What grammar or punctuation errors do you make the most?

Jump to Last Post 1-26 of 26 discussions (89 posts)

59
paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago
Share, so others may benefit.

Actually, I always catch them (as far as I know). It just bothers me that it keeps happening. I'm pretty sure the psychology is that the modifier doesn't occur to me until I reach the end of the sentence. Thus, having to go back and rewrite all the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangling_modifier
reply report
1. 79
  HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I think I'm ok with my danglers, but consistency put my i before my e after c. I usually catch this though.
  reply report
  59
  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That reminds me. I recently discovered Chrome has a spell checker extension that is the same one Google uses on their search page. It even catches grammar errors. As good as MS Word's. And it is free.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I wouldn't worry about this too much in general. I found out recently that in actual fact the rule 'i before e except after c' is generally incorrect, and overall in the English language the 'e' does usually appear before an 'i' (even after a 'c'). Source : Stephen Fry, QI (Quite Interesting), a program on facts little known
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Some of the examples he gave didn't make sense, though. "Being" shouldn't be counted, as it is an -ing word. There is no question of an "ie" or "ei" combination. Same with hacienda, which is a Spanish word and sounds just like it is spelled for those who know Spanish. It would be pronounced totally different if the e were before the i. Species is plural and or course ends in "es." Interesting link: http://www.usingenglish.com/weblog/arch … 0021.html. With the rule applied correctly with the known exceptions (certain syllable combinations), teaching children the rule is helpful more often than not, as they will be correct about 90% of the time. Interesting.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  The link you posted didn't work unfortunately (404 not found error).
  
  Re-the 'hacienda' word, I suspect that was the researchers fault as they no doubt didn't take the time they should have to get English words. As Stephen Fry explained when Alan Davies made that point, the fact remains that in the majority of cases (vast majority in fact) the 'e' does come before the 'i' after a 'c'. I am sure there is a more comprehensive list of all the words of both spellings online somewhere.
  
  Good list here that shows that the 'i before e except after c list' is not all that accurate:
  
  A
  abbacies
  aberrancies
  abortifacient
  accountancies
  accuracies
  adhocracies
  æquivalencies
  agencies
  agreeing
  albeit
  Alzheimer's
  ancient
  aristocracies
  atheism
  B
  bankruptcies
  beige
  Beijing
  being
  belligerencies
  bibliomancies
  biccies
  bureaucracies
  C
  caffeine
  choccies
  competencies
  concurrencies
  conscience
  conservancies
  consistencies
  conspiracies
  constituencies
  contingencies
  counterfeit
  currencies
  czarocracies
  D
  deficiencies
  deicide
  deify
  deign
  deindustrialize
  deity
  delicacies
  delinquencies
  democracies
  dependencies
  disagreeing
  dreeing
  dreidel
  E
  ecstacies
  efficiencies
  efficiency
  efficient
  eight
  either
  emergencies
  E cont.
  Excellencies
  excellencies
  exigencies
  extravagancies
  F
  Fahrenheit
  fallacies
  fancied
  fancier
  fancies
  feign
  feisty
  financier
  foreign
  foreseeing
  forfeit
  freight
  frequencies
  G
  geitost
  gesundheit
  glacier
  H
  heifer
  height
  heinous
  heir
  heist
  herein
  I
  idiocies
  idiosyncracies
  inaccuracies
  inconsistencies
  inefficiencies
  infrequencies
  insufficient
  intimacies
  inveigle
  K
  kakistocracies
  kaleidoscope
  keister
  L
  latencies
  lei
  leisure
  lieutenancies
  lunacies
  M
  magistracies
  meiosis
  mercies
  N
  neigh
  neighbor
  neighbour
  neither
  nescience
  O
  obeisance
  obeisancies
  obstinancies
  omniscience
  O cont.
  onomatopoeia
  P
  peine
  pharmacies
  policies
  prescience
  proficient
  protein
  R
  reign
  reignite
  rein
  reindeer
  reindustrialize
  reinforce
  reinstall
  reinvest
  reisolate
  reissue
  S
  safeish
  scarabaeid
  schlockmeister
  science
  seeing
  seignorial
  seine
  seismic
  seize
  sensei
  sheik
  skein
  sleigh
  sleight
  society
  sovereign
  species
  stein
  sufficient
  supremacies
  surfeit
  surveillance
  T
  their
  theism
  therein
  U
  urgencies
  V
  veil
  vein
  W
  weigh
  weight
  weir
  weird
  wherein
  whereinto
  X
  xanthein
  Z
  zeitgeist
  zootheism
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yeah, but don't you see how inaccurate their list is? For example, all those words that sound like "neigh" shouldn't be on there. "Beige," for example does follow the rule. It is part of the rule and shouldn't be on this list. And words that end in "ing" shouldn't be on there if the "e" is right before the "ing" since it's not a dipthong in that case. The plurals shouldn't be on there, since the "y" is changed to "i" and "es" is added. It's not even an "ie" or "ei" word. Intimacies? Contingencies? See, those don't even fit. "Reinforce?" They obviously don't know language. Re-inforce. There is no way the "i" would come first. It's not a dipthong, either.
  
