Top Five: Darren Cormier

Writing/Linguistic Pet Peeves

The Oxford Comma should be mandatory. In a list of three or more items, there should always be a comma placed before the conjunction and the last item in the list.
“Of” is not a verb. The correct spelling is “would have,” “could have,” or “should have” or the use of their contractions: “would’ve,” “could’ve,” and “should’ve.” (Note the usage of the Oxford commas in the above lists.)
“Irregardless” is not a word. It is an irredeemable offense for someone of irresistible intelligence to use and could cause irreparable harm, even justifiable grounds for divorce based on irreconcilable differences.
On the subject of non-existent words, every time people say the phrase “a whole nother thing” they should be required to write it out.
‘A’ should be used in front of words where the first letter is sounded or sounds like a consonant: A historic, A eulogy, A university. ‘An’ should be used in front of words where the first letter is not sounded or is a short vowel: An hour, An umbrella, An herb.