|
|
Post by judjgal on Jan 3, 2018 11:44:12 GMT -5
My pet peeve is "you guys" for a plural of "you". I don't mind "y'all" or "youse," but a waiter saying "are you guys ready to order" to a group of women (or a group that includes men and women)bothers me because I'm not a guy, and "he" doesn't include "she" anymore. It bothers me especially if the restaurant check is over $25 a person.
|
|
|
|
Post by rp on Jan 3, 2018 20:04:26 GMT -5
Centers around vs. Centers on. How can you "center around" anything? You can revolve around something, but cannot center around it.
And - since vs. because. "Since" relates to time, while "because" relates to cause.
Just my two cents...
|
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Jan 3, 2018 23:46:25 GMT -5
This is one I’m guilty of on occasion, but I also get frustrated when I see someone who does not understand coordinating conjunctions and adds commas before as, however, nevertheless, etc. And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet - that’s it! The only coordinating conjunctions out there! Edited to clarify: when someone adds commas before the use of these words and follows them with another main clause - use a semicolon! Or change it to a coordinating conjunction! Or reword the sentence! An example: I am really frustrated by this, nevertheless, I cannot persuade people to stop doing it. I never thought we would get into coordinating conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs this early in the the thread. |
|
|
|
Post by luckylady2 on Jan 4, 2018 0:03:28 GMT -5
One of my pet peeves is the advent of the verb "to utilize." There was already a perfectly good verb "to use," but apparently that didn't sound fancy enough!
|
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Jan 4, 2018 0:06:05 GMT -5
One of my pet peeves is the advent of the verb "to utilize." There was already a perfectly good verb "to use," but apparently that didn't sound fancy enough! Good point, LL2. It is always important to sound fancy. |
|
|
|
Post by ntnyln1 on Jan 4, 2018 1:18:46 GMT -5
As an ALJ hopeful (will the powers that be ever issue another cert?) and an LRW professor, I have a few pet peeves that come up over and over again. Here are just a few:
(1) "effect" vs. "affect" -- Grammarly has a nice summary of how to properly use each as both a noun or a verb (https://www.grammarly.com/blog/affect-vs-effect/)
(2) properly placing punctuation inside or outside the comma -- I probably cited to Purdue's OWL for this one on half of my students' final written assignments this Fall. (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/03/)
(3) the Oxford comma -- Another Grammarly article (https://www.grammarly.com/blog/what-is-the-oxford-comma-and-why-do-people-care-so-much-about-it/)
|
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Jan 4, 2018 8:33:57 GMT -5
Some recent NPR speak I have been noticing over the past several months is to "push the narrative," or to "advance the narrative." No further comment.
|
|
|
|
Post by maquereau on Jan 4, 2018 9:13:52 GMT -5
NPR types, political activists, and a substantial number of academics now feel that every response to a question must begin with an utterly superfluous "so." This is often paired with a strange, rising intonation.
|
|
|
|
Post by maquereau on Jan 4, 2018 9:18:32 GMT -5
As for the writing I see daily in my editing, my peeves are the inability to employ parallelism, failure to understand the past perfect tense (and, for that matter, to keep tenses straight within a sentence), and inability to use coordinating conjunctions (as SSA already mentioned above).
I really ought to post some sanitized snippets from the drafts I receive so that people can see that I'm not just some old crank.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Jan 4, 2018 10:12:22 GMT -5
Probably best not to get into SSA decision writing. The threads usually degenerate into complaints about judges' instructions. These discussions seldom end well. Pixie
|
|
|
|
Post by tom b on Jan 4, 2018 11:20:41 GMT -5
Thank you, maquereau, for the comment about "so." I don't know why that verbal tic gets under my skin as it does, but boy it is annoying. I had a defense counsel once begin an argument on a pretty significant motion with "So," and I almost checked out. I think I granted the motion, but I also counseled her on effective advocacy. I also had a toxicologist testifying at a court-martial and insisting on beginning every answer with that offensive word. I suggested to both counsel in a post-ruling discussion that a little bit of witness preparation would go a long way.
As for ntnyln1's slander (well, libel maybe; it is in print) of the Oxford comma, I give a resounding "boo". I think it adds clarity.
And yes, all of you may take out your GPO Style Manuals and spank me for my misplacement of punctuation in and around quotation marks.
