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Top 10 Grammar Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid!

scribd.com — These days we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often we are in a hurry, quickly dashing off e-mails with typos, grammatical shortcuts and many more. Here is a list to follow which could prevent your stupidity being shown amongst your colleagues

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  • sronbheatha, on 10/11/2007, -16/+211Thank the Lord, Digg needs this badly.
    • ImperatorTerrae, on 10/11/2007, -170/+6Their you have it, sronbheatha definantly cant even spell "dig" right.

      Yes, the poor spelling was intended.
    • mfalk, on 10/11/2007, -108/+19And you cannot figure out the correct way to use the word "There"

    • SwissCamel, on 10/11/2007, -67/+15This is turning into a circle jerk.
    • Skitzzo, on 10/11/2007, -90/+12Digg may have needed this baldy the first time it went popular but we don't need it again.
    • Hepburn82, on 10/11/2007, -8/+161Who you calling bald?
    • snypa, on 10/11/2007, -40/+7@mfalk

      Sarcasm maybe?
    • jspegele, on 10/11/2007, -1/+97We've had plenty of posts on grammatical errors; now can we get one on understanding sarcasm.
    • macaddct1984, on 10/11/2007, -1/+35What bugs me is how people throw the rules out of the window when it comes to e-mails, even professional ones.

      People should really be writing e-mails the same way you would write a letter by hand. Between friends, do what you want, but when you're writing to a boss (or a boss writing to his underlings), at least capitalize the first letter after periods, etc...
    • drathosX3, on 10/11/2007, -7/+22How sad is it that there is a Top 10 Grammar Mistakes list?
    • MrRockabilly, on 10/11/2007, -17/+62"Me Fail English? That's Unpossible"
    • BobTurtle, on 10/11/2007, -22/+1mfalk,
      Look up the word sarcasm you moron.
    • Sneezyx, on 10/11/2007, -3/+27Free digg for the first one to use all 10 in one sentence!
    • sexybobo, on 10/11/2007, -8/+15http://duggmirror.com has it
      sorry for comment abuse
    • 1021, on 10/11/2007, -13/+1Scribd... down!
    • f8pc, on 10/11/2007, -27/+7" The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again."

      Funny enough, that needs a comma after "overheating."

      Most of the time, it doesn't explain what to use where, so it is sort of useless.
    • BevansDesign, on 10/11/2007, -1/+79The only people who will look at this article are the ones that don't need to. ARGH.
    • greengiant2684, on 10/11/2007, -17/+10Grammar Mistake Number One: Typing Everything With A Capital Letter At The Beginning
    • macaddct1984, on 10/11/2007, -6/+31@f8pc
      "Funny enough, that needs a comma after "overheating.""

      No, it doesn't.
    • eth3l, on 10/11/2007, -8/+5Thank the maker! this oil bath is going to feel .... oh, wait, wrong post.
    • dogshaft, on 10/11/2007, -11/+6They forgot about teh for the.
    • theragu40, on 10/11/2007, -6/+15Also, it should be 'funnily enough', not 'funny enough'.
    • ChronicColonic, on 10/11/2007, -5/+111A freshman at Harvard was looking for the library when he spotted a distinguished-looking upper-class student. "Excuse me sir, could you tell me where the library is at?", the freshman asked. The snobby Harvard student replied, "My good fellow, at Harvard we do NOT end our sentences with a preposition!" The freshman said, "Okay, let me try that again. Could you tell me where the library is at, *****?"
    • kcpwnsgman, on 10/11/2007, -4/+68this shouldn't effect any digg users because you're digg is everyone's digg, which is different than slashdot for a number of reasons:
      1. Its easily to loose track of time on digg
      2. thier on slashdot for news, we are on digg for news AND wasting time.
      3. they have famous people (i.e. this Neil guy)

      now after that typing, I am going to go lay down because I could of been sleeping already
      Now, stop me because deliberately made all 10 mistakes in one post! MUHAHAHAH

      edit: I guess this is a hit and miss comment...
    • simpleid, on 10/11/2007, -13/+7If I shared a really amazing idea but presented it as if I were stupid, does that make the idea stupid too? I'm just asking...

