Friday, July 4, 2008

Most Commonly Misused English Words/Phrases

Stuffs
"I love music, movies and all those stuffs..."
I've heard (and read) a lot of people who use this word to mean "those things". It's so, so annoying. I can't even fathom how annoying it is to hear this word. Stuff is already a "collective" noun used to refer to different things such as

"She knows her stuff."
"A bed filled with the softest stuff." Etcetera etcetera.

You will only use "stuffs" when you refer to it as verb. Get it? A.Verb. Like, "Kyle stuffs the pizza down his throat."

Tuck In/ Tuck Out
"Tuck in your shirt; it looks so ugly tucked out."
Hello?! If something is already tucked, it's in! The word tuck is a verb which means to put into a small, close and concealing place. And tuck out is an oxymoron. How do you make something put into a small, close and concealing place look like it's outside? Oh, you get it.

Irregardless
"It's final. You will come with me irregardless of the circumstances."
It's utterly redundant. The prefix ir-means something "not" (example: irresponsible, irregular). The suffix -less also mean something "not" (example: careless, powerless). The correct word is regardless; since there is no word such as irregard. It's pains to hear this word uttered in movies and even in debates. Sigh.

Equipments
"The equipments are ready. You can start bulldozing now."
Like stuff, equipment is also collective. When I say equipment, it means the whole assisting machines. Simply put, there is no such word as equipments. Remember that.

5 comments:

anna katrina said...

i get really annoyed by people who use the word "stuffs" too! Just last night, I was ranting about it. hahaha.

Your New PR Girl said...

lol anna we're at the same boat. grabe so annoying. i hated friendster because of the word "stuffs"! =)

Unknown said...

OMG. natamaan talaga ako!

you corrected me once when i used it in an email! hahaha. soriguduy. hahaha.

nway, one more phrase that i hate hearing is "cope up" hehehe.

Your New PR Girl said...

true true! cope up is stupid jud. and so is stand up, and sit down..

partyphile said...

hay nako. i agree...i hate hearing people say stuffs. gr...real;ly irritates me..