To wonder how people make it to adulthood without knowing

[Staffy1]

That a Christmas tree decoration is called a "bauble", not "ball ball"? Or how they make it through junior school without knowing the difference between "his" and "he's"? What happens in schools these days and don't people ever read anything?

Totally agree with those who said it's about reading! I went to school with people who were offered the same education but who did not enjoy reading, and you can see the differences in vocabulary, spelling, grammar and so on when you compare those people to the ones who loved books!

@Janegrey333

Hilarious that you have (rather pettily) corrected my grammar, only to have to make two subsequent corrections to your own 😂

Karma is a bitch. Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something about making sneery, petty comments to other people about their language errors.

And no, I don’t know or private message any other posters on here. Bit paranoid to think otherwise.

The abbreviation at the end of your post is also meant to be unpleasant

Well spotted - you are correct this time. But this time it was addressed to a specific person who had been unpleasant towards me.

Some people clearly know one another here. There is a private messaging facility, after all.

What on earth does that have to do with anything? We were talking about some people's insistence that it's fine to correct strangers' grammar and spelling on social media. Are you suggesting that's not a thing on MN (a huge site full of anonymous people), just because there are some people on MN who know each other?

“So it's alright to correct people when they're doing it wrong, but only if it actually matters. There's something in that, except: who decides when it matters.”

Good point. I think you can generally tell if someone is making a correction because they think it matters (eg your nurse example). Or if they are “correcting”others because they are a pedantic, anally retentive know all who generally feels the need to sneer at other people’s perceived shortcomings (probably because of their own shortcomings in other areas). Far too many of these around.

[quote Areweallsheepnow82]@Janegrey333

Hilarious that you have (rather pettily) corrected my grammar, only to have to make two subsequent corrections to your own 😂

Karma is a bitch. Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something about making sneery, petty comments to other people about their language errors.

And no, I don’t know or private message any other posters on here. Bit paranoid to think otherwise.[/quote]
Hilarious that you have (rather pettily) corrected my grammar, only to have to make two subsequent corrections to your own 😂

Now you are confusing typographical errors with “grammar” - as you call it.

And no, I don’t know or private message any other posters on here. Bit paranoid to think otherwise.

What an odd response. I was merely making a generic point about it being obvious that some posters must “know” others here or Mumsnet would not have provided a Private Messaging facility.

Well spotted - you are correct this time. But this time it was addressed...

It is also important to vary your vocabulary. See above. Oh...

HTH

@firesong

Totally agree with those who said it's about reading! I went to school with people who were offered the same education but who did not enjoy reading, and you can see the differences in vocabulary, spelling, grammar and so on when you compare those people to the ones who loved books!

I agree. Reading - not social class - makes the difference.

“Now you are confusing typographical errors with “grammar” - as you call it”

Hey no need to justify your mistakes to me! I’m not the kind of narrow minded person that judges that kind of thing. Just maybe a good idea to read before you post, if you are correcting someone else that is 😂

“What an odd response“

I thought you were implying that more than one poster was disagreeing with you because we knew each other and were privately messaging. Your point was a little bit random!

Just maybe a good idea to read before you post, if you are correcting someone else that is

I do preview but too often I don’t - especially if I’m trying to educate people who cannot differentiate between a typo and “grammar”. Spelling and grammar I could understand, but not your confusion.

I thought you were implying that more than one poster was disagreeing with you because we knew each other and were privately messaging. Your point was a little bit random!

Of course not. It was the best point I could muster in the heat of the moment. So shoot me.

Have a good evening. 🙂

“I do preview but too often I don’t - especially if I’m trying to educate people who cannot differentiate between a typo and “grammar”. Spelling and grammar I could understand, but not your confusion.

Think you are the one who is confused 😂 But honestly, no need to justify your mistakes any further, don’t worry about it 😄 Other than a very small handful of judgemental women on here, really no one cares about this kind thing.

The sad thing is that by resorting to solely picking holes in the SPaG of posters who disagree with you, you have unwittingly proven the point many of us were making.

That those who “correct” the speech/spelling of others most often do so purely out of spite, and to compensate for their own failings elsewhere.

and to compensate for their own failings elsewhere.

Nice try. Totally wrong. But if it makes you feel better, do go ahead.

@scentedgeranium

I used to think it was just the younger generation (under 25s) who used random apostrophes and mixed up their there, their and they're. But I recently joined a school reunion group on FB and my generation of over 50s are just as bad!

You can't comment on other people's grammar and then make a glaringly obvious mistake yourself!

Passive aggressiveness to the fore here:

“😂”

Dead giveaway.

Don’t keep us all in suspense, @Othering. Spill.

It's definitely a lack of reading, although people do naturally have different aptitudes. Children who love books from a young age are generally interested in reading and writing from a younger age and will therefore gain more expeirence - and exposure to books starts with the parents, long before school (or it should do, at least).

Some of these are corkers. Ball ball, chester draws, spag bowl. I went to senior school with someone who mistook 'had' for 'hat' i.e. he hat to do it, and someone else who, aged 40, still cannot differenciate between 'know' and 'though'.

"Children who love books from a young age are generally interested in reading and writing from a younger age and will therefore gain more expeirence - and exposure to books starts with the parents, long before school (or it should do, at least)."

Yet, countries where children don't start to read until 7 don't do any worse.

"I personally welcome them. I learned a lot "on the go" so sometimes I misunderstood and used a word wrongly. The fact that someone did "Sorry, x should be used like this and that" was why my language isn't even worse🙈"

You may do, but it doesn't mean it's right for other people.
I learn on the go as well just by listening to others. Someone interrupting the thread of my argument or stopping the conversation to correct me will just annoy me and hinder communication.

'ospical........
a frequent utterance when they mean "hospital".
Fans self at the thought.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Children who love books from a young age are generally interested in reading and writing from a younger age and will therefore gain more expeirence - and exposure to books starts with the parents, long before school (or it should do, at least)."

Yet, countries where children don't start to read until 7 don't do any worse.

Perhaps they read with parents before they start formsl school at 7? School is only part of a child's education. Parents' speech, being read to, family attitude to books and reading, all enhance whatever school teaches.

One of my favourites was when my best friend text me after a night out to say he wasn't that drunk, he was completely "compass mantis"

@belinda789

'ospical........ a frequent utterance when they mean "hospital". Fans self at the thought.

Lol

@Gwenhwyfar

"Children who love books from a young age are generally interested in reading and writing from a younger age and will therefore gain more expeirence - and exposure to books starts with the parents, long before school (or it should do, at least)."

Yet, countries where children don't start to read until 7 don't do any worse.

There's a big difference between loving books, being interested in reading, and reading independently.

I adored books as a child - my older brother was read to a lot by a very book-keen mother, and I devoured everything he had, so I was exposed to a lot of books at a young age and I was desperate to be reading. I made my mum's life hell by constantly demanding books from her, because I didn't learn to read when I should have done.

I think it's very dangerous to presume that enjoyment and interest always lead to successful literacy, and that people whose literacy is imperfect must be uninterested or unmotivated.

"Perhaps they read with parents before they start formsl school at 7? "

No, they don't. Official advice, for Swedes at least, is that they shouldn't.
There's really no need to start reading young. It's not what makes the difference.