To get annoyed when mnetters put "of" instead of "have"

[Doobies]

I see it more and more often in aibu.

"to of eaten this"

"to of gone out today"

To give a couple of examples.

I think there is a very real difference between correcting people directly (which the OP didn't suggest) and expressing annoyance at the error seen on threads (which is what the OP did). All she asked was whether she was BU to get annoyed. I fail to see why she and others should be roundly abused simply for feeling annoyance in a general context.

On Mumsnet? I do translation work and I find it more and more in official business correspondence. Doesn't bother me, it's all about the evolution of langauge. Language is never static, doesn't thou thinkest?

I think it's less about the evolution of language and more about people failing to attain basic standards of literacy. If it's appearing in official documents I'm appalled.

Katisha - yes I think I am

If people are interested in improving their grammar, spelling or punctuation there are plenty of resources to help them. They can even get help on MN if they want it.

As for my friend, I have known her almost all of my life, she has tried to improve but for some reason just cannot remember the 'rules'. If we were both to write a formal document I would come across as being better educated and more intelligent, however, if we were to take a general knowledge type test she would outdo me in pretty much every section .

Even if people do make a lot of mistakes in their spelling/grammar/punctuation it is rude to point it out, one should see past that and value their contribution to this informal chat forum.

You see I was thinking that, or else we would all be typing like Shakespeare ...language changes all the time people should just chillax

Chipping, if you read my posts (if you can be bothered) you will see that actually I have made apoint of NOT criticising the grammar of others.

My point is that it does not have to be a position of self-appointed moral superiority to care about language, or to know when something like "should of" is not right.

I'm sorry about your friend, but as I say, there seems to be a dafault position on here that you are morally superior NOT to care about it. It's all become a bit polarised.

FWIW in answer to the case in point, I suspect that someone who puts "should of" on an internet post probably doesn't realise it is wrong, and is fairly likely to put it in a job application (for example.) And we know from posts in the employment section that often the first hurdle in applying for a job is having your efforts rejected for poor language use. So maybe having seen a hoo-hah on here about a particular point may eventually help someone. Who knows.

And yes I KNOW this is an internet forum, and language is used casually, I don't have a problem with that. But my point is that something like "should of" betrays a basic misunderstanding.It's not a moral point.

Took me all that time to write that post (in a non-judgmental manner!) and others have made my point for me!

Well said, katisha.

I also don't see why people are referring to the language of Shakespeare and Chaucer, which is very different to modern day English. It has nothing to do with correct grammar as being discussed here.

The argument that 'language is constantly changing and evolving' just won't wash with basic mistakes on a job application.

We are not talking about a job application...way to miss the point

I wonder how many people would be happy if their child's teacher wrote "You should of checked your grammar and spelling" on their child's schoolwork?

It was an EXAMPLE...

amijee - I'm not sure how old a 6th grader is supposed to be but it sounds like you are going for a personal attack - Ad Hominem, another logical fallacy that us 6th grader non-native speakers of English are obviously more familiar with than yourself

By the way, I am very rarely spotted as a non-native speaker of English, and when I am, it is usually because I miss cultural references and not because of recurring mistakes in grammar, spelling, or pronunciation. Not that I care either way, a fact you could see by the ease with which I have pointed it out myself on this thread.

It would be interesting to hear if you can express yourself at this level in another language, but given your callous attitude to your own, not to mention an aversion to learning and education in general, I would seriously doubt that you do.

I think its very important to use correct grammar on job applications etc ..just not on an informal chat forum which we all waste time on ,which is what the op asked

and usualsuspect this is why I addressed the very case in point - see last bit of my previous post.

I still wonder though why someone would write "should of" on an informal chat forum if they were aware that it is incorrect.

exactly

Yes you did Katisha ..however you cannot assume people who don't care about how they write on chat sites ..don't care about how they write in other situations

The point about job applications is that if someone is making genuine mistakes in casual writing (such as on MN) then they may well do the same in situations where it DOES matter. If I was regularly making a basic mistake I'd prefer to know so that I could correct it.

Cote - In short, don't expect me to remember that you have an aversion to being corrected and would rather hang onto your ignorance than learn and correct it. Or are these illusions of perfection and fear of being corrected limited to the English language only?

WOW it must be really dark up there.

Ilovesooty - there is a whole section on MN for the OP to express annoyance - Pedants corner. I could start a thread on how annoying I find people who have sooty in their name - it would be my 'right' but it wouldn't be very nice would it? Same thing.

They are not, obviously.

I am making the specific point here about "should of".

I've seen a lot of job applications from people who clearly either didn't care (or had no clue) that they were making mistakes.

Not dark at all. A bit tedious and trying to reason with those who forcefully resist to learn and better themselves, not not dark.

Hope springs eternal.