"Loose" VS "Lose" (Dammit)

[Bonobo]

This a pet peeve of mine... Lately so many people seem to make this mistake! WTF!

[Atman]

There morans. No big deal, seriesly. It's not a hugh mistake.

:)

[notadmblnd]

2. Ouch.. lol

I wonder if that statement made the OP's head explode. that was just too funny.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. Also "accept" and "except."

I can't believe how many people screw that up.

[RebelOne]

3. And all those damn apostrophes in plural verbs. n/t

[REP]

6. And Plural Nouns!

Not to mention all the freaking comma splices! It's as though someone handed out a shaker of apostrophes and commas to every fifth person!

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

19. Guilty, as charged, I'm a comma freak, love those commas, commas, commas,

MKJ, :hi:

edited to add one more comma.

[mwb970]

39. My grandmother used to say

that people write out their paragraphs, then sprinkle commas over the text like chocolate sprinkles on ice cream. (And this was in the 50s! Who knows what she would think now.)

[Radio_Guy]

50. Sprinkle them?

I've seen some that looked like they loaded a shotgun shell full of commas and shot the hell out of their post!

[mwb970]

35. This one really gets me.

It's partly because the offenders are inconsistent, leaving me unsure what rule they think they are following, if any. So we get, "the student's sat at their desks." Why student's? And if so, why not desk's? Argh.

[eppur_se_muova]

56. NASA's prepares for next giant leap (CNN) nt

[ananda]

4. hmm

I'm moaping in a Miltonic phrenzie?
Will I loose my mind? End up in
Pandaemonium?!!!

John Milton spelled exactly like that.

In Miltonic terms, whatever flotes your bote.

hehheh

[annabanana]

5. heehee

you potstirrer you..

[MostlyLurks]

26. Could "loose" be correct in that context, poetically?

As in "to let one's mind loose" as opposed to "to lose one's mind"? Perhaps Milt (as I call him) felt like his thoughts were somehow constrained (by convention, by self-editing, by whatever) and wanted to set himself "loose"? No? Okay, whatever.

Hey, here's one that runs roughshod at my place of work: "take a peak at this". Aaaaaaaaaaa - run away!

Mostly

[MadisonProgressive]

7. Then and than irritate me.

[lapislzi]

8. "Your" and "you're"

"Its" and "it's"
"Affect" and "effect"
"Than" and "then"
"There," "their," and "they're"

Don't get me going...I know I can be a regular usage harridan, and it annoys people. Sorry. If I were French I'd probably belong to the Academie Francaise.

[Atman]

12. I know many are done out of ignorance, but a lot are just sloppiness

When I start firing off a rant, I tend to type faster than my keyboard can keep up. Free-writing, I guess, that often ends with slamming the POST MESSAGE button like it's an exclamation point. I doubt anyone's noticed, but I swear, 3/4 of my posts have the little read "edited by atman..." line atop them. That's where I've caught my egregious typos after the fact, instead of proofreading beforehand. You can scan over the post, but correctly spelled words which are used in incorrect context don't get caught by spell-check.


The cartoonist's board on which I post has a built-in "governor." You click "POST" and instead get a preview screen, showing you your message and asking if this is really what you want to post, giving you a chance to correct it. It doesn't always work, but it helps. I don't know if it's practical on a board with as much traffic as DU, though.

[acmejack]

9. Perhaps we should find an out of work Grammarian to police the board?

Would that satisfy the complainers? Probably not, then we would need to grade each post and all falling below an acceptable standard would be returned to the poster for editing and resubmission.

[theHandpuppet]

15. I'd actually appreciate one

I have a few hundred questions to ask about grammar and punctutation. :D Punctuation is my downfall.

[Atman]

23. There are TONS of style and grammar guides online

Google "writing tools," "common grammatical errors," etc...bookmark 'em. They come in very handy!

[theHandpuppet]

45. Most of them, unfortunately, are written by grammarians (LOL!)

Oh, I have shelves full of reference books and bookmarks on my computer, but every once in a while it's nice to get a concise explanation from someone who can lay it out in a way that doesn't sound like an overly-earnest dissertation.

[theHandpuppet]

10. Hypocrisy

NOT hypocracy, hippocrisy, hipocracy, or any of a thousand other variations I've read. To tell the truth, though, I'd rather read a thousand more misspellings than hear one more person say, "I seen"!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

27. How about "conGRADulations?"

I've seen it a few times. I think it comes from the "cute" graduation greeting cards, which people see and then think that's how it's spelled.

[iconoclastic cat]

80. Some pharmasists have accidentally taken the hipocratic oath, I suspect.

nt

[dogday]

11. not vs no

that is my favorite

[CrispyQ]

25. know vs no

I cracked up when I saw that one.


also, people who don't appreciate the proper use of caps. they never use them. THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO USE THEM ALL THE TIME.

