September 20, 2009
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Eight Spelling Mistakes Even Smart People Make
I was reading an article that was titled “Eight Spelling Mistakes Even Smart People Make.”
1. YOU’RE and YOUR
2. IT’S and ITS
3. THEY’RE, THEIR, and THERE
4. TO and TOO
5. LOOSE and LOSE
6. IRREGARDLESS (Not actually a word).
7. ALOT
8. AHOLD
Here is the link: Link
Which spelling mistake annoys you the most?
Comments (234)
#2……by far.
the THEY’RE, THEIR, and THERE mistake.
i dislike all spelling mistakes. the one word that took me forever to learn how to spell is ‘restaurant’ and i HATE when people misspell ‘definitely’ (which happens all the time)
definitely = definite + ly
I was always told that “alot’ is TWO words, not one. A lot. Spell check tends to agree.
As for myself, all of the above irritate me to some extent. I am more forgiving if it is in an informal context, rather than something I should be taking seriously.
Their they’re there /or/ you’re your. THEY’RE NOT THE SAME!!! /shakes people by throat
I don’t do any of those. Except maybe 6, but I don’t think I’ve used that recently…
I’m good with 1,2 and 3 I know the difference and when it’s used improperly I tend to pick up on it pretty quick,
I spell “grammar” wrong a lot.. ><
you know i used to resent when people made these mistakes. now i’m older and i find myself doing the same thing
Pretty much all of them.
@makerm7 - It’s true, it’s either “a lot” (as it quite a few) or “allot” (as in I’ve been allotted some space).
haha you’re and your is a big pet peeve of mine.
though i have to admit, when i get lazy i sometimes put a and lot together to make one word.
shame:/
Hmm. Either– “they’re, their, there” or “your, you’re”
aint
Nope. Never make any of those.
@iiinfinitesimal - also separate. NOT seperate!
i’ve notice tho i keep switching words for their homophones subconsciously: the other day i typed “paced” instead of “paste.” (which, i never even realized they are phonetically the same!)
Definitely #1
Alot isn’t a word?
I’m not sure what is most annoying, but I’ve had some fun with friends coming up with as many prefixes for regardless as we could in honor/making fun of ‘irregardlessly’.
Unimantideinairregardlessly is about as far as we got.
I usually grammer alot gooder than other people because their not very smart.
You’re, Your, Too, To, Loose, Lose, Lead, and Led.
YOUR AND YOU’RE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
none of those…i’m a sixth grade teacher!
@nyclegodesi24 - it’s ‘a lot’ with a space between them, not ‘alot’
And unnecessary/overdone l33t.
Hmmm, a number of those are grammatical errors, not spelling mistakes, but they all annoy me. I dislike it when people spell ‘definitely’ wrong. Definately isn’t a freakin’ word.
9. Immolate and emulate
When people get these confused, it’s really a mess.
All of them, but especially the first 5 because I catch myself making the same mistakes in typing even though I know better. I think it’s because these mistakes are so prevalent. “Irregardless” is pretty irritating to hear, and not one of my mistakes. If I say it, it’s intentionally sarcastic as is “supposably”.
Number 3.
I do not get annoyed since it is something we all do a time or two(no matter what others might say). And I know I do, though I try to catch it. *
I spell grammar “grammer”, government ”goverment”, and tongue “tounge”. yuck.
Those all annoy me. So many people make those mistakes (except irregardless…who even says that? …according to spell check that was spelled right though/is an actual word, that’s odd.). I always want to correct people but I don’t want to be annoying. Especially since I don’t always have the best grammar and spelling.
7. when people don’t understand that a lot is two words, i get annoyed.
Every single one annoys me
the first 4
and I DO NOT mistake on those
come on people we learned those in like 1st grade
The mistake I hate THE most is when people think Stephenie Myers, author of Twilight, name is spelled StephAnie. I don’t know why that bothers me as much, but enie and anie are different sounds, and I’m sure Stephenie prefers it to be enie.
i never do these.
and they ALL bother me. XP
“whose the the idoiot?” was a post title that made me laugh today.
I noticed that in one of your blogs, you spelled “all right” as “alright”.
Other than that, I do make spelling mistakes
it bugs me when people say supposably instead of supposedly.
Lead/ led.
Lead is a soft, malleable metal. (Mrs. Peacock whacked Mr. Boddy with a lead pipe.)
