Annoying words and phrases

[anotherone]

'fruits' - the word in singular and plural form is FRUIT!

[others]

'fruits' - the word in singular and plural form is FRUIT!

common error among many Asians in general, esp the ESL (Eng as 2nd lang) crowd.
so is make-ups (for face makeup)

fish/fishes.

[fishes are okay]

'fruits' - the word in singular and plural form is FRUIT!

common error among many Asians in general, esp the ESL (Eng as 2nd lang) crowd.
so is make-ups (for face makeup)

fish/fishes.

Nope, fish and fishes are both acceptable.

fish   noun
/fɪʃ/ n (plural fish or fishes)
[C or U] an animal which lives in water, is covered with scales, and which breathes by taking water in through its mouth, or the flesh of these animals eaten as food

[fruits for me]

'fruits' - the word in singular and plural form is FRUIT!

Sorry, the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary disagree with you.  Try to keep up with the times...

fruit   noun ( RESULT )
/fruːt/ n
the fruit/fruits of sth
the pleasant or successful result of work or actions
This book is the fruit of 15 years' research.
It's been hard work, but now the business is running smoothly you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours.
(Definition of fruit noun (RESULT) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

[Of fruits and fishes]

Both are correct.

[theirs]

The common error among non-locals is confusing "their", "there" and "they're".

[jalanperak]

'Can you on the light' instead of 'can you turn it on.'

Someone mentioned earlier that the way English is spoken here can provide an interesting glimpse into Chinese syntax and language. This is a good example. In Chinese, one would say 开灯 (Mandarin "kai deng"), which literally means "open lantern," or in present usage, "open the light."

[Sales]

That's one that gets me. "Big Sales! Everything must go!"

As for "on the lights" etc, my Brooklyn friends used to say that!

[Transliteration]

'Can you on the light' instead of 'can you turn it on.'

Someone mentioned earlier that the way English is spoken here can provide an interesting glimpse into Chinese syntax and language. This is a good example. In Chinese, one would say 开灯 (Mandarin "kai deng"), which literally means "open lantern," or in present usage, "open the light."

Yup, the way English is spoken by the heartlanders is really direct translations of Chinese into English. The words may be in English, but the syntax and language structure is Chinese.
"Where got?"
Can or not?
Got one day, etc

[fruits and fishes]

No, fruits and fishes are not plural nouns at all.

"Fishes" is a verb (as in, 'he fishes in the Yangtze River each morning'). "Fruits" can only be used when you are referring to an uncountable selection  (as in, 'the supermarket near my house has fruits from all over the world').

If you use an article in your sentence with these words, then would then be countable nouns (and therefore should not have an "s" added).

[To fruits and fishes]

'fruits' - the word in singular and plural form is FRUIT!

Sorry, the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary disagree with you.  Try to keep up with the times...

fruit   noun ( RESULT )
/fruːt/ n
the fruit/fruits of sth
the pleasant or successful result of work or actions
This book is the fruit of 15 years' research.
It's been hard work, but now the business is running smoothly you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours.
(Definition of fruit noun (RESULT) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

[Tomato Tomahto]

Forget it. They don't get it. That's the joy of English, the subtle ways that the non-native/less well educated speaker can mess it all up, while we sit back and feel faintly superior. Brill....

[jalanperak]

"For your necessary action"

[Good job!!]

Can't be bothered to see if that's already in the list but it pees me off greatly.

Just another example of the 'Americanisation' of good old English.

[Whoa]

What's wrong with the Americanization of the English Language?.  It's a living language.  I bet you're a Brit.  Don't be so anal.