My pet peeve - the way people phrase things...
This is not a SERIOUS pet peeve - I find it annoying and amusing in turn. Do people ever actually listen to what they are saying?
My examples:
If I don't see you, have a nice day! *** So if I DO see you, am I to have a lousy day?
Caller on the phone, "Can I have Jim?" *** Ah, no, you cannot HAVE him, we need him! But you can talk to him.
In a store, "I need a coke" *** I highly doubt you "NEED" a coke, but you probably want one.
There's another post where a waitress posted that when she asks people if they want a drink, they say, "No, I'll just have water." *** So if you're not going to drink the water, what do you plan to do with it. (Okay, okay, I'm guilty of that one - I will not be any more!).
Does anyone else have examples?
Comments
Catch you later! This one ...
Catch you later! This one is especially funny when said by an 80 pound woman to a 300 pound man!
"Could care less" It ...
"Could care less" It should be "couldn't care less"
And when people say they don't "believe" in something like divorce or sex education or abortion. These things exist whether you "believ" in them or not - they aren't Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. They should say they don't agree with these things.
can i borrow that napkin? ...
can i borrow that napkin? can I borrow a piece of paper? can i borrow a piece of gum? sure im guilty of these and i highly doubt they want whatever it is back!
Someone mentioned earlier ...
Someone mentioned earlier that people say "irregardless" so much that it made it to the dictionary when it's not a real word. "Regardless" is what they mean and "irregardless" doesn't make sense. I thought that was interesting. No wonder English is such a hard language to learn!!!
I hate how they add some ...
I hate how they add some words to the dictionary. Like the word bling. I believe I heard somewhere that, that nonsensical word was added. Also just a second ago I said let me put on some shoes, I only intend on wearing one pair. The same thing happens with pants.
how about: give me a) a ...
how about:
give me a) a ring; b) a jingle; c) a buzz d) a call ? or countless others ..... O, does that mean you would like me to telephone you.
The one that really makes my hair stand on end ?
The use of such words as : data , media ...
PEOPLE, these words are plural !!
Its not : the data IS in
its: the data ARE in
It s plural, PLURAL ... got that
I read technical,scientific reports containing these errors. And these supposedly written by people who know, or should know, better.
Excuse me but do you know how many pages is here ?? haha
"Can I borrow that ...
"Can I borrow that pen?"
"I don't know; can you?"
"Can I have a hamburger?"
"I don't know; can you?"
"Can I use the computer?"
"I don't know; can you?"
I know your supposed to say "May I...." but really; enough already.
Can I borrow a tampon?
Can I borrow a tampon?
"You can't be ...
"You can't be serious!"
"On the contrary! In the right situation, I actually CAN be serious!"
the TREND in sportscasting ...
the TREND in sportscasting now is to say things like:
"if YOU'RE the coach, you've got to call a time-out here".
(I'm NOT the coach, so i can't call a time-out.)
"If you're Tiger Woods, you need to make this putt".
(I'm NOT Tiger Woods, although i sometimes wish i was.)
"ATM machine" and "PIN ...
"ATM machine" and "PIN number"
Can we say "redundant"?? ATM stands for Automatic Teller Machine. So, to say "ATM machine" is the same as saying "Automatic Teller Machine Machine". PIN stands for Personal Identification Number. To say "PIN number" is the same as saying "Personal Identification Number Number".
The only way I can keep from screaming is to go to my happy place. I think of a joke that works for me this way. It goes: Did you hear about the truck full of thesaureses that overturned spilling it's contents? Bystanders were said to have been astonished, shocked, flabbergasted, amazed, intrigued, bewildered, speechless, taken aback, dumbstruck...
And I thought I was the ...
And I thought I was the only one who knew that about ATM and PIN!!!
I'm glad someone else knows this so I don't feel like the only nerd!