      I mean, I think I'm smart enough to interpret what most people may be trying to say, and ask about it if I need to, with out disrespectfully insulting a persons intelligence. You really don't know much about the background of others so is assuming things of others anymore intelligent than yelling at them for a grammatical error in general conversation? Especially when it really doesn't hurt anyone. It's common to see people type as they speak, it's natural, it's a human thing.

      Just my betting opinion but I'm willing to say that the people that 90% of grammar freaks are Apple fanatics. The personality traits are just so similar. Just what I'm noticing.

      You could type to me in leet-speak, I'd still understand the information coming to me, that is after all the point of communication, to translate an idea. And because certain individuals aren't privileged with an amazing education you have to just make them feel like ***** for it. I think you're all insane. Missing the reality of the situation entirely.

      Digg me down bastards!
    • SteelFrog, on 10/11/2007, -6/+14"Free digg for the first one to use all 10 in one sentence!"

      The support team keeps losing their product keys (i.e., activation codes) and its problematic since it could potentially affect the whole network should we lose them so you're going to have to lay down some rules and documentation on proper archiving and retrieval, preferably different than the previous "don't lose it" policy you had previously, which I would have revised myself if I wasn't so busy writing useless posts on Digg.

      (Good enough? I don't think the grammar is correct. They don't give us the grammatical rules, or proper usage rules. I'm also french, so I tried my best.)
    • Error601, on 10/11/2007, -9/+0Using sarcasm, even with perfectly good grammar, still makes you look stupid. The last refuge of the small mind.
    • bmartin, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8"Free digg for the first one to use all 10 in one sentence!"

      Microsoft will loose its' fight against Linux (e.g. you're favorite OS), as they're lays can only effect you're Linux usage different then what they would have liked.

      Should read: Microsoft will lose its fight against Linux (i.e., your favorite OS), as their lies can only affect your Linux usage differently from how they would have liked.

      It's not the most coherent sentence, and some of the context is wrong (e.g., lie being used as a noun instead of a verb), but there you have it.
    • Chinzon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+36#8 'Lay' for 'Lie'

      I can never remember which is which, but I know my ex was brilliant at one of them...
    • ryanknapper, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Badly is an adverb which in your sentence describes the act of needing on behalf of Digg, e.g., "Digg is bad at needing."
    • ArielMT, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3http://www.dropline.net/cats/kitty/GrammarCat
    • oddmanout, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I want one, too!

      Its a sad thing to see people (i.e me) commit so many grammer mistakes, their going to loose out in competitive situations, thus poorly impacting they're future. If your going to complain when the grammer nazi's lie down the law, keep in mind that their education is not different than me or your's.

      I threw in a few more, too.
    • 0o0Moylan0o0, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5'I could care less about this article'

      Gee when someone says it like that, it REALLY annoys me.
    • thomble, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6@sronbheatha "Thank the Lord, Digg needs this badly."

      Take your own medicine. That's a comma splice!

    • Tabascoh, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Improperly using good and well always drives me crazy.

      No: "I studied hard and I think I did good."
      Yes: "I studied hard and I think I did well."

      Good is a adjective modifying nouns.
      Well is an adverb modifying verbs and adverbs.
    • DarthTater, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3wait! These are really mistakes that native english people make? I´m shocked!
    • volacide, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Wow, I explicitly remember being told that "i.e." stood for "in example" at school and I try to write with good grammar. Some teachers employed in the education system are terribly unreliable.
    • orientis, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1steelfrog you used i.e correctly.
    • jun2san, on 10/11/2007, -1/+611. Using "alot" instead of "a lot."

    • mdesjardins, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1@volacide

      I was always told that i.e. stood for "in other words," not "that is," as the article indicated.
    • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I see what you did there.
    • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@mac
      Yes it does.
      "The laptop is overheating, and it's making that funny noise again." is a compound sentence, and, as such, needs a conjunction (and) with a comma after it or a semicolon between the sentences. If you were to say "The laptop is overheating and making that funny noise." you would not need a comma because it would be a compound predicate, not a compound sentence.
      /grammar nazi
      //did I just break Godwin's Law?
    • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Common Latin Abbreviations

      i.e. == "that is"

      e.g. == "for example"

      etc. == "and so on"

      et al. == "and others"
    • intense321, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I hate it when people make this error. It happens everyday.