Both are tiring to read.

[AngryAmish]

13. proofreading with the spellchecker

it happens

[Dora]

14. would of, could of, should of, might of.................... GAK!!

It's "would have, could have, should have, might have," dear people.

Unless you're really doubtful, then please use "might could." :evilgrin:

[Atman]

17. I thought it was woulda, coulda, shoulda?

Mighta been, anyway.

[Octafish]

16. That's HUGH!

Thanx.

:)

Crazy Monkey

[Flubadubya]

18. I'd really like a response to this...

I posted this in the 'here vs. hear' thread but the thread is just about to tank. Anyway, I wonder what others think about this one:

"Hear, hear" vs. "Here, here"... as in getting everyone's attention? I believe it is "hear, hear" as in the Shakesperean vein of "lend me your ear". In other words, listen up... thus, "hear, hear". Whaddya think, eh?

[CrispyQ]

29. lol

Good question! I've always wondered as I've seen it both ways. I read that "Here, here!" is sort of a rallying cry as in, "Gather round, I've news to tell." I'm more inclined to go with your explanation, though.

[Atman]

31. Correct, it is "hear, hear!"

Unless you're calling your dog.

[Blue-Jay]

53. Ha Ha!

:thumbsup:

[MostlyLurks]

33. "Hear, Hear" is correct. Here's a confirmation link:

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980304

[Flubadubya]

38. Thanks to all the above who responded.

I was pretty sure about the answer but wanted some input... and yes, I have seen "here, here" many times around "hear". LOL! :)

[beyurslf]

75. "Hear hear" is correct

[spartan61]

20. My biggest pet peeve is

"your" when they are writing "Your wrong," when what they should write is "You're wrong." You're is the contraction for >you are< , not your. Tell those who are mixing loose and lose to say "loose as a goose" to determine which is the correct word. Glad to know I'm not the only one who cringes at poor grammar.

[Thirtieschild]

21. And then there's "met up with" and "joined up with"

What's wrong with met or joined?

[tuvor]

22. Ahem. That's "damn it."

:)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

24. I've seen "where" instead of "were."

And this from an intelligent friend of mine. And not just once, either.

[madinmaryland]

28. You loosed me on this one.

I hate having the gramma police hear!!1!!

:evilgrin:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

30. If in doubt,

Just hedge your bets and go with "looose".

[mwb970]

32. Its and it's!

Also statements like "it was a complete surprise to she and I". I see or hear this one (and its/it's) every day. Argh.

Oh, and don't forget imply/infer.

[Atman]

34. Here you go everybody..."COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH"

Bookmark it, use it. Let's move on to SHRUB BASHING!

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html

:evilgrin:

[quiet.american]

36. Thank you! n/t

[Triana]

37. Some mod dumped my "hear vs here" thread into the DU Lounge...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=5008596&mesg_id=5008596

...it'll be interesting to see if that's where this one ends up. They should really be combined.

:evilgrin:

[Atman]

42. At least it didn't go into the "September 11th" dungeon!

Nothing gets out of there alive!

[Triana]

47. So I heard...

..I think one of mine did end up in there once. Never saw it again. *poof* :nuke:

[mwb970]

40. Here's a strange one I have noticed.

For some reason, people substitute one word on the following list for another all the time. I'm not sure they know what any of them mean, or maybe they think they are all synonyms!

instant
instants
instance
instances
incident
incidents
incidence
incidences

[Twillig]

52. "incidences" makes me want to pull my teeth out.

[_TJ_]

41. That a peeve of mine also

That it be I say!

[William769]

43. If that's your only problem, be Happy!

I would hate to see you loose your mind over this. :evilgrin:

[bunkerbuster1]

44. EZ-to-remember examples for your/you're, lose/loose

Here are a pair of usage examples that you can try out on your local Freepi:

You need to lose your gut.

You're all loose, skanky bitches.

[LaurenG]

46. As long as I can understand what the writer is trying to say

I'm not irritated by most grammatical or spelling errors.


lol had to edit but I won't say why.

[In_The_Wind]

48. dang ~

* note to self *

be very very careful when posting on a thread started by Bonobo

[eppur_se_muova]

49. My mom's been doing this for years, so it's nothing new.

Of course, where she grew up, good grammar required knowing the difference between "tain't" and "hain't", so she's done well, considering.

[Mutley]

51. It's and Its is mine.

x(

[phrenzy]

54. Shhh, be very quite!

UGH! I haaate that one I swear I see it everywhere.. But nowhere near as much as "looser" good lord.

