Things that Irk an English Major

Part 2: Misused Words

As I'm sure most of the population of teachers, writers, and any other English Grammar Nazis would agree, it is particularly irritating that so many people can graduate high school without knowing the proper uses of words. Or perhaps those people would say that we care too much about it... my vote is they're wrong.

Speaking of they're, that's one of the most common mix ups. The dreaded "there", "they're", and "their". Knowing that by now everyone should know what they're doing wrong with these, since these are the most often fixed by fellow Grammar Nazis throughout the internet, I won't delve into this one. So please, just fix it... really the uses are simple. The same goes for "your" and "you're". I have to offer a sigh here; so many easy mistakes.

That said, the words that irk me the most are "a", "an", and "and". That's right, "and". I've seen it countless times in stories uploaded onto Wattpad. If the word following will begin with a consonant, you should be using "a". If it begins with a vowel, you'll be using "an". I'm not quite sure where "and" comes from. Perhaps it's from typing "and" so often that your hand types the extended word out of habit... at least that's what I hope happens. I dearly hope it is that and not someone forgetting the meaning of "and" and putting it with "a" or "an" simply because they're so similar.

It's so hard to choose words to talk about being misused; there are so many. And yes, I hope you notice I am using the above listed words for those unsure about their usage.

I believe I will settle on accept and except as my final words to share my rage about. Accept - consent to receive. Except - not including or other than. Pretty simple, right other Grammar Nazis? So I thought. Two completely different meanings, but people get hung up because they sound similar. But being similar does not mean they are the same and are interchangeable. Think about humans; we're all similar with body shape and sharing thoughts, but we are each different. Perhaps a sentence using the two words would help. "I accept that everyone does not all care about grammar like I do, except other grammar lovers." When in doubt, look it up. No sentence or story deserves to be declined because of horribly misused words.

Sincerely,

A frustrated aspiring editor, Elaura_B

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A/N

Hi! Thanks for reading my story. If you need a story edited, go to my profile for the information about it and private message me! The information is also in the final chapter. Please like and comment if you've enjoyed reading this so far. Also feel free to mention other things that irk you, I may add another chapter or two later on.