  They were definitely reaching when they made the list, as many of the words don't even fit. Words DO follow the rule more often than not. If all of the "ay" sounding words were removed as well as "ing" words and "plurals," the list would be much shorter. I think I may do that and see. Look at the "c" words for example. Most of them shouldn't even be on there. They don't have the dipthong. They are just plurals with the "y" changing to "i."
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I certainly noticed a lot of the words were plurals which should not apply, and some of the other words were rather 'iffy', but as it was easier to copy and paste the lot I did rather than choosing them one by one. I still feel strongly that if the known words have been counted, and the words that do and don't follow the rule established by authorities on the subject, then it seems likely to be true that 21 times as many words do not follow the 'rule'. Stephen Fry himself is a known literary genius who would be the first to refuse to state something he knew not to be true. Whatever anyone chooses to believe, children are no longer taught this in schools for a reason, therefore the authorities clearly feel the rule is misleading. Also they never made any effort (from what I recall) in schools to teach children that there were so many exceptions such as plurals, foreign words, 'ay' sounding words etc, and this in itself would only have served to confuse children further as the rule would no longer be 'simple' to understand. Interesting discussion though
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well, I still think it's totally helpful, and the "ay" sound IS part of the rule in schools. Nobody would even think to include the plurals, as the Ie or ei isn't even a part of the word. He should know that. He's just trying to throw that in there, I think, thinking that people won't notice.
  
  Neither would foreign languages come into play. Sure, I think Fry is trying to make a point that the rule does have many exceptions, but that is true with the English language in every situation. There are no steadfast rules. It's a helpful rule in my eyes, and he is trying to prove a point that the evidence just doesn't support.
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Maybe I'll write a hub about it. :-) It IS an interesting topic.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  +1 Good idea
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Just in case you don't see it, the post I answered to Hollie T (above) has info direct from the QI website which might be very useful to you if you do write a hub on the subject. Also well worth checking out the SOWPODS list they used as a source, plus they mention that they didn't include plurals in their figures. The comment comes from one of the researchers and is very enlightening
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Just quickly taking off the obvious ones--words that sound like neighbor and weigh, plurals that DO follow the plural rule of changing "y" to "i", and "ing" words that have no place on the list, the words go to well under half. Some categories have none at all. I could also eliminate Alzheimer's and Fahrenheit since they are names. Some words are obvious, too, such as atheism, since we know that "ism" works but not "esm." I still think the rule is helpful. These people were stretching to try to make it not so.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  In fairness I very much doubt that QI (a programme full of little known facts) based their research on one website such as the one I randomly lifted the list from (warts and all). I am sure an email to the programme's website could provide the source of their information and would be enough to clarify things.
  reply report
  79
  HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Misty, it's ingrained on me. Mrs. Murphy, my English teacher when I was seven, used to wrap my knuckles when I got it wrong. When I do so now it's like, she was right, I'm stupid!
  
  Good to know that she didn't know it all, after all.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  lol, +1, bet you wish you could pull her up on it now (hope you watched the link I posted earlier, very amusing and makes the point in a very interesting way).
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  More interesting info on this from the QI website, Quote:
  
  "when we compiled those long lists of the words which do and do not obey the "rule", for sure a lot of them were words which are not in common usage.
  
  But in fact, this is true of both the words which do obey the "rule" and those that don't.
  
