Recently, we published a list of our editorial staff’s top grammar pet peeves. We encouraged our readers to reach out with grammar nitpicks of their own, and from the responses, it’s clear that our Word Smarts readership is just as passionate about language and grammar as anyone on the staff. Let’s take a look at some of the top grammar pet peeves — is yours on the list?
The grammar mistake that struck a chord above all else was the debate over when to use “you and me” vs. “you and I.” For those who still aren’t sure when to use “me” or “I,” it generally depends on whether the phrase is the subject or the object of the sentence. In other words, use “you and I” when the people are the ones performing an action (“You and I are running late”). Alternatively, use “you and me” when the pair is the object (“They saw you and me arrive late”). If you want to condense things, replace “you and I” with “we” and “you and me” with “us.”
An extension of this goof is the replacement of “I” or “me” with the reflexive pronoun “myself.” Reader Andrea P. said, “Whatever happened to ‘she told Mary and me’ instead of ‘she told Mary and myself’?” George M. shares her pet peeve and asked, “Is this hypercorrection brought on by a fear of using ‘me?’”
A “gerund” is a verbal noun ending in “-ing.” To reader Robert L., gerunds appear far too often in text, and he believes removing gerunds can make sentences more concise and efficient. For example, instead of saying, “Your insecurities are causing you…” you should say, “Your insecurities cause you.” We would also call this switching from the passive voice to the active voice, and it’s a way to make your writing more authoritative and direct.
As a retired English teacher, reader Susan W. claimed to “cringe at the ubiquitous use of ‘apostrophe-s’ to form a plural.” Adding an apostrophe transforms what’s meant to be a plural noun into a possessive one. For example, let’s say you and your family buy a welcome mat for the front porch. If correct, it should read “The Johnsons,” meaning that several members of the Johnson family live inside. It would be incorrect if it said “The Johnson’s,” as that implies the mat belongs to an individual named Johnson.
Several readers wrote to us about this redundancy. Both “these” and “those” are already plural pronouns, and so adding the word “ones” is unnecessary.
Reader Alan G. shared a grammar pet peeve with the caveat that it “certainly isn’t something of great importance.” But we didn’t ask for “important” pet peeves; we asked for those that simply bother you the most. To Alan, that is seeing the abbreviation “w/” in written text, especially on restaurant menus that have tons of room. We’re with Alan: Since this abbreviation is intended to save space, you should write out the word “with” if space allows.
Mixing up “number” vs. “amount” is a pet peeve for many people, including Word Smarts reader Cindy G., who reminded us that “number” should be used if the quantity is countable, as in, “There were a large number of people in attendance.” “Amount” should be used when there are uncountable quantities, as in, “A relatively small amount of aluminum is needed to make a large number of soda cans.”
Far too often, people place the word “only” in the wrong part of the sentence. This peeve came to us from several readers, including Nancy R., who noted people “tend to put it in front of the verb instead of the object.” Instead of “I only saw three people at the movie theater,” the correct placement is “I saw only three people at the movie theater.”
Reader Christine L. gets bothered whenever “someone is trying to describe someone’s age by using words that describe the temperature.” For example, someone might say they’re in their “low 40s” instead of their “early 40s.” We agree — reserve the words “low” and “high” for temperature and “early” and “late” for age.
Thanks to everyone for sending in your suggestions. If we haven’t covered one of your pet peeves in a Word Smarts email, maybe you’ll see an explanation soon, so we can help clear up those pesky grammar goofs.
More from our network
Word Smarts is part of Inbox Studio, which publishes content that uplifts, informs, and inspires.
