1) I frequently correct my students who wish to, axe a question. It's ask guys. Just don't ask R. Kelly in his song, "The World's Greatest," because he'll encourage you to axe him. Such violence.
2) Seen today at L.A. Fitness in the Spin Room, a sign that reads: Locker are available. Ok, several ways we could approach a correction...either Lockers are available or A locker is available would be great alternatives. And the worst part? This sign is printed and hung in several places around the gym, not just the spin room. Sigh.
3) I've saved my favorite for last. I saw this on the clearance rack at American Eagle last weekend. Check out the inscription on the t-shirt (enlarged for better viewing):
Really? I mean, editors didn't see this? It actually went to print and teen girls all across the USA are wearing a grammatically incorrect t-shirt that proclaims you should Love the one your with. Wow. No wonder our society is lost in abbreviations like LOL, BFF, and TTYL. We can't speak in complete sentences, so why not just misuse the English language while we're at it?Just to clarify on that last one: Your is a posessive pronoun, you're is the contraction that they meant to use, meaning "you are."
Shame on you guys, R. Kelly, L.A. Fitness and American Eagle. You really ought to know better...or at least your agents, editors or designers should!
4 comments:
No doubt. One of Amelia's baby books actually has "it's" when it should be possesive... so frustrating!
One of my major pet peeves is "everyday" versus "every day." (Every day I wear my everyday clothes.) No one gets it correct anymore, so I think it's just become acceptable to use the one-word version in all cases.
Of course, even as a copy editor, I'll admit I make mistakes all the time, but that t-shirt example you gave is just atrocious!
Preach it, Autumn!
I remember a few years ago when the signs on the freeway said:
DUI
They Kill
Don't Do It
Thank heavens somebody thought it was worth correcting... so now it's all singular. But really, how did all those signs get made in the first place?
You are too funny! I notice the same sorts of things and am not really sure where it comes from - or from where it comes (since you don't end a sentence with a preposition.) :-) So I've got a correction for your posting that the "editor" didn't catch.
Your posting says:
"Just to clarify on that last one: Your is a posessive pronoun"
Not the spelling of posessive. Shouldn't this be possessive? :-)
Sorry. Couldn't resist based on the topic of the post! I hope you get to Africa and have a FANTASTIC time! Wish Iw as going with you!!
Not to mention that "love the one your with" is ending a sentence with a preposition. It should be "love the one with whom you are." Yeah, marketing geniuses, put that on a shirt!
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