      "Quidquid latine dictum sit altum vidita."
    • tomzo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Amen to that - I can't count the times I have seen some dumb-ass use the term loose instead of lose. Learn the language you morons or just take up L33t-speak like the rest of the grammatically challenged out there.
    • th3heretic, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Grammar whores ftl.
    • superpotential, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2my biggest peeve is the word 'and/or'. it's redundant, because or already covers and. or means "one or the other or both" according to the boolean truth table.

      Incorrect: "Would you like a pen and/or stapler to finish that?"
      Correct: "Would you like a pen or stapler to finish that?"

      Incorrect: "Would you like a vegetarian sandwich or a tuna sandwich?"
      Correct: "Would you like a vegetarian sandwich xor a tuna sandwich?"
  • ncairns, on 10/11/2007, -6/+201How about "Top 10 Grammatical Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid"?
    • pwill, on 10/11/2007, -44/+6your dumb noone cares......
    • tvh2k, on 10/11/2007, -13/+5Haha here I was thinking -- isn't the title grammatically incorrect?
    • bestfilmofthe, on 10/11/2007, -12/+9pwill - your?
    • Xarou, on 10/11/2007, -9/+4Either pwill is using wrong grammer on purpose or not... but you all missed the "noone" and "no one" mistake. What is a noone?
    • profOblivion, on 10/11/2007, -3/+19@Xarou

      "noone" = 12:00pm Eastern ;)

      /lame :P
    • widoka, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11@Xarou

      The first step should be knowing how to spell the word...grammAr, not grammer
    • Xarou, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Wow, my bad. I should have used that silly spell checker. Regardless of my spelling, the context of the message still is relevant.
    • ChronicColonic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9My Grandpa would agree, Grammar makes all the mistakes that makes him look stupid.
  • willthom, on 10/11/2007, -2/+43Preach on, fellow grammar nazi!
    • mikes1, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1They should at least try to limit themselves to unambiguous errors, to avoid being pedantic. "Different than" is acceptable - http://www.bartleby.com/64/C003/098.html http://www.bartleby.com/68/37/1837.html

      Why not more common malapropisms, such as "mute point," "intensive purposes," etc.?


    • pauleric, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Ya! And "hit and miss" is perfectly correct. Sometimes you get one, sometimes the other, with multiple samples both will happen over time. And besides, it's an idiom. It doesn't need to make grammatical sense. And yes, I'm sure this post of mine is full of punctuation and spelling blunders.
    • KillaGoat, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Genious!
  • Btrash, on 10/11/2007, -6/+25how many times has this been posted now?
  • BottleRocket, on 10/11/2007, -3/+19The "Common English Errors" site from Washington State University is a much more comprehensive reference for common grammatical errors. I mean, it's no top ten list, but...

    http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
  • Skitzzo, on 10/11/2007, -6/+9Hmmm it's almost like I've seen this before...

    http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39273376,00.htm

    and don't forget that it went popular on Digg just over a month ago...

    http://digg.com/offbeat_news/10_flagrant_grammar_mistakes_that_make_you_look_stupid_6
    • BobTurtle, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13You are the coolest person on the internet.
    • masgrada, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9^ Internet*s* ... Gawd, get it right.
    • raeldc, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I may have missed it, but I'd guess that there may have been an arrangement to digg this article every month or every time it is posted.
  • silverchrysalis, on 10/11/2007, -3/+17does this load all scrunchy and weird for any other firefox users?
    • ArielMT, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Very ugly in Firefox. That's some awfully shoddy CSS work there.
  • meshman, on 10/11/2007, -14/+8Its an stupid article. Their just being grammar nazis and I seen them ones so many times (i.e., the links above) I swear I'm going to scream.
    • codmate, on 10/11/2007, -4/+10"They're"
    • spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@codmate (#6714277)
      I'd guess all those mistakes are intentional in an attempt at humour
  • thecompkid, on 10/11/2007, -8/+38"Me fail english? That's unpossible!"
  • TKardinal, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9It bears repeating. These mistakes keep being made.
    • BillOReilly08, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8And those who care already don't make those mistakes.
    • CKemendo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3That doesn't mean that the uncaring among us should just be oblivious.
  • Treshnell, on 10/11/2007, -4/+19That list needs 'could care less' for 'couldn't care less.'
    • Murdats, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5god yes, that one ticks of of to no end.
      it seems to be this crazy american thing to mutilate that idiom