  I mentioned above that there are only six words in everyday use which really do have <cei>. One is ceiling - and OK, so everyone who saw the show knows that one! Then there are four verbs viz conceive, deceive, perceive, and receive and their associated forms. Since it is in common use as a noun independent of the verb, receipt can be the sixth. And that's about your lot.
  
  For <cie>, we have glacier (for some) and species which break the "rule" however we phrase it. And for <*ei>, where * may be any letter other than <c>, the list is a long one. Either and neither for many people, atheist for some, and caffeine, protein, seize, weir, and weird for everyone. There's no need to resort to words like phenolphthalein.
  
  So considering only words in everyday use, and only words in which the vowel sound in question is pronounced /i, we already have more exceptions than instances. (Without even considering plurals and third person singulars in -cies - which never obey the "rule", but are rarely mentioned in those caveats.)
  
  No, the exposition of the matter presented on the show wouldn't do if we were writing a paper on the matter. Not because it is wrong; it isn't. But because it is incomplete.
  
  For instance, no one has yet queried the definition of "words in the English language", and for academic work we'd certainly need to explain which list we were using and why. (Just in case anyone was wondering, we actually used the 2006 version of the SOWPODS list, which exists for the purposes of Scrabble.)
  
  But this is televisual light entertainment, not a university!"
  
  The link to the actual relevant forum thread that goes into much more debate and discussion on the subject is: http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t= … mp;start=0
  reply report
2. 69
  Krista Schneeposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I always catch myself writing split infinitives. I know they're wrong, and yet I continue to write them.
  reply report
  59
  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Your posts caused me to boldly decide it was time I learn exactly what a split infinitive is. Turns out the definition is simple and easy. I learned something today.
  
  http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/sp … tives.aspx
  
  Good news. Excepting as otherwise indicated, splitting infinitives is not that big of a no-no.
  reply report
3. 60
  gabgirl12posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I would have to say I forget comma's the most. I also have running sentences that I just can't seem to shorten. I try to read my hubs out loud. If I have to breathe more than once by the time I've finished it, its way too long. Sometimes I repeat the words, which I catch when I proofread it.
  reply report
  88
  Stacie Lposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I agree; my commas get me into the most trouble...
  reply report
  71
  Weekend Readerposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Apostrophes are a challenge too. They're just commas hanging a little higher on the page.
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Oh, apostrophes are easy! They show possession. Choose the subject first before adding the apostrophe.
  If singular, for example, one student would be the student's books. One student has a lot of books.
  
  If plural, several students have more than one book: the students' books.
  
