I doubt you’d be surprised to learn that I am a grammar Nazi. Despite its flaws, I love the richness, complexity, and flexibility of the English language. I grow agitated when people misuse it, especially in print. I address some of my pet peeves on my Writing Pet Peeves page, but here are some of the offenders that really get my panties in a bunch:

• Realtor – There are only two syllables in realtor: real and tor. Many people pronounce it as real-a-tor. Although the three-syllable version does roll better off the tongue, it is incorrect.
• Plurals with Apostophes – This error is becoming more and more common. In almost every instance I can think of, the correct way to make a word plural is to add -S or -ES to the end of the word. Apostrophes have two purposes: indicating possession (the bed belonging to the dog is the dog’s bed) or indicating contraction (to shorten do not into a single word, replace the missing letter or letters with the apostrophe to form don’t). The plural of brother is NOT brother’s, but brothers. My family is the Boxes, not the Box’s.
• Y’all – Y’all is a predominantly Southern word that is a plural version of you. Many other languages have singular and plural version of you. English didn’t, so an enterprising person made one up. Y’all is a contraction of you all, which is why the apostrophe replaces the ou. I often see it spelled incorrectly as ya’ll.

Some of you might think I’m crazy, or at least unreasonable, for getting so worked up about grammar and spelling. But I also know that some of you are kindred spirits. What are your biggest grammatical pet peeves?