Some people murder English grammar every time they open their mouths or put anything in writing. After teaching high school students English grammar and composition, I should be used to the mayhem performed on our language. However, some errors irritate my ears and eyes as much as the scraping of fingernails on a chalkboard shatters my nerves.

         "Just between you and I," the beautiful actress coos before continuing to share some juicy gossip. No! Wait! The use of the pronoun I as an object of a preposition is as ignorant sounding as saying, "Me and him ain't stupid." Neither usage sounds intelligent because both are wrong grammatically.

         The word between is a preposition, just as the words in, out, from, and below. If we use a preposition and a compound object, and one or both are pronouns, both objects must be the object form. A good test is to use each object separately after the preposition. If a person uses the prepositional phrase "for John and I," we can test for correctness by using each object separately: for John, for I. Whoa! For I doesn't sound right because it isn't. The correct form of the object is me: for me, for John and me. The preposition between has to have a compound object, two objects at least. Therefore, the correct pronoun is me, between you and me. Some people believe that using the pronoun I as one of the objects sounds more intelligent, more educated. Hmmm . . . Using incorrect grammar never sounds more intelligent or educated to someone who is educated. Rather, such usage sounds like fingernails scraping over a chalkboard.

         Next on my list of fingernail scrapings is the use of double subjects - no, not compound subjects, but double subjects. The news reporter flashed his bright smile into the camera. "The basketball team, they showed us what they could do tonight." Wait a minute, he had the subject "the basketball team." Why did he add they? Wrong usage does not make one sound intelligent or educated.

          A man stomps off after a heated argument with his wife, who threatens to leave. "Go ahead. I could care less!" he yells. Oh, really? That phrase means he still cares. What he meant to say was, "I couldn't care less." Wrong word usage again.

         I visited the library the other day and found a new book by one of my favorite authors. That night I snuggled into bed ready to read but soon put the book aside, disappointed. Every other page had the phrase "I could care less," when she meant "I couldn't care less." Not only did she use the phrase incorrectly, but she over-used it repetitively.

         In that one book the author managed to "double" scrape the chalkboard. Using one word, phrase, or group of words continuously, without a valid reason, irks a reader and distracts attention from the story or message the author wants to deliver. After I contained the shivers traveling up and down my spine and soothed my nerves, I sighed and sadly closed the book. Then I started a new list: used-to-be-favorite authors, and she graces the top.

         Too many people add "here" or "there" redundantly. "The house behind me there" has a word not needed: "there." I hear this on the news so often, and I wince when I do, another scratch of fingernails on a chalkboard.

         Other people have their own favorite, rather unfavorite grammar or speech errors. I'm sure I hear or read others that annoy me as well, but the practices described in this piece cause me to cringe and flinch the most. The fact that most people who use them consider themselves well educated is a sad commentary on the road our language, or our education, now takes.