Common Grammatical Errors

[Zanity]

The one I'm finding interesting lately, though it may be arguable, is ravish and ravage.

Definitions from "Dictionary.com"

rav·ish
tr.v. rav·ished, rav·ish·ing, rav·ish·es

1. To seize and carry away by force.
2. To rape; violate.
3. To overwhelm with emotion; enrapture. See Synonyms at enrapture.

rav·age
v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages
v. tr.

1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town.
2. To pillage; sack: Enemy soldiers ravaged the village.


v. intr.

To wreak destruction.

Some how I just don't see kisses being ravaging... and if they were I don't think being ravaged sounds too enjoyable.

Ravishing however is another story.

[Kzinti_Killer]

The one I'm finding interesting lately, though it may be arguable, is ravish and ravage.

Definitions from "Dictionary.com"

rav·ish
tr.v. rav·ished, rav·ish·ing, rav·ish·es

1. To seize and carry away by force.
2. To rape; violate.
3. To overwhelm with emotion; enrapture. See Synonyms at enrapture.

rav·age
v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages
v. tr.

1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town.
2. To pillage; sack: Enemy soldiers ravaged the village.


v. intr.

To wreak destruction.

Some how I just don't see kisses being ravaging... and if they were I don't think being ravaged sounds too enjoyable.

Ravishing however is another story.

Hmmm....lets take a synonym for ravage. Pillage.

"She pillaged his mouth." "His pillaging kiss."

The word is deliberately misused to describe an aggressive, lustful, "take no prisoners" style of lovemaking. I've seen it used that way.

Ravage really doesn't work for me. Even though it means essentially the same thing as pillage, it's so close to ravish that instead of looking like hyperbole, it looks like the author has poor vocabulary skills.

Rick

[Zanity]

Hmmm....lets take a synonym for ravage. Pillage.

"She pillaged his mouth." "His pillaging kiss."

The word is deliberately misused to describe an aggressive, lustful, "take no prisoners" style of lovemaking. I've seen it used that way.

Ravage really doesn't work for me. Even though it means essentially the same thing as pillage, it's so close to ravish that instead of looking like hyperbole, it looks like the author has poor vocabulary skills.

Rick

That's why I said it may be arguable. But I like words and definitions and their origins and flavors. When I see the word ravage, I think of the ravages of war, or a disaster; destruction. When I see the word ravish I think forceful and passionate.

It's all in the flavor of the words. And you're right the point can be argued that ravage is acceptable... but it throws me off.

[Kzinti_Killer]

That's why I said it may be arguable. But I like words and definitions and their origins and flavors. When I see the word ravage, I think of the ravages of war, or a disaster; destruction. When I see the word ravish I think forceful and passionate.

It's all in the flavor of the words. And you're right the point can be argued that ravage is acceptable... but it throws me off.

It throws me off too. I saw it in a fic the other day, and it threw me for a loop.

Rick

[AllieXie]

I just found this thread, and after the first few pages knew I was at the right place. I hope these haven't been said.

THAN for THEN

WASTE for WAIST

THREW for THROUGH

I guess this sounds strange, but I have had some problems with reading some stories because of the way I normally read. I imagine I am not the first to examine the way I read. I had to do this when I kept having problems so long ago reading things that contained grammatical errors. I came to this realization. For instance, after you initially learn how to read, you don't sound out each word. You know from the way a word looks what it is in your mind, it forms a picture of sorts, and that tells you a story as you put words together. If I am going along reading, and I come to a word that is not the correct word, it stops me in my tracks. I have to back up, put the right word in the wrong words place, and continue on. Take the word waste for instance. I would picture in my mind a pile of garbage, right? If someone is meaning waist, and they put, "He put his arms around her waste" then that totally throws off the flow. It leaves me thinking, DO WHAT?
It goes with so many other words as well. If there are too many of these breaks in the flow of reading a story, I just can't seem to make myself do it. I stop. I don't think everyone is perfect by any means, but I do wonder sometimes if people ever think to use spellcheck? And if they actually go back and read their work before posting it?
I probably made all kinds of grammatical errors in this very post, but then again I don't write and post stories anywhere. Maybe I should not judge so harshly?
I also wonder what is the proper way if you see this happening continually to bring it to a writer's attention? I told someone once that they had a great story but the grammar could be improved upon, and got jumped all over. They told me that they didn't care about grammar, it was all about telling a story to them, being creative, etc. A lot of people came to their defense, and said it didn't matter if things were so horribly misspelled. I haven't repeated this instance, for fear of being ostracized.

