There, Their, They're, Your, You're & Writing it like you stole it

reply to post by muzzleflash


Well spotted, every dog has its day I guess!

But did you spot it for the right reason?

It's tricky.

reply to post by Tidnabnilims


There is truth that they're confused about their spelling. You're right in your assessment.

It's a fact that grammar has its challenges!

reply to post by fenian8

Just saying

Who's just saying...?

I'm just saying you should not start a sentence "Just Saying"...Notice I didn't abbreviate should not? Usually I drop the apostrophe and I'll write it in full to save the "brain hurt".

But on a more serious note, disabilities notwithstanding, it doesn't hurt to practise (practice) grammar and getting it right. Depending on the crowd I'm with at the time I have lapses in standards; it takes work to raise the standard

muzzleflash

fenian8


Idiocracy should have been spelt

Hey you taught me something new, albeit inadvertently.
I always thought "Spelt" was "Spelled" wrong, because I was told specifically that in school (due to making that "mistake").

However I looked it up, and it turns out that in the UK, it is considered acceptable spelling.

That begs the question though, why is it considered wrong in "American English", if it was considered correct originally?
What was it originally to begin with? Many questions...

I am going to go investigate how this split occurred.
I bet there is already a ton of info on it just waiting to be dusted off.

Shut the front door!!!! Are you pulling my leg here?

Great now I have to go look it up just to know the truth for myself....gggrrrrr.....English linguistics why do you suck so bad so often?

Could be worse, I could try to spell the Yooper accents for things.

PROOF READING...that's really what the problem is. I was always under the impression that if you wanted someone to take you seriously it helps a ton to appear educated. I mean I can see the difference between a typo and someone who just can't spell. I see it in college even. I see people post the most incoherent illiterate crap and then wonder why they can't get a job. (if you write an email or build a resume like that you won't go far) In fact I'll go one further...don't you love when people misquote common "turns of phrase" or idioms? I am no grammar nazi but man this isn't 1902 we are all on computers of one sort or another...and they all have some form of auto correct and not to mention google. Therefore I see no excuse other than laziness or stupidity. But hey I'm sure someone will come and make excuses for them cause we gotta baby everyone these days...and this is why colleges are full of illiterate dumbasses!

ETA: I do know that there are plenty of people who don't speak or write english as a first language and they alone get a pass...however if they're never corrected they'll never learn how to do it properly.

muzzleflash

fenian8


Idiocracy should have been spelt

Hey you taught me something new, albeit inadvertently.
I always thought "Spelt" was "Spelled" wrong, because I was told specifically that in school (due to making that "mistake").

However I looked it up, and it turns out that in the UK, it is considered acceptable spelling.

That begs the question though, why is it considered wrong in "American English", if it was considered correct originally?
What was it originally to begin with? Many questions...

I am going to go investigate how this split occurred.
I bet there is already a ton of info on it just waiting to be dusted off.

While you're digging around in that rabbit hole, would you tunnel through any information you come across regarding why/when we dropped the "u" in words like color (colour) and get back with us?

reply to post by TheConstruKctionofLight

Canada uses aluminum...

Haha that is BS, i lived in Canada all my life and we use Aluminium.

*Oh well, ATS(browser) auto correcter thinks that is wrong spelling lol*

reply to post by Tidnabnilims


If you cannot use these words properly, it hurts your credibility. It just does. Id say about 10 to maybe 20% of the time here on ATS does one see correct usage. This is elementary school material. No excuses.

reply to post by muzzleflash


Well spotted, although a typo (missing apostrophe) rather than the wrong word.

I prefer to see 'theyre' missing its apostrophe than the wrong word entirely, at least it shows some effort to be in the ballpark

However, had I not followed Muphrys Law the internet may have imploded.

ETA

In neither taste nor precision is any man's practice a court of last appeal, for writers all, both great and small, are habitual sinners against the light; and their accuser is cheerfully aware that his own work will supply (as in making this book it has supplied) many "awful examples". ("Write it Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults" 1909)

reply to post by fenian8


Idiocracy is a film, thats why I used the capital.

Also ,'apostrophe'.

As with, 'dont', and, 'its', they are missing punctuation yes, but that's, (omg an apostrophe), not the same as being the incorrect word.

reply to post by muzzleflash


Spelt and wether. Yeah they bug me too.

One is a type of wheat, the other a male sheep or goat, commonly castrated, both abused. (the words, not the livestock)

I'm happy to reduce it to just 'spelled' for spelling.

Can you bear the bare bears baring teeth?

Small correction to my earlier post.(Edit not possible)

I did put this section in to my INTRODUCTION , so i'm save.

So i'm SAFE.

My grammar isn't very good, and I could care less about grammar on the internet for the most part. However, there is one thing that gets me every time I see it and that's when someone uses the word 'loose' for the word 'lose'.

Example:
I hope I don't loose in the upcoming office poll.

OR:
Dude, stop being a looser.

reply to post by Fylgje


+1 del *.* to you

Please add more grammatical gripes people, rage as one.

reply to post by new_here


According to my professor in History of the English Language, ONE of the reasons for the differences in European and American English spelling is a matter of nationalism. People came to a new country to be away from another. Therefore, they made changes to things so they could make them their own. Spelling was one of the ways they did it.

muzzleflash

SleepyOwl
reply to post by Tidnabnilims
[

I have a degree in English Lit, but sometimes even I make these mistakes when I get carried away while writing. In an effort to keep up with my thought process, my fingers tend to put whatever form of a word comes to mind. The difference is that I usually go back and check for mistakes like that, but I sometimes miss them. For that reason, I don't usually let it bother me because it's easy to do. Side note... I always love reading the comments of news articles because 9/10 times the argument will eventually have something like "it's you're not your, idiot" in an attempt to make someone's argument less valid.

We all make mistakes so that is why proofreading and making corrections is so important.
Any post beyond a few statements I typically proofread a few times and edit accordingly.
Just a good rule of thumb, especially around these parts.

I agree.

I find this somewhat rude. In reality, having gone from balanced left/right brain in tests when younger, and having thyroid, metabolism bottom out, so that now its a structural nightmare, of right hemisphere, and words, spelling, organization fly out the window, all I can say is its more about a person's physiology than anything else, with the exception of those who did poorly in english, whereas I was proofing my dad's papers as a child. And hence its like throwing stones at someone in a wheelchair. I'm just grateful to fire off my posts, to express something, even if I have to re-edit for dropped words and strange twists in them, till the cows come home. I tend to just go for it.

reply to post by Tidnabnilims


Some people have dyslexia. My partner is a member here and he has dyslexia.. I have to proof read many posts of his because it can be bad..

He just puts letters in the wrong place or spells them in a funny way. My brother and father also have dyslexia. So I do not understand why people get some hot and bothered on the subject of internet grammar...

There could be many a reason it is not spelled properly or punctuated properly. Seriously unless the post is completely unreadable then why bother those folks...

Agreed with another poster that there are also many many peeps on here from countries all over the world. English is not their native language...

Seriously there are far more important things to rant about...

reply to post by Tidnabnilims


Actually, it was the wrong word.

My reply above and the one below mine give examples.

I missed out on stars though, because I didn't BOLD the words.