There, their, they're, there's, theirs...

[liubit]

A little grammar rant. English is not my mother tongue, but I am getting particularly annoyed by how people often confuse those terms. Try this trick:

 

THERE, THEIR, THEY'RE, THERE'S, THEIRS

 

If you can replace it by MY, you write THEIR

 

If you can replace it by MINE, it is THEIRS

 

If you can replace it by HERE, please write THERE

 

If you can replace it by THEY ARE, it is THEY'RE

 

If you can replace it by THERE IS, it is THERE'S

 

Examples: THEY'RE (they are) going over THERE (here) with THEIR (my) brother. THERE'S (there is) a book of THEIRS (mine) THERE (here).

 

Sorry, I just had to get it off my chest.

[+ ArVaGuy]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c262/cpapa8162/image_zpsvvirhok8.jpeg

[+ poolboy48220]

you need this mug. Why has it been showing up on my facebook feed so often?

 

[+ poolboy48220]

and come join us here:

 

https://www.facebook.com/grammarly/

[MscleLovr]

Good for you, Liubit. It seems to me that people without English as their mother-tongue often have a better understanding of grammar.

[+ Topseed]

And if the mug had room for additions: "discreet" and "discrete"...."peak" and "pique"....

[Mydavid]

Good for you, Liubit. It seems to me that people without English as their mother-tongue often have a better understanding of grammar.

I agree. Because we learn it more from reading and writing than from speaking and listening. I have no problem with homophones because I pay more attention to spelling than pronunciation.

[MassageDrew]

A little grammar rant. English is not my mother tongue, but I am getting particularly annoyed by how people often confuse those terms. Try this trick:

 

THERE, THEIR, THEY'RE, THERE'S, THEIRS

 

If you can replace it by MY, you write THEIR

 

If you can replace it by MINE, it is THEIRS

 

If you can replace it by HERE, please write THERE

 

If you can replace it by THEY ARE, it is THEY'RE

 

If you can replace it by THERE IS, it is THERE'S

 

Examples: THEY'RE (they are) going over THERE (here) with THEIR (my) brother. THERE'S (there is) a book of THEIRS (mine) THERE (here).

 

Sorry, I just had to get it off my chest.

 

Now, now. Be mindful that English is not the native tongue for some of the members. However, it drives me insane to see these (not this) simple mistakes as well.

[actor61]

And if the mug had room for additions: "discreet" and "discrete"...."peak" and "pique"....

Let's not foget "its" and "it's", and putting apostrophe's to denote plurals, such as "I just bought a dozen donut's".

[actor61]

Let's not foget "its" and "it's", and putting apostrophe's to denote plurals, such as "I just bought a dozen donut's".

And yes, the apostrophe in "apostrophe's" above was deliberate!

[mike carey]

Let's not foget "its" and "it's",

The mug has them!

[Chuckball]

I do not mind grammatical errors on this forum. After all, people, this is supposed to be a good-natured conversation and we never correct a speaker in an oral conversation when a mistake is made. However, when merchants post signs and insist on adding an apostrophe before the "s" on any plural words, I am put off. Also the incorrect use of commas, exclamation points, etc. I once saw a bait peddler with a sign that read "Dew Worms?" Don't forget that many mistakes go unnoticed because of autocorrect.

[Mydavid]

As non English native speaker, I have no difficulties identifying these homophones, but I'm often confused by some spelling-similar words even if they pronounce very differently. I guess it is because I usually learn new words by learning not by listening, so I'm more familiar with their spelling but not pronunciation. When I listen to a new word, it is very difficult for me to learn it. I have to check in the dictionary and get to know how to spell it before I really know this word.

[MassageDrew]

As non English native speaker, I have no difficulties identifying these homophones, but I'm often confused by some spelling-similar words even if they pronounce very differently. I guess it is because I usually learn new words by learning not by listening, so I'm more familiar with their spelling but not pronunciation. When I listen to a new word, it is very difficult for me to learn it. I have to check in the dictionary and get to know how to spell it before I really know this word.

 

I feel the same way when learning a new language. The spelling and pronunciation is the same but the meaning varies depending on how it is used in a sentence.

