Question of the Day

[dogriver]

Which common misuse of the English language annoys you the most?

Comments

[supertrink.livejournal.com]

i don't know if this is common or not, but it sure is common in western pennsylvania!

"my car needs washed." no, it needs to be washed! it seriously drives me insane. maybe i'm the one who was taught grammar incorrectly, since no one around here even bats an eye when they say "the cat wants fed." but i don't care if they're right and i'm wrong, IT SOUNDS WRONG TO ME!!!!!

and that concludes my rant. thank you.

The "Missing -N"

[aurora-nebulosa.livejournal.com]

There are many. As a classicist, I am most obssessive about proper usage. I guess that the most annoying misues involves what I would call the "mising -n". Surely, you have heard many people -- educated or not -- do this: "I just watched a annoyinggly terrible movie last night", e.g... I have been hearing such mistakes more and more frequently of late, and I am wondering whether "an" is gradually dropping out of the English language as an archaism. I mean, I even hear it during "professional" speeches and such!