Reading the letter to the editor from reader Debra Morrison Petges
("Got language?" Voice of the People, March 18) inspired me to list my
own "pet peeves" about how people use English grammar and the overuse of
trite expressions. Not necessarily in any logical order, they are:
•
Overuse of "bottom line," "in terms of," "at the end of the day,"
"awesome," "perfect storm," "rocket science," "open 24/7" and the
abominable use of the word "irregardless."
• "It will be light
years before that happens." "Light years" is a measure of distance and
not time.
• Confusion between use of plural and possessive, such
as "The Smith's live here." The apostrophe is incorrect. "This is the
Smiths' house." This is correct for plural possessive. "This is John
Smith's house," which is correct and is singular possessive.
•
What grates on me the most is the incorrect use of "it's." We see this
everywhere. "The cat was chasing it's tail." Wrong! The only time "it's"
is correct is if it can be substituted with "it is." "The cat was
chasing it is tail" is ridiculous. This phrase is correct: "It's time
for its evening meal."
— Norbert Weber, Palos Park
Note from KBJ: "Substituted with"? How about "replaced by"?
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 