Of of of of of of of of of of

[BrickBiscuit]

That's the approximate number of rogue 'of's I have seen on Mumsnet posts today alone. 'Should of', 'would of', even an 'I of' somewhere. It is spread by repetition. Should we counter by correcting every instance we can, and enforce the correct use of 'have' by repetition?

Incidentally, my title is an old crossword clue. Do solve it if you like.

YABU: no, we should leave the 'of' people unchallenged;
YANBU: yes, let's have a campaign to correct each and every instance of the error.

I love this.
A post being critical of other's grammar, yet making a number of errors at the same time.
"My husband and I were talking about it" would be better, would it not?

(Note to everyone: I'm not digging at the member who made the comment, and I mean no offence. I am just sad enough to have found it amusing. Please forgive me.)

You were meant to find it amusing. It was deliberately full of errors as a joke.

Bury! Nice.

How about "HIJKLMNO (5)"?

Nah. That whole argument that threads like this are done in order to make the poor ickle grammar murderers feel 'less educated' and looked down on just doesn't wash.

Here is a whole thread with the correct forms being given and therefore freely available to anyone who might need 'proper help' in getting them correct, but as usual we get the same old complaints of bullying.

Again, it was an attempt at humour. And it's others'.

Oh dear.
Oh dear, oh dear.
It probably would have been sensible to read the whole thread, would it not?

Eta Small joke removed or I'll end up with a load of corrections too.

Yes, I would like to see that less fewer times on here….

That's a very arrogant attitude to have. You actually expect people to be grateful that you have pointed out to them that their education is lacking, when they haven't asked for their grammar to be critiqued.

@ApplesinmyPocket

"I was led on the bed" - groan.

Oh yes. “I was laying there like a muppet” how did I forget.

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Yanbu. It’s not hard to understand that “should of” is never correct. Same with could of and would of.

Correct them, I say. Maybe the message will eventually get through if they’re told enough.

HIJKLMNO (5) is another favourite of mine, which is why I suggested it before seeing your post.

I think both are correct, genuinely.

It's an oldie but a goodie.

Haven’t read thread beyond this - is it ‘often’

We all have our pet hates but there isnt time/space to air & indulge them all.
Furthermore this thread should be in 'Pedant's corner' (imo).

I was on MN the other night and there was a post that used the expression "a hare's breath away from death". It made me laugh but it also sounded quiet poetic!

On reflection, you're right. It is too great a stretch to be accurate. Even though the original may have carried a question mark - I don't remember. In similar vein, 'Is it parliament or the church that makes men twisters?'

Well why not?

It doesn't mean their entire education was lacking. It means they've been making a simple mistake and now they know.

I've learnt a lot through making mistakes and either having them corrected or just noticing elsewhere that I'd been getting something wrong. I don't get all butthurt about it.

Sometimes people are typing as they speak, ie in dialect.
But when you see things like 'hare's breath away from death' it's got to be didn't pay attention at school/never read a book issue- surely?!

You know, people can be bothered about both big and small things simultaneously.

Do I worry about the state of the planet and the rise of right-wing politics? Big time.
Family illness concerns? Yes.
Am I annoyed by incorrect use of their/there/they’re, your/you're, myself/yourself, should/would/could of? Also yes.

God it’s annoying. In my head I’m thinking ‘have, have, have, have’. Read my child’s English workbook a few months ago and ‘would of’ appeared in there. Argh.

My husband and I were talking...

Lots of TV journos use singular 'there is' instead of 'there are' when they're referring to more than one event/item 'People that' instead of ' people who'. 'Can I get a coffee' instead of 'a coffee please', ugly.

@BrickBiscuit

Love a clever anagram!
I won't quote the whole clue as I don't want to turn your thread into a cryptic crossword thread but the late Araucaria's clue referencing Jeffrey Archer is worth Googling if you've not come across it already.
He was a sublime setter.

It’s mumsnet ffs their not sitting an English language exam. Think some people need to get a life.🤔🙄