      that and loose/lose, I mean I understand things like noone and lowercase i because of laziness
      but seriously, loose/lose, the wrong one is harder to type and just so stupid
    • spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3@Treshnell (#6714048)
      It also needs to explain the difference between addictive and addicting, that's another one that drives me mad
    • spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1@Treshnell (#6714048)
      The could/couldn't care less one actually annoys me enough that I drew a diagram to explain it.
      http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitled1yv3.jpg
    • rossinio, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4oh god yes, a thousand times yes! It's unbearable watching people mutilate that. It doesn't matter how much it has entered the common lingo, as soon as you say that you look to be in double digit IQ territory at best. "I could care less about it", so you could? wtf?
    • vornan19, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2"That list needs 'could care less' for 'couldn't care less.'"

      That depends on what you really mean to say.
      If I do not care at all I can say 'I couldn't care less'. Because I don't care at all about the subject.
      But if I have any amount of concern about something but I don't find it that interesting then I could reply 'I could care less' to someone who I believe is belabouring the point.
  • samdu, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8Loose/Lose has become my personal pet peeve. I'm an admin on a sports site and I see that all the time. Sports fans should know the difference. And for what it's worth, typos really don't bug me. It's systemic misspellings that gripe my ass.
    • blacklint, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I always, always, every single time I write either one of those, get it wrong. I don't know how many times I've had that corrected on papers - I think I've made that mistake on every single one I've turned in. That I can never get it right bugs me to no end. Luckily, someone recently told me that "lose lost an o" so I can get it right if I think about it and not lose (ha! right one!) my mind.
  • thegoldenavatar, on 10/11/2007, -7/+3I don't see "rediculous" on there.
    • shm0edawg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4That's because "rediculous" is a spelling error. It's an article about grammar.
  • headcasefargone, on 10/11/2007, -10/+3Is Capitalizing Every First Letter Of Each Word One Of Them?
    • samdu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9It's a title. It's grammatically correct to capitalize the first letter of every word.
    • vs292, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4It's actually correct when writing a title.

      EDIT: What samdu said.
    • wendelgee2, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Actually, no, you don't cap everything in a title. Title case should not capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions.

      This title is fine though.
    • kineticarl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6But he probably should have spelled "Ten" in the title.
    • wendelgee2, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3That is a matter of style, rather than grammar.
      Chicago differs from MLA, and APA on that point.
  • mmhnef, on 10/11/2007, -13/+3honestly, people who correct others over grammatical mistakes look more stupid than the people making typos.
    • manifestdata, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14The "H" in honestly should be capitalized.
    • TonksKC, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Nah, they just look stuck up.

      Nothing makes me laugh more than someone who tries to correct someone else's mistake and fails.

      Now THAT makes them look stupid.
    • ryanknapper, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Once someone called me on using "loose" rather than "lose." I've never done it again.
      Thank you, whomever that was at explosm.com.
  • sirpsychosexy, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1I think double-posting should be a grammatical mistake that makes you look stupid(!)
    • masgrada, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Redundancy is not necessarily a grammatical error.
  • sm4k, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9The "Hit and Miss" bonus peeve is one of mine, as well.

    I also get annoyed when people say that they "could care less" about something when they really mean "couldn't care less". It really floors me to hear this used in movies and television.
    • manifestdata, on 10/11/2007, -6/+7Well, maybe they mean that it is possible for them to care less. Currently their "care-level" is about a medium and that this level could be lower, but it isn't at the moment.