Respectfully, Tom B
|
|
|
|
Post by jimmyjiggles on Jan 4, 2018 11:38:47 GMT -5
NPR types, political activists, and a substantial number of academics now feel that every response to a question must begin with an utterly superfluous "so." This is often paired with a strange, rising intonation. Not a grammarian, but this also drives me crazy. Similarly a lot of these folks start an answer with the deflectionary declaration “Look.” You can be certain that anything that follows this will not answer the question being asked, but instead will try to reframe the discussion. |
|
|
|
Post by msp on Jan 4, 2018 12:01:36 GMT -5
A pet peeve of mine: answering a question by saying “So...” - especially when it’s a reporter saying it.
I’d rather the response be full-on valley girl, than quasi valley girl
|
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Jan 4, 2018 12:18:21 GMT -5
A pet peeve of mine: answering a question by saying “So...” - especially when it’s a reporter saying it. I’d rather the response be full-on valley girl, than quasi valley girl So, it's obvious you have yet to form a proper appreciation of the Valley Girl. I mean we have been around for, like, almost 40 years. |
|
Ranse
Full Member
Posts: 89 
|
Post by Ranse on Jan 4, 2018 12:22:08 GMT -5
One of my pet peeves is the advent of the verb "to utilize." There was already a perfectly good verb "to use," but apparently that didn't sound fancy enough! Good point, LL2. It is always important to sound fancy.Decision Writing 101 |
|
|
|
Post by msp on Jan 4, 2018 12:24:59 GMT -5
A pet peeve of mine: answering a question by saying “So...” - especially when it’s a reporter saying it. I’d rather the response be full-on valley girl, than quasi valley girl So, it's obvious you have yet to form a proper appreciation of the Valley Girl. I mean we have been around for, like, almost 40 years. I, like, totally appreciate the VG, being like, ohmygawd, so tubular! |
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Jan 4, 2018 12:34:29 GMT -5
I was recently reading a book that has been out for a few years. It made the New York Times best seller list. One of the sentences taken from that book reads as follows"
"Her gait was rigid and awkward, as if one of her legs were shorter than the other."
The publisher is a small to medium size publishing house. I would think it has copy editors on the staff.
|
|
|
|
Post by stevil on Jan 4, 2018 12:43:04 GMT -5
The arresting LEO testified that he "dismounted his vehicle" during the traffic stop of my alleged DUI client. He then testified he asked my client to "dismount his vehicle." I asked the officer if he knew why my client was riding on top of his car. The judge and jury both laughed, and the officer stated he was obviously asking my client to get out of his car, not off of it. The judge then asked him why he just didn't say so in the first place! This might have won me the case had my client not blown a .285!
The officer was embarrassed, but he later invited me to teach his new SP officers how to testify. Plain language works best folks, and getting too hung up on grammar and language usage may say as much about you as it does the offender. Not everyone had a mean English teacher growing up drilling proper grammar into their heads!
|
|
|
|
Post by rhd on Jan 4, 2018 13:05:42 GMT -5
One of my pet peeves is the advent of the verb "to utilize." There was already a perfectly good verb "to use," but apparently that didn't sound fancy enough! Good point, LL2. It is always important to sound fancy. I attended a church wedding long ago - I neither get invited to many weddings, nor am allowed in many churches - and I was appalled to read in the program that, after the Procession, there would be an "exchangement of rings" and an "exchangement of vows."
To this day, I do not remember whose marriagement it was. I suppose that the newlyweds had a Recessionment followed by a Receptionment.
|
|
|
|
Post by odarable on Jan 4, 2018 13:09:41 GMT -5
The arresting LEO testified that he "dismounted his vehicle" during the traffic stop of my alleged DUI client. He then testified he asked my client to "dismount his vehicle." I asked the officer if he knew why my client was riding on top of his car. The judge and jury both laughed, and the officer stated he was obviously asking my client to get out of his car, not off of it. The judge then asked him why he just didn't say so in the first place! This might have won me the case had my client not blown a .285! The officer was embarrassed, but he later invited me to teach his new SP officers how to testify. Plain language works best folks, and getting too hung up on grammar and language usage may say as much about you as it does the offender. Not everyone had a mean English teacher growing up drilling proper grammar into their heads! Darn those bad facts! |
|
