
     
  17. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    dunt wory, I forgiv yew.
     
  18. Athelwulf Rest in peace Kurt... Registered Senior Member

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    Site: a place.
    Sight: the sense whereby you see.

    You: second-person, subject/object pronoun.
    U: not a word.

    Your: second-person, possessive pronoun.
    You're: contraction of "you are".
    Ur: not a word.

    His: third-person, singular, male, possessive pronoun.
    He's: contraction of "he is".

    Hell: the place where sinful people supposedly go.
    He'll: contraction of "he will".

    Have: an auxiliary verb used in the perfect tenses ("I have gone", "she had seen").
    Of: a preposition, not used as an auxiliary in the perfect tenses.

    A: indefinite article used in front of words beginning with a consonant sound.
    An: indefinite article used in front of words beginning with a vowel sound.

    Thou: second-person, singular, subject pronoun; compare with "I".
    Thee: object pronoun; compare with "me".
    Thy: possessive pronoun; compare with "my".
    Thine: possessive pronoun; compare with "mine".
     
  19. Kat9Lives Registered Senior Member

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    it annoys me when people mis-use the word "literally"
    ex: it literally blew my head of
    ex: i literally died of embarrassment.
     
  20. tablariddim forexU2 Valued Senior Member

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    Thou; thee; thy; thine? This is not contemporary English, so why mention it?
     
  21. Athelwulf Rest in peace Kurt... Registered Senior Member

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    Are: a form of the verb "to be".
    Our: first-person, plural, possessive pronoun.
    R: not a word.

    To: a preposition suggesting direction, among other things.
    Too: an adverb meaning either "also", "excessively", "immensely", or "indeed".
    Two: a number.
     
  22. Athelwulf Rest in peace Kurt... Registered Senior Member

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    Me too.

    And by the way, thanks for reminding me of another one:

    Off: a preposition, the opposite of "on"; pronounced "ahff".
    Of: a preposition, not the opposite of "on"; pronounced "uhv".

    It is contemporary for a few conservative dialects of English, although they aren't widespread or well-known. But, I get what you mean.

    Why mention them? Because when people try to use them to sound Victorian, they often use them incorrectly. Like when people say "thee are". It's just like saying "me is". It's extremely irritating.
     
  23. Mr. G reality.sys Valued Senior Member

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    5,191
    Singular word misusage isn't what gripes me when hanging out here.

    It's the presumption of the ability to string two or more words together to suggest meaning that get's me wondering much of the time.
     

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