Led is the past tense of the verb lead. (Moses led the Children of Israel into the wilderness.)
Lol. Loosening the definition of “smart” it seems.
You’re and your mistakes annoy me the most.
these always just get on my nerves
except ahold. no one ever says that anyway
Isn’t “a lot” two words???
Every single one I can think of. I only misspell things when I’m exhausted or pissed off or not paying attention.
Dude, it’s “A LOT”.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/761667.html
Oh, and I hate it when people spell “definately”. It’s “definitely”. XD
One error that most people make is knowing the difference between effect and affect. I can honestly say I’m still not sure half the time.
1 and 3 annoy me the most.
“loose”
“Did you loose the keys?”
“You looser”
Ugh that makes me cringe every time I see it. LOOSE!?!? God, I just got angry…thanks a lot.
All of ‘em. Or another favorite of mine is “our” and “or” — as in do you want cola our coffee. I often wonder how these people can constantly read but never get clued in that their (there) way is the wrong way.
i didn’t kno 6 and 8 but the rest are common knowledge or should be.
Alot tends to catch me off guard when I’m typing furiously. Other than that any others I make is a typo and not the work of an intentionally bad grasp of the english language. lol
Honestly? I dislike it when people get your/you’re and there/their/they’re wrong, but I actually cannot for the life of me get to/too correctly [just not the number two, I get that one].
they are all annoying. the only one I have a problem with myself is it’s/its.
None of these is more annoying than word salads and lengthy comments that take up a LOT of time, but make NO SENSE.
I hate them all so much, but one that REALLY gets on my nerves is loose/lose. I mean, really, it’s not THAT hard!!!
All of the above. The only one of those I make sometimes is the it’s/its, I’ve never understood that rule.
Just about anything, really. I’m somewhat of a spelling cop, however I’m just as guilty as others of making the occasional mistake.
I’m with the “definitely” crowd.
Although I used to spell it “definetly”… hah.
“definately” makes me think you’re stupid.
- John
All those annoy me but in the UK definitely is spelled DEFINATELY, so it may be wrong to us but it’s right to them, and England is the mother country and the reason the USA’s language is English. Americans changed the way things are spelled for whatever reason. I have British friends and I have talked to them about this. Another word they spell different from us is WEIRD which they spell it as WIERD. So, again, what is wrong to us it is right to them. You’re right number 6 isn’t a word.
@milubbles - i’m pretty sure he spelled it wrong on purpose since it is a list of spelling mistakes people make. ahold is also not a word, it is a hold, but he listed it without the space in between as well.
1 & 3. =]
THEY’RE, THEIR, THERE and TWO, TOO, TO
and IRREGARDLESS??? why would anyone think that’s a word?
All of them are annoying but “irregardless” is just nails on chalkboard. I had never heard people say that before I moved to Pennsylvania.
Confession: I make some of these mistake when I’m typing in a hurry. The thing is I proof-read so they rarely ever make it into an end product.
The “their, they’re and there” one is the most obnoxious in my opinon. Most likely because I see it so often.
@StewieIsMyHero - IT’S is contraction between IT and IS. ITS is possessive, like saying his coat, her coat, its coat (like the dog’s coat) so no apostrophe. IT’S ITS COAT = IT IS ITS COAT. lol
It’s a tie between your/re and they’re/their/there.
But neither of those drives me as crazy as “I could(n’t!) care less”.
Oh when I see people spell ridiculous as rediculous. Come on!
those don’t bug me as much as when people use R in place of are and 2 in place of to/too. at least the people making the above mistakes are trying to spell out words instead of just abbreviating them.
@Nevando@hardestlevel - My mother taught me that if there’s a lot of something, it gets an extra O, so there’s tooooo many O’s. So, “I have too much soap” vs. “I have to buy soap”.
I see “then” and “than” confused quite often.
1, 3, & 4 drive me insane. I think kids should not pass 6th grade without knowing the difference, lol.
Smart people don’t make those mistakes.
Those are grammar mistakes not spelling mistakes.
@iiinfinitesimal - wow.
I really thought the Who/Whom thing should’ve been brought up. But I guess that’s grammar.
Words like “irregardless” kill me. In my mind i’m thinking… do people actually think before they say these things? And the little voice inside my head always answers with “of course not, theyre just trying to look smart”.
