Why am I still seeing ‘could of’ and other really annoying stuff?

[Seymour5]

People have pointed out here on MN so often that surely everyone must be aware by now, that ‘could of’ makes no sense. It is ‘could have’ or ‘could’ve’. ‘Bare with me’ , is another, but I’m sure they don’t mean get naked! We will of course ‘bear with’ you.

‘My friend and I’ going somewhere is always more pleasant to read (or hear) than ‘me and my friend’ or the even worse ‘myself and my friend’.

I’m aware I’m pedantic, I know its all been said before, but I can’t stop an involuntary wince when I suddenly spot one or more of the above. And I don’t think I’m alone. Am i?

If I wanted to spend more time thinking about it, I could of course come up with a clever answer.

But as I can't. I think a lot of people are still ignorant.
<fellow wincer>

It's annoying, but not annoying enough to start a thread about. It's not going to change.

Someone will be along in a minute to tell you it's regional, though

'Bare with me' is the one I have noticed a lot.

Don’t forget a chest of ‘draws’

aaaaargh!

The one that will forever cause me to wince so hard that I almost turn inside out is "here here!"

I always want to reply "where where?"

I see 'alot' too which drives me mad.
Also not knowing the difference between lend and borrow and fewer and less.
I am an English teacher so I feel I am allowed to care!

Because most of the people who make those mistakes don’t read those threads. Or for some, it’s so ingrained it’s hard to change their viewpoint. Or some might know something is possibly wrong, but aren’t entirely sure and they don’t want to look it up. Etc.

I nearly replied to a thread called "whose wrong?" with "Wrong what?" yesterday.

But you do get accused of being a pedant. Even though I genuinely read it "correctly" first and then had to work out what the poster actually meant.

Because people are imperfect and grammar won't always be their strong suit.

For example - "my friend and I" isn't always correct, sometimes it is "my friend and me" or "my friend and myself".

My friend and I went to the shops.

That happened to my friend and me.

I could do that for my friend and myself.

But that last example is completely wrong…

If your involuntary wince is bothering you this much, you should probably get off the internet.

Unless you think that after all the years of schooling most adults here have had, you (or MN) is somehow going to magically make member's SPAG perfect?

My mate texted me saying sh'ed got wet "threw" when it rained.

If you write a letter to your bank manager there is an expectation that you use formal written English

If you leave a note on the fridge for your spouse it would be normal to use informal English.

Online, the convention is to write, not just informally, but to imitate patterns of speech. So ‘could of’ is entirely appropriate as it represents a dialectical transcription of the sound.

Pedantry is really what’s out of place.

It gets my goat too. I I can only conclude that it is because people are stupid.

Of course it is could have, or would have. There is no real excuse for it. After all, you surely say "I HAVE done something", not "I OF done something", or you should anyway. It is just the same, only with the words could, would or should inserted.

"Bare with me" is just ridiculous, although makes me laugh as I think of the person standing there stripping themselves naked. 🤣

Struggled to think of an example with myself, although there will be cases where it is.

I could do that for myself without help, but for more people I would need a bigger team.

I could do that for my colleague and myself without help, but for more people I would need a bigger team.

I think is ok.

Some of it can be autocorrect. Some is because English isn't their first language, some didn't have a great education. Many, many reasons.

Come off the Internet if it bothers you that much, or become an English teacher and teach those little rascals to do better.

My phone writes could of when I dictate could've. I'm terrified, I'm not going to notice and post it one day - the shame!

'I know its all been said before, but I can’t stop an involuntary wince when I suddenly spot one or more of the above. And I don’t think I’m alone. Am i?'

'It's' not 'its'. I not i.

Op. It doesn't matter, context is important and we can all usually understand what is being said. My spag is crap, I couldn't care less. I find folk wanging on about would of and could of make themselves look silly tbh.

People only know what they know. Getting angry about lack of grammar knowledge is ridiculous. Take a seat.

This type of thread is written weekly.

You should have saved yourself time by doing an advanced search for your answers.

@Seymour5

because you're not the boss of Mumsnet.

'why am I still seeing...'

WTAF do you think you are?

It gets my goat too. I I can only conclude that it is because people are stupid.

If you cannot conclude that some people have had a very poor education, some have English as their second or even third language, or that some people simply cannot remember these things when taught, then that makes you sound rather stupid.

@Seymour5

Secondly... glass houses. Your post is hardly error free.

Children are at school for around 14 years, which is plenty long enough for these things to be drummed into almost all of them.

I despair, I really do.

Presumably people don't mind or perhaps they don't feel the need to change because you've told them to. Unless you are Kim Jong-Un in which case I apologise they should of course change according to your wishes.

I hate 'please don't....'

^OP, please don't add garlic to carbonara

Please don't have a holiday in Paris

Please don't let your child watch Bluey.^