loose/lose !!!

[miffybun73]

Anyone else amazed by the number of people who seem to confuse lose and loose.

e.g. I need to loose some weight, I only have 1 stone to loose etc.

It drives me mad, enough to make me loose my mind

Yes - it is very annoying, although I do (somewhat) understand the problem given lose is pronounced looz. I can't immediately think of any other words using 'ose' (other than derivatives of lose) which are pronounced 'ooz' - close, for example. I'm sure the pedants will be able to think of hundreds :)

Is it on the increase do you think?

I notice it more and more these days or is MN just indulging and encouraging my natural pendantry?

Ha!
I was about to post a thread but see one already exists. Loose is an adjective, not a verb, I believe it is 'to loosen'. Drives me mad!

YANBU.

Some people also seem to confuse advise and advice.

Oh this isn't AIBU!

Apologies!

(not apologise)

Loose is not always an adjective - it can be a verb. I remember being taught to remember the distinction with "If you loose your goose, you will lose it." Whilst, I think not a correct statement of a goose's behaviour, it did help make the point.

PS When I spell behaviour, as above, this site underlines it as though it was a spelling mistake! Shame on you MN.

I was whingeing about this one just the other day.
But I am also seriously wondering if there is anyone left on this planet who knows how to use practice/practise correctly - apart from in Pedants' Corner, of course.

To loose is to set loose. To loosen is to make more loose.

If people ask me how to remember, I say "loose makes loosed, lose makes lost". Linking lose to lost makes it more obvious that it only needs one O.

That said, most pendants don't need a rule: we just remember.

That "pendants" was deliberate.

I think the confusion of loose and lose is on the increase, as is the use of 'should of', 'could of' etc - to the point where I fear these will soon become accepted norms. At which point I shall sit in the corner and quietly weep.

I could weep too, could of and should of, I hate them. My ds is at uni, he sent me a text with "could of" in. I sent it back with loads of angry faces.

Affect and effect are really bugging me. I see it on here all the time.

Practise/practice is British English; it's practice for verb and noun in American English.

I like those s/c verb/noun pairings. License/licence, advise/advice, even devise/device I think.

A second cousin (thrice temoved!) insists on stating she's 'really tiered' on faceachebook. I asked her if she was a wedding cake.
My friend insists on saying 'what I done was...' makes me want to kick a bunny!

I'm such a pedant and have to bite my tongue frequently. It seems being thick is the new black.

temoved ? = removed

I was just coming to start a thread on this. I'm doing slimming world and there is a lot of 'loose' on the Facebook group. Drives me mad!

I actually think the wrong spelling is decreasing, on MN at least, since even a year ago.

rein/reign on the other hand...

YY to being driven mad by "loose" used wrongly for "lose". I've only noticed this happening in the last couple of years, so fuck knows where it's come from. I blame Facebook for propagating illiteracy in general.

Yellowballoons, you could be right about poor spelling decreasing in general, but "loose/lose" is definitely on the rise. Along with the misuse of "advise" for "advice" - aaaaaarrrggh

I just realized that in US English it's practice for noun and verb, but the "s" word license for noun and verb. Interesting. We do, however, still maintain the distinction between advise and advice and devise and device.

Beech and beach. Seen loads on fb.

What is wrong with people?

Ha ha yellow! Toddler reigns!! Arf.

We do, however, still maintain the distinction between advise and advice and devise and device.

The pronunciations of those words differ, unlike practise/practice and license/licence which are homophonous.