GrammarBlog

stationary, originally uploaded by fujiellena.

This is a common mistake. You'd think a stationer would know how to spell stationery correctly. On the plus side, those greeting cards stay nice and still when you pick them up.

Labels: spelling, stationary, stationery, wrong word

The improbably named Jeff the fish got in touch a while back to share the following bit of tasty bait.

Jeff writes, "I saw this at the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia.  I think they mean 'bitten' instead of 'eaten'."

I hope so, otherwise I am led to believe there are a lot of unhappy piranhas getting dragged around the amazon by their last meal.

Labels: wrong word

malaproprism, originally uploaded by livhouse, the paronomeister™.

I can't decide if this is a typo or a malapropism. Either way it's a shocker.

Labels: marketing copy, photos, spelling, typo, wrong word

Some good advice when writing an online resume: proofread, proofread, proofread.

We bring essential business experience from many areas including: advisory, systems, research, human resources, marketing and pubic relations.

 Related posts: Spell Checker Poem

Labels: spelling, typo, wrong word

I have to confess to being a bit of a Valentine's grinch. My girlfriend can drop all the hints in the world and I'll still forget to buy a card or gift. I don't know who decided it was romantic to throw money into Hallmark's bank account and contribute to the destruction of the rainforests once a year.

I know what you're thinking: she is one lucky, lucky lady. And I correct her grammar.

So, in the spirit of the day and to thank her for putting up with this incessant curmudgeon, I would like to dedicate this post to my long-suffering girlfriend. (A blog post is more environmentally friendly than a card, and conveniently free.)

First up we have an accept/except confusion combined with a missing possessive apostrophe.

Found here

Next: today's post from Passive Aggressive Notes is a cracker. It qualifies for GrammarBlog due to the heartbreaking misspelling.

I hope Gavin doesn't come home to find his bunny in a pot.

Labels: apostrophe, punctuation, spelling, Valentine's, wrong word

Regular contributor  and twitter friend Aliya has got in touch to voice her discontent at being confronted with a grammatical error when attempting to sign up to Zlio, a web 2.0 shop thingy-ma-bob. Yes, that's the technical description.

"Please confirm informations bellow."

I really like this. I can imagine people yelling their email addresses at the screen, eager to try this new-fangled, web-based, voice recognition technology. Also, the pluralisation of uncountable nouns such as 'information', 'luck' and 'money' always makes me smile, I don't know why.

Perhaps our Aliya was having a bad day as she did not take this so lightly.

I was in the middle of signing up for Zlio's online DIY shop service, when this unforgivable monstrosity presented itself. There's just no excuse for this degree of error. In fact, Zlio should apologise for the level of offence, frustration, and downright despair that they have caused me.

That's good ranting, lass. Keep 'em coming.

Labels: plurals, spelling, twitter, uncountable nouns, wrong word

If only I'd seen this in time to include it in the Xmas special.

Gobbledygook, originally uploaded by MacGBeing.

Labels: signage, spelling, wrong word

Martin has been in touch by email to submit this wonderful example of a shop getting it completely wrong.

Even a major national chain can get it wrong, the attached is in the window of the local W. H. Smith store.

Labels: marketing copy, signage, wrong word

Labels: grammar, literally, wrong word

You've probably seen this as everyone in the world reads The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks. If you don't, you should.

I love to hate everything about this sign: the terrible typefaces; the indented first line; the incorrect tense; the misspelt three letter word; the weird hanging quotation mark; and finally the ambiguity. Am I to built my onw taco, or my onw taco bar?

It's up there with the worst sign ever.

Labels: menus, quote me happy, signage, spelling, Typography, wrong word

As a science graduate I'm not a big fan of creationism. I have nothing against religion but I object to creationism being taught as a scientific theory in schools. This is much more of an issue in the US; especially in the mid-west and southern states where, it would appear, nearly everyone is a raving lunatic.

I've been following the story of Chris Comer, who was fired as Director of Science Curriculum for the Texas Education Agency. She forwarded an email to a group of friends and colleagues about a lecture by a leading critic of Intelligent Design. This was seen an endorsement of evolution and she was fired. That's like being fired for endorsing gravity.

An appeal is in progress that is focused on the skewed logic of this sacking. The main objection seems to be that it is wrong to interpret the forwarding of an email as an endorsement of the content. Language log commented in favour of Comer in a post. I would argue that it's wrong to fire a science teacher for condoning the teaching of science but apparently this argument doesn't hold water in Texas.

Anyway, disregarding the politics for a moment, Mr. Verb found issue with a quote from Ms. Comer reported here by the NYT:

I don’t see how I took a position by F.Y.I.-ing on a lecture like I F.Y.I. on global warming or stem-cell research,” Ms. Comer said.