  's for singular, s' for plural. Pretty simple, really. Any other questions?
  reply report
  71
  Weekend Readerposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Oh, sure, just when you think you understand apostrophes, you meet ... itses.
  It's is a contraction, for "it is."
  Its is a possessive.
  The itses fly in the face of all my elementary school grammarians taught.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  +1, it took me years to find out you didn't use the apostrophe in 'its' when used as a possessive (unlike other words).
  reply report
  67
  Desmith3posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Too many commas for me. Causes me to be a substandard writer at Textbroker, but in the real world it's never been an issue.
  reply report
4. 74
  Cantuhearmescreamposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I have to admit, I have and addiction to commas and semicolons.... and I don't know how to stop... oh and whatever that (...) is, I can't stop doing that either! Someone please take away my buttons! Lol
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Addiction instead of addition? Commas instead of comas? Is that what you meant? I actually find grammar so easy, so message me at any time. I love grammar!
  reply report
  74
  Cantuhearmescreamposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Oh my goodness, I can't believe I just misspelled two words while referring to my 'grammar' problems! Ha ha... yeah, thanks for pointing those out to me. Gee, I think I'll go bury my head in the sand now! lol
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Lol! Sorry! :-)
  reply report
  74
  Cantuhearmescreamposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  No... no sorry... I'm laughing, honestly. Usually I tend to do these things when I'm being quick and careless, I appreciate it actually!
  reply report
  74
  Horatio Plotposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I do that a lot too, cantuhearmescream...
  But then sometimes you feel you have to leave a thought just hanging in the air...
  Works well in forums though...
  reply report
  74
  Cantuhearmescreamposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Ha ha.... perhaps I should spend more time here then...
  reply report
5. 53
  myeffortsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  For me, it's often the spellings rather than the punctuation. The auto-correct feature is there to help us out. But it does not work all the time. One example is the use of two words 'advice' and 'advise'. MS Word always misguides, at least I experience that, about which one to be used. I have often seen people following the advice of the auto-correct and using the noun (advice) where the verb (advise) needs to be used actually.
  reply report
75
nArchuletaposted 10 years ago
I have a tough time spelling "remember" when I'm typing. It's not that I don't know how to spell it -- I never make the mistake when writing by hand. For some reason my finger always wants to add an "e" -- rememeber. I have a few words my fingers can't spell. Weird!
reply report
1. 59
  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  My fingers always forget the second "m". I kid you not.
  reply report
72
seanorjohnposted 10 years ago
I split infinitives. But like someone once said "When I split an infinitive I want it to damn well stay split".
reply report
60
clara kish@yahoo.posted 10 years ago
If I want to use Chrome for grammar checking I have to switch over to Chrome instead of Google. I can sure use the grammar checking,it has been a long time since I went to school and I have just about forgotten everything that I learned in English. Back then that was one on my favorite subjects. Thank you for putting this on here, I really appreciate it . Clara Kish
reply report
89
mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years ago
My frequent mistake is to type 'teh' instead of 'the'.
reply report
1. 81
  CarlySullensposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Me too!
  reply report
2. 58
  RetroDJposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I think we all do this!
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I do that, too! Why do our fingers want to type the "e" before the "h"???
  reply report
87
Victoria Lynnposted 10 years ago
I before e except after c, or when sounded like "a" as in neighbor and weigh.Most of the time it works. Sometimes not so much.
reply report
87
Victoria Lynnposted 10 years ago
Many of these have that "ay" sound: beige
deign
eight
feign
feint
freight
heir
neighbor
reign
rein
surveillance
their
veil
vein
weigh
Read more at http://www.usingenglish.com/weblog/arch … I0WIVIj.99
reply report
1. 89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Great examples of why the 'i before e except after c' rule is so flawed
  
  Edit: I am a pratt as these don't have 'c's at the start, but the QI info is still accurate in the English Language.
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  But these mostly follow the second part of the rule: "or when sounded like ay as in neighbor and weigh."
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yep true, but it is also a fact that in the majority of cases the e does come before the i even after the c in the English language. Goodness knows why schools started (many years ago) telling the kids the 'i before e except after c' rule when in fact this is untrue.
  
  I confess I should have read your previous examples more thoroughly (looking for the 'c's) but I blame it on a couple of cans of cider and it being nearly 06.00am here lol.
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  LOL! Well, I think the full rule does apply much of the time, and it's a great way for school kids learning to spell to remember how to spell the majority of common words. I would like to find a list of words that don't apply to either part of the rule.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It would be a great rule for teaching children how to spell 'if' it were correct. This was what made the rule so bizarre when Stephen Fry explained that in the majority of cases it isn't true. This effectively means the schools were actively teaching kids how to make spelling mistakes more often than not when putting i's or e's after c's. On the programme they reeled off a load of words which did show the error of the rule e.g. glacier, species etc, but like you I would love to see a full list of great examples of the flaw in the rule just as an illustration.
  
  This is the clip from QI that explains it and gives the actual numbers of words involved i.e. 923 English words have 'cie' in them and therefore break the rule. Officially there are over 21 times as many words that break the 'i before e except after c' rule, and for this reason the 'rule' is no longer taught in schools. The link is worth watching because it is really funny and Daniel Radcliffe is one of the guests on that week's show:
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duqlZXiIZqA
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  But aren't most of those "cie" words 2 syllables? I don't even consider them when thinking about the rule. The rule has always helped me, because I think it covers a majority of certain types of words. I'll check out the link. Thanks.
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Trouble is that when they taught this in schools they never said 'in two syllable words only' (and to be honest I never even thought about whether it mainly applied in two syllable or more words). Bottom line appears to be that in the English language 21 times as many words go against the rule as follow it, therefore to avoid confusion schools stopped using it as a teaching aid (no doubt to avoid whole generations of children spelling 'glacier' as 'glaceir' lol).
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Actually, this list does follow the rule (the second part of it). They have the "ay" sound as in "neighbor" and "weigh."
  reply report
  89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Totally agree re the 'ay' sound.
  reply report
87
Victoria Lynnposted 10 years ago
I'm a slow publisher on HubPages. I probably spend too much time on revising and proofreading b/c I don't want to have grammar or spelling errors. Sometimes I do catch stupid stuff when I read over old ones, though. :-(
reply report
1. 92
  jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  +1 I'm obsessed with it, reading over and re-reading over my capsules in edit mode and in the preview box before I can press publish. And I refuse to use spell checker. Crazy!!
  reply report
  59
  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I've never used the HP spellchecker. My browser pokes me with a stick every time I misbehave.
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I don't trust spell-checker. LOL. I read my hubs over and over and usually go back for several days before I publish them! :-)
  reply report
77
Greekgeekposted 10 years ago
Misplaced appositive phrases are my downfall. I know better, yet they litter my writing. I think the problem is that I keep thinking of things to add in mid-sentence, forgetting that they're separating a noun and its modifier.

