Pet Peeves

I am home for the second day with a fever, headache, and cough - probably not swine flu, but it feels just as bad. Having said that, I find myself pondering things that tick me off. I see these errors daily from a lot of people. Here is the first in my series of SHEILA'S PET PEEVES:

1. Quit writing "alot". That is not a word. It is two words and should always be written "a lot". Put the space in and do it right!

2. Quit putting an apostrophe and an s at the end of plural words. There is no such thing and "Cup's are five cents extra" or "I have two dog's". An apostrophe does not serve to warn someone that an "s" is approaching. It is to signify that a letter has been removed, such as "It's going to be fine". If you want to write a possessive pronoun like "I want to see its picture" then you don't need an apostrophe.

3. Despite my use of quotation marks above, they are to signify when someone is talking, and not to emphasize words. I am sick of seeing ads on sides of trucks that say, "We bring the "service" to you". Service in not a quote. If you want to emphasize a word, write it in a bolder or an italicized font.

4. Learn the difference between loose and lose. Those are always being misused. You lose your keys and lose weight, and if you lose enough weight, your pants will be loose.

5. Finally, please learn from the Dan Quayle days. Tomato does not have an e at the end until you write about more than one tomato - tomatoes. Also, potato does not have an e at the end either, unless pluralized - potatoes.

Thank you for listening as I complain about grammar errors. It drives me crazy on a daily basis. I promise the next post will be kinder, and keep watching for more recipes of the week!