Writing "of" instead of "have"

[SmartPlay]

Why? Just why?

(Actually some people do write/say it for a laugh. They do. See also use of “off of”.)

That aside: I had the same school education as many school friends I see on Facebook who persist on getting it wrong. I remember being taught about it, although my generation (early 40s) didn’t tend to get much grammar education. I get it right.

So do we really blame their education? It’s possibly a regional dialect thing in some cases? A lingering influence from an old use of language? Does it really affect the point someone makes that much if they don’t quite articulate it in the 100% correct way? Because it shouldn’t!

It's not rigorous though. I see it corrected all the time, both here and on fb etc. Then they get accused of being tacky or grammar Nazis... I don't mind it from strangers, but on FB I just think 'i went to school with you, I sat next to you while we were taught this! Gah!'

Slightly different, but in secondary (grammar school if it matters oh the irony ) a lot of my friends couldn't spell 'a lot', they'd write it alot. My English teacher got so frustrated he made a point of writing A on the left of the whiteboard and LOT on the write. Made a big comedic deal of it.

A friend asked me to proofread her essay, which had a lot misspelled. I pointed it out and she was adamant it was right as one word. Then said, 'but don't you remember Mr X making that huge deal writing it on the blackboard?!'

Yes. Yes I do. As two words

I don't think it's because people don't know the difference between of and have. As mentioned above it's because of the way it's spoken: should've etc.
People just write it down how it sounds to them.
It's ok to be inwardly irritated by it but you should not make people feel inferior because of it. It's also a terrible reason to negate a person's point of view or feelings.

"Like the difference between make and makes?"

I don't understand what you mean by that, please explain!

"Lots of people of all levels of Education make mistakes. It's not hard to grasp that if people make frequent or multiple errors it's an education issue. Why on earth would anyone sneer at that?"

I have noticed this frequently even in posts without any other mistakes (that I could find). This is what baffles me about that. If it would only be common in posts that can hardly be deciphered due to all kinds of mistakes and the lack of punctuation, I wouldn't be surprised.

It's all a bit snowflakey to suggest someone will feel inferior if a stranger on the internet points out their spelling mistake. It's the best way to find out, everything is anonymous. Better the stranger than your boss.

The make and makes was an exemplar of Muphry's Law. And v funny it was too.

Just recently on some threads I keep seeing "took" instead of "taken". That's another one that irritates me.

I think it comes from contractions - could've should've - which is what people are saying.
No excuse for writing it incorrectly though!

It irritates the life out of me. Seems to be becoming more and more commonly used, sadly.

@SmartPlay If this is all you’ve got to worry about then you’re a very lucky person OP 🤣

@HotChocolateLover I'm just bored and don't want to get to sleep :D

Or go to sleep? Shit .....

I read the word irregardless on this very site last week OP. What is the world coming to??

I teach in a secondary school and I correct 'would of' etc ALL the time. Unfortunately some people can't seem to grasp it!

What is the right thing to do though.
My DD in primary school made lots of mistakes like this, also confused th with f.The school didn't correct her incase she list confidence,I wasn't allowed her school work to help her,same reasons.
She had a difficult first year in secondary school as her spelling and grammar were poor,she was put into a very low reading group.
In the end we ignored the book recommendations and concentrated on factual books,computer literacy and any fiction we could. to get her reading to functional.

She still doesn't like reading fiction but managed decent GCSE grades.
Maybe someone out there who has had this issue ,because it isn't noticeable verbally as it sound the same,can tell us what to do(but out/pm).

I know a primary school teacher that writes ‘would of’ on Facebook.

Why? Not being facetious but why would an ill-educated person have a less worthy viewpoint?

Well, they wouldn’t always, it depends on the issue. Eg, if somebody is discussing their feelings about something it would make no difference whatsoever. If, however, they were discussing something factual or arguing a political point, it may well make a difference, as a lack of education would likely impact on knowledge and critical thinking skills.

I think it's also that people don't read what they've typed before hitting send/post. It's a similar lack of awareness as in posts that have no punctuation.

Sometimes it’s not even a case of poor education. I know plenty of people who had the same education as I did, and they still do it. I actually think it’s bad habit that a lot of people don’t bother to correct, as well as people who genuinely don’t know the difference. There are probably plenty of words I mispronounce but don’t realise even though I don’t make the “of” and “have” mistake.

Basic English? Like the difference between make and makes?

That was a typographical error and well you know it! How pathetic. 🙄

Yesterday 22:05 CountFosco

It's all a bit snowflakey to suggest someone will feel inferior if a stranger on the internet points out their spelling mistake. It's the best way to find out, everything is anonymous. Better the stranger than your boss.

Yep. What if the boss her/himself does not realise it is an error, though?😂

I saw “reigns him in” on one of the Royal threads today!

It is basic English.

Basic English doesn't seem to be taught these days.

It drives me mad too.
I have a friend who persists in writing about her son - "his so funny!" or "his so clever". No matter how many times people respond "he's wonderful/lovely etc" she never twigs.
Another friend who is always writing about her "georgeous" family. I don't understand how people don't notice that they are spelling words completely differently to the people around them.
Both these women went to my school so there is no difference in our access to education.

I do think it's something to do with modern education. I'm not teacher-bashing, because I do recognise that teachers these days have to adopt the practices as laid on from on high (rather than what would be the best for the children who are there right in front of them on a daily basis).

Things like not marking too many errors in written work, which is appropriate in the first couple of years or so as children get to grips with the vagaries of English spelling, but not so in older years where children really do need to know where they're going wrong.

I'm also not so sure about phonics. That can be a good method to get very young children feeling confident in reading but with a limited vocabulary. English is such a mongrel language and for very many words the pronunciation these days don't match the spelling - the speaking and the spelling seem like two different languages, which is a trap for the unwary unless one learns a whole load of spellings by rote.

I do wonder if people who constantly use the of instead of 've realise they're making a mistake but couldn't be bothered about that. It could be that for them the message is more important than the medium but, snobbish as it might seem, if the medium has such basic errors I'm less inclined to spend time figuring out what the message might be.