lose vs. loose

I'm just saying.....

lose = To rid oneself of: lost five pounds.

loose = Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks.
= Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg.
= Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the neighborhood; dogs that are loose on the streets.
= Not tight-fitting or tightly fitted: loose shoes.
= Not bound, bundled, stapled, or gathered together: loose papers.
= Not compact or dense in arrangement or structure: loose gravel.
= Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; idle: loose talk.
= Not formal; relaxed: a loose atmosphere at the club.
= Lacking conventional moral restraint in sexual behavior.
= Not literal or exact: a loose translation.
= Characterized by a free movement of fluids in the body: a loose cough; loose bowels

Thu. Jun 2, 3:18pm

I'm so glad someone finally said this. Thanks.

Thursday, June 2, 2005, 3:47 PM

Finally

Thank you. I did not want to be rude, but boy was this driving me nuts in my group.

Thursday, June 2, 2005, 3:47 PM

THANKS!!

god, how embarrassing! thanks for the tip. i would have gone on and on and on like that.....

Thursday, June 2, 2005, 4:41 PM

I'd love to lose some weight and find that all my clothes are loose!!! ;)

Friday, June 3, 2005, 8:56 AM

lighten up! what's an extra O here and there?

I suspect most people do know the difference between lose, loose, and loser.-

Most of us are busy at work and just want some help not to be ridiculed for not using spellcheck.

You know what people mean so just lighten up, have a chuckle and move on.

Friday, June 3, 2005, 10:26 AM

"I'm just saying" you know, it means "fyi, just to let you know in case you didn't realize" and obviously from the comments above yours, it bothered some and some didn't know.

Spell check won't pick up the difference between lose and loose anyway.
I have no problem with obvious typos or lack of capitalization. We all know those are "I am busy, at work, in a hurry, etc" issues.

Friday, June 3, 2005, 11:23 AM

I really don't think the orginal poster meant it as a slight; she just meant to point it out. My husband pointed out something the other day and I'm really thankful. I can't believe how many years I said the word coiffed like "coyffd" instead of "cwaffed".

Friday, June 3, 2005, 3:57 PM

Thanks! I had no idea. I've been doing this for 28 years!

I wonder what else I do this with.

Thursday, July 21, 2005, 7:38 AM

coiffed

I just learned the real pronunciation to this word!! I pronounced just like you did!! LOL

Thursday, July 21, 2005, 9:34 AM

coiffed

actually you can pronounce it both ways...although, I think coyffed is more common

here's a good common mistake that's slightly related-

some say "I could care less" when they really mean "I couldn't care less" because they could not possibly care less than they actually do...

Friday, July 22, 2005, 4:30 PM

Don't mean to be snarkey -- but you cannot pronounce it both ways.

It is cwaffed.

Friday, July 22, 2005, 6:24 PM

ha ha!

last poster -
that's EXACTLY what I was going to say, BUT I looked it up online and apparently(!) it really can be pronounced "COYffed!" Maybe they changed the rules to fit the mispronunciation?

Friday, July 22, 2005, 6:52 PM

Did anyone hear the conversation on Howard Stern a couple of days ago after Star Trek Scotty died? They were talking about how stuck-up Mr. Sulu is in real life and there was this big brouhaha about the way he pronounced the word "consummate," as in, "He was a consummate performer" or something. Most people say it "CON-sum-mitt," but he pronounced it "con-SUM-mitt," and apparently that is the "proper" way to say it.

Friday, July 22, 2005, 9:44 PM

Just resurrecting this...

no intention to offend at all. Seeing Loose in many places so thought this was a great thread!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005, 9:08 PM

Thanks for the info.

Please explain to me when to use take and bring. :)

Tuesday, August 30, 2005, 11:30 AM

take it to someone, bring it to us.

Monday, January 9, 2006, 12:12 PM

since we're going on grammar. Here's another one.

Their = their clothes are loose
They're = they are (i.e. they're going to a movie)
There = The chocolate cookies are over there

Your = your pants are baggy
You're = you are (i.e. you're going to look great)

I can't mixed up about when to use "you and i" and "she and I" Can anyone shed some light on that?

