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’?