tinan - Our preschool taught the difference between opaque, translucent, and transparent. I though it it was so cute when my boys would talk about this at age 4/5!

The misuse of apostrophes is epidemic!

comment removed because I just saw a new post containing what I wrote here, so I don't want her/him to be embarrassed.

This post was edited by olychick on Sat, Mar 23, 13 at 3:12

Will the drapes affect/effect the view?

My best friend refers to her entryway as the foyeeeeea, whereas I say foyer.

Bronwynsmom, at least he didn't say verandaaaah. ;o)

Oh, yes! Sometimes I have to rewrite a whole sentence because I can't figure out whether it's affect or effect. Don't get me started on who and whom.

My schizophrenic patient has a flat affect, but it does not affect me. What effect does it have on you?

Received this thank you from an English professor. "I want to thank you for the beautiful crystal you gave Stan and I for our wedding.." Bonk bonk.

I love this one. She awokened from her nap. Dear Lord. Was she seizing to get herself into such a distorted state that she aroused her wokened.

Just yesterday I wrote about 'liens' against a particular review we are having next week. The boss wrote back about the 'leans'. No kidding. Ok, we are engineers, but still, he could have at least followed my lead.

Advice and advise. So often these two are mixed up.

I wonder, though, are all these examples merely typos, or are we relying on spellcheck too much? Or, worse, did we never learn the proper usuage in the first place?

One I really wonder about is prolly? Are they really thinking it's spelled that way and not probably?

I can't believe no one has mentioned the use of the word mute when meaning to say moot. That one always sticks out like a sore thumb.

The strips of wood or aluminum on your windows that divide them into panes are muntins, not muttons. That is a very baaaaaa-d mistake.

Just to keep this going:

your/you're
then/than
their/there/they're
do/due

These are all like fingers on chalkboard to me. I do believe that your and you're are the most misused of all!!!

Again?

Here's my question--- do you think people are just making typos, or are they poorly educated and/or ignorant?

If it's the former---well, people often will come back and edit themselves (now that we can) or correct themselves in a subsequent post. iPads do most of my editing nowadays.

But if you really think it's the latter, that the posters who misuse these words as freely as Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals are truly uneducated and ignorant, it is inexcusably rude to correct them.

Would you correct them in person? And do you think that an adult who has been misusing these words all of his or her life will even pick up on the corrections, much less thank you for pointing them out and being grateful for the opportunity to learn how stupid she has sounded all these years?

Oh, heck, this is nothing compared to the beating I took over on the Old House forum when I put an "e" on the end of the word lath. I was publicly called out and accused of lacking mental capacity, then the guy went off on the failure of the educational system. (He had no idea that I am probably older than he is). I guess my mistake caused him to have a meltdown and it came out on paper. I got over it.

But back to the topic. The misuse of the subject pronoun "I" by the supposed literati just floors me.

Interestingly, in those few times when the subject pronoun is correct, I almost choke using it: "It is he and I who need the money."

I understand how important grammar is but this is not school and these posts may discourage many from asking questions or posting responses for fear that the self appointed grammar police may cite them for their misuse or improper spelling of a word. These posts are becoming redundantly off topic.

I can NEVER get it into my head (and I try) which word to use in regards to effect/affect. Sometimes it seems easy, then other times, I keep second guessing myself.

If I let things like this bother me, I would never post, because I know I make mistakes. Although, I can't help but be a little paranoid of what others think, since it's such a big deal here!

Another word I have trouble spelling all the time is "decision"-not even sure if that is correct! Some things are just forever blocked from my brain!

If I type in sheers, my auto speller changes it to steers, which I know is incorrect. Now I'm an engineer, and I don't deal with this stuff often, so I assumed that I was mistaken and that there was only one spelling and went with shears. The computer liked that one. Sorry for the mistake. I do this to relax. Now I'll just go back to lurking until I learn all the ins and outs of being here. Maybe. Thank you Roarah and I sympathize with graywings. (which my computer just changed to drawings, but I caught that). End of topic.

