To think when people say 'Should of' instead of 'Should HAVE' - it makes them look incredibly thick

[Vajizzle]

Honestly I do not understand how people can continue making this mistake

I know people who are very clever and have professional jobs, that continue to do this

It makes me fkin scream inside

@Imissmoominmama I think that is just the way of the world now, it is easier to type those things, and often to shorten swearwords cos of social media bans.

I kind of get them, as they are an evolution..and many people communicate via the internet in some means rather than phone

Totally agree with you op.

But also been on Mumsnet long enough to know that any comments about grammar and spelling, about people not knowing the difference between off and of, loose and lose, their, there and they’re will invariably end up in a battle.

Yes I think grammar and spelling matters. yes I judge people who get it wrong, but I couldn’t be bothered to start a thread about it.

You just have to learn that some people didn’t pay attention in English class and let it wash over you.

People have accents, dialects and speak informally, Also, not everyone has had the same level of education and a substantial proportion are non-native English speakers or dyslexic. Then you have autocorrect and predictive text fighting back. I think it looks less clever to be faux-astonished about it.

Writing professionally/formally is a different matter, particularly for work, I'm constantly reminding grads not to write reports exactly as they speak.

But now that there is so much informal written "chat" like this forum, whatsapp etc - I think we should cut people a bit of slack for writing "could of done" - I mean, does it really matter?

It irks me, but I don't think "it makes people look incredibly thick". Not everyone has access to the same education, so be grateful for what you have had yourself.

Incidentally, people don't say Should Of, they usually say Should've, which is short for Should Have. If you're going to be critical about what people SAY, then at least get it right and say that it (in your opinion) makes them SOUND thick, not LOOK thick.

I'm fine if I hear it, as there is no big difference between the pronunciation of 'should've' and 'should of'

Written down, especially in work emails; yes it's annoying

😂

You're the one spending your Monday morning making a deliberately goady thread and being aggressive towards anyone who replies.

You don't sound particularly bright yourself op.

I don't care

Says the one who wrote the original post 🙄

OP, anyone who's as smart as you seem to think you are knows that language changes over time. "Should have" becomes "should've" becomes "should of"

No, it's not technically correct and you probably shouldn't write it in your thesis or a newspaper, but conversationally, who cares? You understand what it means, so it's doing its job.

Some people are dyslexic and it effects their speech, yes some people have lower cognitive ability and get things wrong. Why does this make you so angry? Does someone who has English as a second language get a free pass or are they also 'incredibly thick'? Nasty trolling or bigotry basically.

I think those that say it aloud - 'should of' are often actually saying 'should've'. I remember my sister always thinking I was saying of when I wasn't! No excuse when it's written wrong though. I do think it's because of 'should've' that people get confused, as it does sound like 'should of'!

If it's triggered a lot of people then take the hint, it probably means that you are petty and unreasonable 🤷‍♀️

I agree @Vajizzle . Totally sounds like they are a bit thick, although saying that seems to bring out the professionally offended of mn.

Writing in correct English is becoming esoteric. Find work involving it, the pay is going up exponentially.

YABU. Some people aren't very good at remembering spellings and grammar rules. It doesn't make them thick. There are a lot of them to remember. For somebody who finds these things hard to remember, attempting to identify and remedy every little thing they might be saying/typing incorrectly (and thereby committing the terrible crime of irritating people like you) can be a pretty insurmountable task for which they do not have the time, headspace or motivation.

In my experience, most MNers who indulge themselves in little rants about these things are not usually that great at SPaG themselves. To be frank, you write a bit like a stroppy, not very articulate teenager.

As for starting a thread saying some minor thing makes you 'fkin scream inside' and then acting as though it's the posters who disagree with you who are 'triggered' - well... pot, kettle?

How can you tell they are saying should of instead of should've? They sound very similar when said aloud

Exactly. They sound very similar and that is why some people write "should of" instead of "should have"

I think it's fair enough that it pisses you off but I think it is unfair to call people thick.

The one that pisses me off is people using would all the time instead of the simple past tense.
Eg. I would go to see him and he would say "blah blah blah". In the context of something happening several times then would could be used (it seems to have usurped "use to"). However these days it seems to be used for just about any kind of past action - I read a thread just this morning that got me riled up. Every single past action used "would".
It's either a new thing or I've never noticed it before.

I can't tell whether your 'to' was intentional or not😅. I'm guessing so with the😉

That's interesting - the used to/would thing.

We teach that both refer to past habits but only "used to" can refer to states as well as actions, and I suppose that's why "used to" has always been more common.
I'll listen out for more "woulds" now.

I wonder if it comes across as more of a "narrative" technique. It sounds more "informal" I think, though it isn't, necessarily.

I have always really struggled with this, also where, wear and other similar sounding things and grammar rules.

Used to get me down but with things like grammarly now on the computer I find it easier to not make so many mistakes as it autocorrects, found something I'm good at that doesn't require much writing so played to my strengths and the school type bullies who call people thick tended to grow up so less of them.

Maybe they just messed about in class because they were popular and had friends so they missed those teachings.

I had very few friends and didn't talk in class and my spelling is very good compared to my mother who was a manager of a law firm. I'm always correcting her.

I actually loathe poor grammar but I still think you sound highly unpleasant.

People that write defiantly instead of definitely annoy me more.

YABU to get so worked up about this.

Oh goodness. professionally offended 🤣