[MiamiLooker]

And if the mug had room for additions: "discreet" and "discrete"...."peak" and "pique"....

And "weather" and "whether"...

[LaffingBear]

A little grammar rant. English is not my mother tongue, but I am getting particularly annoyed by how people often confuse those terms. Try this trick:

 

THERE, THEIR, THEY'RE, THERE'S, THEIRS

 

If you can replace it by MY, you write THEIR

 

If you can replace it by MINE, it is THEIRS

 

If you can replace it by HERE, please write THERE

 

If you can replace it by THEY ARE, it is THEY'RE

 

If you can replace it by THERE IS, it is THERE'S

 

Examples: THEY'RE (they are) going over THERE (here) with THEIR (my) brother. THERE'S (there is) a book of THEIRS (mine) THERE (here).

 

Sorry, I just had to get it off my chest.

 

Hope you feel better now. Personally, i believe its a mute point, weather someone uses the write word doesnt effect me at all.

[+ poolboy48220]

At work last week, a new manager of quality assurance was 'test-driving' his presentation on "What does QA do?" on us peons before presenting it to upper management. I offered to proofread it for him beforehand; not my role at the company but I'm just generally good at that. He laughed and said "You just want a sneak peek at it". I replied "If you want me to call out typos in front of our group, that's fine". After calling out the second one 10 minutes into the test run, our mutual boss told him "Send the presentation over to <me> to review after this".

[+ Kufrol]

Hope you feel better now. Personally, i believe its a mute point, weather someone uses the write word doesnt effect me at all.

[sic], [more sic], [sic er], [more sic er], [sic est]

[LaffingBear]

Seriously...

 

I share the reaction of the original poster. But i attribute many of the errors to computer auto-complete.

 

These days, my number one source of language frustration is use of the word impact. It seems we've forgotten the words affect and effect, or are too lazy to use them correctly. Its also a media driven thing... as impact is a more dramatic word. Impact is for forcibly striking, dental problems and something to make every GI nurse cringe. Try watching the news, and notice how many times they say impact.

 

Plethora is another one, tossed around to mean choices/options, when it really has a negative connotation. Strictly, a plethora is not just an abundance of something, it is an excessive amount. (from the dictionary)

[MikeyGMin]

At work last week, a new manager of quality assurance was 'test-driving' his presentation on "What does QA do?" on us peons before presenting it to upper management. I offered to proofread it for him beforehand; not my role at the company but I'm just generally good at that. He laughed and said "You just want a sneak peek at it". I replied "If you want me to call out typos in front of our group, that's fine". After calling out the second one 10 minutes into the test run, our mutual boss told him "Send the presentation over to <me> to review after this".

I'm editor-in-chief for my boss as well. She sends all her presentations and most of her important emails to me for proofreading. It's not that I have a great understanding of all the rules of grammar. I have no idea what split infinitives are, etc. I just have a good ear. The final result may not get a stamp of approval from a grammar Nazi, but it won't have any glaring errors. It will reflect the way people actually communicate with each other when content and clarity is more important than perfect grammar.

 

That's how I feel about this board. Content and clarity is important, but I'm not at work and I will not turn this into work. I will skim for typos since I'm usually dictating from a tablet, but I'm not going to agonize over perfect grammar and syntax. And if dictation uses the wrong form of "there," well so be it. Judge away!

[+ poolboy48220]

"Utilize" vs "use".

[+ Funguy]

Jeez - all of this reminds me of the rants of a former member, "he who shall never be named again on this Forum."

[+ deej]

"Utilize" vs "use".

 

That's one of my personal pet peeves. I've NEVER seen "utilize" where "use" wouldn't be exactly the same and just as clear.

 

One thing I've seen recently on broadcast news is "efforting". As in: "We are efforting to get more information." Aaaargh!

[DiscoveringMe]

Irregardless

 

I'm always amazed how many people use that "word."

[+ Charlie]

HEAR! HEAR! (or is it HERE! HERE! ?)

 

Many posts on this site are more like casually transcribed speech than expository writing, and I think it is unnecessary to hold the former to the standards of the latter.

 

I often have to proofread my own posts or emails very carefully before hitting SEND or POST, because of stupid autocorrect changes.