Monday, January 9, 2006, 12:30 PM

oops I should have said "I get mixed up" .. not "I can't mixed up"

Monday, January 9, 2006, 12:31 PM

What exactly do you get confused about between "she and I" and "you and I"? From that sentence, I would say that you use "she and I" when you're talking to some third person, and "you and I" when you're talking directly to the person that you are talking about, but maybe your question is deeper than that...

Monday, January 9, 2006, 12:46 PM

She and I

Take the other person out of the sentence and you can tell which one to use. For example, "She and I are going to the movies" = "I am going to the movies". Or, "He gave Todd and me the movie tickets" = "He gave me the movie tickets." You wouldn't say "He gave I the movie tickets." See what I mean?

Monday, January 9, 2006, 1:20 PM

Ya know what?

I NEVER had a problem mixing up loose and lose until I read this thread, now I swear I cannot keep them straight!!!!

The power of reverse psychology continues to hold true.......

Monday, January 9, 2006, 1:31 PM

Great! Thanks so much!! Now I know and I won't have to be nervous about my grammar in letters. Thanks again!

Monday, January 9, 2006, 2:38 PM

Mr. Sulu

So today I heard that Mr. Sulu was joining the Howard Stern show on Sirius - lol!

Monday, January 9, 2006, 8:21 PM

I thought I was here to lose some weight and have support not go back to school and learn propery grammar who cares.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006, 11:56 PM

Sorry proper lol.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006, 11:56 PM

I think this site is for support...which includes losing weight. People post their personal struggles on here..why not grammar struggles? If you don't care, don't read the thread :)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 12:26 AM

LOL dearies!!!
I had an amazing time reading all the posts here..
Some of them are really funny
Personally, I havent struggled with English, be it grammar, punctuation or tenses. So I am glad! But this is an amazing thread :)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 5:11 AM

I keep seeing this and I think this thread explains it the best (the first comment)

Wednesday, January 18, 2006, 10:23 AM

Posting again....

Friday, January 20, 2006, 8:34 AM

Still happening, so clearly a problem!

I read this thread last week and thought it was great! Whats funny is that since then I have been seeing 'loose' being used for 'lose' more than ever!

Friday, January 20, 2006, 3:20 PM

I vs. Me

You use them just as you would if you were saying the sentence without noting the other person. For example: you wouldn't say "He brought the pizza to Sarah and I", because you wouldn't say, "He brought the pizza to I".

Friday, January 20, 2006, 3:41 PM

Thanks for the correction. I totally have been using loose. Opps, this thread is fun. I've learned so much already. I hate grammar so hearing other people explain it helps me to make sence of the madness.;-)

Friday, January 20, 2006, 7:53 PM

fyi...

Tuesday, February 28, 2006, 3:29 PM

lose and loose

If I lose a lot of weight will my skin get loose?
If I lose a lot of weight will they call me a slut for being so loose?
I need a good bra that is not loose while I work out to lose the weight.

Hmm...

Tuesday, February 28, 2006, 5:17 PM

Thank goodness someone posted this.

Saturday, March 25, 2006, 12:08 AM

I wish this post would get lost! It is negative and insulting to correct someone's spelling when they are trying to communicate their hopes and dreams. Anyone who does is, in my mind, is trying to establish their superiority because of their own insecurities.

Saturday, March 25, 2006, 2:18 PM

I completely disagree. I learned a lot from this thread. Give me any opportunity to learn, without having to ask, I'l take it any day. I would have been too embarrased to ever ask this and I'm thankful someone showed me this.

Saturday, March 25, 2006, 2:52 PM

I agree with poster at 2:52, I'm glad someone informed me without having to ask. Thanks!

Saturday, March 25, 2006, 2:54 PM

I agree with the 2 last posters. What if you were in an important business meeting and used the wrong one. They would laugh you out of the board room. I don't think the OP meant anything but trying to help people.

Sunday, March 26, 2006, 11:53 AM

reposting....

