What's my pet peeve? It isn't so much a grammar lesson as it is a common sense lesson. Or two.
First, using the word "literally" correctly. We know what it means, right? The Merriam Webster definition of 'literal': adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression/ ACTUAL/ free from exaggeration or embellishment (though the definition of "literally" states that the misuse I'm going address is a form of hyperbole-yet the misuers are not aware of this supposed meaning)
Yet, despite this, the definition is lost when people use such phrases as "After the workout with Bob, where he literally killed me, I realize that I can do every single thing that I didn't think I can...". So, is the author writing from the dead? No, of course not. It peeves my pet to hear people say and write such things. They don't realize that they're doing it, either.
It is possible to exaggerate without misusing such a word. Can we start doing this, please?
My second pet peeve is incorrectly saying "I could care less". In a short explanation, this is wrong because the speaker implies that they must care a little, because there is less caring that they could do. The correct phrase would be "I couldn't care less" because if you truly do not care at all, there is no less caring you could do.
And then there were links:
First, using the word "literally" correctly. We know what it means, right? The Merriam Webster definition of 'literal': adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression/ ACTUAL/ free from exaggeration or embellishment (though the definition of "literally" states that the misuse I'm going address is a form of hyperbole-yet the misuers are not aware of this supposed meaning)
Yet, despite this, the definition is lost when people use such phrases as "After the workout with Bob, where he literally killed me, I realize that I can do every single thing that I didn't think I can...". So, is the author writing from the dead? No, of course not. It peeves my pet to hear people say and write such things. They don't realize that they're doing it, either.
It is possible to exaggerate without misusing such a word. Can we start doing this, please?
My second pet peeve is incorrectly saying "I could care less". In a short explanation, this is wrong because the speaker implies that they must care a little, because there is less caring that they could do. The correct phrase would be "I couldn't care less" because if you truly do not care at all, there is no less caring you could do.
And then there were links:
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