What is a grammar peeve? When we are ‘peeved’ about something, it means something really bothers or irritates us. We talk about ‘pet peeves’ which are things which really bother us in particular – it may be our spouse not putting the lid on the toothpaste properly or our kid always leaving his clothes all around the living room. So a grammar peeve refers to some aspect of mistaken grammar usage that really irritates us. We all have them.
In the following article, Arlene Miller shares some of the most common grammar peeves.
Your Top Ten Grammar Peeves
By Arlene Miller
In last week’s post I talked about my top three grammar peeves. This week I don’t even remember what they were, but now I sure now what yours are! I asked in my post for you to let me know about your grammar peeves . . . .
The floodgates opened, especially from the LinkedIn groups I share my posts with who are particularly interested in the English language — namely, those who teach it to either native speakers or English language learners.
The part about the pet peeves was fine. But then, as would happen, the verbal weapons began to emerge as the descriptivists and prescriptivists said their respective piece(s). I have talked about these two terms before, but let me review . . . .
Prescriptivists believe that there are grammar, punctuation, and usage rules that should be followed. I stand mostly with this group.
Descriptivists believe that the way people really use the language helps it to evolve, and they do not like the word rule at all. They prefer standard conventions.