And then everyone looks at me and wonders who I’m talking to…
@makerm7 - that’s how i learned it too
@HeartOfPandora - same here
ALL OF THEM. EVERY ONE. (See? In this instance, “every one” is not one word but two.) I never make any of those mistakes, and sorry, but I judge people enormously when they make any of those. I think whoever wrote this article is just trying to make him- or herself feel better. Maybe smart people occasionally make these errors, but really? We learned this stuff in first grade. Pay attention to what you’re writing and put forth some effort, people! IT’S NOT THAT HARD!
Okay, rant over. Sorry about that.
I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE SAY ANYWAYS. it’s incorrect. it’s suppose to be anyway.
I hate how no one can spell definitely correctly…
And another big one (mostly when speaking) the word is “supposedly.” It isn’t supposably or supposively. It is supposed+ly.
I find mistakes #1 and 3 the most annoying, and when I meet someone for the first time who consistently makes those mistakes, I find it hard not to hold it against them.
“Irregardless” is not a word according to…? Words are such based on their linguistic significance and ability to communicate a meaning. If a combination of sounds (a “word”) comes into usage with an agreed-upon meaning…
That is how languages develop and evolve.
DANG IT!
I was going to say that I never make any of these mistakes.
Until I saw irregardless.
THAT WORD DOESN’T EXIST!?
That just blew my mind LOL.
well i try to spell correctly. i am not bothered by those who don’t. what gets ME mad is my spell checker on xanga always flags words like “don’t”, “didn’t”, “wouldn’t” and so forth.
@LyricallyCharged - That’s pretty cool actually! Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure everytime I’m taught the difference, at some point I second guess myself and then completely forget the rule. But maybe I’ll remember it this time.
I have never made any of those mistakes, except maybe by way of typo. But I’ve always been a strong speller . . .
There/their/they’re and you’re/your annoy me the most. It’s really not difficult at all to remember which one is used where.
And misspellings of definitely, especially when Spell Check fixes it to “defiantly” and the speller doesn’t catch it.
I’m sure I do the “its” “it’s” thing a bunch.
It seems irregardless really is a word; at least it’s in the dictionary (with a caveat!): http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless
i also hate when people say/spell ‘probably’ as ‘probally’ or ‘probly.’ there are two B’s. don’t forget.
“Ahold” is the one I’m guilty of.
I really, really hate it when people spell “lose” like “loose”.
Smart people make these mistakes? ….
*twitches* All of them.
Can we also campaign against “rember” and “probly”? (For “remember” and “probably”–I tried to type both of them incorrectly the first time and failed. . . .)
It’s not listed but the “then” and “than” thing is horrible!
I know my 3rd grade teacher has turned over in her grave! We had weekly spelling bees and at the end of the year, 3 other girls and I out-spelled the 8th grade. My mother always wrote “dinning room.”
# 1, 3 and 7….and I never make those mistakes
hopefully
daniel, do you ever write your own posts anymore? if i wanted to read that dumb article, i would not come here, darn it!
i subscribed to you because of your little jems of rants you throw in there occasionally :3
MAKE IT HAPPEN.
the there’s and the yours
D:<
you’re/your
Those who complain about them, do them themselves. Ha.
ALL OF THEM!!!
ALL OF THEM. I hate when people make those mistakes.
My biggest pet peeves don’t involve spelling. As a copy editor, the most irritating errors that come my way are blatant examples of passive voice that writers can easily avoid and writers putting apostrophes for plural words.
Also, please do not point out the passive voice from the above sentence unless you can rewrite the sentence in less than five minutes.
I don’t understand how people can say irregardless. It’s like saying not besides the point… meaning it has a point…
Wtf people.
I get lead and led mixed up sometimes.
They all annoy me when people make those mistakes haha.
TO and TOO because they aren’t even in the same category.
@heterophobic_female_chauvinist - Regarding your challenge: “As a copy editor, blatant examples of passive voice that writers can easily avoid and writers putting apostrphes for plural words irritate me most.”
I’m graduating in December with a Bachelor’s degree in English and am interested in what you think of the editing industry, especially being a copy editor.
All of ‘em really… misspellings are horrid, and getting worse as kids rely entirely on the computer for their spelling abilities. Now I’ll sound like I’m 1000 but… in my day, we had to learn how to spell and USE the words. Misspellings were not tolerated and resulted in bad grades, which used to matter because kids WERE left behind when they failed. While I’m at it, we had scores in baseball, soccer, and other sports and not every team won all the time, sometimes we lost. That’s the way it was and we are better people for it. *piff*
these would best be described as grammar mistakes, wouldn’t they? At least most of them. But yes, I make these mistakes all of the time.