Mary, you can change the settings in your computer so it does not auto-correct.

I'm an editor. So I love this thread.

I wouldn't correct a poster on grammar or word choice, but I constantly correct my DH, the HS teacher, on this one:
Who is for people, that is for things. e.g. John is the one that selected the paint color.
Should be: John is the one who selected the paint color.

This iPad is driving me crazy with corrections that sometimes should not be made. And I am sometimes bad about not proof reading things and don't catch my typing mistakes. Drives me nuts when I know better and have not caught the error!

But I would hope the use of the proper word, as we were initially discussing, is what is of most importance. My curious mind would rather be corrected than to continue to use a word improperly or in error. For most, I would hope a gentle correction is helpful, just as is the answer to the question.

Oh, Mustangs, I so agree with you on the use of *that* instead of *who*.

The sad fact is that it appears to be used by almost everyone. Why do you suppose that is? I don't know exactly why it makes me sad....but it does.

My mistakes are a combination of typos, ignorance, and adherence to the vernacular. I really don't care how y'all spell or type--I think I can decipher most of your posts.

When I see a thread of this ilk, I always remember a conversation I had (when in my smart-a$$, early 20s) with a former boss, who wasn't happy with something I did, or didn't do--I don't recall that part. She told me that my work was 'mediocum.' I looked her in the eye, and repeated, "Mediocum?" She said, "Yes, mediocum. It means that you can do better."

I have to admit that her ignorance took the sting out of the reprimand, as I left, snickering to myself. Now, 35 years later, I wonder how many times I've made a similar blunder?

I am not the grammar police.

No citations have been written.
No one has been called out, or called stupid, or careless, or ignorant, or any such thing.

What do we lose if we are more afraid of being mistaken than we are curious about something we don't already know? And what's the difference between creating reluctance to post for fear of imperfection, and suggesting reluctance to share something you know for fear of being told to shut up?

I ... meant ... no ... harm!

What I regret the most in my whole life is not being able to compose a sentence.
Not being able to express thoughts .
So many here write so eloquently as their thoughts weave a story.
Mine are short burst so as not to run into the point of needing a comma .

I don't think I'm ignorant .
My lack of education came from lack of trying.

But................
I can free hand cut-in better than any pro I know.
I can install my own floors.
I can plant a bountiful veg. garden.
Install a dishwasher,garbage disposal,microwave.
Tile anything.

And to top it all off
I have never had a driving ticket (and I drive for a living).

The lack of face to face
where we reach across the world here with our written word
It would be my life's dream to convey thoughts and not be
embarrassed by a grammatical error.

OK~Thanks for the therapy !!

And thanks Spell Check !!!

Because it types better, I am often want to type sneak peak. I know better. I really do know better. But it just feels so much better when I am typing to do sneak peak instead of sneak peek.

The subject of posting, "Sheers vs. shears," should have warned away any who might object to reading a post about spelling.

" And what's the difference between creating reluctance to post for fear of imperfection, and suggesting reluctance to share something you know for fear of being told to shut up?"

Here is the difference: no one is reluctant to post for fear of imperfection until someone else makes it abundantly clear how imperfect she is.

Polite people do not call attention to others' mistakes.

Bron, I know you meant no harm, but we just recently did this topic on the "Mantle-Mantel" thread. The exact same words are being drudged up again.

And with that "other" topic still going strong, I think we need to get back to decorating instead of lectures and hand slapping because these topics do scare off new peeps, I mean posters, and probably a lot of regulars.

I wrote "condoleances" for years , that's how it's written in french, no one ever corrected me. Now I know better, lolâ¦

there are mistakes you let slip by because you sense the person was typing quickly and did not go back to proofread.

I was told that grammar does not matter, by an author, the author wrote marsh mellows, in 2 words and I sent the author a personal message about the mistake. If it would have been my story I would have wanted to know about the mistake. I was told
"too bad if my spellcheck doesn't catch it"â¦â¦

but in these forums I would not correct someone .

