Grammar/English Pet Peeves

[Mystic Wanderer]

Wikipedia: A pet peeve, pet aversion, or pet hate is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly irritating to them, to a greater degree than would be expected based on the experience of others.

I'm not the grammar police, so please don't think I'm calling anyone out. It's more like I'm trying to bring certain things to the public's attention, like a school teacher would, so you can see/learn where you're choosing wrong words or punctuation.


GRAMMAR

My biggest pet peeve is seeing "were", "we're", and "where" used incorrectly.

I realize certain parts of the country pronounce these words the same, so this could be why people get confused in how to use the correct spelling.

Look at the meaning of each word:

How to Use Were

Use "were" as a past tense verb, as the:

• First-person plural of "be" (We "were" busy last week.)
  
• Second-person singular and plural of "be" (You "were" busy last week.)
  
• Third-person plural of "be" (They "were" busy last week.)
  
• Subjunctive of "be" for all persons (If I "were" you, I'd demand a raise.)
  

How to Use We're

Since "we're" is a contraction for "we are"—and in rarer cases "we were"—simply use "we're" when you want to write or say a shorter version of the first-person plural pronoun "we" and to be verb "are." The apostrophe replaces letter "a" (for "we are") or the letters "we" (for "we were, though that use is much less common). For example:

• "We're" going back to work tomorrow.
  

In this sentence, which is perfectly acceptable English, you are saying: "We are" going back to work tomorrow.

How to Use Where

Use "where" as an adverb referring to a location, as in:

• I don't know "where" you live.
  

Here, the writer is stating that she does not know "where" (at what place or location) the listener or reader lives. This word is also often used to start a question, such as:

• "Where" do you live?
  

In the sentence, the speaker is trying to find out at what location the listener or reader lives. Often, the person speaking (or even writing, as in a letter or email), is trying to find the exact address where the person resides.

Source


I got upset when I saw this famous mantra used by Q, Where We Go One We Go All, being misused with "were" as the first word when it should have been "where". They even misspelled "were" by using an "h" instead of a "w"!

"Here We Go One We Go All"? Don't mess with Q's mantra!  


It's in sign language, but still...   

I have several more pet peeves, but I'll just use one here to save space.    



PUNCTUATION

As for punctuation, I get VERY annoyed trying to read a wall of text that has no periods or commas so I can understand what the person is trying to tell me. If I try to guess the meaning, I could get it completely wrong.

Look at this example:

DEAR JOHN LETTER ONE:
 
Dear John:
 
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy–will you let me be yours? Gloria
 
 
DEAR JOHN LETTER TWO: 
 
Dear John:
 
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be? Yours, Gloria

Source

I realize most people use their phones online these days, and some phones require you to go to a different screen for the punctuation, so people just type and never bother adding the necessary periods and commas. As stated above, this could cause the reader to see a completely different meaning than the one you meant.
People are in too big of a hurry!

IMPORTANT NOTE: 
Ms. G. is exempt from this rant because she is Chinese and uses a word translator.
If there are any errors, it's in the translation. (Please don't bring out your whip on me!)  

What about you? Do you have any pet peeves?