I’ve said “irregardless” but…I think I’m pretty thorough otherwise…most annoy me.
1-5. the others don’t bother me that much. It’s especially their they’re there, to too, and your you’re though.
You’re and your, loose and lose (sooo many weight loss blogs on here do this one), and lately I’ve been noticing a lot of people confusing “a part” and “apart.” AARRGGGHHH, how did people get through school!?!?
Your and You’re. ._. I never make that mistake. :l Also, Definitely and Definetly. Definitely is correct. <.<
All of the above.
Only make some mistakes with when I’m tired… like “too” and “to” but otherwise I’m good. The ones that bother me the most are “you’re” and “your.”
All of them.
there, they’re, their.
none. but i know #1, 2, 3 are very common! i tend to spell words that has alot of same letters (example mississippi, correct spelling right?) wrongly.
It’s vs. its
As well as the annoying people that use irregardless. KILL!!!
what about breath and breathe?
These are not mistakes smart people make. If you’ve been on the planet long enough to call yourself an adult or a smart person, you’ve seen all of these thousands of times. Simple observation should be enough for you to learn these basic concepts.
ALL OF THEM. I have a friend who still doesn’t believe that “ahold” is wrong.
Lose and Loose stop me in my typing tracks every time.
your and you’re; and their, they’re, and there. drives me up a fucking wall.
They all bother me.
A lot.
1-3 make me crazy.
uuuuurggghhhh.
My Bachelor’s of Science in Journalism causes me to hate each and every one of those suckers. I also see our/are a lot, and that irks me most probably. I even pronounce those words differently, and therefore I do not see how one could actually make that mistake.
I absolutely HATE it when people say “should of”, “would of”, or “could of.” “Should’ve” is a contraction for “should have“!!!! I have a friend who does this all the time. I finally just stopped reading her facebook posts…..
Good site ~
Smart people make these mistakes?
They’re, their, and there, because those are more frequent and avoidable. >_____<
@Ex_Adyto_Cordis - Impressive!
I kind of embellished my resume. I was a copy editor for my high-school newspaper staff (I am following AP style guidelines on hyphens here, although I am following them more closely than the AP advises to) and my editor might promote me to copy editor for my junior-college newspaper. My opinion on the industry, with my limited experience, is that copy editing would be less time consuming if writers would take the time to learn elementary-school-level grammar in elementary school.
They all fucking bother me.
1,3,4,5,7… I am a grammar freak. The YOUR one really annoys me!
Stationery and stationAry! I hate how people forget there’s a difference between the two!!! >:c
Definitely ‘your’ and ‘you’re.’
I never make any of those mistakes. I used to say irregardless until I realized “regardless” sufficed.
Not all smart people can spell and I understand that. Only the people who are good at spelling can spell.
smart people don’t makes those spelling mistakes.
3. THEY’RE, THEIR, and THERE mistake annoys me.
I once had to take a spelling test to qualify for a job.
The one I missed was
“questionnaire”
Most people don’t know about that second n. Some don’t know about the e.
I notice that native speakers of English often make these mistakes. Non-native speakers (I am one of them) seldom make these mistakes. But they make other kinds of spelling mistakes.
Almost all of them…you’re and your probably irks me the most though…
I am proud to say that, aside from number 8, which I just tried using yesterday as a matter of fact, I am innocent of using these wrong… with the exception of the occasional typo.
Affect and effect are two that get me every time! I hate those words. Oh, and dessert (n), desert (v), and desert (n).
When I’m typing or writing quickly, I often mix up 1-4. And you can add ‘two’ to [not too] #4 as well. I find these errors are easily caught with a little proofreading. I really do know what the words mean.
The error that bugs me the most in the writings of others is ‘lose / loose’. Makes me wonder how people are pronouncing these words.
I have definately made the mistake of using …IRREGARDLESS <.<
How about ‘then’ and ‘than’. Okay, technically, this isn’t even a spelling mistake but it annoys me.
“ahold”. all. the. time.
I don’t do any of those.
The thing that sometimes slips past me is affect/effect, especially when they’re both used as verbs.
