Is it wrong to correct someone who uses the wrong there, their or they’re

[Faerie87]

Or Your and you’re?

I know of a few friends who use the wrong ones and I’ve always had the urge to correct them, but never do because I feel it would make me look like I am being mean.

What do other people do?

I will sometimes correct colleagues, but quietly and privately.

"In your email to X about Y you wrote discreet when you meant to write discrete, thought you'd like to know"

I don't reply-all or say it where other people can hear.

Generally their response is something like "oh yeah, I'll remember to pay attention to that one next time".

For me, like others on here, I only would if invited to do so; such as being invited to proof read.

Those kind of mistakes irrationally annoy me, but I'm also aware of how people's devices these days do auto correct. So I try not to judge, although a mean bit of me kind-of does.

yossell because if you think you're someone who can tell others they are doing life wrong, then you are probably and arsehole!

You know what, yes, I think it is.
I'm usually pretty good with my spellings and such, but I'm pretty stressed out tonight due to a major event that's kicked off, and as a result, made some grammatical error in posts I've made tonight.

So let those without fault, cast the first stone etc, etc

Correct your heart out - surely it's helpful overall?

My boyfriend makes your/you're mistakes. I'm an English teacher and we met messaging on OLD - it was really hard to look past it! So glad I did, though.

No never correct, however tempting😑😑

I don’t find correction or criticism to be an attack. I’d rather know I’m wrong and be able to correct myself. I’m only just now getting the hang of the different there’s and yours. I’ll work on the issues with to another day 😂

@Lettermethis

Irony (noun)

‘The expression of one’s meaning by using language which usually signifies the opposite, typically for numerous or emphatic effect’.

Bit mean to correct yes, but to internally judge, no!

And now I'm screwing up my face at my own glaring error

Muphry's law

Maybe I’m wrong, but I see every day as an opportunity to learn, I would be grateful for someone pointing out any grammatical or spelling mistakes I may make.

Yes I would at work because it's my job. Or if someone asks me to read something for them and give my opinion. I try not to let it spill over to other areas of my life but I would be muttering to myself or my long-suffering DH. I do think it's a shame that a) English grammar isn't better taught in schools and b) so few people care about whether they're (!) using the correct word.

People usually write more formally than they speak. I wouldn't criticise friends, not my business unless I was asked. I might, discreetly, draw their grammatical inaccuracies to the attention of a junior colleague. Then I would have to make sure I was scrupulous with my own grammar!

Something that irritates me, often seen, is, "Couldn't of", instead of, "Couldn't have"; another is, "Bored of", instead of, "Bored with".

Oh and 'off of' when 'off' suffices.

Thing is how would anyone ever learn the difference between their/there if no one told them?

@Lettermethis haha me two, at @MammaSchwifty 's comment earlier

well presumably their teachers did try to tell them, and they didn't pay attention or retain the information- or they just don't care
it drives me mad, but unless I'm asked for help I keep quiet about it

If you are marking their work in a professional capacity or have been specifically asked then comment but otherwise no.
Would you give people negative feedback on other things they hadn’t asked for to be ‘helpful’? Eg ‘that outfit looks awful on you’ etc. Most people wouldn’t but I accept some people do under the guise of being brutally honest (a cunt).
The people who correct others on here just come across as smug and pathetic imo as if you actually just wanted to help you could message someone privately rather than giving yourself a public pat on the back for knowing the difference between they’re their and there like a lot of 6yos do! I always suspect the pedants who do that must have very little else in their lives to feel proud of.

Not in general.

But I have messaged two different random Facebook craft sellers in the past with polite feedback about a ‘Your engaged!’ card and a ‘On you’re birthday’ framed photo poem thing 🙈

I still felt like a dick but they were selling things! I couldn’t not.

Every time I see a spelling or grammar error I feel it physically, it's weird. It almost hurts. Many of the comments on this thread have made me twitch.

I wouldn't correct unless I thought:

1. they asked me to check/read it
2. it made the meaning of the sentence ambiguous or unclear
3. I thought it would reflect badly on them (so in a report/something they were selling/an official communication) and they still had the power to correct it
4. it would be genuinely funny IMO - like "ironic" posts about grammar, or people who are pedants themselves

But nowadays you've got to cut people some slack. A lot of the time it's not even intentional, it's genuinely our phones etc trying to sabotage us with predictive text and autocorrect and whatnot. I might have thought the right thing with my brain but by the time it's gone through my fingers and my phone, it's come out as something entirely different.

I would only do it when checking a colleagues work for them, because using the wrong ones makes the company look unprofessional

It does depend.

Personally I'd rather be corrected. My spelling is shocking. If I spell something incorrectly often enough it looks right to me. I won't know it's wrong unless I'm told, so I appreciate being told.

However I think generally it's best to leave it unless you know the person well. It usually isn't appropriate on the forums unless it's using the wrong word (so giving the wrong meaning) or it's about grammar. Correcting SPAG is just deflecting from the issue being discussed.

However I have to restrain a twitch from complaining when the word "grammer" is used. It seems to be specifically ironic to spell that wrong.

I am dyslexic and dsypraxic and although I spend lots of time and concentration typing a post, I still mess it up.
Sometimes using the two there and their in the post. I used to cringe but now I don't care. except if someone points it out, hasn't happened yet

When I notice a friend consistently misspells a word, I do tell them. It's the kind thing to do. They won't always ask you to proofread.

That someone wouldn't know the difference between there and their is bizarre to me. Perhaps it is because I learnt English as second language ... definitely would never have gotten away with that kind of mistake, I wonder how native speakers manage to?

Would of instead of would have gets to me so much I have to contact the person who wrote it to point out their “typo”. It drives me insane!!!

It depends if there likely to be worried about the problem. Their likely not bothered but who knows. It's they're prerogative.