Topic: Grammatical Grievances

So, I know I'm not the only one who cringes about 100 times a day when reading comments and forum posts on the web; the grammar is atrocious. Now, NintendoLife has a generally intelligent community compared to others, but I still see certain mistakes repeated at least once per thread, and here's the place to rant about them. (Just for clarity, I know that some readers and commenters here do not speak English as a primary language, so errors in those cases are certainly understandable.)

I'll start, but I hope others will follow.

Then & Than - This error may well irritate me more than all others combined. A little part of my soul dies every time someone screws it up, and I have to slaughter a couple defenseless animals or hobos just to restore the order of the universe. Let's remedy this godforsaken word confusion; if not for ourselves, then for the hobos:

• "Then" refers to either time or consequence. I did one thing, and then I did another. If I were Miyamoto's betrothed, then I would giggle gleefully.
• "Than" is used for comparison. I'm smarter than the average bear. It can also be used for an exception. Other than grammar, there is nothing to save us from barbarous speech.

. . . but do not ever attempt to say that one thing is "greater then" or "soggier then" some other thing. "Then" has nothing to do with comparison!!!!!!!!

Now your turn for lingual lamentations.

I agree whole-heartedly. My particular peeve is 'Their' and 'They're'.
Their- Used to describe both physical and metaphorical possessions of multiple people/animals. e.g. Their objects are blue.
They're- Abbreviation of 'They are'. e.g. They're going to see a movie.

Yes! Finally, someone else cringes at poor grammar.

• "A" is only replaced with "An" if the following word starts with a vowel. I inherited a great fortune. Would you like an apple?

_{Thanks for making this thread, warioswoods, lol}

Oh, this is brilliant! Thank you.

1) Misuse of capitalisation. Using 'i', or failing to capitalise the first character after a full stop makes you look like a child. Don't do it.

2) It's and its. It's stands for "It is". If "It is" doesn't fit into the sentence, then you want to use "its." Almost every single forum poster, and half the online journalists in the world fail to understand this REALLY EASY CONCEPT, and as far as I'm concerned it's the most irritating grammatical error.

3) 'U' rather than 'you'. A certain forum member who shall not be named uses this regularly, while at the same time attempting to act like he's somehow superior to everyone else. I personally think he's around 14 years old and failing school.

The occasional mistake is fine, but people who regularly fail to show decent grammar (taking into account whether english is their first language or not) fail to get any respect from me.

@FATEM

That one is also very high on my list. I've even seen "there" thrown into the mix, so that all three (their, they're, and there) get interchanged without rhyme or reason.

@pixelman

Now that one is tricky indeed, when you get to certain words like "historical." Some would say that it is still proper to say "an historical monument" due to the "h" sound being nearly silent and absorbed into the vowel; others, however, would call the use of "an" in that context an anachronism that would be improper in contemporary writing. I believe I side with the latter. It's also a British / American difference, but both are moving away from using "an" in those contexts, unless I'm mistaken.

More!!!

@WaltzElf

Thank you for bringing up "it's" and "its," for you're correct that it is absolutely ubiquitous on the web now.

But sometimes, non-grammatical comments are unbearable. For me, its full stops that peeve me off. Why is it so hard for people to end sentences. Its not like your not gonna be able to fit your whole comment in if you save space by not having full stops and/or commas.

EDIT: Made WaltzElf happy.
EDIT: Sorry, doesn't fit!

I don't mind when people make grammatical errors. Although, that may just be me.
I'm okay with it.

While I prefer the grammar and spelling to be spot on in my news and reviews, I don't mind improper grammar or spelling in the comments and forums at all.

I don't mind either.

As long as we don't single any person or post out, it's all in good fun as far as I'm concerned.

Lol, Aviator, you got it wrong by fixing it

"For me, its full stops that peeve me off" needs to be "For me, it's the full stops that peeve me off"

Edit - on second read, it should only be this one ^- Brings me to another point - after you write something, check it a couple of times for errors. End result = cleaner writing.
Oh, and another problem I have - lazy posters who take a "who cares" attitude to grammar. Grammar should be automatic and natural - like any other social manners. Failing to get basic grammar and spelling correct is a clear sign that you have no respect for what you are writing, and everyone who is reading it.

Ergo, it's impossible to respect the opinions of someone who has so little respect for you that he/ she can't even be bothered typing properly.

I don't like it when people mix up to and too.
Too is used for "too much", "too picky", or something like "I want to got, too.
To is used for "I'm going to pick a flower".
Oh, and this comment reminds me of youtube. Someone just searches for a video so that they can make a comment saying how stupid the video is.

Oh %(&$. Excuse me while I go and shoot myself for letting that stupid irony get through

Speaking of grammar errors:

Grammar Nazi's, unite!

misuse of your/you're and there/their/they're is my biggest peeve
and DEFINITELY! It's not definately, defanatly, defanitly, definitly, or defiantly. That word is not that hard to spell, people!

EDIT: thanks to RandomWiiPlayer for reminding me of my other biggest grammatical annoyance; how could I forget? People who put apostrophe's at the end of every word that end's in an s

I have a feeling some people may be offended by this thread.

dis thred is da bomb dis is funy and awesom