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what words do you hear consistently mispronounced.....my pet peeve is when people wish to say oriented, as in alert and oriented, and they actually say orientated....where are they getting the extra a and t......
Originally posted by Mel DInteresting. I had always been taught that they are used in different ways. As in you discuss or pursue something further, but if it's about physical space, you say farther. But it looks like they're interchangeable. Thanks for the link. :)
I, too, always thought and was taught to use "far" and "farther" when referring to physical distance, either in general or exact distances. The word "further" is used in the metaphoric sense as in furthering one's education.
I think many words and phrases are bastardized over time. When enough people use and pronounce such words/terms incorrectly, they become acceptable.
Many people say "close proximity." This is redundant. The word proximity by itself means "closeness." Thus anyone who says "close proximity" is actually saying "close closeness." The word proximity by itself will do just fine.
As regards usage in writing:
your vs. you're
its vs. it's
were vs. where
quote:
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Originally posted by mamabear
One that really irkes me: DOO-co-lax instead of DULL-co-lax
Do people think the manufacturers made a typo, but stuck with it anyway? Or is this just a Chicago-area thing
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guilty..until a few weeks ago, I didn't know I was saying it wrong. A coworker happily pointed it out! lol
so, then I was going to be sarcastic and called it "bis-K-O-DILL"...
i give up
Originally posted by JussurfinAs regards usage in writing:
your vs. you're
its vs. it's
were vs. where
YES. I forgot about those. One of my profs makes its and it's mistakes, as well as misspelling tons of words. I guess he never heard of spell checker. It just drives me up the wall! I came close to correcting a word on a quiz he gave last night, but then thought better of it.
Originally posted by katsThe phrase "Oh, the humanity!". Isn't humanity a good thing? Do you think that the first one to say this meant to say "Oh, the inhumanity!"? I think that would make more sense when referring to something bad, don't you?
Actually, that phrase was uttered by a reporter (I forget his name) when the Hindenburg crashed. Correct or not, it's famous and needs to be quoted correctly.
OH! How about their vs they're vs there???
(I received a credit card offer today that said I could transfer my balances for free!!! Aaarrrgh!)
P_RN, ADN, RN
6,011 Posts
It's just I had the occasion just yesterday to look it up. :)