I am much better at grammar than I am at decorating, that's why I am an avid reader of the HD Forum and not the grammar forum. Your decorating insights are more important than any grammatical or word choice correction I could make. I correct my DH frequently because he is a teacher and because I want him to reflect his intelligence to friends and family.

At the risk of sounding defensive, which I don't feel - and this is my last comment on the subject - I wouldn't correct a specific poster, either. It was clear what I was about to say in the title - and I said it only because I've seen the usage many, many times here.

Over and out.

What I regret the most in my whole life is not being able to compose a sentence.
Not being able to express thoughts .
So many here write so eloquently as their thoughts weave a story.
Mine are short burst so as not to run into the point of needing a comma .

I don't think I'm ignorant .
My lack of education came from lack of trying.

But................
I can free hand cut-in better than any pro I know.
I can install my own floors.
I can plant a bountiful veg. garden.
Install a dishwasher,garbage disposal,microwave.
Tile anything.

And to top it all off
I have never had a driving ticket (and I drive for a living).

The lack of face to face
where we reach across the world here with our written word
It would be my life's dream to convey thoughts and not be
embarrassed by a grammatical error.

OK~Thanks for the therapy !!

And thanks Spell Check !!!

A spelling or grammatical error should not be such an embarrassment! lol It's just a message board and the message comes across just fine without being perfectly structured. I remember being shocked people were paying that much attention to things like that online too.

I figure, if someone is interested or worried about it, they will notice their own mistakes at some point, while reading or consciously working on their skills.

I guess it could be considered a service (I know that's not quite the right word!), or maybe a disservice not to point it out, sometimes. It could affect getting or keeping a job if someone has a real problem there! I can imagine it's especially hard for teachers to see.

Opaque/translucent are not typos or grammatical errors, the words mean quite different things so I hope that it's actually useful for anyone who had them confused to have the clarified. If someone orders and "opaque" item online they may be very surprised when they receive it if they were expecting something sheer!

Correct vocabulary with grammar is important to make a correct meaningful sentence. Ex: sheer and shear.
Sheer is very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front and shear is a large edge tool that cuts sheet metal by passing a blade through it

leenamark, in the context of a casual decorating forum (and the rest of their message), sheer does not mean very steep. Sheer or shear still gets the message across. Everyone would know what they mean.

sheer 2 (shîr)
adj. sheer÷er, sheer÷est
1. Thin, fine, and transparent: sheer curtains; sheer chiffon.

I think when replying, one could repeat the word, spelled correctly, without making an embarrassment of it.

Not meaning to minimize developing good communication skills!

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Mar 24, 13 at 10:25

Let me get this straight. We don't correct misspellings or incorrect word usage or grammar when we see it in a thread because we wouldn't dream of embarrassing the writer. Instead, we start a new thread to point out their mistakes. Now, is this deemed more polite and less embarrassing? But what if the miscreant sees themselves in the new post? Or do we wait an appropriate length of time before posting the correction thread so they don't think we're talking about them? And if they do, we can always say, "Oh, this thread wasn't directed at you!"

I've noticed this forum has very specific rules for the participants, argues more than any other GW forum, often takes their personal arguments OT inside the thread, or calls out people by name who they disagree with, all the while patting themselves on the back at how genteel the HD forum is. Interesting social interactions here.

Well, not to get into the fray (had to look that up to be sure), but seeing chester drawers in Craigslist ads really bothers me, along with everything y'all have listed already.

I've noticed this forum has very specific rules for the participants, argues more than any other GW forum, often takes their personal arguments OT inside the thread, or calls out people by name who they disagree with, all the while patting themselves on the back at how genteel the HD forum is.

If you believe that, then you haven't spent much time on other GW forums.

Gawd, sometimes this forum just gives me a raging headache.