Tuesday, July 4, 2006, 5:26 PM

Ya good call on that one! This site is about self improvement, it can include that of spelling :)

Tuesday, July 4, 2006, 7:34 PM

2:18 poster: I would agree if someone were interrupting a personal story to say "no, no. no, you won't LOOSE your mind, you'll LOSE it!" but that's what makes this thread great. No one is being singled out, no one is being personally corrected, it's just a tip to let people know. You decide it if apples to you or not, no one is telling you what to do.

Thursday, July 6, 2006, 11:26 AM

Ooo... I'm completely a grammar snob and I readily admit it. Can I add one that I didn't learn until several semesters into college? it's vs its... even though the apostrophe S is supposed to be used in possession for most words, it doesn't work with the word 'it'. The ONLY time to use "it's" with the apostrophe is when meaning to say "it is," NOT belonging to it.

"The dog peed on the rug. It's its own fault that it's in time out."

Thursday, July 6, 2006, 1:56 PM

there, their, and they're

to, two, and too
pear, pare, and pair
where, ware, wear
hair, hare
(3rd grade English class remains seared on my brain!)

...a wonderful website with lots of helpful info:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

Thursday, July 6, 2006, 2:24 PM

it's = it is

thank you poster, that is a great reminder.

a great book on the subect of punctuation:
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves

Thursday, July 6, 2006, 2:27 PM

English teacher and grammarian speaking...

...Rarely am I really bothered by anyone's misuse of English grammar, but I'm often amused by it.

I love complimenting checkers at the one local grocery store that offers a quick-service line for those with "10 or *fewer* items." I often mock the greengrocer's apostrophe and the story of the Apostropher Royal cracks me up.

I don't respond to grammatical mistakes out of meanness or superiority. I enjoy grammarplay the way some people enjoy bar jokes. So, here's the one sideways-referenced above:

A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich, which he consumes quickly. He then pulls out a pistol, shoots the barman in the chest, and is headed out the door when a shocked patron says, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

The panda tosses a small dictionary at the patron and says, "I'm a panda. Look it up."

The patron stares after the departing panda, and then opens the dictionary to the p section, flipping until he finds the word "panda." The definition reads: "A marsupial of the far east. Eats shoots and leaves."

Of course, that's not a grammar issue. It's punctuation... :^ )

mejaka

Wednesday, July 12, 2006, 11:08 PM

Ok, here's one I hate. Thru! Just bugs me.

Friday, July 14, 2006, 3:18 AM

Bumping, because I don't have anything else to add but it needs to be said.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 11:31 AM

Ending sentences with prepositions!!! OOOOooooh, that gets on my nerves... I don't mind it as much when individuals are speaking, but seeing it written irritates the h*ll out of me...

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 7:35 PM

bumping up so we all get a refresher...

Monday, January 8, 2007, 10:45 AM

ditto

Tuesday, March 27, 2007, 10:48 AM

I love this thread I am not the best at grammer and I learned alot from this. thank you. I in no way find it offensive . I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by reading peoples thoughts. I am like a sponge I love learning new things

Tuesday, March 27, 2007, 11:04 AM

11:04 poster I just corrected lose in My profile thanks lol

Tuesday, March 27, 2007, 11:05 AM

There is no reason to be offended by this thread. As many of the posters pointed out, they have been using words incorrectly their whole lives, and were grateful to have someone tell them how to use them correctly.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007, 2:18 PM

Thanks for this.

Also, lose the apostrophe when indicating a plural noun (Moms, not Mom's)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007, 7:36 PM

bump....

Monday, May 21, 2007, 9:49 AM

Bump

In support of the Spelling Police

Signed,
The Thread Police

Friday, June 13, 2008, 7:47 PM

Almost 2 years after the original (and funny -- thank you) post: Pandas are not marsupials! Despite the fact that they eat shoots and leaves, they are within Carnivora.

You thought the grammar police were bad? Ha! Now you have the Biology Police! :-)

Saturday, June 14, 2008, 10:41 AM

Biology Police,

I wasn't aware that a marsupial was the opposite of a carnivore? Isn't a marsupial an animal that carries its young in a messy, built-in pouch (though I didn't think pandas did that either)? So I'm not sure how the vegetarianism of pandas is a contraindication for marsupialism?

