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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

470 replies

Doobies · 27/12/2010 12:11

I see it more and more often in aibu.

"to of eaten this"

"to of gone out today"

To give a couple of examples.

OP posts:
Katisha · 27/12/2010 23:36

I can cope with acronyms becoming part of the language actually. But as I said earlier, I am not happy with the idea that language should evolve out of ignorance (this is ignorance as in not knowing, not as in stupidity) , and because it's somehow pedantic, rude, superior, over-educated, class-ridden, pompous blah blah blah to care about it.

CoteDAzur · 27/12/2010 23:37

Language hasn't evolved in this case, though.

MsKLo · 28/12/2010 00:10

Thanks for explanation happy and nice!

Lol...

senua · 28/12/2010 00:18

It isn't evolution of language, it's evolution of internet useage.
When I first started using the internet, the common attitude was that any posting should be correct because otherwise it would be there, forever, as a permanent embarrassment. This has now been debased to 'life's too short and I don't care if things are wrong'.Hmm

ChippingIn · 28/12/2010 00:19

Cote - don't be suprised when people do not thank you and instead accuse you of being rude (which you would be) - I will tell you now, I would not thank you, so please refrain. I, however, will happily correct any errors you make as you seem to feel it's the correct thing to do.

2sugarsandadog · 28/12/2010 05:34

bubba, I've only read to page 3, but teachers don't correct spelling or grammar. At least in dd's schools. And my mum, whose education was broken several times by WW2, is intelligent but still says 'innit'.

And I (is it wrong to start a sentence with 'And'?) couldn't wait to leave school at the earliest possible moment, so my grammar's not that great either.

We need Alan Sugar's input on this one!

BelfastRingingOutForXmasBloke · 28/12/2010 06:58

No we don't need the ungrammatical Alan Sugar's input on this one.

We need CoteDZur's input on this one. Whom I now love. For staying with it, level-headedly defending the correction of errors.

And if she wants to correct my punctuation in this post, she's welcome to.

"Don't people have better things to do that correct grammar..?"
"Glad you have time..."
"Aren't there more important things to concern yourself with....?"

This from people wasting time on Mumsnet!

sadiesadiemarriedlady · 28/12/2010 07:25

All theses people telling the OP to 'get a life' or worry about something more serious need to look at the posts they start and comment on and maybe do as they suggest. What is so wrong with people commenting about the correct use of language, it IS important.

OP, I agree with your post and totally agree with SENUA.

sadiesadiemarriedlady · 28/12/2010 07:25

sorry these not theses

amijee · 28/12/2010 07:29

What is making me laugh is the number of people in the pro good grammar camp who are having to go back to their posts to correct their typos/errors.

Sweet irony???

Animation · 28/12/2010 07:35

Sadie - "theses"!!

Goodness me. That WAS a very poor spelling mistake you made there. What were you thinking?

ledkrsbellyislikesantas · 28/12/2010 08:59

yes especially as we knew what she was saying and didnt feel the need to correct her.
Can i also say that the use of "hubby" is not a grammatical error but an abbreviation,many of which are used on mn and rl are we not allowed to do that now too?

CoteDAzur · 28/12/2010 09:03

Correcting one's own errors is not "sweet irony", it's good practice, I would think.

Unless, of course, you have illusions of infallibility, in which case you would also be upset when others correct you as that would shatter these illusions.

Is that why it upsets you so much to be corrected?

CoteDAzur · 28/12/2010 09:06

ChippingIn - I hope you will not be expecting me to remember this exchange and your nickname in the years to come.

usualsuspect · 28/12/2010 09:24

'This from people wasting time on Mumsnet!'

Which is rather the point

Iwasthefourthwiseman · 28/12/2010 09:27

'What is so wrong with people commenting about the correct use of language, it IS important.'

Is it though? Why exactly is it so important?

Don't get me wrong, I studied eng Lang and like a bit of grammar, but the overreactions on this thread & this site really get up my nose. Why is good grammar held up as being a paragon of virtue?

amijee · 28/12/2010 09:32

Cote - it's actually easy to tell you do not speak English as a first language.

You clearly like to write as if you are a 6th grader taking an English test.

Also, with reference to "should of" I imagine it's an alternative to using the word "should've" It has the same number of key strokes which are both less than "should have". So are people not allowed to write quickly in order to save time?

I am also noticing lots of people reply to mn from their phone using predictive text etc. So is it any wonder you get all sorts of spellings/typos/grammar etc?

CoteDAzur · 28/12/2010 09:41

In your studies of English language, was there ever a mention of Logical Fallacies? I'm asking because that last bit about "paragon of virtue" is a Straw Man. Nobody is suggesting that. What we are saying is that if someone repeatedly makes a mistake, it must be because she doesn't know it is a mistake and it would be a good thing to point it out to her so that she can correct it.

It is like with any embarrassing thing that you don't know about - a bra hanging out, food in your teeth, or an error you keep making. None are "paragons of virtue" yet in all these cases it is better to point it out so they can be quickly corrected. It is not kinder to let the person in question continue their day (or life) with their underwear hanging out, spinach in their teeth, or making mistakes that people will judge them for. (Yes, people will make assumptions about their background and level of education based on these mistakes)

Iwasthefourthwiseman · 28/12/2010 09:43

All this right and wrong is so arbitrary anyway, our grammar mostly cobbled together from different languages.

I can't help but smile when my 3 year old dd says 'i didded' or 'i taked' as it shows she is learning and just days what seems logical. I hate to correct her but obviously I do because god forbid one day she come across some of the people on here.

amijee · 28/12/2010 09:43

Keep posting Cote - you are very entertaining! Grin

Animation · 28/12/2010 09:54

Yes - I am also entertained. Grin

porcamiseria · 28/12/2010 10:01

i am one of the many that type one handed with wriggly baby on lap

for work grammer and spelling v important

mn, really not !!

usualsuspect · 28/12/2010 10:07

Its also quite difficult to type correctly in the evening when wine has been drunk Grin

altinkum · 28/12/2010 10:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

blueshoes · 28/12/2010 10:52

amijee: "Cote - it's actually easy to tell you do not speak English as a first language.

You clearly like to write as if you are a 6th grader taking an English test."

You are wrong, amijee.

Cote does not write like that, and I have been reading her posts for years. You would hope all 6th graders could aspire to her standards of clarity and precision, instead of dumbed down education.