I often see or hear this.
Problem:
The preposition “from” is missing.
Explanation:
High schools and colleges graduate people; people don’t graduate high schools and colleges.
I also believe that omission of the preposition “from” helps to prove my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say “graduated” than to say “graduated from”.
Solution:
“He graduated from college last year.”
I saw this in a company presentation.
Problem:
“Pair” is a singular noun being used incorrectly as a plural noun.
Explanation:
Two of anything together is a single pair. Multiples of this means multiple pairs. Note, however, that if you were talking about the size of a cable, then it would be correct to say, “a 400-pair cable“; note the hyphen, which joins “400” and “pair” to form a modifier of “cable”. Similarly, “a twenty-foot ladder” would be correct, and “twenty foot of ladder” would be incorrect.
I also believe that use of “pair” instead of “pairs” helps to prove my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say “pair” than to say “pairs”.
Solution:
“400 Pairs of Copper Wiring“
I frequently hear this.
Problem:
“I could care less” is the opposite of what is meant.
Explanation:
“I could care less” means that it is possible (“could”) for me to care less. This means that I do care at least a little. When people say, “I could care less,” what they want to say is that they have absolutely no care for whatever the target of their statement is. The only way that this is possible is for them not to be able (“couldn’t”) to care less.
I also believe that omission of “not” (or its contracted form) helps to prove my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say “could” than to say “couldn’t”.
Solution:
“I couldn’t care less.”