Saturday, June 14, 2008, 10:58 AM

Marsupialia is a taxonomic group of mammals which, you are right, give birth to very undeveloped young (a lot of them don't even have real back feet at birth) and nourish them through development by nursing for a long period of time. Funnily enough, some marsupials do form an egg, the shell of which is resorbed almost immediately, and they also form a placenta, which lasts about 2 days.

Placentalia (people fall into this category) are mammals which nourish their young through a placenta for an extended period of time, so that the young are born more fully developed than those of marsupials. Carnivora is a taxonomic group within placental mammals, and not all Carnivora are meat-eaters. Pandas, like people, have a placenta for more than a few hours, and although their young are helpless they are definitely more fully developed than marsupial young.

Carnivora includes cats (very carnivorous), dogs (less carnivorous than cats), bears (which are omnivores), raccoons (omnivores), pandas (folivores), skunks, weasels, mongooses, badgers, civets, seals, sea lions, etc.

So the confusing part is that biologists use "Carnivora" and "carnivore" to mean two different things. In truth, few large taxonomic groups all have the same diets -- look at bats, for example: there are fruit bats which eat only fruit juice, insectivorous bats which keep down the local mosquitos, a few carnivorous bats, and the very specialized vampire bat -- everyone knows what it eats!

Hope that's less confusing rather than more confusing. :-)

Saturday, June 14, 2008, 6:19 PM

bump

Friday, July 18, 2008, 4:53 PM

WooooW!

This thread is over 3 YEARS old!!!

I love the last little part with the Marsupial police!

-buzzard

Friday, July 18, 2008, 4:58 PM

Here's a great link for grammar lovers. The pod casts are fabulous.

Link

Friday, July 18, 2008, 9:04 PM

That's great

This is wonderful! I teach college online and it drives me nuts. When did people lose touch with "lose?" The majority of my students use loose and they are college students. So, maybe I should copy your post and put it at the beginning of each of my classes. Would you mind?

Saturday, July 19, 2008, 9:36 PM

thank you. this drives me crazy!

Saturday, July 19, 2008, 9:40 PM

Bump!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 10:01 PM

Well folks, the more I lose the looser my skin gets. That should be funny, but it aint!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 10:11 PM

Yeah; we know the difference. Still, take the time to do it right! While you're at it, read up on "its" and "it's."

Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 10:39 PM

Can I add another one that really gets to me, that is the wrong spelling of grammar..

Ending with 'er'...grammer... is incorrect spelling. Grammar is correct.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 11:30 PM

Pet peeve

I'm so glad to see someone initiate this post. Upon first reading several posts my first time on this site, I was continually distracted by the grammar error ("loose" vs. "lose").

Due to all the text messaging we're doing these days, it's not surprising that people are either getting lazy or just plain forgetting the proper grammar usage.

Thanks for the mini lessons all of you grammar pros out there! :)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 12:25 AM

11:20...since you are acting as the spelling police I will be the grammar police.

"May I add one that really gets me..." is the the proper word use for what you asked. You can and you did...but you were asking if it would be alright to make a spelling correction and "may" is the word you use in that situation.

I crack up when I see this thread pop up again and again.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 12:38 AM

12:38 poster.. I will take your grammar corrections like a man! Thank you very much for the tip :)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 1:02 AM

I didn't read the whole thread, since it's long and I'm short (on time) but "loose" can also be used as a verb in the sense of untying something, setting it free, getting rid of it - "loose your heart" "loose the cattle, let them run" "loose your burden and rest a while" - while somewhat archaic, it may be the perfect term for those purists who worry about the connotation of re-finding their lost weight - they can "loose" the weight and let it wander away, neever to be seen again.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 5:26 PM

This thread needs to be 'bumped' again, some people haven't quite gotten it yet.

Saturday, September 20, 2008, 1:36 AM

Or they could be folks that are new to the site. Either way it's all good!

-buzzard

Saturday, September 20, 2008, 1:15 PM

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