To fyi, or to F.Y.I. as the Times copy editors prefer, just had to be out there … it sounds like perfect bureaucratic talk ... but I don't think I'd ever heard it and I'm pretty sure I'd never seen it in print.

Labels: grammar, justice, language, rants, verbing, wrong word

From passive aggressive notes (again).

Wrongly placed comma, bad verb choice and a fantastic example of choosing the wrong word at the wrong time.

Labels: commas, photos, verb choice, wrong word

There was an excellent post yesterday on Mighty Red Pen explaining how to correctly use the verb 'to comprise'. I have to admit that in the past I've made the following mistake during speech.

• The sample was . . . comprised of 50 10th grade sections.
• The team . . . was comprised of educators, policy analysts, education decision makers, and researchers and consultants.

Nothing is ever ‘comprised of’ something. To comprise means ‘to contain or to embrace.’” AP Stylebook states, “Compose means to create or put together. It is commonly used in both the active and passive voices. . . . Comprise means to contain, to include all or embrace. It is best used only in the active voice.

Use comprise in the active voice. For example, 'comprises' or 'comprising' are acceptable uses.

HRH MRP finishes the post with a great quote.

At times like these, I like to end with the gentle wisdom of H.W. Fowler, who says sweetly, “This lamentably common use of comprise as a synonym for compose or constitute is a wanton and indefensible weakening of our vocabulary.”

Labels: grammar, top ten, wrong word

Our pals at The Engine Room have found a fun little gizmo that works out the reading level required for any blog on the interwebs.

I was so shocked that it took me more than 2 seconds to get annoyed with the copy on this banner. A blog can't read so how can the blog have a reading level? I think the sentence should be like so:

This blog's required reading level:

Anyway, I'm not happy. Obviously the technology is deeply flawed. I demand a Goresque re-count! Something must be done to right this wrong!

I know there are those who may think that I shouldn't take this too seriously; it's just a bit of fun; my competitive smugness is extreme to the point of being nauseous etc. To those people I say, "Hi, have we not met before?"

Traditional pedants would have a field-day with that terminal preposition but I'll push on; no time for an edit in this Kerouacian ramble. (Goresque, Kerouacian, how many more names can I mangle into the vague resemblance of an adjective?)

I was slightly heartened to see that Apostrophism was awarded the same level of reading requirement. Slightly.

P.S. Well done to J.D. and the gang at the Engine Room. I'm very fucking happy for you. See, I can be gracious. I'd also like to add that I definitely didn't run http://engineroomblog.blogspot.com through the readability test to check that you were telling the truth. Ahem.

Labels: Al Gore, friends, fun, grammar, Kerouac, rants, wrong word

Had a leek, originally uploaded by Gez D.

This photo was taken by me in the very office I work in. I hope whoever wrote this note won't take offence at my posting of it.

Labels: photos, spelling, wrong word

Labels: calvin, cartoon, hobbes, top ten, verbing, wrong word

Open till midnight, originally uploaded by scriptingnews.

This really bugs me. Can everyone please read this next sentence carefully.

Labels: grammar, pet peeves, photos, punctuation, signage, spelling, wrong word

If the well-meaning but averagely-educated reader accused this blog of regularly eviscerating relatively innocuous grammatical errors, he or she might not be completely off-mark.

Obviously I don't agree, but I do think that we've missed out by not publicly skewering a few more egregious howlers, once and for all. With that in mind, and given the fact that I've not had the time to post anything more substantial recently, I thought I'd build on Dan's recent passing reference and take the opportunity to properly draw attention to this:

"I might loose my keys!"

"I hope City don't loose this weekend."

This really gets me. Absolute garbage. At what point in one's life does one miss the distinction between 'lose' and 'loose'? They look different, they sound different and (brace yourself for this phrasal cliché) they sure as hell mean different things. Whilst I can understand (but not necessarily tolerate) errors involving fairly unassuming pronouns (eg their, they're etc), I do not see how anyone can type or write 'loose' when they mean 'lose'.

I'm no expert on linguistic/grammatical cognition, but surely the brain picks up on these things whilst they're being committed to screen/paper and screams at the culprit, "WRONG, WRONG, WRONG – YOU ARE A MORON".

Doesn't it?

Labels: loose/lose, rants, spelling, top ten, wrong word

I'm not going to have an anti-American rant. I realise that the US is poorly represented in the world grammar league (how I wish that existed) due to the misfortune of having a leader who seems to have missed out on his natural calling of becoming a P.E. teacher.

I could care less.

, originally uploaded by meredith.g.

Labels: pet peeves, rants, top ten, US english, wrong word