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Original poster

Of

45 replies

TheChippendenSpook · 13/09/2023 08:32

I'm feeling a bit sorry for the poor little word. It's being misused all over the place!

I keep seeing it used in place of 'have' and now it keeps being missed out of sentences altogether. I've seen 'a couple months' on here today and recently I've seen 'I need a couple weeks notice.'

I don't really have a point to this thread, I just needed to get it off my chest so feel free to ignore me Smile

OP posts:
DoesNotPlayWellWithIdiots · 13/09/2023 08:44

The use of 'of' instead of 'have' is one of my pet hates too!

Along with the use of 'his' in place of 'he's'.

And 'there' seems to have replaced 'their' and 'they're' altogether!

I could go on but I have to go to work soon 🙄

PronounsBaby · 13/09/2023 08:46

I know someone who will consistently use 'off' instead of 'of'. 🙄

Mellowautumnmists · 13/09/2023 08:50

A friend put in a group chat recently, "I seen this in Tesco today........" 😐

Kingsleadhat · 13/09/2023 08:52

And 'off' instead of 'on' as in 'based off'. Pack it in .

Britneyfan · 13/09/2023 08:54

I’m totally with you! The new missing out of it all the time is irritating!

AndStand · 13/09/2023 08:56

I proofread for an American author and she always writes 'a couple weeks' etc., so I assume it's an American thing.

CartoonLlama · 13/09/2023 08:56

’A couple months’ etc is quite well-established American usage, isn’t it? I have to say that people saying, eg, ‘I need to go post office’ makes me wince a little.

(X-post)

Fizzadora · 13/09/2023 08:59

My pet peeve at the moment is something like needs moved. WTF is wrong with needs moving. It's only 1 more letter FFS. Idle feckers.

itsmakingmesosad · 13/09/2023 09:01

Skipping "of" really annoys me. I don't read any further if it happens in the OP usually. Out the house
Out the drawer
Or worse out the draw.
I just cannot bear it!

Original poster
TheChippendenSpook · 13/09/2023 09:17

I'd forgotten about of being used instead of off.

'Off of' is another one that I hear quite often too. 'Get down off of that climbing frame!'

OP posts:
MrsMigginscoffee · 13/09/2023 10:13

Brought instead of bought is irrationally annoying me. Is is a regional thing ? I need a reason to not get wound up by it

Kingsleadhat · 13/09/2023 11:54

I see a lot of ' generally ' instead of 'genuinely'. Ironic when you think about it. Trying to be genuine but using the wrong word 🤣

ttacticall · 13/09/2023 11:58

Fizzadora · 13/09/2023 08:59

My pet peeve at the moment is something like needs moved. WTF is wrong with needs moving. It's only 1 more letter FFS. Idle feckers.

Wouldn't "needs to be moved" be better than either of those?

ColleenDonaghy · 13/09/2023 12:22

Needs moved and I seen are both regional usage, as is couple months.

No harm at all in informal settings.

upinaballoon · 16/09/2023 10:47

MrsMigginscoffee · 13/09/2023 10:13

Brought instead of bought is irrationally annoying me. Is is a regional thing ? I need a reason to not get wound up by it

You are talking about brought instead of bought and I don't know if it's regional. Would you include the reverse in what winds you up, as in bought instead of brought?

Editing to add that I once worked on a bank of desks where two young men sat, and at lunchtimes they used to go out to 'Mrs. Miggins Coffee Shop'. I had watched Blackadder 1 but at the time wasn't too familiar with S3 - was it 3? - so I didn't just know then about Mrs. M's shop, and they had to explain. Thanks for the memory.

anunlikelyseahorse · 16/09/2023 11:47

A number of errors are to do with auditory processing. 'Brought' and 'bought' sound very similar, so supposing a parent can't hear the difference, they will then use the wrong word to their child, who will then continue with the error (it's a bit more complex, but it's the gist) most spelling error are down to difficulties with processing the sounds in a word, most people learn to spell by the auditory route, visual spelling tends to be for words which can't be sounded out, so it relies on good visual memory.
Of, off, to and too are easy to confuse if there is any kind of disability such as dyslexia. Given that 1 in 5 to 1 in 8 (the statistic 1 in 5, is based on US figures, and even then the numbers are refuted, in the UK it's approx 1 in 8, but again it's likely to be much higher) children are dyslexic, it's not really surprising that these errors occur.
If you have someone influential (actor or sports personality etc) mispronouncing a word, that word will then become the 'norm'. It's similar to the stress patterns of speech, 'controversy', being a word that sounds quite different depending on where you put the stress. In the Uk we now tend to hear the American version, 40 years ago, it was much more the English version.
The evolution of language is fascinating. If you could time travel and went back to 1485, you'd probably have a bit of a struggle to understand everyday parlance.

easyandbreezy · 16/09/2023 12:05

Bugs me to! I can give other frustrating examples if you want me too.

MrsMigginscoffee · 16/09/2023 13:52

@upinaballoon I've never heard anyone say bought instead of brought interestingly. Glad to remind you of Blackadder !

upinaballoon · 17/09/2023 22:08

upinaballoon · 16/09/2023 10:47

You are talking about brought instead of bought and I don't know if it's regional. Would you include the reverse in what winds you up, as in bought instead of brought?

Editing to add that I once worked on a bank of desks where two young men sat, and at lunchtimes they used to go out to 'Mrs. Miggins Coffee Shop'. I had watched Blackadder 1 but at the time wasn't too familiar with S3 - was it 3? - so I didn't just know then about Mrs. M's shop, and they had to explain. Thanks for the memory.

Edited
Show quote history

Oh, no, I left the apostrophe out of the first Miggin's. Marks lost for carelessness.

EtiennePalmiere · 14/10/2023 04:33

CartoonLlama · 13/09/2023 08:56

’A couple months’ etc is quite well-established American usage, isn’t it? I have to say that people saying, eg, ‘I need to go post office’ makes me wince a little.

(X-post)

Edited

Is this "go" usage a regionalism, or accepted slang? All the younger guys I work with say "I'm going gym tonight" and it sounds so odd to me.

marshmallowfinder · 14/10/2023 05:55

Fizzadora · 13/09/2023 08:59

My pet peeve at the moment is something like needs moved. WTF is wrong with needs moving. It's only 1 more letter FFS. Idle feckers.

It really needs the missing 'to be'. It needs TO BE moved.

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 14/10/2023 11:18

marshmallowfinder · 14/10/2023 05:55

It really needs the missing 'to be'. It needs TO BE moved.

Show quote history

Have you told Scotland?

Prescriptive grammar pedantry really has no place here.

Wishimaywishimight · 14/10/2023 11:47

I've heard "vodka tonic" on American TV, instead of "vodka and tonic". Haven't yet heard "gin tonic"!

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 14:35

Wishimaywishimight · 14/10/2023 11:47

I've heard "vodka tonic" on American TV, instead of "vodka and tonic". Haven't yet heard "gin tonic"!

Vodka tonic is easier to say than vodka and tonic because the A's clash. Some accents will add an R in the middle but lots don't and I suspect most American accents don't so it makes sense that they shortened it. No such issue with gin and tonic.

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