Using "then", when it should be "than", and vice versa.
Then is temporal, Than is comparative. It does, however get complicated...
If A is true, then do B... It sounds comparative, but
is temporal in that A must be verified to be true before B can be accomplished.
"I'd rather do this then that." This could
be correct if the person is talking about a sequence of things,
but generally they are specifying an option preference erroneously.
(comparitive, therefore should be "I'd rather do this than that.").
"greater then, less then..."
These are generally incorrect, and should be greater than, less than. Exception...
" If the sum is greater, then I would have to find the error." In this case, then is correct because the condition is temporal in nature, but ONLY because there is an accepted assumption of what the sum is greater THAN.
Using "i.e.", when it should be "e.g.", and vice versa.
i.e. - id est is translated as "That is to say". It is a point of clarification by
restatement, an expansion, not an example.
e.g. - exemplar gratis is translated as "for example". It is a point of clarification by example, not expansion. e.g. specifies an example or list of examples.
Calling the year 2000 the start of the new millenium. Of
course I've already ranted about that. but did you know that...
The Chicago Tribune editorial department was verry concerned
about reporting a new century only 99 years after their last
report. Yes, on January 1,1901 they hearlded the start of the
20th century. Back then, people knew how to count.
If you've got $100, then your second hundred starts with
$101
I can understand the confusion, because if you're a hundred
years old, you say that you're 100, even though you're starting
your 101st year.
The automobile odometer is the main culprit in conditioning
peoples minds to things begining when there's a rollover to zero
(My opinion, not necessarily a fact.) But for the "Official" story,
see what the timekeepers of the nation say...
Calling a building a "Premise", as in "On-Premise
Equipment". The word is Premises. It may sound like a plural,
but the truth is...
In English law, it became customary to refer to the land
by the word for the collection of legal references to it in the
deed.
Each reference was a "premise" according to the
normal definition.
The deed usually referred to the land and to each building
separately
There was usually a separate premise for the buildings' description
and for its location on the land.
The plural for premise is premises
So, by custom, a singular building is known as a premises.
That's why we say "Elvis has vacated the premises"...