[maxandliz4ever1357]

I also wonder what is the proper way if you see this happening continually to bring it to a writer's attention? I told someone once that they had a great story but the grammar could be improved upon, and got jumped all over. They told me that they didn't care about grammar, it was all about telling a story to them, being creative, etc. A lot of people came to their defense, and said it didn't matter if things were so horribly misspelled. I haven't repeated this instance, for fear of being ostracized.

In an instance like this, I'd say you were most definitely right. I've seen great storylines be butchered because of grammar and spelling. Whoever this person is, he or she really needs to understand that the creativity won't get you anywhere, unless the story's written correctly. You think people that write and publish books don't worry about their punctuation and grammar? Yeah, right. If I were in that situation, I'd be angry. Bah.

"He put his arms around her waste" then that totally throws off the flow. It leaves me thinking, DO WHAT?

LOL! I actually think that makes a lot of sense. If I'm going along, reading a story and picturing it in my mind, hitting an error reminds me a little of a car wreck. BOOM, CRASH, BACK UP! What was that?

I always use spell check, even on my regular posts (like this one). But then again, I'm a freak about grammar and spelling. I'm very picky with authors and their mistakes, so of course I hold myself to the same standards. Of course, one every once in a while doesn't bother me; I know I make mistakes in my writing, as well.

Anyway, great points!

[Reamhar]

"He put his arms around her waste" then that totally throws off the flow. It leaves me thinking, DO WHAT?

I was reading this thread, because I know that my own writing is pretty shocking when it comes to grammar in places. I have to say, when I read that quote, I laughed so hard a nearly wet myself! Not exactly the kind of reaction a writer would want if they were trying to write a tender loves scene.

When it comes to stories that I'm reading, it wouldn't put me off the story if there was some mistakes, particularly if the plot kept my interest. I tend to read things and correct them in my head as I read them. This is probably why I am so dire at proof reading my own stuff.

As people have already said, in examples like the one above, mistakes can definitely detract from the flow of a theme or part of a story.

Threads like this are a really helpful way of showing people common points were they could go wrong in their writing, but the use of a beta is, perhaps, the only foolproof way to get a piece of writing reasonably correct.

Anyway, that's my opinion, for what it's worth.

[Heavenli24]

When it comes to stories that I'm reading, it wouldn't put me off the story if there was some mistakes, particularly if the plot kept my interest. I tend to read things and correct them in my head as I read them. This is probably why I am so dire at proof reading my own stuff.

Yeah, I tend to correct in my head as I read too, but it can be really offputting when the wrong word is in there by mistake - I can handle the there/they're/their mistakes because they're pretty similar in meaning, but things like the examples above (waist/waste, threw/through and even than/then) really do interrupt the flow.

I have one question though, that's been bugging me for a while:

When using 'a lot' and 'a bit' - I've always been under the impression that one of them has a space after the 'a', but the other doesn't. However, my spell checker corrects both of them from 'alot 'and 'abit' to 'a lot' and 'a bit'.

Does anyone know which ones are correct?

[cardinalgirl]

I have one question though, that's been bugging me for a while:

When using 'a lot' and 'a bit' - I've always been under the impression that one of them has a space after the 'a', but the other doesn't. However, my spell checker corrects both of them from 'alot 'and 'abit' to 'a lot' and 'a bit'.

Does anyone know which ones are correct?

You're right, it's "a lot" and "a bit." Lot and bit are both simple nouns. "Alot" is not a word.

[Allie1031]

(EX) I am annoyed that my bad back seems to be aggravated by tension. [To aggravate means to make something worse which is already bad. I cannot be aggravated, but my injury can be.]

Annoyed: to irritate, harass, especially in a repetitive action.

Aggravate: to make worse, more serious, more sever

I don't know if someone mentioned this already or not, but aggravate actually has another meaning. It also means "to rouse to exasperation or anger; to provoke" (taken from dictionary.com). Aggravate is actually a synonym of annoy.