I wish we were all writing in Latin, so that our word endings could indicate which nouns and descriptives are linked no matter how far apart they are.
reply report
74
queerlyobscureposted 10 years ago
My problem is typing completely the wrong word in response to something else I'm hearing or reading while I type, and then not catching it (I am a lazy proofreader).

Also I have trouble with words that have 'g's in the middle. Legend, pigeon etc. I always want to add a d before it. I know it's wrong, but it feels so right!
reply report
85
Jlbowdenposted 10 years ago
When it comes to grammar, and/or pronunciation. I believe I have more issues with the grammar portion. Distinguishing when to use Then or Than, in a sentence. And also issues, of where to place a semicolon, or comma, at times can also be an issue for me. Usually spelling a word correctly is never an issue for me. Unless I am using my Ipad to type an article, rather than the laptop.

I find that I make many more spelling errors, most likely because of the smaller keyboard, when I type on my Ipad. But then again no one is perfect, especially when we fail to go back and edit our work. Which for the most part is plain laziness on everyone's part, including myself.

Jl
reply report
73
Barbara Kayposted 10 years ago
I have a problem with using commas when they aren't necessary. Back in school, I was an excellent speller and I'm shocked by how many words the spell checker catches now.
reply report
74
brakel2posted 10 years ago
I always have trouble with effect and affect. I learn it and then don't use it, so it leaves my brain.
reply report
1. 89
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Me too, (big time).
  reply report
94
PaulGoodman67posted 10 years ago
The 'who' or 'whom', and the 'which' or 'that' issues can confuse me.
reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
Try having one word in your mind, but typing something else. Like you have "it's been raining in Chicago" and somehow your fingers type "it's being raining in Chicago." And you're like wtf?!
reply report
1. 92
  jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  +1
  reply report
78
Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years ago
Myriad is becoming the "it" word with writers everywhere. Its first use is as an adjective not as a noun. You wouldn't say "It is a blue of dress." You'd say "It is a blue dress." So it is "myriad ideas" - not "a myriad of ideas". If you are well-read enough to use this interesting word, you should use it as its first use defines.
reply report
1. 60
  PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  but even "a myriad of ideas" would be a noun.
  reply report
  60
  PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Funny how that works. It can refer to a noun-myriad can be a noun rather than adj. "A number" of ideas" for example. "A myriad" of ideas. Both nouns with myriads being used as an adj.
  reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
When you use it as an adj is tricky.
reply report
1. 87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Who is using it as an adjective? I don't think that's correct to do.
  reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
Myriad can be both a noun and adj.
reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
Placing an "a" in front of myriad turns it into a noun.
reply report
1. 87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, I know that. I've just never heard of it being an adjective. That's new to me. Is it very common?
  reply report
  85
  Jlbowdenposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  So Victoria - the obvious answer to all of this, in your particular case. Is that you obviously prefer good grammar, over good taste. Is this not true? (;
  reply report
  60
  PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myriad
  
  Recent criticism of the use of myriad as a noun, both in the plural form myriads and in the phrase a myriad of, seems to reflect a mistaken belief that the word was originally and is still properly only an adjective. As the entries here show, however, the noun is in fact the older form, dating to the 16th century. The noun myriad has appeared in the works of such writers as Milton (plural myriads) and Thoreau (a myriad of), and it continues to occur frequently in reputable English. There is no reason to avoid it.
  