      Oh, and get your head out of your ass. You shouldn't be talking, you have a ***** number replacing a letter in your name.
    • sm4k, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5You're right about them actually meaning that they could care less; that is the literal meaning "I could care less". However, it seems to be an unfortunate trend that more often than not, the phrase is used incorrectly. This guy said it way better than I could ever hope to:

      Clichés are especially prone to scrambling because they become meaningless through overuse. In this case an expression which originally meant “it would be impossible for me to care less than I do because I do not care at all” is rendered senseless by being transformed into the now-common “I could care less.” Think about it: if you could care less, that means you care some. The original already drips sarcasm, so it’s pointless to argue that the newer version is “ironic.” People who misuse this phrase are just being careless.

      http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/care.html

      This was the point of my comment, apparently it wasn't clear enough.
    • oneboy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I could care less about this discussion...

      ;-)
    • BigFloppy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Well hit and miss does make sense.
      Take golf for example. You might hit the ball, but miss the green, so you're hitting and missing. That's how I've always thought of it. You take a shot at it but miss the target.
    • Septuris, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1My English teacher in high school instructed the class, despite my claims otherwise, that the correct way to say it was, "I could care less." Even after explaining it to her all the way through, she just gave me this look like I was daft. Sad that a woman that dense was teaching college prep and AP English to high school seniors.
  • hmemcpy, on 10/11/2007, -4/+5#10 is spot on. How the hell does somebody mistake 'have' for 'of' ?!
    • TonksKC, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8Easily. It's actually the wrong spelling of a bad pronunciation.

      Would've. Would have. Sounds like "would of."

      It's stupid and happens entirely too often.

      Of course, the idiots making that mistake are replacing a verb with a preposition.
    • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It's because of the pronunciation. On the topic, is "kind of" or "kind have" correct? I honestly can't remember.
  • umbriago, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4It's not so much what bugs you personally, it's the fact that the Internet has revealed glaring shortcomings in our education system.

    When I went to school, walking in the snow, uphill both ways (though I rode a dinosaur in the spring), this stuff was BASIC.

    Now that the written word has been resurrected for use by everyone on the Internet, the shortcomings of schools - or the students who slept through classes - are evident.
  • AsylumAleikum, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1DUH!
  • equivokal, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4I swear digg's collective attention span is 30 days. These grammar guides make it to the front page at lease once every month, yet our collective grammar usage remains shotty. The educated on Digg should just let the mystique remain behind the usages of things like "Their, there, and they're" and allow the others to look completely foolish. Nobody seems to be getting the point.
    • Murdats, on 10/11/2007, -0/+230 days is a stretch isnt it?

      we here on the internet have no need for attention spans, when information is flying at 100mph who can blame you for constently getting distracted?
    • thadman08, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7shoddy

      /ducks
    • earlycj5, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1bury
    • oesj, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1ignore this
    • Bobtastic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Oddly enough, the comment spell check function picks up on "shotty."
  • umbriago, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4Also, the point of school seems to be taking state/federal mandated tests. Schools used to be places kids learned things.
  • PorchSong, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1The one that drives me crazy is the misuse of "Hopeful."

    "Hopefully we will win the game." -- Incorrect, you are stating an emotional state, not modifying win. The proper use is, "I am hopeful we will win the game."

    It is the damn English major in me, in my prior life, that makes me catch misuse of words.
    • CKemendo, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Yeah, I'm pretty sure if I heard someone say "I am hopeful that we will win the game," I'd be obligated to punch him in the face. It's a colloquialism. Go with it.
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Thanks for pointing that out to me, PorchSong. I don't think I'd have caught that one on my own -- though I'm not an English major, I might have been if I'd kept at it. I've probably misused 'hopefully' on more than one occasion, although the useage isn't as painful to the ear as other things.

      (Incidentally, another of my pet peeves is the constant speaking misuse of the phrase "all of a sudden" in many various ways. That's one I've stopped correcting out of pure frustration! The phrase itself isn't all that proper anyway, so pthththt :P)

      One thing I've learned over the years that the classic printed voice has changed and can be acceptable in print (a la Stephen King), as style and printed voice can really influence the tone of a novel and the character of its writer. The evolution of writing is really fascinating to me.

      Sorry for the digression!!!!!

