maryellen2u

Here you go:
Who refers to the subject and can be replaced by the pronouns I,he, she, we, they. If you can use the word we, choose who!
Example:
He (who)is running the lemonade stand.
Whom refers to the object and can be replace by object pronouns: me, him, her us, them. If you can use the word him, choose whom (Hint: they both end in M)
You pay (him) whom for the lemonade.
The way I keep effect/affect separate is to remember that affect is what your face looks like. (your emotional reaction)
The bomb went off and she still had a flat affect.

Janice McC

The most annoying word I hear is "at" at the end of a the question, "Where is it at?" or "Where are you at?" No, no, no. The question is "Where are you?" or "Where is it?" I hear almost everyone throw that at in, my family does it, news people do it, and I've seen in printed in newspapers.

There is considerable confusion about the words loan and lend, too. One takes a loan (noun) but we lend (verb) money or an object. Hearing "Please loan me a book" is like fingernails on a chalk board.

Goodness, I have so many grammar annoyances but if I keep going, I'll make plenty of my own! (I loved 7th grade sentence diagramming!) Fun thread!

mac

I have to say that I laughed and cringed while reading this thread. I know that I have a lot of bad habits when I speak. One of them that used to drive my brother crazy is when I said, "Will you open (or close) the light?" Meaning, 'Please turn the light on (or off)." He would always correct me, one day he was so frustrated with me for saying it wrong, again, that he got a screw driver and took the light switch plate off the wall and handed it to me. I just looked at him dumbfounded and he said, "You asked me to open the light, so I did."

Not all of us speak correctly and I say if you understand the 'spirit of the message' then just go with that. I am certainly not an English teacher and I make mistakes all of the time. Hopefully, I can still get my message across.

However, having just said that, I do have a pet-peeve and a fear.

Pet-peeve: "I could care less." Correct usage would be, "I couldn't care less." The other means that they could still care more.

The fear: Reading all of the comments at the end of an article on the web and realizing that most of the commenters really have no clue about grammar, spelling, or writing without using foul language. It makes me wonder if anyone is learning anything in school.

Stepping down from my soapbox now.

zozee

Don't get me started on fillers (um, ya know, you know what I mean?, like, aah, but-tum).

SewingSew

Mac, What gets me about comments about articles online is not so much the poor grammar, but the extent of the mean-spirited nature and cruelty of society. What astonishes me about the articles is how often the writers don't include the who, what, how, where and why of the topic. The information is frequently incomplete and I wonder who is writing these articles.

Peckish

I remember diagramming in school, and I remember that I was very good at it, probably because I devoured books from a very young age. I was an excellent speller, also. In high school I was reading 2-3 paperbacks a day, more on weekends. But honestly, I don't remember how to diagram now and I really don't know what I learned from it.

ptquilts

Yikes!! I hated diagramming sentences!! Hope I never have to do another one!!

Loan can be a verb or a noun.

I used to work with a Swedish fellow who would use borrow instead of lend ("Can you borrow me the stapler?") At least he had an excuse, English was not his first language. Lately I hear that from people who should know better.

bearisgray

I think the "bad" words should be used only in dire situations for expressing extreme distress!

I also cringe when I hear any deity's name taken in vain.

bearisgray

Except and accept -

Everyone accepted the invitations without exception.

We accept all forms of payment, with the exception of American Express.

I like all fruits except papayas.

Except usually implies some type of exclusion.

Accept usually implies getting, taking, or including. (I accept payment, I was accepted into the crowd.)

Tothill

I have to chime in:

Put Up, Put By, Canning, all these are phrases I have used describe preserving food. But Put By could also mean, making jam, freezing or other forms of preserving food.

My first mil was from Cape Cod. If you asked her the time she would say something like, "it is a quarter of three." Does that mean it is a quarter to three or a quarter after three?

I do not understand the issue, mentioned by several people, with the word moist? Is it used as slang in some places? I would only use it if describing a cake, as in "The cake is very moist."

I referred to underwear as knickers. I feel it is a generic term for both genders. I do not have an issue with the word panties.

An overused phrase is "...at the end of the day..."

I cannot properly pronounce garage. I say grage. I also say probly, not probably. So as much as I notice other people's grammar, I know I am guilty of poor grammar too.

I have family in N.Z., when chatting with them some words are pronounced differently, vase vAse, etc, and other words are very different. In NZ you shift, you do not move. If something is small it is wee. Tea could be a mid day or evening meal (depending on where in the country you live), but not an afternoon high tea.

Where I live, lunch is the midday meal, supper is a regular evening meal and dinner is a special evening meal, as in Christmas Dinner.