Regardless or Irregardless?

In one of the MUET* classes during Form 6, my Englist teacher, Ms Goh Hai Bee (I hope I spelled the name correctly) pointed out to us the common mistakes in English daily use.

One of the common mistakes is the usage of the word 'irregardless'.

I have heard this word so many times in the meetings I attended these few days, that it prompted me to initiate this post.

The correct word should be 'regardless'.

Most of the time, the user who employs this word wants to express that, "No matter A or B, this is the one".

For example, "Irregardless of the weather, we will proceed with the field trip."

In this example, the user actually means, "No matter it rains or shines, we will proceed to go on with the field trip."

Or, the user actually means, "Let's disregard the weather. We will proceed with the field trip."

So we would ‘not regard’ the weather. Means ‘no regard’. Means ‘regard-less’.

What happen if we use ‘irregardless’? 


It means ‘no regardless’. Means ‘no no regard’. Means ‘regard’.

Simple mathematical logic: negative negative --> positive

Lol...I'm not English teacher, so pardon me for the bad explanation. But the main point here is, the correct word is 'regardless', NOT 'irregardless'.

                                                        Source: grammarwithteeth

p/s: Try type the word 'irregardless' followed by a tab space in Microsoft Words. See what happen below the word ;-)

* MUET

MUET stands for 'Malaysian University English Test'.

This test is a pre-requisite to enter Malaysian Public Universities. The test consists of 4 papers; Listening, Writing, Reading and Speaking. Band 6 is the highest grade, while Band 1 is the lowest grade. That was the grading back in 2003; I am not sure if they have changed the marking scheme and band grading. I scored Band 5 in first sitting.

Anyway, if I were to sit the test again today, I am not sure if I could even score Band 4, lol...