  • iRoy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I know everyone is double-checking their comments for errors. Lol.
  • camknows, on 10/11/2007, -3/+13My pet-peeve is when people say things like "ATM machine" and "PIN number".
    • RustedGod, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Ah, good ol' ASR redundancy.
      (Think 'acronym' and 'suffix'.)
    • irvin666, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1John Connor says this as well on T2

      "PIN numberrrr....."
    • seeyounorth, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Agreed. NIC Card, anyone?
    • blacklint, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I know that it's wrong and redundant, but often times it just sounds better to me to repeat the last letter of the acronym. I've been known to say "GUI Interface" and make people cringe, then realize my stupidity a few moments later.
    • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@Rusted
      Beautiful.
  • lampshade, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Yeah

    Sadly, I just recently saw someone use the wrong your in a Facebook invitation for his Father's funeral. His father apparently was killed in action or something. I only know the person's friends so I am not sure.

    "My father was an American hero. He deserves you're support"


    I think it was probably just an accident caused by emotional stress....
    • hulez, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Well i guess they won't notice this grammical error when they're in tears.

      It's not like they're gonna say..... OKAY, Stop the funeral..guyz.....GUYZZZZZ. There's a grammical error on page 1. My mates dad needs your are support. Lets give my mates dad YOU ARE SUPPORT. commmonnnn people.

      because nobody is a complete ***** like that so thats not gonna happen
    • ryanknapper, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Hulez: Are you trying to honor and show respect for the person who died? Then take the time and do it right.
      I swear, if someone sends out an invitation to my funeral with errors because they're lazy and/or ignorant I'm jumping up and hauling them to Hell with me.
    • hulez, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1-Earth to ryanknapper

      Im only pointing out that the last thing someone is EVER going to worry about in a funeral is the spelling of the words in their facebook. Anyway, hunting them down sounds a bit extreme don't you think? like the person above me said
      "I think it was probably just an accident caused by emotional stress...." so you should just let it go really.
  • sciencebase, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Grammer skool anyone?
  • Renuvian, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1"E.g., i.e., ***** you! The point is this: When I say "jump", you say "OK", okay?"
    • *jooloop*, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2"Okay" is actually not correct.

      (From Wikipedia:)

      The historical record shows that O.K. appeared as an abbreviation for "oll korrect" (a conscious misspelling of "all correct") in Boston newspapers in 1839, and was reinterpreted as "Old Kinderhook" in the 1840 United States presidential election.

      The Associated Press Stylebook recommends the spellings "OK, OKd OKing, OKs" and states "do not use [the spelling] okay."
    • Bobtastic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Actually, "okay" is correct. After a word is used enough (even made words or phrases), dictionaries will incorporate it and it will become an okay term to use. Merriam-Webster has the word "okay" included, as does dictionary.com, which uses multiple dictionaries as sources.
    • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1"such that, that is, ***** you!"

      How does that make any grammatical sense whatsoever?
  • funkytaco, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2This one always got to me because of the irony:
    This "makes no" sense.
    How about:
    This does not make any sense.
    • Taciturn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1"This makes no sense" is perfectly cromulent.

      Try "this tree does not grow apples" vs. "this tree grows no apples," or "this comment won't get any diggs" vs. "this comment will get no diggs."
  • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Our president is our grammatical example, our internets leader.

    Just do as Colbert does... ask yourself: George W. Bush -- Great President, or the Greatest President?

    It's just another version of trickle-down, isn't it?
  • torgos, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Wow what an old list. Anyone with half a brain can figure this ***** out, too bad most of the people out there have less than that.
  • shartman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2The first thing that should go is LEET. I spend more time try to decipher that *****.
  • profOblivion, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Dugg for showing me the phrase, "boolean-obsessive". I'll find a way to incorporate it into everyday speech :) .
  • murdadrum, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"...quickly dashing off e-mails with typos..."

    Yeah. 2007 called and asked that you stop hyphenating the word "email."

    Thanks. Byeeeee.
    • pyry, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I'm sure the author would claim that's "grammatically" incorrect. :P
  • razortongue9000, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1This list has already been up on digg... but, whatever.
    Also, wolf-man.

