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?

It is always amusing to see how little the pedants like having their own mistakes corrected though.

@Sparklesocks

Maybe they just struggle with literacy or don't realise? I try not to look down on people for how they read or write because it’s a bit shitty isn’t it, especially when you don’t know their background

It’s a basic educational need to be able to read and write properly. If you can’t do it then it will reflect poorly on you once you start applying for jobs.

@SoupDragon

It is always amusing to see how little the pedants like having their own mistakes corrected though.

They REALLY hate it! Someone called me a fucking arsehole! (Deleted, sadly).

It's not just the odd occasion either, all those examples are rife.. along with lose/loose. We've all had the same lessons at school so I guess it's laziness or just not being academically minded.

@CookPassBabtridge

It's not just the odd occasion either, all those examples are rife.. along with lose/loose. We've all had the same lessons at school so I guess it's laziness or just not being academically minded.

Have we all had the same childhood? Have we all had parents who prioritised education over say, addictions?

How lazy/not very academically minded of you not to be able to see areas where people might not have had your luck.

@DuchessOfDisaster YANBU to be annoyed by it, but this subject has been done to death.

Most people don't mis-spell/spell badly to take the piss, or because they are 'lazy.' They can't help it.

Also, people who spell badly/wrongly, are no more 'thick,' than you or I are 'intelligent,' because we generally spell, and use grammar correctly.

It isn't about helping them or even about being annoyed. It is simply way for the one person to feel superior to another person. As such, the desire to correct other people is an unpleasant character trait.

Not necessarily, my desire to correct a colleagues ‘would have’ was so she knew better and would not spoil her otherwise perfectly good writing. As she worked for another organisation, I restrained myself but felt a bit bad for her.

You do see this alot, not just abit. I do think we should be tolerable of eachother.

You think ‘though’ emphasises ‘anyway’ rather than repeats it?

Yes, it’s my perception that it emphasises the way Easter feels about you.

[quote Pumperthepumper]@BeingATwatItsABingThing mine were deleted for quoting a deleted post. Do you want to talk about it?[/quote]
No they weren’t. If they had been deleted for quoting a deleted post, they’d have that as their deletion message.

We've all had the same lessons at school

I defiantly (snigger) didn't have the same lessons at school as my children did.

@BeingATwatItsABingThing they did though, so I’m not sure why they don’t have that message. Do you want to talk about it?

@user1493494961

You do see this alot, not just abit. I do think we should be tolerable of eachother.

I concur. We should all be tolerable, pacifically when it comes to grammer.

You don’t think there is ever an excuse?

How about a difficult childhood that prevented someone attending school or concentrating on learning?

Dyslexia?

Learning disabilities?

Just not being good at remembering the correct way of spelling words (or are you great at everything?).

My Grandma was pretty much illiterate. I wonder what you would have thought of her.

No they weren’t. If they had been deleted for quoting a deleted post, they’d have that as their deletion message.

Not always.

I once emailed MNHQ asking that they change the deletion message on one of my posts so that the message said it was because I quoted a deleted post rather than it looking like I had been nasty on what was a sensitive thread.

@CecilyP

You think ‘though’ emphasises ‘anyway’ rather than repeats it?

Yes, it’s my perception that it emphasises the way Easter feels about you.

Emphasising ‘though’ doesn’t emphasise the way Easter feels about me. It emphasises ‘anyway’, in your opinion, which if we take as correct, emphasises that the conversation (as far as Easter is concerned) is over. Which it was anyway with ‘though’.

@CecilyP

It isn't about helping them or even about being annoyed. It is simply way for the one person to feel superior to another person. As such, the desire to correct other people is an unpleasant character trait.

Not necessarily, my desire to correct a colleagues ‘would have’ was so she knew better and would not spoil her otherwise perfectly good writing. As she worked for another organisation, I restrained myself but felt a bit bad for her.

Maybe she felt the same about you.

My Grandma was pretty much illiterate. I wonder what you would have thought of her.

If your grandma was illiterate, people would probably have been none the wiser. The problem with social media is that people with a wide range of literacy levels are writing and putting that writing in the public domain in a way that has never happened before.

@CecilyP

It isn't about helping them or even about being annoyed. It is simply way for the one person to feel superior to another person. As such, the desire to correct other people is an unpleasant character trait.

Not necessarily, my desire to correct a colleagues ‘would have’ was so she knew better and would not spoil her otherwise perfectly good writing. As she worked for another organisation, I restrained myself but felt a bit bad for her.

colleague's was so she would know

Maybe she felt the same about you.
In relation to what exactly? She was a competent woman in a senior role but still used ‘would of’ ‘should of’ etc.

When you say "there is no excuse" do you mean it's perfectly fine to judge because you have considered every mitigating circumstances known to mankind and writing 'should have' should've been a priority in all of them, it do you mean you will refuse to accept the offender's letter of explanation when they arrive with it?

You see, I don't think there is any excuse for empty idioms as maintaining the high standards of the language is more important than communication.

I presume you have the same problem with words which were deliberately misspelt to give them a more complicated spelling that suggesting a closer affiliation with trading partners? The excuse being that it happened at a time when language was still allowed to evolve, perhaps?! When do you think the "there is no excuse for this" philosophy should come into force. Retrospectively since 1800 (in which case we have a lot of changes to make) or right this second (hard to see the rationale for that, really)?

Emphasising ‘though’ doesn’t emphasise the way Easter feels about me.

Oh, it does to me!

@CecilyP

Maybe she felt the same about you. In relation to what exactly? She was a competent woman in a senior role but still used ‘would of’ ‘should of’ etc.

The mistakes you make in your writing. Such as missing the possessive apostrophe and your incorrect use of tense.

@CecilyP

Emphasising ‘though’ doesn’t emphasise the way Easter feels about me.

Oh, it does to me!

‘Anyway’ isn’t a feeling.

colleague's
^was so she would know*

Many thanks for your proofreading skills, Geamhradh!