Regardless is a word in standard English. Irregardless is not.
Short version of the story: the less takes care of having to put ir in front of regardless.
Don’t say “irregardless.” Just say “regardless.”
(Apparently, irregardless is a word in some dialects, used to shut down a conversation. So unless you grew up with it as part of your culture, and you want to be rudely abrupt, don’t use it!)
This week we’re aiming our guns at the word like. (You knew this was coming.) If you care about precision in language, or just sounding more professional, read on.
If you use like as in enjoying something, or having affection toward someone, or using a direct comparison (“like a bat out of hell”), then keep it up. That’s the proper usage of the word.
But this last decade or so has seen the word explode as a kind of all-purpose verb/adjective:
“He was, like, (facial expression), and I like, (arms and hands indicating removal from the scene).” In Olde English, this might have meant, “He was upset and I quickly walked in the opposite direction.”
Or…
“That item is, like, over there in that aisle.” So is it actually over there in that aisle, or does it only seem as if it might be over there?
I know of more than one talented young person whose every 10th word is like. They need to stop, perform a like-ectomy on their vocabulary, and carry on making more sense. Research indicates that this will help in job interviews. Seriously.
Try using “it was as if…” if that will help, and if it applies. But you may find, as with kinda and sorta, that taking the expression out of your mouth completely will simply have the effect of strengthening your speech. Be brave. You can do it!
These two seem to get used incorrectly a lot, and it can be easy to do when you’re not really thinking about it.
First of all, these two phrases are not synonymous; they mean quite different things.
“In light of” means “taking into consideration” or “taking into account”. For example: “In light of the recent economic downturn, we won’t be investing in such-and-such a business.” Or, “In light of Mom’s questionable cooking skills, I opt to take her out to dinner.” Literally, it means “in the light of,” which is a great visual to help us remember its meaning.
“In lieu of” means “in place of.” Lieu is the French word for place. So the phrase means “in place of” or “instead of.” Examples: “In lieu of hot dogs for this year’s party, let’s go with hamburgers.” Or “I think we should hire a professional to do the work in lieu of having your sister paint the kitchen.”
Or….
In light of how instructive and fun this grammar site it, I will tell my friends about it.
And…
In lieu of keeping this site a secret, I will tell all my friends to sign up for this site!
Have a good week!
Dedicated to Grammar 