ALL OF THEM!!!! I am a huge grammar brat. I text often and it takes a lot out of me to not correct people’s spelling.
irregardless annoys me, but i think the one that annoys me the MOST is when people spell “since” as “sense” or “sence”. it’s like, come ON! seriously?! i know so many people that do that! and i HATE when people misuse reflexive pronouns, especially when they think it makes them sound educated. ugh.
ive done them all at some point
I don’t make any spelling errors because I r kool.
I don’t do that. I speak and write english very well.
a lot and alot
Ha, I make the first one loads. It’s not because I don’t know the difference, it’s just I tend not to think about it enough when I type it out XD
I think 2 and 7 annoy me most.
All of the above.
- Kunoichi
I make these mistakes now and again. Number 3 slips me up.
The ones on the list aren’t the ones I have problems with. I mostly misspell words that have double t’s or double c’s. And unfortunately at the moment, I can’t think of any
yea, I definitely don’t make any spelling/grammar mistakes. ever. I’m pretty uptight about that. of those listed, the one I loathe most has to be ‘irregardless’…holy hell, it makes me grit my teeth >.<
A lot and alot, because alot is wrong.
Nothing. I’m not a grammar snob and it bothers me when people bitch about someone using ‘your’ for ‘youre’
I usually don’t mess any of those up. It bugs the crap out of me when people do, though. Really, it’s not that hard to remember. ESPECIALLY loose and lose. They don’t even SOUND the same. Geesh.
The one that annoys me the most is THEY’RE THERE AND THEIR.
ButI am guilty of number two.
Ugh, they all annoy me. I used to be an English teacher, and the thing that drove me nuts was when my colleagues would use these words incorrectly! I expected it from the 10th grade students, but from my coworkers, some of whom were twice my age? That is beyond comprehension to me.
ANY spelling mistake annoys me.
Never made any of those mistakes =P
sometimes 3..it depends in using the sentence..
definatly vs definitely
It’s/its and too/to
Number 1 and 3. Grrrr. It’s really not that difficult.
I hate all of those. Honestly, smart people do not make those mistakes – they know better.
1 and 3 annoy the hell out of me. I’m guilty of “alot” on occasion, even though I know the right way to spell it. And “irregardless” isn’t a word? Really? Spellcheck says it is…
i hate it when people don’t know how to write words.
a girl on facebook says “iam” and “ial” (I’m and I’ll). i want to kill myself.
Mostly all..
If you consider yourself smart, you shouldn’t be making those spelling mistakes. Those are things you should have learned in second grade.
As for which one annoys me the most, I can’t pick just one. They all bother the hell out of me.
I mean, how many times do people have to be corrected in order to learn?
I HATE when people write something like “your stupid.”
My stupid what?
I say that to people all the time.
ha ha ha all of them, all of them, all of them. I’m an English Major.
I tend to make the you’re and your one without even realising it, but yeah I hate when I see that. And if I do it; I usually immediately change it, if I realise. The ones that annoy me most are ALOT it’s a lot and THEIR, THEY’RE AND THERE. Although, most of these are just grammatically wrong, not spelling mistakes.
I don’t make any of those mistakes except for the last two. But “irregardless” has always bothered me because it just doesn’t make any sense.
Same with “could care less” instead of the proper “couldn’t care less.” It’s just dumb. If you can care less then you do care some and that is not the intention of that saying.
This list makes me sad…
Uhh… this should be spelling mistakes only dumb people make.
Only spelling mistake I can think of that even smart people make might be definately instead of definitely, or anything else that’s at least phonetically ambiguous.
What makes smart people smart is that if they’re unsure, they’ll look it up. Their/they’re/there isn’t even a spelling mistake, it’s using the wrong word. Smart people do make spelling mistakes sometimes, but they don’t use the wrong word…
6, 7, and 8. I don’t have a problem with the others.
