The Ten Most Common Language Mistakes
Several years ago, I started this Editor’s Corner column because the plethora of grammatical, spelling and improper usage of our language was reaching an all-time high. Not wanting to offend, this column exists so that we can be better writers and speakers of our native vernacular.
Now in our eighth year of the Editor’s Corner, I’m still hearing the mistakes (not necessarily from our readers) and seeing them in writing. Here are the top ten (in my opinion – there are plenty more) of the most common mistakes that hurt our ears when we hear them, bother our eyes to see them, and sometimes make us cringe.
Alright. The spelling of the word alright is not correct, no matter how many people do it that way. The correct spelling is using the formation of two words: All right. As in: I am all right, are you all right? It can be confusing, as the words already and altogether are just one word. Not long ago, on Instagram, someone had in huge letters: “Alright, Alright, Alright” to announce her birthday. It was painful to see, and I had to hide the post, as the temptation to correct the birthday girl was just too strong. For those who need closed captioning on their televisions, you will see this incorrect spelling often, and I empathize with you. All right is TWO words, and trying to get away with the completely erroneous one-word combination is just not correct.
Often. An assault on our ears is hearing the “t” pronounced in often. The “t” is silent. Do we pronounce the “t” in soften, as in soften the blow, or fabric softener? Or do we pronounce the “t” in words like fasten and hasten? (We don’t.) I hope these examples suffice for my point. Several weeks ago, one of my friends (who spends way too much time on Facebook) posed the question on that venue asking which language error bothers us the most. Dozens replied, most of them picking what I would have chosen from this current list, so I opted for “pronouncing the ‘t’ in often”. No one else was verbally attacked for what they wrote, but I was. One person wrote sarcastically, “Wow, I’m so SORRY that all these years when I talked to you that I was offending you!” A recent visitor from the West told me that everyone says “often with the ‘t’ pronounced” in the state where she lives. I replied that she has a lot of work to do then.
Should of. The correct spelling (and pronunciation) is should’ve – it’s a contraction for should have. The same goes for could’ve and would’ve: I should’ve known better than to spend the summer in the tropics. In speech, the two sounds are so similar as to be imperceptible. This mistake usually comes with writing.
Infamous. I keep hearing this mistake from the mouths of people who should know better, including journalists and newscasters. Infamous is an adjective from the noun infamy. The word infamy denotes awfulness, wickedness; the mention of the act or person being described as infamous invites universal dread and disgust. President Roosevelt, who announced the terrible attack on Pearl Harbor that led us into World War II, described the date of December 7, 1941 as “a day that would live in infamy.” So, infamy has nothing to do with fame, and infamous does NOT mean really famous. The adjective famous is from the noun fame. Fame and infamy sound similar and their spelling is similar, but their meanings are completely different.
It is understandable, taking parallels from other words with the prefix in-, like invaluable or innumerable, that one might attach the same meaning from infamous. However, there are also words like incessant and incomprehensible – which give an altogether opposite meaning when that particular prefix is attached. We need to remember the root word infamy when considering what infamous means. No prefix of in- has anything to do with this particular adjective. Therefore, Attila the Hun, Adolf Hitler, and Jack the Ripper are infamous, but George Clooney is just famous.
Lie vs. Lay. Now that it’s summer, do we want to lay on the beach? No, we don’t. Beachgoers want to lie on the beach. If we command our dog to lay down, we are also speaking incorrectly. The command should be “Lie down”. These words are understandably confusing, as lay is the past tense of lie, as far as the word lie means to be prone or positioned horizontally. So, if lying down is in the past, it is just “I was tired so I lay down for a bit.” The terms are also confusing because there is another definition of to lie, which is to refrain from telling the truth (and its past tense is lied). And nobody wants to accidentally use that word about oneself or about others. The word lay is actually a correct verb – in addition to being the past tense of to lie, it is also a verb that is synonymous with the placement of something: “Please lay the flowers on the table.” We just need to know their correct usages. If we are going to be in the horizontal position (or command another to do that), it is lie. If we are placing something somewhere, it is lay.
Irregardless. This word is not a word. You won’t find it in the dictionary. The correct word is just regardless: Regardless of their ages, the war veterans were determined to attend the reunion. The confusion comes due to the many other (correct) words that begin with “ir” followed by a word that begins with “r”: irrespective, irreverent, irregular, irreplaceable. The prefix “ir” denotes an opposition to the word that follows. Irreplaceable, for example, describes something (or someone) that (or who) simply can’t be replaced. Because of the suffix “less” following the word “regard”, it brings that opposition of the word into effect. That is why irregardless is a non-word that needs to be erased from all speech or writing, as it doubles up on the opposition to the root word regard.
Sank vs. Sunk. These two words are verbs denoting past tense. One describes the immediate past, the other is the past participle, meaning farther in the past. Both are connected with the verb to sink. It appears that, lately, most people don’t use the work “sank” – as in the correct usage of the following: “The Titanic sank in 1912, and it’s still a haunting story to this day.” Too many simply say “sunk” and don’t employ “sank” at all: “The Titanic sunk in 1912.” Or: “The soldiers were so tired that they sunk to the ground.” To correctly utilize the word “sunk” – which is otherwise a correct word, we need to put the word “have” or “had” (or “was” or “were”) before it: “The Titanic had sunk just hours after hitting the iceberg in April, 1912.” Or: “The Titanic was sunk by an iceberg, although human error played a significant role.”
The same goes for the past of the verb “to stink” – something in the past “stank” but the past participle of that word is “had stunk”.
Two, To, Too & Their, There, & They’re. These words form the double trifecta of grammatical errors in writing. In speech, the words two, to and too provide an identical sound. The same is true for their, there, and they’re. When speaking, these words don’t pose a problem. The issues arise when we spell them. To be able to correctly discern which correct spelling to use, we must know the context of the words and what we are trying to say when we utilize them. The word two is the number 2. The word to is a preposition that starts a secondary phrase: I am going to Gettysburg. I want to see the movie. The word too is the synonym of also: I want to see it too. It also describes excess: You have given me too much money.
The word their is a possessive pronoun describing the ownership of two or more people: Their new house is beautiful. The word there is more complex – and the word we use most often (don’t pronounce the ‘t’ in often, please). There is usually an adverb that often denotes a place: Don’t go there. It also can be used as a pronoun: There is one question I would ask you. It is sometimes an interjection: There! We’re finished with the work. The word they’re is a contraction of they are: They’re going with us to Gettysburg. Confusing? Yes.
‘Nuther. This poor excuse for a word is another non-word. It usually, incorrectly, follows the word “whole” as in “a whole ‘nuther problem”. The correct usage should be “a wholly other problem” but we, naturally, never say that. How about using “a completely new problem” instead? Or just say “another problem”, which is how the phrase started. Or one could say “a whole, other problem” – just make sure to pause so the comma is understood. This error in speech is just so bad, and so incorrect, that it makes those who say it sound as if they are completely uneducated.
Snuck. Another non-word that seems to be ubiquitously used is what some term (incorrectly) to be the past tense of sneak. The past tense of sneak is sneaked: We sneaked into the house. Just as the past tense of creak is creaked, and the past tense of leak is leaked, so goes the past tense of sneak. I repeat: Snuck is NOT a word.
Hopefully, no one is offended by the exposure of these top ten errors. I usually end with the admonishment to pass the word. It’s not just something to say at the end, I really hope that everyone passes along these corrections. Our grammar and spelling need fixing. So please, pass the word.
