Grammar Fun: Common Usage Errors, Part V

Sometimes the English language is like driving on icy roads. You know how to drive; you understand most of the rules. And here you are, making a right turn in a snowstorm, your car starts to drift to the left, and your first thought, generally, is to turn the steering wheel to the right. This is an overcorrection. And it is bad! This overcorrection (or the fun sounding "hypercorrection") can happen often after you have learned the rules of English as well. Here are a few situations to be wary of:

He/she and I: This is a scary one, because your parents probably told you to always say "____ and I." This is not always correct. Only use I if you are the subject of a sentence--the one doing the action, even if you're paired with another pronoun. If you are the object--the one receiving the action--it is proper to say me or "____ and me." A good exercise is to try removing the pronoun/noun before "and"; if the sentence still makes sense, well done!

• Easy examples: "Helga and I learned how to yodel." ("Helga and I" are the subjects; "learned" is the verb). "The teacher instructed Helga and me." (Now we are the objects of the verb "instructed").
• Scary example: "You, your mom, and I went to the store to buy you and me some goodies, but neither you nor I liked the selection."

Who/whom: Which to use? Society in general has become so afraid of being corrected with these two that hypercorrection is a big problem. The general rule of thumb: Who is used when it is the subject of a sentence, whom when it is the object of a sentence or prepositional phrase. However, who is also used when it follows a linking verb: for example, the linking verb is in "that's who." Note: Whoever and whomever are a bit more complicated, so I won't get into that at this point.

• Easy example: "Who do you think you are?" "To whom are you trying to throw that dead bird?"
• Scary example: "Who are The Who and for whom do they play?"

Irregardless: This one is fun, because it's so ridiculous. The Standard English ("correct") form is regardless. Make sure when you add ir-, in-, or un- to a word, that the word is real; at least be sure it doesn't contradict itself. Here, the ir- is negative, as is the -less, and the English Ghouls do not enjoy so much negativity in one word. Avoid it, or pay the price of sounding silly.

• Easy example: "Regardless of what Billy Bob said, 'irregardless' is not a word, therefore I will not respond to him."

RAS Syndrome: RAS Syndrom stands for "redundant acronym syndrome syndrome." This syndrome is an overcorrection, because people worry about communicating properly, which can be difficult if someone doesn't know the meaning of an acronym. Other examples include: PIN number, ATM machine, and CSS style sheets.