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Grammar that confuses you
What usage of grammar makes you stop and think "is that correct"?
(that's probably bad grammar)
I always have to stop and think about "Hone" and "Home (in)" and if the right one has been used.
Also has any one else noticed the growing trend for people to confuse"Lose" or "Loser" with "Loose" and "Looser"?
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.In schoolchildren, 'lose' and 'loose' have been confused since time immemorial, so I don't see it as a "growing trend", Graeme. Similarly, any school essay will almost invariably have 'hoilday' for 'holiday', 'competion' for 'competition' and 'solider' for 'soldier'...to mention but a few. 'Twas ever thus and is likely to remain so.
Personally, I always think twice about the spelling of 'appalling'. Once, in schoolmastering days, I corrected a boy's work by telling him his spelling was 'Apalling', with but one 'p'! Never again.
I still have to think about where to put apostrophe s ('s) esp with plurals. 'Their', 'there' or 'they're', and 'your' or 'you're' seem to trip a lot of people up!
I was taught precious little grammar in school, so you can't really blame people who get it wrong. The thing that really annoys me is people not using full stops (or any punctuation) or capital letters because it makes it really difficult to understand!
Another example for my question is a really intelligent teacher friend of mine cannot decide between the use of "Wonder" and "Wander". She seriously cannot determine when to use which one.
p.s. I always have trouble with "occasion". have i spelt it right?
I guess I'm wandering does grammar matter these days as long as the message is there?
most of those examples are just incorrect word usage as opposed to grammatical errors. Words that are often mixed up which set(s) my teeth on edge are :
Bold and bald
Bought and brought
Crotch and crutch
As for grammar - would love to know when and when not to use the word whom!! Any advice Abers?
Alison
For those of us to whom (notice the correct usage of "whom" after a preposition) grammar school is a distant memory, a little basic English review is needed. A nominative pronoun acts as a subject of a verb (Who ate the cake?) or as the subject of a linked verb (Did you see who ate the cake?). A direct object, on the other hand, is the object of a verb (Whom did you call?) or a preposition (He is the person to whom I placed the call).
Tip: if you can replace a word with "he" or "she," then it is the subject of the sentence and you should use "who." If you can replace the word with "him" or "her," it is the object and you should use "whom." (With belated thanks to American Heritage Book of English Usage).
I'm still awaiting a spell checker application that can distiguish between from and form...
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