Of...as in should of

[Iwantcandy]

I am sure the true pedants amongst you will tell me I should have posted this in "am I being unreasonable?" but I need to know -am I being unreasonable in getting very angry and wound up when people make basic grammatical and/or spelling errors? If I spot one I can feel annoyed for hours, especially if I bite my tongue and don't correct the person who got it wrong. (My husband gets annoyed with me when I helpfully point them out).

The ones which really make my blood boil are:-

1. "Should of"

1. Getting their, there or they're wrong

1. Misuse of apostrophes

1. Practice or practise and advise or advice

1. Using confusing sentences where the meaning is unclear like "the woman played the piano with wooden legs"

1. Teachers who can't spell.

Am I the only one who gets really annoyed by these mistakes and if not, do the rest of you "helpfully" correct others?

Stabby or Stabbie?

What about begging the question? Apparently that phrase has been so misused the incorrect meaning is now also acceptable!

I am a teacher who can't spell. I kept a dictionary in the classroom and used it.

Iwantcandy - in writing. It's infuriating

What's the incorrect meaning of "begs the question"?

Councelling / counselling / councilling / counseling. Argh.

Though I suppose I should forgive the last one.

I get very annoyed when people write been instead if being. Grrrr!

For me the absolute worst, by a long way, is "I" instead of "me" (or "he" for "him"). I don't mind "me" used incorrectly so much, as at least it isn't pretentious.

A few more: enormity (taken to mean enormous); flaunt (as opposed to flout); overuse/unnecessary use of the words 'essentially' and 'basically'; 'outwith' (I just don't like it). Misuse of apostrophes drives me a little insane too. Oh, and referring to a specific organisations policy/statement as plural. Off to get a life.

Garlic butter- begging the question is to improperly assume the conclusion to an argument or question. For example; all sharks are murderers. All sharks eat fish. Therefore all murdered eat fish. It does not mean raise the question

I have a wonderful regional example, a note was pinned to my office door by a student from the North East. "A came to see you..." I'd heard it in speech but never written down before (I kept the note in disbelief).

My pet - me cup, me gran, me tea.
'that book what you bought'
'my aksing won't help'

It's just the ability of incorrect use of grammar to grate on your nerves. My mother is an English teacher and I grew up being gently nudged into correct English. People I work around think I am a snob for this correct usage of grammar. And I am increasingly getting worse to blend in subconsciously - am worried about this.

So, I am now sitting back with a cup of tea and reading this thread with satisfied indulgence with a hint of a benevolent smile so, thanks for posting.

Sangwich. Nuff said

The "of" instead of "have" thing drives me insane. OF is not a verb for heaven's sake.

The other one you hear a lot where people have no idea they are talking rubbish is "pacific" instead of "specific".

I've actually seen
Are instead of our! Honestly?!
Shoo instead of showed.

The would of, should of annoys me too.
Even my 8 year old dd knows which their, there, they're to use!

I hate the way the spoken language is abused, I just want to walk up and correct those that say 'I fink so' loudly and publicly. Enuf said.

My last job was as a University Admissions Officer and had to read all the UCAS forms and we were not allowed to mark down personal statements for SPAG, even applications for PGCE in Secondary English were not red penned. Some were awful. The argument was, as we didn't know if they had dyslexia or not (the info is hidden from us) it is unfair that we judge SPAG.

Iwantcandy and other pedants - Do you feel irritated when the speaker does not have English as a native language? What do you think about American English?

Lend for borrow and borrow for lend.

I am not a pedant and my spelling isn't great but can any of you shed a little light for me? I find the use of 'yourself' really irritating.
"I'd like a cup of tea. How about yourself?" Maybe it is correct, I don't know!

Random use of "self" to make the writer feel more important.

So - "if this is suitable for yourselves, then write to myself or my colleagues"

Argh!

Ooh jetstar - I've just seen your post, I am not alone...

Conversely, people who flame posters for poor use of English when the OP is clearly not a native English speaker.

Text speak and bad grammar are avoidable. Seeking advice in a foreign language is damned hard work!

The almost ubiquitous use of terms like 'me and her went to the shops'. You wouldn't say 'me went to the shops' unless you were about two years old, similarly 'her went to the shops'.

'of' as a verb - yes, gets my stabby instincts right up.

Sometimes I feel those of us who think correct spelling and grammar are important are in such a minority that our efforts will have no effect and we will turn into a nation where spelling is a complete free-for-all and anything goes for grammar.

If English isn't someone's first language I have absolutely no issues with any mistakes he or she might make and hope they would feel the same way