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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to get annoyed at people who use *of* instead of *have*...

190 replies

Saddlesore · 01/10/2015 15:58

... as in "I would of bought you a present if I knew it was your birthday".

Grrr!

OP posts:
Gabilan · 01/10/2015 18:08

Have is a noun in the 1st person singular and so it follows that it is in the subject

Confused
Gabilan · 01/10/2015 18:09

"Have definitely is NOT a noun, it's a verb"

Unless you're a Marxist and divide the world into haves and have nots.

Pedestriana · 01/10/2015 18:13

Or "ofs" and "of nots", surely Gabilan ;)

GruntledOne · 01/10/2015 18:24

For all that people say this doesn't matter, those of us with children aren't doing them any favours by being all relaxed and tolerant about this. With the new curriculum there is major emphasis on spelling and grammar, and if they grow up thinking things like "would of" are fine they are going to be marked down in GCSEs and the like.

The interesting thing is that, if the government's theories work, in around 10 years' time MN will be a much more literate place than it is now. Maybe people will also learn that the past of "text" is "texted", hooray!

GruntledOne · 01/10/2015 18:25

Sorry, mollie, the sentences you have quoted with question marks clearly are questions and the question marks are correct.

PHANTOMnamechanger · 01/10/2015 18:36

I love the Alot cartoons, Alot.

I have some fellow pedants among my friends.....we are never so rude as to mock or belittle people about incorrect use of grammar/spelling. Unless it is their job to know better - TAs using would of and the wrong you're all over kids' work is very, very wrong IMHO and fair game!

Also I don't think this thread has mentioned done instead of did eg 'I done my homework' and was instead of were eg 'we was going to the shop'

quangotango · 01/10/2015 19:18

"this really drives me insane"

no, of course not literally, it's called a 'figure of speech'

It does disproportionately annoy me though.

TheWernethWife · 01/10/2015 19:46

I totally agree op - also hate people beginning statements with "SO"

Arsicles · 01/10/2015 20:21

if I knew it was your birthday
Shouldn't that be if I had known it was your birthday?

I'm genuinely not sure, but then I'm not setting myself over others when it comes to my knowledge of grammar. If you're going to do that, make sure your own grammar is perfect!

LumelaMme · 01/10/2015 20:30

If I had known that it was your birthday...
No idea if that's right, but it sounds right.
(I was taught almost no grammar at school, other than in French and Latin.)

BoldFox · 01/10/2015 20:44

That is pedantic. The inclusion of a word that can be dropped.

We're all the same. We all learn the grammar around us. I hear the mistakes that other nationalities make. They spot errors I didn't know I was making. I remember going to England in my early 20s and being astounded when people corrected my grammar! me!? I nearly fell over backwards. Something to do with bring and take. I brought a bottle of wine, instead of taking a bottle of wine. Confused even now.

That's the nature of language, we all learn what we're exposed to at the point when our brains are the most receptive to language, and that is equal in all of us.

VulcanWoman · 01/10/2015 21:06

I went to a comprehensive school in the 80's, when my Dad went to parents evening, he said to the teacher he was concerned about my writing and spelling, the teacher said 'oh we don't worry about things like that'. I have tried to improve over the years but still have to look many things up.

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 01/10/2015 21:12

If I knew it was your birthday/If I had known it was your birthday are both correct. They refer to different hypothetical times, that's all.

'That' can be omitted or not.

OhFuckWhatHaveIDone · 01/10/2015 21:13

Something to do with bring and take. I brought a bottle of wine, instead of taking a bottle of wine.

Non-native DP does this and I sometimes find I have to stop myself from picking it up! Grin

StarlingMurmuration · 01/10/2015 21:19

I pronounced "segue" as "seeg", and so didn't get why a "Segway" is called a "Segway".

I know how to pronounce "paradigm" but it'll always be "para-dig-gum" in my head.

Feckingfeckfeck · 01/10/2015 21:26

Sorry to butt in, but I really need to know where PP keeps her socks?!!

PHANTOMnamechanger · 01/10/2015 22:10

feck I think the sock storage comments were about people who say they keep things in draws, when it's drawers and the classic chester draws rather than chest of drawers.

MrsJoyless · 01/10/2015 22:31

I saw a poster recently say, "I'm no pre madonna." I chuckled inwardly.

PHANTOMnamechanger · 01/10/2015 23:02

quite a 'fo par' eh, MrsJoyless Wink

howtorebuild · 01/10/2015 23:12

It doesn't bother me in rl. In business or on television, I agree it should be nicely pointed out, along with "were" often replaced with "was". I have poor English due to dyslexia, so am happy to receive kindly delivered constructive corrections.

howtorebuild · 01/10/2015 23:13

As for Chester drawers, I though it was quite sweet that others let it go on a local fb selling page.

Junosmum · 02/10/2015 00:12

Drives me bonkers!

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 02/10/2015 03:07

False binaries indeed!....

There is a difference isn't there between rather old- fashioned, formal grammatically correct, English, and the working everyday language?

Isn't it the case that the meaning has to be clear? .. Sometimes, prose with really bad grammar is quite difficult to understand the intended meaning!

English isn't the easiest of languages...
Some phrases are homophonic; they sound similar but one is correct...
As up thread, in my accented speech my would've can sound like would of...

Think there are regional variations which will sound 'wrong' to our lilly- livered southern ears, but it is understandable in context :

Give me some of them pictures.
I've learnt him that.
I've borrowed him a tenner.
I'm fetching some wine to the party.

I'm sure the pedants would have a field day... Language changes over time...

Look how easy we've made up language to reflect the world: I've texted her the information.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 02/10/2015 03:11

... I ain't got no money...

But one usage that makes meAngry.. 'I will be contacting yourselves in the not too distant future'... Makes me want to stick sticks in my eyes!

toomuchtooold · 02/10/2015 06:05

Seneca
How do you know she wasn't saying "would've

This! 1000 times this! When people write "would of" they're searching for "would've", not "would have", and when they say it, it's not even wrong, as the pronunciation of "would've" and "would of" are basically the same.