[eppur_se_muova]

55. "...it slammed into a poll on the Pacific Coast Highway..."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/10/ferrari.crash.ap/index.html

[nytemare]

76. And it ended up flipped over in the medium!

:7

[eppur_se_muova]

83. I hope she wasn't hurt too badly! nt

[Left Is Write]

57. They do the same with "choose" and "chose."

[reyd reid reed]

58. Its and it's

And...the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard one...'a lot' is TWO WORDS.

EVERY TIME.

NO exceptions!

[Oeditpus Rex]

61. I'm convinced many keyboards come without space bars

Sorry... "spacebars." Y'know, like when you go to a "winebar" that you found on a "website." Someone asks later if you had a good time, and you say, "It was alright."

But I'd really like to understand the thought process that tell's someone to put apostrophe's in word's that end in 's' but aren't possessive's. That one just befuddle's me. I can generally understand error's of omission, but adding punctuation?

That just blow's my mind. :crazy:

[reyd reid reed]

63. Alright

drives me bananas. I think that they used that in an A1 story this year...grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

The other good one is when people add the PLURAL POSSESSIVE...when it's just plural.

Maybe they want to exercise their pinkie finger?

[Kailassa]

65. Don't forget evolution. Language keeps changing.

from dictionary.com

Usage Note: The transition from World Wide Web site to Web site to website seems to have progressed as rapidly as the technology itself. The development of website as a single uncapitalized word mirrors the development of other technological expressions which have tended to evolve into unhyphenated forms as they become more familiar. Thus email has recently been gaining ground over the forms E-mail and e-mail, especially in texts that are more technologically oriented. Similarly, there has been an increasing preference for closed forms like homepage, online, and printout.

I have to remind myself of this because I'm a pedant at heart. It would be much nicer to see everyone communicating the way I've been taught to. But there is one plus-side to people using bad English. It makes it easy to spot some of the the Freepers who post here. ;-)

[Oeditpus Rex]

67. Dictionaries reflect usage

Not necessarily what's correct.

I've found "language evolves" too often to be an excuse for laziness.

[Kailassa]

69. Language is about communication.

If enough people use language a certain way for long enough, that usage becomes correct.

What would you consider correct English: "I got off the horse," or, "I got off of the horse"?
The latter makes me cringe, but there are some places where that is used so extensively that it has to be considered part of the local dialect.

I'm a trained English teacher, and an Aspie to boot, so I love strict rules. However I believe in being accepting of other peoples' varying uses of language. Expression is both cultural and personal, and communicating well is what it's all about.

[Oeditpus Rex]

72. No, that usage becomes *accepted*

If everyone drives 80 mph on the freeways, that becomes the accepted speed. But they're still breaking the law. Accepting, say, "email" as correct only supports being too lazy to reach for the hyphen key, and I don't believe laziness is sufficient reason to change the language.

Cultural and personal expression involves the likes of "I don' wanna" and "I ain't gonna." I frequently use such as these — in the proper context — because they're conversationally friendly, particularly when limited to the written word. The meanings of "I don't want to" and "I don' wanna," for example, can be quite different, and I'll use one or the other depending on the meaning I wish to convey. But there's no such application for, say, "it's" where "its" is proper — unless one is pointing out the error itself.

I don't deny that it's pedantic to argue something like "email" vs. "e-mail." I maintain, though, that the world needs pedants to maintain clear communication. If the "evolution" of language is, in part, the acceptance of common errors, how long might it be before we accept "your" for "you're," etc.? If that becomes the case, clear communication is very much at risk.

[Kailassa]

73. If you don't accept that what is correct in language changes

over time, could you explain to me which version of English is the correct one?

Both American English and Australian English have evolved from the English spoken in England.
Does this mean out languages are wrong, because they are mutations of the "mother tongue"?

I expect you would use the words jail, color, neighbor, armor, valor, which to me look wrong and smell of laziness.
However, instead of correcting you, I remind myself that you have a different language to mine,
and you are using your language correctly.

If language could not evolve, we would still all be grunting. As it obviously can, insisting that it must now stop changing is as useful as King Canute ordering the tide to stop rising.

There is nothing so special about the time and place of any one person's birth to make that the language used there correct forever. Spelling changes, usage changes, and that is as it should be. As people and their environments change, their means of expression must inevitably change with them.

[Oeditpus Rex]

74. You misunderstand me

I am not against a natural evolution of language. New words are created, usually by necessity, often simply by societal ebb and flow. Old words fall by the wayside or are adapted for present use. This is as it must be.

In my lifetime, "rip-off" was considered "hippie slang." Now it's in common use as well as in most dictionaries. It's still slang, but so are thousands of other words that are perfectly proper to use in context.

My job is to define the difference between nouns (rip-off) and verbs (rip off) and to help people understand the difference. It's also to guard against "evolution" that's a result of ignorance or laziness.