悉怛多缽怛囉阿們 窮盡相關消去無關 證據時效
hubpages.com/profile/Marye+Audet/map
—————————————————-
眾生升墜總原理:「內分外分」與上升下墜
內分(貪愛分內)，屬情故下墜
外分(渴仰分內)，屬想故上升
臨終善惡相現
升墜之類別:
飛升之類─淨土、天道、鬼神(想多之眾生)
不升不墜─人道(情想參半之眾生)
下墜之類─三塗(情多想少之眾生)
結論別業中有同業
十因在各道之餘習
十習因 鬼道 畜生道 人道
貪習(貪物) 物怪(依草附木) 梟類(土梟) 頑類(愚呆)
媱習(貪色) 風魃(旱魃不雨) 咎徵(烏鴉…凶兆) 異類(妖怪)
誑習(貪惑) 畜昧(狐獸精靈) 狐類(狐狸……) 庸類(卑鄙)
瞋習(貪恨) 蠱毒(毒虫惡蟲) 毒類(虺蛇……) 狠類(剛暴)
怨習(貪憶) 疫癘(散行瘟疫) 蛔類(蟯蛔) 微類(賤僕)
慢習(貪傲) 氣餓(飢虛之鬼) 食類(虎狼……) 柔類(懦弱)
枉習(貪罔) 憂魘(厭人心胸) 服類(衣服二類) 勞類(勞苦)
見習(貪明) 魍魎(山精之鬼) 應類(燕鴻……) 文類(小才)
詐習(貪成) 役使(咒術役鬼) 休徵(鳳麟吉類) 明類(小聰)
訟習(貪黨) 傳送(遞傳吉凶) 循類(鴿犬……) 達類(小知世故)
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lose/loose probably bothers me the most because they sound completely different and have completely different meanings.
their/they’re/there used to bother me a lot, but i’m finding that i sometimes use the wrong one when i’m not focused. so now i’m more forgiving.
@iiinfinitesimal - after years of hating the word definitely, i finally learned how to spell it. haha i was very proud.
All but the last–I’d never actually seen that before.
loose and lose bother me the most but all are bothersome.
the only one I get wrong sometimes is it’s and its. A lot annoys me. A lot of people get it wrong.
they all annoy the crap out of me.
They all annoy me. I’m pretty freakin’ good at English, and when people who’re supposed to be on the same level as I am screw it up (or, God forbid, some public sign is grammatically incorrect), I get a little irked. The fact that a lot of college kids can’t tell the difference between their/they’re/there disturbs me slightly.
your and you’re and they’re their and there irritate the heck out of me. The rest of them eh who cares. I was happy to see that I don’t make any of these =D
@caminjammers - oh my god people actually SAY THAT!?!? -______-
but i’m a smart people and i don’t do them wrong letters..
@herzog3000 - i think one of those has roots in sarcasm while the other is straight-forward and factual. or i may be wrong.
None of these could annoy me.
I don’t think smart people make these spelling mistakes/grammatical errors. They are pretty basic.
@webhead345 - I could be wrong. Flammable and Inflammable mean the same thing. What kind of logic allowed that?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flammable
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inflammable
I think i have made 2 of those errors. i am actually sick of people who correct your grammer all the time.
@shotatandhit88 - yeah it’s REALLY annoying. it doesn’t even sound right.
All of the above.
@Blue__Summer - i could have sworn you’d detest the use “should/could/would OF” in place of “should/could/would HAVE.” that’s my personal favorite, right along with misspelling “grammar.”
@TheBigShowAtUD - Oh, I do. However, if I listed all of the errors I loathe, then I would’ve taken up too much of Dan’s space. *grin*
#7 is wrong. It’s not “alot”
“a lot” has a space.
They’re retarded for making an article about correct spelling and spelling it wrong themselves.
Ah, I see now that I clicked the link ^_^;
the most annoying one to me is #2
I don’t many, if any, of these and none of them bother me.
I’ve got to be honest, as an English teacher, these spelling mistakes are so frustrating. Why? Because they’re so easy to avoid!
1. You’re vs. Your: Does the sentence make sense if you pull “you’re” out into “you are”? Example: You’re going to school. You are going to school. Makes sense! However, this one doesn’t. You’re beliefs are correct. You are beliefs are correct. Doesn’t make sense.
2. It’s vs. its: Does the sentence make sense if you pull “it’s” out into “it is”? or “it has” Example: It’s going to be a long day. It is going to be a long day. That makes sense. The dog is known for its compassion. The dog is know for it is compassion. That doesn’t make sense.
3. They’re vs. Their vs. There: There is always talking about a location. You can easily identify whether or not to use they’re is you pull out “they’re” into “they are”. If it still makes sense, then it is more than likely the proper usage.
4. To vs. Too: Too means also. Generally my trick for remembering this is that because there is an extra “o” I think of it as an extra and want to include it. “Jimmy can come too.” I think of the fact that Jimmy is included as an extra and so I include the extra o.
