Grammatical Pet Peeves

Okay, I just needed to get this off my chest, but there are some grammatical errors that grind my gears:

  • On accident — by accident
  • Chalk full of — chock full of 
  • Bear necessities — bare necessities (I know it’s confusing because the Disney song is sung by a bear but stop)
  • Bare with me — bear with me
  • Peaked her interest — piqued her interest
  • For all intensive purposes — for all intents and purposes
  • Reek the benefits — reap the benefits (What would “reek” the benefits even mean???)
  • Sneak peak — sneak peek
  • Doesn’t phase me — doesn’t faze me
  • Should of – should’ve/should have (applies to the entire “-ould” coven)
  • Wheelbarrel — wheelbarrow (I know, this one blew my mind but ’tis true; trust your spellchecker here)
  • Pour over a book — pore over a book

These are the ones I could think of for now. I know that sometimes meanings change with how the language is used, but sometimes that’s ridiculous, isn’t it? (See: “literally”) These are little things that are common mistakes, many that are very easy to make and maybe difficult or even unreasonable to change. But oh well!

Are there any grammatical mistakes that drive you a little crazy?

7 thoughts on “Grammatical Pet Peeves”

  1. Love this. I used to be an editor and all of these things drive me crazy as well. I hate when people mix up the basics, like “to” vs. “too”, “your” vs. “you’re”, and of course, “their” vs. “they’re” vs. “there”. It also bothers me when people throw commas into the middle of sentences just for the heck of it.

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    • YES. I mean, we all went to school for a reason right? The simple ones are past the point of even ranting about, for me. These errors are trickier because they make sense to folks and make me look like MORE of a know-it-all when I correct them. 😛

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  2. Hmmm, knight and shiny armor for knight in shining armor. Another is buying stocks on margarine = buying on margin.

    “Reek the benefits — reap the benefits (What would “reek” the benefits even mean???)”

    I know – how about those who eat lots of onions and garlic as a health regimen? They would certainly “reek” the benefits! 😉

    “Wheelbarrow” surprised me too.

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