Being irritated at "would of, could of....."

[DuchessOfDisaster]

I cringe when I see this written down. Along with "defiantly" for definitely and other examples. I don't see there is ever any excuse. And the excuse that "language evolves" doesn't wash, because "to of" is not a verb and never will be no matter how language evolves. It's not the same as adopting words from other cultures, new words like selfies, or a different meaning for "sick", for example.

OK, when we say "would've", "could've" etc, it may SOUND similar, but that's no excuse either. It implies the writer has never seen "would have" etc written down, therefore doesn't read much. What did they do at school? Was this style of writing used then and never corrected?

Another cringeworthy example is the inability to differentiate between there/they're/their and your/you're.

Just why do people do it and worse, why is it excused?

@Pinkclarko

It’s a tough one. I hate it too but I have a friend with a phd who’s spelling is appalling so I’ve just had to accept that there’s something that makes people spell incorrectly despite seeing it written correctly all the time. Also don’t discount autocorrect which often isn’t correct at all for the context!

Whose.

Do you have a PhD?

@CecilyP

It can contribute to the communication failing, though, can't it? Say someone did write a love letter like this to the OP and OP could then no longer focus on or embrace the loving sentiment, but just ended up put off.

In that case it would serve it’s purpose as OP would know she could never be with such a dim uneducated person regardless of their superficial attractiveness!

Serve what? The splendid thing about these threads is how Muphry springs into action.

Oh my god yes OP!

I also hate it when people say things like "wants fed", instead of "wants feeding" or "wants TO BE fed"

I see it a lot where people use a past verb to describe the present situation and it makes my teeth itch.

@Eyesofdisarray

Makes me cringe- I don't think it's to do with education either- two intelligent friends of mine do it all the time!! It's not judgemental to say you find it irritating. And if it is auto correct then you can check before you post!!!

Do they know how to use parenthesis and exclamation marks?

God, not this again. We get it OP.

You are clever because you know your "should" from your "could".
Despite my Masters degree, I am thick because I sometimes say "can I" instead of "may I".
Sometimes, despite having a PhD and having made significant advances to medical science, my DH even holds his knife like a pen.
Stop being so bloody judgemental and go do something nice.

@Couchbettato

Oh my god yes OP!

I also hate it when people say things like "wants fed", instead of "wants feeding" or "wants TO BE fed"

I see it a lot where people use a past verb to describe the present situation and it makes my teeth itch.

God is a proper noun.

I always assume ‘defiantly’ is an autocorrect TBH. Not an incorrect spelling.

If it's not an incorrect spelling, why is it autocorrected?

It's almost certainly an autocorrect of 'definate', which is a common mistake for 'definite'.

Oh, and discrete/discreet annoys me. They are two different words with different meanings.

@seasonalremarks

I do feel a bit sorry for mono-linguals who struggle to write to a minimum standard in their one language.

OK. I'm sure they appreciate your pity.

You misunderstand me. I don't care anywhere near enough to feel pity. However the inability to communicate properly even in just one language is sad, not to mention profoundly disempowering. Particularly given it's not that hard - just engaging with the definition of "adjective", "adverb", "verb", "preposition" would make a huge difference for a lot of people. I'm guessing it would take all of 15 minutes to Google if somebody cared.

@HarrysChild

I’m with you OP, although I know many on here will say “who cares” or “i wish i had your worries” etc. No one would say “i of that book” or “i of done that”. Also “gotten”, “ect”. I know, language evolves - but that’s not the same as just accepting when people have got it wrong (or should that be “of” got it wrong).

There should be an apostrophe in your username.

You should have used a capital letter for I.

@Couchbettato

Oh my god yes OP!

I also hate it when people say things like "wants fed", instead of "wants feeding" or "wants TO BE fed"

I see it a lot where people use a past verb to describe the present situation and it makes my teeth itch.

Could you explain what you mean by a "past verb to describe the present situation? Do you mean a past participle? In a verb pattern? Or an actual past simple verb as in "if I *had" time, I'd help" (though of course that's a "past verb" used to denote a hypothetical present.

