Writer's Block: Peevish

[keaalu]

[Error: unknown template qotd]People who mix up "then" and "than". The fact you might pronounce it the same way doesn't mean it has even remotely the same meaning.

Case in point? Icon I saw on devART: "Better to DIE on FOUR LEGS then LIVE on TWO." Typical silly, pithy anti-human teen!were sentiment, but doesn't quiite mean what they think it does.

Oh, and stupid questions in "QotD".

Comments

[jill-dragon.livejournal.com]

Pet peeve? 'Stupid questions' seems to cover it.

'Then' and 'than' don't sound the same at all, at least not to my ear. Silly Brits, always pronouncing everything funny. ;)

[keaalu.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I'll agree with you - to me, "then" and "than" sound NOTHING alike. But there's a couple of American peeps on my friends list who say they do. Annnnnd... yes, I have had loong arguments about it on here with them. ¬_¬

[keaalu.livejournal.com]

Found it! (http://keaalu.livejournal.com/30694.html)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_silverfox/]

Mine is similar: there/their/they're - English isn't evemn my first language and I can tell them apart without a problem. (Then and than sometimes requires thinking, but I can do that, too.)

[muffins-of-god.livejournal.com]

Mine is people reading over my shoulder. I just want to throw my head back into their face whenever someone does it....ARG.

Violent tendencies? Me? Naaaah.

[keaalu.livejournal.com]

Ohh, this one too, it gets on my nerves SO MUCH, because if they even think what they're writing, it's pretty obvious which to use.

Like you're/your (which I personally find even more annoying than their/there/they're) - there's a brilliant icon people use that's basically grammar-snark, and one of the quite is:
"'Your stupid' - your stupid what?"

[keaalu.livejournal.com]

*reads over Exie's shoulder*

Hmm?

[muffins-of-god.livejournal.com]

*BAM*

[keaalu.livejournal.com]

*channels Skywarp:*
OH GOD MY NOSE I THINK YOU BROKE IT

*sprays blood around*

[muffins-of-god.livejournal.com]

*double fist pump!* I WIN!

*runs away from retribution to go to work*

[keaalu.livejournal.com]

WUSS! *bleed, bleed*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_silverfox/]

Maybe their teachers never explained?
My sixth grade English teacher - the second year we were actually allowed to read and write English - told us 'The apostrophe stands for something missing, so it goes where you dropped a letter.' and never had to explain again. My seventh grade teacher banned the use of contractions as too difficult even for native speakers. (I ignored the ban, because I felt I knew what I was doing and she in turn ignored my contractions.)