    Seriously, when you're up all night writing a paper without sleep, this list will save your life.
  • MortiMouse, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Another very good site along with Common Errors in English Usage mentioned above

    http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/book.html

    http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/index.html
  • InfidelAl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1And I honestly still can't determine when to use 'affect' over 'effect'...
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That's one of the less obvious errors. I'm not sure how I remember the difference; sometimes I have to use memory tricks to remember correct grammar.

      Effect = noun (as in The Butterfly Effect)
      Affect = verb (as in 'to affect change')

      Hope it helps. I'm a grammar/spelling nerd, with an apostrophe fetish.
    • CloudNine, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Although "effect" is also a verb: it means "to make or bring about: to implement change".
    • psykiv, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I was just about to post this, but I saw you beat me to it.

      I still can't figure out the difference. I still use them semi-interchangeably.
    • InfidelAl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I only speak two languages, English and bad English.
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1CloudNine -

      Yes, but the noun/verb thing is just a good rule of thumb when you're writing and you're not sure. I'm definitely not a perfect writer, but you can be sure that if I'm not sure of something, I'll do what most people won't: LOOK IT UP.

      I'm much more interested in educating the masses about apostrophes, particularly its vs. it's.
  • Capta1nRedbeard, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0"'ll just throw one more thing out here: My current burning pet peeve. At some point, who knows when, it became common

    practice to say that something is "hit and miss." Nuh-UH. It can't be both, right? It either hits or it misses… "Hit OR miss."

    Granted, it's a small thing, a Boolean-obsessive sort of thing."

    Actually, if it is a quantum boolean variable, it could be "hit and miss" (i.e., a qubit is both 0 and 1)
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Capt1nRedbeard -

      Excellent reasoning! You just lost your own argument. Next time you hear someone say "hit and miss," just realize they're speaking in variable quantum boolean terms, and smile to yourself.
  • hulez, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0Pffff, If you Think having good grammar is important then I'm sorry to break it to you ,But you REALLY neeed to get Laid.

    Well maybe you don't care about grammar but the friend your typing to DOES and WILL Judge you by the way you type. In that case you should've pick your friends more carefully. If it's a college or your boss, WHO CARES!! they don't have to be your friend and you can tell them to shove it where it belongs!! (welllll, maybe don't tell your boss that if you like your Job).

    But i Have a point here, I DO!! This correct grammar tutorial is just a guide to help weak people who give in to their crappy low life """"friends""""
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Hulez -

      Um, to correct you, if you are interested in getting laid, it's even more important that you know how to communicate. Not only do most women prefer smarter men, effective communication is a good way to avoid those pesky lawsuits and rape charges.
    • hulez, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0-allatti2d

      All I'm saying is that in a more casual situation grammar isn't really THAT important. And I'm sure some women might even find your spelling and grammatical errors "Cute" so that can be a good thing.

      As for the legal system. If bad grammar can be the difference between getting off or prosecution then god help us all.

  • JAWS, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1How about you's (or yous) guys instead of you guys. Pluralizing you screams "I grew up with my entire extended family under the same roof".
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Hmmm... I've read that before as "youse"...

      Quick search at Dictionary.com found this:
      American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source
      youse (yōōz) Pronunciation Key
      pron. Chiefly Northern U.S.
      You. Used in addressing two or more people or referring to two or more people, one of whom is addressed. See Notes at you-all, you-uns.

      Nothing found at my favorite, m-w.com, though. I do love the word youse -- reading it, hearing it, etc.

      Is that weird?
  • insomniacal, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Lame list. Left out comma splices, sentence fragments, "would of" instead of "would have," and "everyday" as an adverb. I'd say that list was written by someone who doesn't read much and relied instead on memories of fifth grade grammar lessons. All the examples are old and trite -- no new information, just the same-old.
    • mwolfzorn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I'm not sure which list you were reading but:

      "10. Could of, would of for could have, would have

      No: I could of installed that app by mistake."
    • insomniacal, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ahh, you're a better reader than me. Didn't catch that. Thanks -- thumbed you up.