Surely, Shirley remembered to shear the sheep before shirring the sheers on the seamless stainless steel rod.

(Best recited several times after several single malt scotches, or so I am told.)

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 11:38

Too funny, K-D-

Reminded me of a certain eight-year-old in my household many moons ago, having heard Messiah played numerous times at Christmas at home and elsewhere, walking around singing "Shirley, Shirley, he hath borne our griefs ..."
and "O, we like sheep!," which she did. Like sheep, I mean.

Imagine this scenario: a dinner club group of twenty or so sits chatting as they dine. One member chooses to use an incorrect fork, while the host has confused the water and wine glasses. Well , I'm sure you can see where this is going. Spying the errors, a guest remarks (as though in general conversation), on these type of faux pas. Others snicker, some act appaled Oh, how puffed up and grand 'knowing better' can make us feel.
Although certain mistakes make me cringe, it's not soley the awareness of my own grammatical imperfection that keeps me off the bandwagon. I've been a GW member for about eight years. I may have joined a "grammer police" thread a time or two....can't remember. Now, after so long a time, this board feels less like a bunch of annonymous strangers and more like a community, and I agree with Oakley :
".......I think we need to get back to decorating instead of lectures and hand slapping because these topics do scare off new peeps, I mean posters, and probably a lot of regulars."
Marti

Imagine this scenario: a dinner club group of twenty or so sits chatting as they dine. One member chooses to use an incorrect fork, while the host has confused the water and wine glasses. Well , I'm sure you can see where this is going. Spying the errors, a guest remarks (as though in general conversation), on these type of faux pas. Others snicker, some act appaled Oh, how puffed up and grand 'knowing better' can make us feel.
Although certain mistakes make me cringe, it's not soley the awareness of my own grammatical imperfection that keeps me off the bandwagon. I've been a GW member for about eight years. I may have joined a "grammer police" thread a time or two....can't remember. Now, after so long a time, this board feels less like a bunch of annonymous strangers and more like a community, and I agree with Oakley :
".......I think we need to get back to decorating instead of lectures and hand slapping because these topics do scare off new peeps, I mean posters, and probably a lot of regulars."
Marti

martinca, in your scenario, imagine that no one says anything at the moment, but later a good friend gently lets the wrong fork user know which fork to use, to avoid future errors. I think that is what Brownwynsmom is trying to do here. I can never remember certain things, like affect/effect and I am grateful when someone gives a useful hint on their usage.

.......that's not to say a general discussion on " grammer peeves"' is harmful. Many of the posts on this one were harmless. Just begin it over on conversations, and DON'T use a poster's recent mistake as a jumping off point..... IMO

".....imagine that no one says anything at the moment, but later a good friend gently lets the wrong fork user know which fork to use, to avoid future errors......" No, terriks, I can't imagine correcting anyone's table manners or grammar in an outright fashion, no matter how gently phrased. If I cared, however, I might tell them a humorous made-up story of how I made mistakes, and how I learned the correct usage. Oh, and long after the event where the mistake occurred.

I don't think the usage of the correct fork is as important as it used to be, unless you're dining at the white house. Even tho 2 *are* placed at a setting in an upscale restaurant, no one is going to 'call you out' or even care, if you use the one closest/furthest from you. IMO, some of the more formal rules of etiquette are relaxed today.

In Europe, both fork and knife are held when eating, with the knife held during the entire meal. It's us who are viewed as 'odd,' holding a fork and only picking up a knife when cutting. ;o)

Yes, of course re. noticing which fork, etc. Did not intend to start up anything on table manners, fer gosh sakes. T'was merely an analogy.

i usually assume that the poster did not edit... i'm terrible about not spending the time to edit my remarks, etc... but, i find a person's point is usually clear.
that said, i am amazed at the frequency in which 'I" is used instead of 'me'...... i also hear this verbally among friends/casual conversations fairly often... it seems to be a fairly common grammatical error for some reason!