@DameAlyson

I always assume ‘defiantly’ is an autocorrect TBH. Not an incorrect spelling.

If it's not an incorrect spelling, why is it autocorrected?

It's almost certainly an autocorrect of 'definate', which is a common mistake for 'definite'.

Oh, and discrete/discreet annoys me. They are two different words with different meanings.

Predictive text will change "definitely" to "defiantly" if the user uses the latter more often.

@Pumperthepumper 😁

I’ve had enough of these yeast-brained dunces too. Purge them.

[quote Couchbettato]@Pumperthepumper 😁[/quote]
I thought you’d be grateful for the learning opportunity. You could have thanked me.

'The purpose of language is to communicate. If you're making yourself understood, then you're doing it right. Grammar is a really weird thing to shame people about. You're not superior because you know what you feel are the definitive rules of how people should communicate.'

This.

Oh op calm your jets. I once had a fool on the Internet pull me up on my poor spag and misuse of the past perfect tense. Seriously.

Who gives a rat's ass. As a pp said it's a chat forum not a dissertation.

@DameAlyson

I always assume ‘defiantly’ is an autocorrect TBH. Not an incorrect spelling.

If it's not an incorrect spelling, why is it autocorrected?

It's almost certainly an autocorrect of 'definate', which is a common mistake for 'definite'.

Oh, and discrete/discreet annoys me. They are two different words with different meanings.

It depends on the algorithm of the autocorrect used. How embarrassing that you didn’t know that!

@Pumperthepumper

Funny how they don't like it quite as much when the boot is on the other foot. As it invariably ends up being.

There is something deeply unpleasant, snobbish and downright elitist about being annoyed that somebody is less well educated than you.

I'm assuming all you grammar pedants are also fully to up speed on maths and science.

I get really annoyed when people can't work out simple percentages in their head.

'Predictive text will change "definitely" to "defiantly" if the user uses the latter more often'

Yes, autofill catches us all out because when we reread stuff we see it as we think we've typed it iyswim.

I think the more intelligent of us are perfectly able to understand text regardless of gaffes.

[quote Geamhradh]@Pumperthepumper

Funny how they don't like it quite as much when the boot is on the other foot. As it invariably ends up being.[/quote]
I know! I haven’t been thanked once for improving their education by humiliating them on a public forum, it’s almost as if they’re not grateful.

If David Crystal can discuss it without being "irritated" or smug and superior, then so can the rest of us.

The OP clearly can't.

YANBU it’s irritating enough in spoken English but it’s even worse in written English

Accents and dialects of spoken English are fine but written English should be standard regardless of how you speak. People do notice and judge bad grammar. Especially if it’s in communications to people who don’t know you it makes a really bad impression.

'I'm assuming all you grammar pedants are also fully to up speed on maths and science.'

I doubt it. They're too busy fummin over 'would of' and 'definitaly'. Don't get them started on apostrophes .

@JaniieJones

'Predictive text will change "definitely" to "defiantly" if the user uses the latter more often'

Yes, autofill catches us all out because when we reread stuff we see it as we think we've typed it iyswim.

I think the more intelligent of us are perfectly able to understand text regardless of gaffes.

Well, exactly. One worries really about the comprehension skills of the poor posters who are actually unable to understand because of one incorrect word. I'd say they are the ones more in need of basic literacy than the person who has made the mistake tbf. If I have a student who writes "of" instead of "have", I explain. If I have a student who can't understand what someone is saying, or has written because of that wrong "of" then which student's problem is more serious? And if a student was so distressed that their teeth were itching, or they were telling me they felt like fingernails were being scratched along a blackboard, I'd ask for an urgent meeting with their parents to investigate such exaggerated reactions. Interesting.

@MadeOfStarStuff

YANBU it’s irritating enough in spoken English but it’s even worse in written English

Accents and dialects of spoken English are fine but written English should be standard regardless of how you speak. People do notice and judge bad grammar. Especially if it’s in communications to people who don’t know you it makes a really bad impression.

Have a read of your last sentence. Do you not agree that correct punctuation is important too?