Thursday, November 1, 2012

Pet Peeves, Anyone?

We all have our pet peeves, whether it's that guy with his one pant leg rolled up, the driver who didn't give you the "thank-you" wave when you let him in front of you, or the people who pay with debit in the Tim Horton's drive-through — you start to feel your skin turning green and your clothes ripping off as you begin to morph into the Hulk — It's seven in the morning. You just want your coffee! To add to these frustrating moments, I have begun to experience new pet peeves — grammar pet peeves. Dun, dun, dun...
 The first of these annoyances is when people use the word "literally" incorrectly. So, let me start off by giving a definition of the word literally to hopefully clear up some of the confusion.
If people still want to use "literally" incorrectly, then be my guest. Just know that if you're looking to put emphasis on your topic, the only thing being emphasized when you misuse the word "literally," is your lack of understanding regarding the actual meaning of that word.
 Now for some fun examples of the word "literally" being misused:
 
 
 
This is one of those times you hope that you don't have to use the word "literally."
You do not want to be this guy.
 
The second pet peeve of mine is when people use the word "irregardless." According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "irregardless" is considered to be non-standard. By providing a definition of the word regardless, let me show you that "irregardless" is really just a double negative using ir- and -less. "Irregardless" is not a word, regardless of what you might think.
 
Although, most people tend to be fairly forgiving of these grammar faux pas, there are some people who consider themselves to be the "grammar police." By avoiding the "word," "irregardless" and using "literally," in the right context, your run-ins with these people should be less frequent. To wrap up, I hope everyone was able to pick up some helpful grammar information from this blog and not just the fact that I have a lot of pet peeves.
 

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