5. Loose vs. Lose: This is an easy one to avoid if you pronounce it out loud. You will lose (short o) something or something is loooose (long o). By saying it out loud, you are concreting the different word by remembering the type of word.
6. Irregardless…well it’s not a word.
7. Alot…always ensure that something is a lot not alot.
8. Ahold…same basic rule as alot.
Sorry, the English teacher in me couldn’t help the lesson.
all of them bother me to some degree, but # 6 is the worst.
annoying when people misspell those words
“Smart” people, huh?
Errors of the #6 sort. I have a bad habit of absorbing made-up words.
The sort of errors here probably have little to do with actual intelligence– it’s all in academic upbringing. Crappy ass English teachers in primary school will lead to crappy ass English habits down the road.
My problem is that I can’t spell– without spellcheck, I’d be dead.
IT’S with an apostrophe is IT IS,
example : “The cat licks it’s tongue” would be incorrect because “The cat licks it is tongue” doesn’t make sense! I’d probably make the mistake of less obvious apostrophes though.. does ‘apostrophes’ have an apostrophe? I’ve totally lost all meaning of that word now.
and I actually remember learning about the “they’re, their, there” in elementary school
they’re – they are
their – it is theirs, “their car”
there – over there
not that I’m trying to sound better then anyone just trying to help a little if someone doesn’t understand
I do a fair bit of editing, so I hate all similarly simple mistakes. Of these, though, “irregardless” takes the cake.
I never make those mistakes. I’m a genius…
i get really angry about all of them. and i hate that NO ONE knows how to spell the word “ridiculous”. it is spelled with an “i”, not an “e”!!!! rediculous is WRONG!!!!
I don’t believe that smart people make those mistakes.
My biggest problem is apparantly (should be apparently)
The one that drives me the most bonkers is ‘weird’. I hate when people spell it ‘wierd’. It makes me want to scream.
maniacsicko
> Eight Spelling Mistakes Even Smart People Make
A good spell check program is Spell Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com). It adds spell checking to all programs, including blogs– and an optional grammar check.
You’re and your. I also don’t like than and then.
Dear Dan: Of those you mentioned, I suppose that the “your” vs. “you’re” mistake is the one that riles me the most. Being brought up pre-internet, I use contractions a lot. They’re (here’s another!) not stressed much in school these days, apparently. Spel et rite, fokes! The mistakes of “irregardless” and “inflammable”, however, are old ones that never quite faded out.
The THEIR, THEY’RE, and THERE mistake annoys me. But the most annoying one is YOU’RE and YOUR! Ugh!
@kleptos_get_it_free - Haha, I hate that, too!! or “ignorent”. UGH!
@herzog3000 - wow, didnt realize that. i thought inflammable always meant not flammable.
and to answer your logic question, just scroll down the page of the inflammable definition and look under “usage note”.
@webhead345 - Thank you! I learned something new.
No, you can’t still qualify for intelligence if you make those mistakes.
That’s stupid.
They don’t annoy me anymore. I just find ineptitude amusing in others.
#1, 2 and 3 are especially offensive. Irregardless is not a spelling mistake. I don’t think you can misspell something that is not even a word.
All of them!
(Why are all the “ish” sites at the bottom of your page? Are they at the bottom of all our pages, and I just haven’t noticed?)
I hate them all, but the you’re/your mistake is by far the one I hate the most. I see people do this all the time and it drives me crazy! A close second is the they’re/there/their mistake for the same reason…they don’t mean the same thing. Spelling mistakes I can forgive a little sometimes because people misspell things often, but the word usage ones bug me the most. The worst thing I’ve ever heard, though, was way back when I was in grade school and I heard one of my sister’s friends say, “Chay-os” when they were trying to say chaos. I corrected them (they were in high school by the way) and she was like, “no way are you serious?” She also thought that chasm was pronounced “Cha-sm” with a hard H sound instead of “ca-sm” without the hard H sound. Of course I also had a grade school english teacher who would say “worsh” instead of “wash.” Annoying.
This is the part where I sound like a pretentious prick: All of those annoy me. I don’t think smart people make those mistakes.
You’re and your.
They’re, there, and their.
Numbers 1-3 annoy me equally. I’ve always been the type to get annoyed by grammatical and spelling errors, even before I got my B.S. in English. There was a sign on the side of a store near my house that always annoyed me because it misspelled the word “incense.” I think they spelled it “insense” or “incence.”