      Spoofing myself: I'd say my comment was written by someone who doesn't read well and relied instead on a quick 15-second impression in between phone calls.
    • FastZ, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2@mwolfzorn

      I think that's from stupid people hearing someone say "could've" or "would've" and then spelling it out like "could of" or "would of". That's the person's stupidity showing.
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Or maybe it's just bad hearing. Or more likely, bad education.
    • cruzlee, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Really, we all get English in high school here in the Netherlands. I have never, ever seen a Dutch person make the "would of" mistake. Here on Digg it amazed me to see it so often. I thought it was a joke, like the Dutch sometimes misspell words just for fun.

      If it's not for fun, then it clearly shows the writer has no clue about the origin of the 've part, which is eh... frightening?

      We do have http://www.dunglish.nl however.
  • statc, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1ah the days of seventh grade and the big 20
  • jeffaustin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0While we have Mr. Language Person here, what's a pompetus?
  • fishcheeks, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0this is hilarious, but then so sad.
  • Jimmni, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Aren't most of these spelling mistakes, rather than grammar mistakes?
    • pyry, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1If the article wasn't digged to hell, I'd probably be able to say "yes", but I'm just going to say "probably" instead. A lot of people, for whatever reason, consider spelling to be grammar. I'd say it's just ignorance, which sort of messes with their attempts to say "grammar mistakes that make you look stupid". Morons, they're spelling mistakes!

      On the other hand, the truth is that spelling/writing systems/orthography is the vehicle for written language, so grammar mistakes are contained in spelling for sure; but not in the way that people want them to be. As for me, I'll just chalk up every other word written in my comment as a mistake, because you know, Old English was really the one true Englisc.
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1pyry --

      Dugg up your comment for outstanding use of "chalk up."
  • BillOReilly08, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2[Insert judgmental comment about how I am better than other people by ridiculing their grammar here]
  • gamesector, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Just so you know the periods used in ie and eg are only necessary in American English, not we...English English, lol.
    • allatti2d, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1That's only because you make up for the extra space by making words extra-long -- most often by adding a 'u' as if it's married to an 'o' -- and I'd rather use the periods than have to spell out 'colour' or 'neighbour' every time. Also, I am fond of the letter z, which has been banned from most of your words! :) **

      ** Although the alternate spellings in UKSpell do get me extra points in the word games I play!
    • Misesean, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I don't think that's true about not needing them in UK English.

      It's also not true about the letter z: most of the words where s and z are seen, z is the standard UK spelling as well (i.e., the preferred OED spelling)
    • gamesector, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'm afraid you are wrong Misesean.
  • hallway, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0My biggest pet-peeve lately is the phrase my girlfriend keeps using....

    "I can't win for lose!"

    This makes absolutely no sense... "I can't win for losing" maybe makes a bit more sense. She gets all pissed when I try to talk to her about it. Oh well, I probably made a ton of grammar mistakes in this post anyway. Back to work.
  • FastZ, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I've never understood the whole "its" vs "it's" thing. I was always taught that adding a 's at the end of something make that work possessive. Like saying "Don't look at Jessi's *****! They're huge, yes, I know, but they're mine! Nachos!" Wouldn't that work for saying "I don't know anything about how that ***** works, you'll have to look at it's readme file and figure it out on your own." In that context, "it" is referring to "*****" (or whatever ***** is referring to), so what is that, a pronoun? Anyways, the readme file is *****'s readme file, and since "it" is referring to "*****", then wouldn't you add the 's to the end of "it" to make it possessive of the readme file? WTF?
    • satanatnmtedu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1It's an exception to the basic rule.

      it's=it is
      its=possessive of it
    • RobN, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Buried the article as lame. Showing the wrong and right usage, without explaining WHY one is wrong and one is right, is useless. Your question shows exactly why.

      "Its" and "it's" is a special case. Because there would be confusion over whether it's is supposed to be a contraction (it is) or possessive (belongs to it), the rule is that it's with an apostrophe is always the contraction -- without the apostrophe is possessive. This breaks the normal possessive rule, but eliminates confusion about what "it's" is supposed to mean -- at least, it's SUPPOSED to eliminate confusion! :)
  • 5lectro, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6As opposed to grammar mistakes that make you look smart?
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