I cant take it anymore! It’s a TRACT house not a TRACK house

[Anonymous]

Crown ‘moulding’ shows up way too often in the marketing blurbs.

[Anonymous]

I really don’t like it when people incorrectly use the words “George Bush” instead of the more correct “asshole”

[Chrispy]

Here’s one that crops up on The Housing Bubble Blog… “I would of done this, I should of done that….”

It’s would HAVE, should HAVE. “Of” is not a verb. I understand where this comes from – would’ve sounds like would of, but that is not sufficient reason to type it like that repeatedly!

Hey Malfred, lay off the political commentary and swear words!

[VCJIM]

This thread should be required reading, with a test, before one is able to post on this site. Let’s get “your” and “you’re” correct while we’re (not were) at it.

[PerryChase]

A Way
with Words

 

I highly recommend this show on KPBS/NPR for people who love the English language.

The problem with the Internet is that we type too fast and don’t have the time to proof-read before we hit send. But there’s a difference between typos and consistent incorrect usage.

[Anonymous]

Hey Chrispy…I am sorry that you voted for the wrong candidate.

[Chrispy]

Hey Mal Fred Flintstone,

Who said I voted for anyone? You’re still talking about politics – we are focused on real estate here!

Good point about typing too fast in the earlier post – I take a couple of seconds to read it over before hitting “send” or “post.” This has saved me from letting the world see things like prefect instead of perfect.

There’s a few blogs out there where you can’t post edits after the fact (luckily Piggington isn’t one of them) and we all know the sinking feeling you get when you “reply all” instead of “reply.”

[Chrispy]

Another error creeping in is “I try to eat healthy.” It should actually be, “I try to eat healthily.” Healthy is not an adverb.

On the same TRACK (as opposed to tract), people are starting to leave the “ly” off of adverbs. For example, a friend of mine said, “I ride my bike regular.” At first I thought she was talking about regular gas and got her transportation modes mixed up…

“I feel bad about that” should be, “I feel badly about that.”

[Anonymous]

"we are focused on real estate here!"

Looks like English 101 not real estate to me.  This should be in "off topic".

And Malfred, please don't use those GB swear words again! I had to cover my child's eyes.

[greekfire]

From a FedEx commercial:

“Steely Dan is not one person,” berates one guy. "We get fringe benefits, not French benefits, it’s not the Leaning Tower of Pizza, and James Dean was an actor—Jimmy Dean makes sausages.” The guy is then told that he’s wrong by thinking that FedEx ground is too expensive. “So we don’t get French benefits?” he replies.

Classic. 

[Anonymous]

And let’s not forget the distinction between ‘fewer’ and ‘less’.

[speedingpullet]

ahhh… where to start..

OK, I know, the old quote about the UK vs the US being “two nations divided by a common language” and all, so most of the time I assume its a cultural difference when I come across spelling and grammar that makes my eyes vibrate.

One thing really makes my skin crawl though – using ‘impact’ as a verb or adverb. Ie ‘it impacted the housing industry’ or ‘it was very impactful‘.
It is not now, nor has it ever been, a verb…

With the largest vocabulary of any language on the planet, why oh why take a perfectly good noun and turn it into a verb?

That, and the American abhorrence of the use of the word ‘toilet’. When I go to a restaurant and ask for “the Restrooms” we all know that resting isn’t what I had in mind. Nor am I wanting to take a bath, even though they are also euphemistically called “bathrooms”.
Its a toilet/lavatory/WC/loo etc… why all the coyness?

/rant

OK, better now, normal service will be resumed.

[speedingpullet]

Another one!

“Heigth” instead of “height”.

As in “Length, Breadth and Heigth”.

Not.

[zk]

“I feel bad about that” should be, “I feel badly about that.”

Wrong. And that’s one of my pet peeves. People saying “I feel badly.”

If you feel badly, that means you aren’t very good at feeling. If you feel bad, that means that the feelings that you have are bad feelings. Not badly feelings.

You wouldn’t say, “I feel downtroddenly,” or “I feel exhilaratedly.” And you certainly wouldn’t say, “this sandpaper feels roughly.”

You can say, “I feel well,” but you’re using well the adjective (meaning “in good health”) not well the adverb (meaning commendably). You could say “I feel well,” using well the adverb, but then you’d mean “I am good at feeling.”

Anyway, as I was unable to explain it further than that (and was a bit curious as to how to explain it exactly), I gooled the phrase “I feel badly,” and came up with this link which will explain it further (on the off chance that anyone actually gives a damn).

But, hey, don’t feel bad, lots of people get that wrong. And don’t feel badly, either, because then you’ll miss out on life’s great ups and downs. (Or you won’t be able to tell sandpaper from a rose petal.)

But if you really did vote for Bush, you should feel very bad about that. If you did vote for him, and you don’t feel bad, then you probably do feel (and think) badly.

[Chrispy]

As James Brown would say…

I feel good!

I also stand corrected about bad/badly.

Here’s another…. “my offer was excepted.”

Do you mean that your offer was taken? In that case, your offer was accepted. Otherwise, your offer was the exception — other offers were accepted, but yours was not.

Not a bad thing in today’s RE market.

[Author]

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