[beyurslf]

78. By using the rules of grammar, wouldn't "e-mail" really need to be

"e'mail"? The correct way to form two words and remove some letters is with an apostrophe, not a hyphen. So even e-mail is wrong. And when new words come into the language, it may take some time to allow that word to adapt and become a part of the vernacular. I think email falls into this category. It is a new word that has recently become a part of the vocabulary of most people.

The accepted usages that bother me are more a lack of understanding of the meaning of the word. "Hopefully" tops my list.

"Hopefully it won't rain this weekend." No, it is, "I am hopeful that it will not rain this weekend."

Hopefully is used this way: "Hopefully she puckered up for a good night kiss."

[reyd reid reed]

79. The rules are there for a reason

If we went strictly by 'accepted' usage, ebonics would be a class offered along with French and Spanish and it would be grammatically correct to say, "I ain't gonna go along with this because it don't make no kind of sense, nowhow."

You HEAR that language all the time. You even (and this makes me almost nauseous) see it.

Just because that's the way people speak to one another in a social setting does NOT make it correct, any more than substituting 'its' for 'it's' or using *shudder* 'alot'.

There IS a right way and a wrong way. It's a web site. Web describes the site and separates it from, say, a construction site (and that's another one people screw up all the time...site and sight). It's a space bar because the key is shaped like a bar and it's used to insert a space. You don't say Skey or enterkey. Space bar is no different. Two words.

Just like a lot.

Now I'm off to find some Advil because I feel a headache starting. See what happens when I think too hard?

[Oeditpus Rex]

82. You wouldn't write 'C'section,' would you?

You're removing letters, but you're also maintaining the modifier, which must be distinguished from the modified noun.

Consider the hyphen to mean "type."

A-frame. A-line. E-ticket. O-ring. V-Rod (though that's a trademark, you note Harley-Davidson didn't call it the VRod or V'Rod).

And that would be, "Hopefully, she puckered up for a good-night kiss."

[kay1864]

59. Privileged and priviledged

Or alleged and alledged.

Grrr...

[no name no slogan]

60. This is HUGH!!!!111!! I AM SERIES!!!111!!

[Aristus]

62. If you can't get it right, then you're a LOOSER!

B-)

[BrklynLiberal]

64. What about "less" vs "fewer"?

LESS:

ADJECTIVE: A comparative of little1. Not as great in amount or quantity: had less time to spend with the family. 2. Lower in importance, esteem, or rank: no less a person than the ambassador. 3. Consisting of a smaller number. See Usage Note at few.
PREPOSITION: With the deduction of; minus: Five less two is three.
ADVERB: Comparative of little To a smaller extent, degree, or frequency: less happy; less expensive.
NOUN: 1. A smaller amount: She received less than she asked for. 2. Something not as important as something else: People have been punished for less.
IDIOMS: less than Not at all: He had a less than favorable view of the matter. much (or still) less Certainly not: I'm not blaming anyone, much less you.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English lesse, from Old English lssa (adj.) and ls (adv.); see leis-2 in Appendix I.

FEWER:

ADJECTIVE: Inflected forms: few·er, few·est
1. Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits. 2. Being more than one but indefinitely small in number: bowled a few strings.
NOUN: (used with a pl. verb) 1. An indefinitely small number of persons or things: A few of the books have torn jackets. 2. An exclusive or limited number: the discerning few; the fortunate few.
PRONOUN: (used with a pl. verb) A small number of persons or things: “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English fewe, from Old English fawe. See pau-1 in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS: fewness —NOUN

USAGE NOTE: The traditional rule holds that fewer should be used for things that can be counted (fewer than four players), while less should be used with mass terms for things of measurable extent (less paper; less than a gallon of paint). However, less is used in some constructions where fewer would occur if the traditional rule were being followed. Less than can be used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance: less than three weeks; less than $400; less than 50 miles. Less is sometimes used with plural nouns in the expressions no less than (as in No less than 30 of his colleagues signed the letter) and or less (as in Give your reasons in 25 words or less).

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

66. Alot, awhile, ahold etc.

drive me batshit insane. And you know who's really bad about them? Stephen King!!! aaarghhh.

Other pet peeves: who's/whose, its/it's, aks instead of ask (spoken).

[kay1864]

68. Whoa Nellie!

I'm with you on "alot" :grr: but "awhile" is a legitimate word. Not in the same category :shrug:

[mikeiddy]

70. Precedence and precedent

[mikeiddy]

71. on accident

My kids say that, but lately I've been hearing it on the radio.

[entanglement]

77. Right on. Loose lips lose ships.

n/t

[YellowRubberDuckie]

81. I completely agree....

When you mean to use lose and use loose, you just look like an idiot.
Duckie