Well, Dryden, the originator of the rule would complain because you have separated the preposition from its object. But he’s been dead for some time now and not likely to throw a fit about it.
I don’t use them multiple times in a sentence, but I do have to watch out for them; semicolons and colons show up way too often in my own writing. I’ll often write something in a professional context and discover that I’ve written three or four sentences in a row that have a semicolon; while that’s not a terrible problem, it suggests I ought to be varying my sentence pattern a bit.
Passive voice always got the teacher on my case. It’s how I talk and write. <shrug> That argument didn’t work very well with my teachers. 
Good grammar is work for me. I force myself to do it at my job. A paycheck does wonders for my motivation. Otherwise I write like I talk.
Up until a year ago, I used the words annoying and aggravating incorrectly. I used aggravating instead of annoying regularly until my boyfriend corrected me. Some may find that annoying, but not me. English is my second language and I love it when somebody sets me straight.
I now understand how to use them correctly:
My neighbors’ music was so annoying and loud; it aggravated my headache.
Teachers and other know-alls can be tunnel-vision-afflicted and mindlessly dictatorial. “A is always good; B is always bad” – IMO that’s too narrow and simplistic. Different styles suit different people, and can be more or less appropriate according to circumstance. AuntiePam, I’m addicted to “wishy-washy qualifiers” too: I consider that at times, there’s a place for them. One doesn’t want to sound arrogant and self-dogmatic all of the time.
I’ve noticed that too.
For me, I’m addicted to the semicolon. I use it in wholly appropriate instances, instances where it technically is correct but could probably be better left out and in instances where it is flat out incorrect to use.
But I’m getting better!
This one. I’ve even had a few super Grammar kids here on the Dope give me neat little tricks to remember, and I still can’t. I’m going to have to write it down and carry it in my purse!
And I sometimes typo it’s and its, even though I know the difference.
I always remember the difference between *lie *(intransitive) and *lay *(transitive) because in the Old English grammar they’re derived from, lie is the base verb and *lay *is the causative form derived from it by the infixed vowel -a-. Same process as in rise and raise.
Yep, I’m guilty of this, as well as a few others in this thread. I should know better, too.
It would seem that if this is a vice, you’re not the only person beset by it. Lynne Truss in her work on punctuation East, Shoots & Leaves, quotes the British writer Hilary Mantel, thus: “I have always been addicted to something or other, usually something there’s no support group for. Semicolons, for instance, I can never give up for more than two hundred words at a time.” And Truss mentions the reputed last dying words of a – frustratingly unidentified – famous 20th-century author as, “I should have used fewer semicolons”.
Sentence fragments.
Good device. Will be used more later.
When I do it, it’s because I’ve come to a conclusion on my own but I want others to check me and I am not saying it as a definitive answer.
I wonder if the sky could have been any bluer? I don’t know. Are you wondering or not? “Wonder” does not make the sentence a question.
John was shot in the garage. It’s between the heart and liver.
I confess…I end sentences with prepositions.
Even the persnickety William Safire has no problems with split infinitives in general. I’m surprised this superstition is still going strong. Sure, there are cases where it might be better not to split an infinitive, but there’s no blanket “rule” that it’s wrong.
My approach to grammar is to understand the rules to the best of my ability, and apply when appropriate. The key here is the phrase “when appropriate”. Much like music, once you understand the rules - then you can create jazz.
When writing and speaking in a professional setting I generally follow the rules upright and uptight.
When writing online I try to mimic casual speech, and try to inject punctuation to simulate speech patterns. I also try to deliberately break some rules for interesting effect and to suggest vernacular.
When speaking casually, I try to have fun.
It is curious to me that there are those among the posters here who would both notice and scold themselves over a grammatical misstep.
At four years old, my grandma passed away.
Before starting Medication X, your doctor should test you for TB.
The rules against split infinitives and prepositions at the end of sentences are based on Latin grammar, not English. There is no reason to avoid either one.
Yikes! I’m feeling guilty if I were the one who almost infuriated you. I do that online sometimes to indicate that it is said with that kind of rising tone that indicates a suggestion to ponder or that I’m not sure.
My mom was a sixth grade teacher who spoke flawless English. And for years I could also. The difference between us is that she could explain all the rules for why she used words the way she did. And in spite (<-----see that?) of me having a BS in English my emphasis was on literature.
Grammar is just too left-brained for me to handle and now that’s she’s gone she’s not here to remind me. I spend so much time on the computer that my spelling has gone to heck.
But I can get pretty bent out of shape by “I and my girlfriend.” Nearly all of the Millennials I know make this mistake so I’m starting to think they’re all self-centered.
My rationalization is that first you have to be able to do it correctly, that is do it right in high school and college. Then later you can spice it up and personalize it.
Since I’m there already I can afford to change the standards. 