Dictionary.com recently did a study of adults in the U.S. to find out what really grinds their gears about improper grammar and usage — and "some of the findings did come as a bit of a surprise," said Liz McMillan, CEO of the site. Can you guess which ones they were?
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1. What percentage of Americans say improper grammar is their biggest annoyance?
77%59%34%14%Correct!Wrong!59%!
Nearly 6 in 10 are vexed by ads, signs, and menus with typos.
Netflix
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2. When given a list of commonly misspelled words, the majority of respondents said they were most bothered by the misspelling of what word?
definitelymisspelledreceivedFebruaryCorrect!Wrong!February!
It made 38% want to break out their red pens.
NBC / Via goshdarnmythesis.tumblr.com
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3. What age range showed the most annoyance with misspellings, mispronunciations, and grammar mistakes?
18–3435–4950–6465+ -
4. What percentage of American adults consider themselves good spellers?
80%65%40%22%Correct!Wrong!80%!
BUT 71% say they often find spelling mistakes in written correspondence from others, so...
Fox / Via nickycrazyme.tumblr.com
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5. True or false? Women were more likely than men to consider themselves strong spellers and to admit to being annoyed by improper grammar, misspelled words, and typos.
TrueFalseCorrect!Wrong!True!
Eighty-seven percent of women age 35–44 consider themselves good spellers.
Viacom
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6. What percentage of people get fired up by misspellings and improper grammar usage on social media?
90%65%40%25%Correct!Wrong!65%!
And that jumps to 74% of those age 18–34.
Paramount Pictures / Via damnafricawhathappened.tumblr.com
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7. Which mispronunciation did the majority of respondents say they heard most often?
"irregardless" instead of "regardless""expresso" instead of "espresso""supposably" instead of "supposedly""could care less" instead of "couldn't care less"Correct!Wrong!"Could care less" instead of "couldn't care less"!
At 49%, almost half of people said they hear this mix-up most often. We're all in this together, guys.
RCA / Via vampireandotherparanormalthingsqueen.blogspot.com
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8. What percent of adult Americans are ~that guy~ who typically corrects family or friends when they mispronounce words?
91%66%46%19%Correct!Wrong!46%!
People age 18–34 are more likely than those over 35 to do this. Millennials, #amirite?
NBC
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9. Which set of homophones gets under people's skin the most?
its / it'sthey're / their / therepeak / peek / piqueyour / you'reCorrect!Wrong!They're, their, and there!
This troubling trifecta annoys 46% of people (and rightly so).
Via themetapicture.com
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10. In what region are people most bothered by mispronounced words?
The NortheastThe MidwestThe Pacific NorthwestThe SouthCorrect!Wrong!The Northeast!
Fifty-six percent of Northeasterners don't have time for any of your mispronunciation.
ABC
