I hope we don't see any flame wars resulting from this thread. While the level of education in this country with regards to the proper use of the English language is lacking, a person's intelligence level shouldn't be derived from the number of spelling and grammar errors they make.

On this same thread though, here is a rather interesting quote regarding spelling:

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by ilstef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

Makes you think how the brain perceives and interprets words.

Everyone makes mistakes in spelling and grammar, lets not crucify them for simple oversights.

Brian

VIN Number
PIN Number
ATM Machine

If you don't know what the acronym stands for, don't use it : )

Growing up as the son of a school teacher, I was constantly corrected on my grammer.

One phrase that bugs me is when somebody says "I could care less" when they probably mean "I couldn't care less". If they "could" care less, they actually care about what they are talking about.

I know it is small and stupid but for some reason it bugs me.

Good one --

Also how about "irregardless" -- which is really just regardless. From the non-profit fund raising world:

I/he/she/we wrote a grant. No, you wrote a proposal and you received (or were denied) a grant.

Starting a sentence with "anymore." Anymore, we don't got to the drive in movies.

He/she is on a diet. Everyone has a diet, some are healthy, some are terrible, and some are designed to lose weight.

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The only constant is change.

I hate it when people use the pronoun "I" ALL the time in place of "me" simply because "I" sounds more educated. For example:

"They helped John and I."

should actually be

"They helped John and me."

"It's so fun!"

I'd much prefer hearing "it's fun" or "it's such fun", as the word "fun" is a noun, NOT an adjective. But then I'm a foreigner who learnt English as a third language.

Ending sentences in prepositions. This one always gets me, and I find myself trying to reword their sentence properly so that there is no ending preposition. Where did they get that idea from?

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Nephi
"Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever." -- D&C 122:9

Although any post I make is likely as not to contain some typo or grammar error, one funny mistake (to me) is the incorrect use of the word "penultimate". The word means next to last. For example, the letter “y” is the penultimate letter of the alphabet.

People sometimes incorrectly use the word, however, to refer to something of high quality or desirability. For example someone might say “The i730 is the penultimate device.”

In the words of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

In thinking of the Princess Bride quote, the words of the immortal El Guapo in the Three Amigos also came to mind:

Jefe:We have many beautiful pinatas for your birthday celebration, each one filled with little surprises!
El Guapo: How many pinatas?
Jefe: Many pinatas, many!
El Guapo: Jefe, would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A *plethora*.
Jefe: Oh yes, El Guapo. You have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you just told me that I had a plethora, and I would just like to know if you know what it means to have a plethora. I would not like to think that someone would tell someone else he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe: El Guapo, I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education, but could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?

Perhaps in pointing out the errors of others, we, like El Guapo, are picking on improper targets and are really angry about something else??

Ahhh, that's why we have the best forum around. Anytime someone quotes the El Guapo/Jefe conversation from Three Amigos, I have to chuckle....and search online for the DVD.

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Jeremiah 29:11

I've been dying to read this thread since it was first started, and only had the chance to do so today. So many of the posts made me LOL.

I had a seventh and eighth grade English teacher who drilled proper grammar and syntax into my head. Then, if that was wasn't enough, when I was a sophomore in high school, I had a Jesuit English teacher who reiterated the importance of proper grammar/syntax. On top of that, I've been a lawyer for almost 14 years now and have learned from other people's mistakes just how important the correct words are (e.g., "which" and "that") as well as how important properly placed punctuation is. A misplaced comma or the use of the word "which" instead of "that" can totally change the meaning of a sentence.

With all that said, I'm just as human as the next person and definitely make my share of typos, especially so when I'm working on the tiny keyboard of my i730. Also, at the pace of today's world, I often find it difficult to take/make the time to carefully proofread my work (I'm talking about social work, not my legal work ) to ensure I've used proper grammar, have spelled words properly, etc. I suspect that applies to a lot of folks who post messages in these forums. Heck, if MRailing and SuperDave spent time proofreading every message they've posted, we probably wouldn't have gotten WM5 for another 6 months. Consequently, if I find an error in message, I might (emphasize "might") PM the writer to let him/her know of the error so he/she can correct it. (But see my next post below. )

I agree with a lot of the comments made in this thread, particularly twkellen in number 22. I'll add one more to his list: when people say "HIV virus." I also echo one of the other posters to this thread regarding the overuse of abbreviations in posts. I still am trying to figure out all the various abbreviations and lingo. What is particularly difficult for a newbie is when someone uses an abbreviation like "WS" throughout the entire post without somewhere in the post saying it stands for "WirelessSync." For what it is worth, I try to use the full name of the program, etc., at least once in my post before using the abbreviation. Just a suggestion to help out some of the new users....

Jay

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-Jay
The Fine Print:Nothing in this post (or any of my other posts) is intended to constitute legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship. For purposes of this forum, I'm just another nerd like you. :-)

FYI, the word judgment is spelled without an e between the g and the m. It's probably one of the most common mispellings I see.

Jay

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-Jay
The Fine Print:Nothing in this post (or any of my other posts) is intended to constitute legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship. For purposes of this forum, I'm just another nerd like you. :-)

Thanks. Actually, it's listed as an acceptable form in the dictionary.

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Motorola Q, WM5 -- Verizon Wireless, U.S.A.

Well, I'll be darned. You are correct that the dictionary lists it as an acceptable spelling. Wish I had known that when I was in law school. Three years of law school listening to professors impress upon us that the correct way to spell the word is "judgment." I guess I'll just take some solace in knowing that the preferred way is to spell it without the e.

Jay

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-Jay
The Fine Print:Nothing in this post (or any of my other posts) is intended to constitute legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship. For purposes of this forum, I'm just another nerd like you. :-)

You learn something new every day. I believe I have always spelled in with an 'e'. Just checked M$ Word and judgement is not in its dictionary, so its possible I have atleast spelled in right in my emails.

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i760 VZW

Here here Brian... I'm the first to admit that my spelling is atroshuss (sp?) It drives my wife crazy! And its probably why I went into the sciences (physics major)... I read the original Hienz thread and I'm glad this got moved so us slounge lizards can add our 2 cents. So here's my pet peeve, people that misuse science or technology terminology. And number one on my list is misuse of the phrase 'quantum leap' and thinking means a big jump... No doubt a side effect of that "show"...
Mark

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Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

Yeah, I think that's funny too. Also ironic, since as you no doubt know, a quantum leap is by definition the smallest movement possible.

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Free Katie Holmes!

Actually, that should be "Hear, hear".

I think using an "e" is an old English spelling of the word. If you look through the KJV Bible, you'll find that the word is spelled "judgement".

Well done Smu! only two posts later and you caught it!
Man, don't mess with the communal Mind!
Mark

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Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

I love this site, and this thread.

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-Jay
The Fine Print:Nothing in this post (or any of my other posts) is intended to constitute legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship. For purposes of this forum, I'm just another nerd like you. :-)