  To be honest though, I think, personally, that it's stylistically better as noun. It simply sounds better. "A myriad of ideas" sounds better than "myriad ideas" to me. Everyone is different, some prefer the adjectival sound better.
  reply report
  78
  Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I first discovered this lovely word in poetry, where it is commonly used as an adjective. In prose and mathematics its common use is as a noun. Don't think it is nearly as pretty, but it is not wrong.
  reply report
  87
  Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That's interesting. I think that's why I love language. It's so fascinating. :-)
  reply report
  78
  Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It is. There is much in language that is optional, not right or wrong. You can have your preferences. Those who have preferences different from miine might still irritate me, but they aren't mistaken. I almost have more compassion for writers who make outright errors. I can help them (used to be an editor) but those who disagree with me have a right to their opinions - irritating!!!
  reply report
  60
  PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well, in poetry it would make sense because you're compounding sentences. "A myriad of" wouldn't be smooth in poetry but I do prefer it in prose. Sounds a little Shakespeare to me-delicate. But that's the way I envision it. "Myraid Ideas" does sound wonderful in poetry.
  reply report
  60
  PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Sorry, I meant, "compressing" sentences.
  reply report
  60
  PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Not to say that it doesn't sound wonderful in prose either. Just preference.
  reply report
57
Gratitude Journalposted 10 years ago
I'm a grammar boss. But somehow I cant spell 'origional' no matter how many times I try.
reply report
0
Beth37posted 10 years ago
I don't pay much attention to apostrophes and capitals when Im on a forum. I make an effort when Im writing a hub etc. There are a few words that I repeatedly fail to spell correctly. They are not hard, but it's like I refuse to remember them.

Chocolate
challenge
alcohol ...

There's more, but I can't remember them now. I spelled all these right just now without spell check leaving me to think if I slowed down, Id do better.
reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
Since I have a degree in German, I often capitalize nouns because at times it's difficult to distinguish when you use the noun in English since the rules vary.
reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
And in German you always capitalize nouns because it's a more practical language. English if far from practical. It's like Heathrow airport, they throw a slew of everything in.
reply report
60
PeppermintPaddyposted 10 years ago
Sorry, just to clarify, it can be difficult to know when to use the noun in English when you've studied German so much that it becomes your second language.
reply report
92
jansharesposted 10 years ago
I'm always rushing and make the mistake with 'your' and 'you're.' I catch it most of the time and correct it but it happens more than any other for me. Other mistakes are not spelling errors but letters missing because, again, I'm rushing and don't check for mistakes. I don't know if it's dried food, drink, or dust but keys on the left side of desktop keyboard stick and cause incomplete words. (yuck)
reply report
79
HollieTposted 10 years ago
I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but are there certain days where you just can't spell the most simple words, or even find the right words at all? You type and you know that the text is grammatically incorrect, you know it is, and you're searching for the correct sentence, or spelling- but just can't find it?

But the following day you can, without even really thinking about it.
reply report

Post a Reply

jump to first post

Necessary
HubPages Device ID	This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
Login	This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google Recaptcha	This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
Akismet	This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google Analytics	This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic Pixel	This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web Services	This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
Cloudflare	This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted Libraries	Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)

Features
Google Custom Search	This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google Maps	Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google Charts	This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host API	This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTube	Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Vimeo	Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Paypal	This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook Login	You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Maven	This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

Marketing
Google AdSense	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClick	Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index Exchange	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Sovrn	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook Ads	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexus	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Openx	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon Project	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLift	This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say Media	We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing Pixels	We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking Pixels	We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics
Author Google Analytics	This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
Comscore	ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking Pixel	Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
Clicksco	This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)

What grammar or punctuation errors do you make the most?

Arts and Design

Autos

Books, Literature, and Writing

Business and Employment

Education and Science

Entertainment and Media

Family and Parenting

Fashion and Beauty

Food and Cooking

Games, Toys, and Hobbies

Gender and Relationships

Health

Holidays and Celebrations

Home and Garden

HubPages Tutorials and Community

Personal Finance

Pets and Animals

Politics and Social Issues

Religion and Philosophy

Sports and Recreation

Technology

Travel and Places

About Us

This website uses cookies

What grammar or punctuation errors do you make the most?

Related Discussions

This website uses cookies