Posted on Aug 31, 2015
SGT Ben Keen
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As one of the site user administrators, I spend a lot of my time not only engaging in some great conversations, but also ensuring the threads follow the guidance put out by RallyPoint. This includes ensuring proper grammar is used as well as the subjects of the threads are in fact questions since this site is based on the idea of engaging the users through some great questions and providing RallyPoint members with a database of some great questions that impact each of the branches.

While I'm not a English major and spell check is my best friend, I sometimes find myself having to go through a lot of my posts correcting some grammar errors that the PC doesn't big up. So I did a search and found the article attached below and use it as a reference sometimes when trying to ensure that proper grammar is used. And I know with all the writing the military asks us all to use, we are all exposed to some of these errors either in our own writings or in reviewing write ups for reviews, awards, counselings, or whatever else you might have to review as a leader in the military.

So my question to RallyPoint is, what is your biggest grammar pet peeve? Do you fall victim to one of these more than others, such as 'there', 'their', and 'they're'? Are there any that did not get listed on this blog?
Posted in these groups: 2dcac4a3 RallyPointGrammar scaled696 Grammar1024px smiley.svg Humor
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Responses: 27
SSgt Terry P.
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"Basically" drives me nuts.
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Cpl James Waycasie
Cpl James Waycasie
>1 y
Hmmm, I guess no one is a fan of E.E. Cummings , lol
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SSG Richard Reilly
SSG Richard Reilly
>1 y
Literally.
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SSgt Terry P.
SSgt Terry P.
>1 y
This is the word you use when you want to explain something but don't actually have any depth of knowledge. Just say 'basically' a whole bunch and everyone will still think you're super smart and thank you for shielding them from potentially complex concepts.
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Cpl Software Engineer
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Rumor has it that the interweb and texting shorthand are ruining peoples ability to properly spell and/or provide quality grammar. I'm not the best, but if I fail to capitalize someone's name, it's usually on purpose. For example, harry reid doesn't deserve CAPS in my opinion. I don't mind being corrected, but if that correction is offered as a rebuttal statement that has nothing to do with the topic, it irritates me to no end. Misspelling or poor grammar does not equate to a lack of knowledge.
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SGT Ben Keen
SGT Ben Keen
>1 y
Cpl (Join to see) - I think it's sort of a long the same lines as handwriting. Just look back the artsy of how things were written early on. Today, our collective writing is more like scribble on a page. My cousin has some amazing handwriting. Every time I see him write something I stand in amazement. His looks like a piece of art while mine looks like a chicken got a pen and went for a walk. Maybe this is why I choose to write longer comments here. Some might see it as a waste of space but I feel that we have lost our way to get our point across in a well-though-out response to someone's idea. As we moved from pen and paper to monitor and keyboard we lost some of the art from writing. Just as we have lost some of the art of crafting a sentence in order to fit our thoughts into something under 140 characters.
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Cpl Software Engineer
Cpl (Join to see)
>1 y
SGT Ben Keen I've never had a twitter account, so I can't relate.
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Sgt Kelli Mays
Sgt Kelli Mays
>1 y
or have you noticed that 95 out of 100 people will say "you welcome" when it should be "you are welcome" or "you're welcome."
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SSgt Charles Edwards
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Reading emails/texts from people who have a college education, but can't spell simple words.

Same applies to articles published online that is supposed to be from a reputable site.

Obviously, the misuse of there, their and they're. Your and you're.

It's probably a good thing I'm not a teacher.
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SGT Ben Keen
SGT Ben Keen
>1 y
This is one reason why I work very hard to back people up and fix the errors I see here. We are all very well educated and I would not want a great discussion to be overlooked because of some mistake someone could have made while writing up a great thread late at night. I know I find myself typing faster than my mind processes what I am typing. Thankfully, RallyPoint added the ability to edit posts early on in it's development.
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SFC Small Group Leader
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"Your" improperly used...kills me
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SGT Ben Keen
SGT Ben Keen
>1 y
You're not alone there SFC (Join to see).
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SSG Richard Reilly
SSG Richard Reilly
>1 y
SFC (Join to see) Your killing me. Do you know where you're comment will go? :O
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SPC Sheila Lewis
SPC Sheila Lewis
>1 y
An overuse of the word "seriously."
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SFC Small Group Leader
SFC (Join to see)
>1 y
Grrrr!! SSG Richard Reilly you're just terrible!!!
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1SG Retired
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Irregardless, which I proudly frequently used to sound smart, until I learned it only made me look stupid.
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SGM Mikel Dawson
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Clear, understandable sentences. Failure to proof read a post. We all make mistakes, but mostly never see them until after posting. That's where the "edit" button comes in.
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TSgt Melissa Post
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hanged/hung, axed/asked, irregardless (not a word folks!), enthused/enthusiastic.

I can't stand it when people say "Truthfully and honestly", "My thing is that", "Literally" (when it is apparent it was not in fact meant to be literal), Pop/coke/soda I hate the word "pop" its an onomatopoeia, not a noun.
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CW3 Eric W. S.
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Irregardless...
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PO2 Imrl Manager
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Facebook. Facebook is my biggest grammar pet peeve. Mostly sentences with no commas, periods, or capitalization.
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SSgt Alex Robinson
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Lack of proper punctuation and misplaced commas. Poor spelling. Improper use of words like there, they're, etc.
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SGT Ben Keen
SGT Ben Keen
>1 y
Misplaced commas is one of my biggest errors. Thankfully the more I write, the better I get at it but I'm sure I still mess it up more than I get it right.
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