Less instead of fewer. (As in 'We had less students than last year.') (Ooh, should I have left off the quotation marks?)

And another one, when I was growing up disrespect was not a verb.

And along with that, 'amount of pnms' was posted in a thread yesterday or today. Not sure if amount is used properly - at least it sounded odd to me. One of our grammer experts would probably know.

humorous pov
 

I had a seminar leader once who explained that her spelling and grammar errors on the flipchart (yep, dating myself) were not her fault: the Mr. Sketch markers and their fragrances affected her brain.

She was also the one who taught me that when people talk about a 'pacific' item (as opposed to a specific one)...the more Pacific you get, the less Atlantic you become!

Amount is a sum-total quantity. Example is the amount of mess on the floor when two decks of cards and scoresheets are on the floor.

Number: individuals in the sum. An example: the number of cards on the floor when your toddler gets your Bridge set out of the drawer!

Above quote would have been correct when talking about the number of pnms. We know they're all individuals.

I love you, violetpretty.

My mom does this. I just correct her each and every time. I won't stop until she sees the light. :humph:

It's a little gross, but it KILLS me when women say "ministration." I :eek::mad: every single time. The word is men-stru-a-tion. I know it's not one we often look up in the dictionary, but try it. I hear it mostly with women from the south...a couple days ago my professor said it and I almost chucked a textbook at her head. :mad: I sat there thinking "You have a doctorate and can't even pronounce that? Thank God Almighty you have a son!"

Be careful criticizing pronunciation -:) - it's not grammar, and while there are standard English pronunciations, I personally LOVE the different pronunciations you can here from all over the country . "Car Talk" wouldn't be the same without that distinctive Boston accent, I can't imagine my grandmother without her soft southern drawl, and even Palin's almost Canadian-clipped speech is interesting to me.

That said - NUCLEAR. There are some weird pronunciations of that out there!

To this day, my cousin (45 years old and very successful) calls a hearse a "Hertz", as in rental car.

I totally agree. However, when one pronounces the word in such a way that vowel and consonants alike are rearranged to make a completely different word then one has gone too far! :)

My biggest peeve is when people say "I will be sending it to you tomorrow" or "I will be going to the game tonight."

It is better to use the active voice and say "I will send it to you tomorrow" or "I am going to the game tonight."

"We Be...." What is it with "be"?

Ooooo! Oooooo! Transitive be! Yeah, I finally get to use my linguistics course!

You know the expresso complaint really bothered one of the Columbine killers. I'm not sure that it matters, but I find it interesting.

I agree that "costed" when used incorrectly is annoying (That costed $15. NO! It COST $15.), however, I use the word "costed" correctly when we describe whether certain expenses were added to a job. (Have you costed that invoice to Bob's Restaurant job?)