What are your pet peeves re English usage?

OK . . . i object to those expressions.


(Just trying to help, Boss.)

To move swiftly on... I take the opportunity of quoting myself on another English thread:
syntinen wrote:
Certain English railway companies have recently started to say over their automated PA systems "This train will shortly be arriving into [name of station]." I wonder if these electronic announcements were devised and recorded in Korea or Taiwan or somewhere? It is horrendously bad English.


Yes, it's as annoying as the 'station-stop' which I suppose is meant to be clearer and less ambiguous than either station - when it might not stop, or stop - which might be outside a station. Also they say 'This service ...' - why not this train? Even my Korean student lodger doesn't do that!!

Has anyone mentioned the misuse of "momentarily" as in "We will be with you momentarily"?

And there's always the "different from" vs "different than" question. I bet that one stems from a relatively new misguided impression that English English is more correct than American English; I say "relatively new" because I grew up using "different from" analogous to "differing from", and learned my grammar from very strict teachers. This was back just prior to the Stone Age, but you wouldn't say "differing than", now, would you?

Momentarily, like presently, has changed in meaning over the centuries. My grandfather used to use 'Directly' about immediate time but I don't hear it any more.

Yes.

1. Completely, as in "Have you quite finished?"

2. Partially, as in "I quite like that"

I don't think the second example is partial, I think the quite adds emphasis to the liking.

I like that.
I quite like those.