There is one particular grammar mistake that really irks me: a/an usage.

People that misuse them tend to fall into 2 groups:

Native English speakers that tend to overuse "a".

• Examples: a apple, a egg, a ice cream cone, a octopus, a umbrella

Non-native English speakers that tend to overuse "an".

• Examples: an ball, an computer, an shirt.

The native English speakers bother me more than the non-native ones, since this is something you should have learned early on in grammar school.

-app103 (January 02, 2010, 09:46 AM)

I agree.
The other one that 'irks' me even more is Me  versus I
All through grade school the teachers were pounding into the students, "Mary and I go to the market".

Yet, today, I cringe when I hear a statement like, "At the party it will only be William and I"
Subject versus* Predicate.


*Writing this post reminded me of two more (seen in written language):
per say  (to mean per se)
verses  (to represent versus)

And then there is the ubiquitous, "ect."  Which shouldn't be a problem for anyone who has worked on the command line in Unix

When asked, in job interviews, if I can code in VB my reply is usually:
"Yes.  But I always wash my hands afterwards"

I would like to say that I enjoy many languages.  When I spend much time with Javascript I enjoy it.
Recently, my work has forced me to do a lot with C# and I must give Microsoft proper credit for creating a language with the right 'feel' and not too much baggage.
But if I was cornered to name one language as a true favorite it would be Ruby.