There are lots of pet peeves that I can list, but I
generally divide the major ones into the following categories:
English/Communication category, Walking/Driving Category, and the Food
category. And if you’re anything like
me, the experiences encompassed by these pet peeves probably allude to some
pretty humorous conversations. This blog post will discuss the English/Communication
category.
I’ve lately been finding myself correcting many of my
friends on common grammar issues (I still
love all of you dearly!!!) that I too often see in junior high and high
school students’ English papers. One of
my best friends, Kim, told me I’m an English Nazi. I
mean, can you blame me? I’m a
secondary-Ed English major turned Communication major. It’s in my blood. Here are some common grammatical errors or communicative
behaviors that drive me up the wall:
1. Improper use of the words SEEN and SAW
Listen people. Do you
NOT remember anything from eighth grade language arts class? It’s basic
grammar. And I’m not even talking technical terms here,
but think about it. When all else
fails, what sounds right in a
sentence? Apparently a lot of people
think “I seen a dog” sounds better than “I saw a dog.” Eh, wrong.
Without getting too technical or excessive, let’s review.
“See” is obviously
the present tense and shouldn’t require any further education. “I see
my dog chasing her tail” (yes, this is literally
happening right this second). Simple
as that. Any questions? Good.
“Saw” is used for
past tense and generally follows pronouns (I, we, he, she, they, etc.), such as
“I saw your friend at the game last
night,” or “My grandma told me she saw
your picture in the paper.”
“Seen” is the past participle of “saw”. All you need to know here is that it is used
after verbs have, has, had, is, will be,
had been, etc. Never ever Ever say, “I
seen…” It’s always “I had seen” or “I have seen” etc.
The same pet peeves apply for improper uses of common words
such as they’re, their, and there, and
then versus than. Real quick:
They’re = They are. “They told me they’re going to the movies
tonight.”
Their = fricken possession.
Somebody (plural) owns something.
“I went to their house.”
There = fricken place (consider the place is “here” with a “T” added on…)
And THEN….
Then is used for
sequential purposes, such as in, “I went to the basketball game then I met my friends at the bar.” Than is used for comparison, such as “I’d
rather play volleyball than softball”
(true statement, by the way.)
I really hope this clears the air. Correcting people is
beginning to make me look really snobby.
And I don’t want to be a snob.
Moving on…
2. Using elitist language or technical jargon
to sound “SMART”
Alright. Listen. Whatever industry you’re in, you’re probably
in it because you’re damn good at it. And
you obviously had to learn the tricks of the trade. So a stock broker most likely knows a whole
lot more about the stock exchange and investments than (notice the emphasis here) a novice nurse. A nurse knows a whole lot more about biology
and anatomy than a teacher. And a teacher knows a whole lot more about
the No Child Left Behind Act than a student
in beginning college courses.
So, let’s not rub in everything that we know. It doesn’t make us look “smart." It makes us look like elitist
assholes. Every time someone throws big
medical terms at me I blankly stare at them and simply request for an English translation.
If I wanted to play the game, I could quite easily throw in my erudition (i.e. two
cents) of a pompous, superfluous, and sesquipedalian explication of communication
theory development and inquiry. I think
you get the idea...
Simplicity is genius.
Let’s keep it that way.
If you’ve found yourself nodding your head to the
aforementioned observations, I’m sure you can agree that these are seriously
irking pet peeves. Like, nails-on-a-chalkboard
annoying. Stay tuned for more to come in
my two other major pet-peeve categories, and feel free to comment below about
what really pushes your buttons.
~Elizabeth
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