My Personal Grammar Pet Peeves

For nearly 10 years, I've been a content creator for this wonderful platform called Vocal. With almost 500 stories under my belt, I love to write about topics that are both relatable to others and insightful. I try my best to avoid using any slang in any of my stories, because, in my opinion, it sounds lazy. I'm always on social media and observing some of the things random people say. In this story, I'll highlight some words and phrases that many people regularly overuse. This story isn't intended to insult anyone, but to learn from the following grammar mistakes.

Mind You

The most common phrase I've been hearing on random YouTube videos lately is the phrase mind you. To emphasize an important detail or soften a criticism are two of the times when the phrase is appropriate to use. What makes my skin crawl every time is when most people use that phrase more than once. There's no need for you to say mind you more than once, because others have already grasped on the points you're trying to make.

Blah Blah Blah

Ugh. Where do I begin with this? If you're going to share a story with everyone, please, for the love of God and everything that's good, don't say blah, blah, blah. What's wrong with saying that you ask? It comes off as both rude and dismissive. Also, da da da da is the same thing as blah, blah, blah. The phrase and so on is a much more appropriate substitute in place of blah, blah, blah.

Using Slang

This isn't to say that using slang is entirely a bad thing, but you have to read the room and learn when and where it's appropriate to do so. As someone who grew up in the 90s, everyone using slang was the norm. However, and I might get some flak for this, but I believe that after a certain age, you should learn how to talk properly. In other words, not using slang as a daily part of conversations. Using slang on rare occasions is fine, but if you have graduated from high school and/or college and have a career, you should learn how to communicate with people the right way. Not all generations will understand or accept your way of speaking. If slang is your main form of communication when interacting with others, you need to expand your vocabulary. The one word I despise the most and use in every sentence is the word bro. That word has no meaning anymore and I absolutely squirm when I see men refer to their girlfriends or wives as bro. Both men and women are guilty of this, too. They call each other this and it's weird. It's the most annoying word and I don't want to be referred to as that. I'm not your bro and respect matters. If you're an older individual who still talks like a teenager and use slang that has been popular, you need to rethink how you speak to others.

...Or Whatever

Just like my points about people saying blah, blah, blah when telling a story, the phrase "...or whatever" is in the same realm. To me, it comes off as disrespectful. Et cetera is a more appropriate term to use.

If You Know What I Mean

No. I don't know what you mean. If you're going to bring up a reference or other phrase that many people don't understand, clearly explain it to them. It's in the same realm as the phrase, if you catch my drift.

Your vs You're/Woman vs Women/Lose vs Loose/Loss vs Lost

I'm a very observant person and watch how people talk. In many cases, they use incorrect grammar. For the final entry on this list, I'm highlighting the most common grammar mistakes I've seen. We'll go over these examples right now.

• Your: Something that belongs to a single person.

• You're: A contraction of you are. For example: You're 15 minutes late to work.

• Woman: Describes a female individual.

• Women: Describes more than one woman.

• Lose: To misplace something or not win anything.

• Loose: Not tight or free.

• Loss: The result, condition, or event of losing something.

• Lost: Describes something or someone missing. Side note: the most common mistake I see on the internet is when this word is used in the wrong context. For example, when someone passes away, an individual would tell someone that they're sorry for their lost. The correct word is loss.

I'm not in any way implying that people who don't know how to use proper grammar are illiterate. It doesn't make you a bad person. However, the moral of this story is that effective and proper communication are important to succeed in everyday life. I love writing stories about topics that interest me and make sure that every word is spelled correctly and also, the grammar used in my stories is correct before I submit and publish them.