Comments on: Written English: the top 10 modern mistakes

By: John

John — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:21:39 +0000

I’ve also seen ‘insure’ used instead of ‘ensure’.

And (not quite off-topic) I often hear – on BBC4, where there is no excuse – people saying ‘decayed’ when they obviously mean ‘decade’. This is so common that it can only be a matter of time before it appears in print!

By: Mortdecai

Mortdecai — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:54:43 +0000

Oh, bravo. Superb post.

I particularly hate it when people confuse disintered with uninterested (although it’s usually a good litmus for those who aspire to sound more educated than they are).

It’s a pity, though, as I quite like the idea of the allusive Pimpernel!

By: Hazel

Hazel — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:09:55 +0000

All true and all drive me a little bit insane when I see them. Others that I reguarly note are lose/loose and misuse of enormity.

By: Suffer from colonic irritation? Written English – the top 10 modern mistakes « Ashgate Publishing Blog

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:09:39 +0000

[...] 23, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment I came across* an excellent post today, on Ben Locker’s blog. It’s an entertaining and very helpful compilation list of 10 common mistakes in modern [...]

By: Tweets that mention Written English: 10 modern mistakes | Copywriting Blog -- Topsy.com

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:35:56 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Simon Thompson, Ben Locker, Joe Roy, llapen, Dan McNeil and others. Dan McNeil said: RT @inkwellHQ: RT @benlocker: Massive blog – Written English: the top ten modern mistakes – http://is.gd/6RM7n (lots of mentions of twee … [...]

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:36:56 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by benlocker: Massive blog – Written English: the top ten modern mistakes – http://is.gd/6RM7n (with lots of mentions of fellow tweeters – more in Pt.2)…

By: Tara Bradford

Tara Bradford — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:27:47 +0000

The one that drives me insane is your vs. you’re. Incredible how many people (especially my fellow Americans) get that wrong. I must say I often wonder how people got through their English exams, with the profusion of grammatical errors in their writing.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:07:22 +0000

Fascinating! Overcome by enthusiasm, I commented on the 8th January posting. Thank you for taking the time to write the massive, Massive Blog.

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:29:39 +0000

Thanks! I have always had a brain freeze over “effect” and “affect.” (Did I do that period and quotation mark correctly, BTW?)
I cannot describe to you my angst when I had written “he pored over the various written entries,” and a newspaper editor’s helper changed it to “poured” thinking she was doing a good deed before publishing.
Zoiks!
I also ended a story about little children playing on the porch, “Oh boy, oh boy, it was a bad day at front porch!” It was a comic take-off on “It was a bad day at Black Rock,” from the movie. The same helper “corrected” it for me pre-publication to “It was a bad day on the front porch!” This completely ruined my intention.
This is a very helpful piece and I shall make a hard copy. As we get older it is often our eyes that hinder us most in the spelling area. Things look correct as we type them–lots of transpositions–but are not. Thanks!