What spelling mistake do you hate/notice the most?

NannyKnit

I’m a bit of a pedant when it comes to spelling & punctuation but don’t get too agitated when it’s probably a typo or auto-correct. What really annoys me is when things are incorrect on a website or notice. Mainly ‘complimentary’ instead of ‘complementary’ - completely different meanings. I haven’t yet had a complimentary breakfast tell me I’m looking good or a complimentary toiletry praising my hair.
But possibly even worse is what people literally do, or do literally. Some have even literally died laughing, literally fallen over, literally torn out their hair …..

Complimentary means both expressing a compliment and supplying free of charge.
Complementary is when something enhances or completes something.

singingnutty

I haven't read the whole thread as it is very long but I wonder if anyone has expressed annoyance at people saying 'bored of' instead of 'bored with', and various other examples which I can't call to mind just now. Or am I wrong and is it ok to be 'bored of' something? 'Bored of reading' sounds ok but 'bored of waiting' for something just doesn't sound quite right to me.
Oh dear - I'll get my coat!

Don't get your coat, you made a very valid point. I am also bored of, sorry bored with, people saying and writing bored of.
It just sounds sloppy and it is definitely not right.
This is a very long thread so I don't know if anybody has mentioned it before. Perhaps it can't be mentioned too often.

I haven't read the whole thread as it is very long but I wonder if anyone has expressed annoyance at people saying 'bored of' instead of 'bored with', and various other examples which I can't call to mind just now. Or am I wrong and is it ok to be 'bored of' something? 'Bored of reading' sounds ok but 'bored of waiting' for something just doesn't sound quite right to me.
Oh dear - I'll get my coat!

I once got into a bitter argument about this but I am still adamant. The word is spelt benefiting NOT benefitting which even crops up regularly in novels and even an English text book.

Independent

Oh yes draw for drawer, and their and there, but the list goes on.

I too do not like the lose and loose mistakes. I am though still wondering why choose is sounded with the long oooo whilst loose is sounded with a short oo. Completely opposite of loose and lose. Someone, please put me out of my misery and explain to me.

Mischievious instead of mischievous is becoming quite common. Probably a hangover from early schooldays

lizzypopbottle

As a primary teacher, I was on a training course to do with the English curriculum. The course was presented by an education department consultant who, I'm certain, would be paid double what I was getting. The very first screen on her PowerPoint presentation (shock! horror!) was headed, "Who's Job is it Anyway?" and I thought, " Well, maybe it shouldn't be yours! "

The Head of Assessment (salary probably five times mine) for the county I was working for sent a letter to me saying, "Thank you for coming to see Jane Smith and I today."

I’d have assumed that (Who’s job is it?) was a test to see who’d pick it up!
Shocking to think of anyone in a senior role in education writing any such thing.

I often think the PGCE should start with a test* of grammar and spelling - anyone obviously lacking would then be given remedial English classes.

*I’d happily produce one myself - an A4 piece of prose heavily sprinkled with SPAG and punctuation errors, for them to write out correctly.
I doubt that anything so obviously sensible will ever happen, though.

My local Facebook is full of pets that have went missing.

At the age of 78 I have finally learned the difference between stationary and stationery - and that's after winning a school prize for English Language! It's only a few years since I finally got definite sorted out. My daughter who got grade 1 for A Level English Language frequently phones me to check whether she means affect or effect.

graykat

Ménage instead of manège

I had to google ‘manège’!

Looks like we’ve moved on from spelling, so I can now say that I often want to correct anyone who uses ‘infer’ when it should be ‘imply’.

Milest0ne

The people that know about seeds. The company that —- or The people who—-
At primary school we had a book called “First Aid in English” A friend has just bought a new one. I am sure mine got me through the 11+

I remember that book! I think we’ve still got it somewhere.

The thing is that mis-spellers don't consider their spelling is as important as the message they're trying to put across. They could easily look up the word - there are so many that get confused, but they're lazy. Grammar is something else. Don't get me going.

I suppose at least she didn't commit the double crime of writing, "Thank you for coming to see myself and Jane Smith today."

I’m a bit of a pedant when it comes to spelling & punctuation but don’t get too agitated when it’s probably a typo or auto-correct. What really annoys me is when things are incorrect on a website or notice. Mainly ‘complimentary’ instead of ‘complementary’ - completely different meanings. I haven’t yet had a complimentary breakfast tell me I’m looking good or a complimentary toiletry praising my hair.
But possibly even worse is what people literally do, or do literally. Some have even literally died laughing, literally fallen over, literally torn out their hair …..

As a primary teacher, I was on a training course to do with the English curriculum. The course was presented by an education department consultant who, I'm certain, would be paid double what I was getting. The very first screen on her PowerPoint presentation (shock! horror!) was headed, "Who's Job is it Anyway?" and I thought, " Well, maybe it shouldn't be yours! "

The Head of Assessment (salary probably five times mine) for the county I was working for sent a letter to me saying, "Thank you for coming to see Jane Smith and I today."

Not so much spelling but I hate people saying “was you” instead of “were you”. It really grates on me.

'Loose' instead of 'lose '.

Puzzlelove

Received an email this morning from a well known greeting card from that I use. Why don’t these mistakes get noticed? I hate seeing this spelling mistake.

Know rather than Now
Wether instead of Weather
Tryed - Tried
Tired - Tired
Many more come to mind and are really irritating , especially when you can simply ask Siri .

DrWatson

Mmmm, 9 pages (sorry, page's) of irritations (sorry, irritation's) so far. That number will increase!

I'm not remotely surprised. At some point several decades (sorry, decade's) ago, teaching in this country went severely downhill, and a generation or too (!!) of pupils (sorry, pupil's) were presumably told to spel it ow it sowndz its OK so long as peepl no wot u meen.

These days I have to restrain myself from correcting folk on the local Facebook who write their, they're and there pretty much at random, or the now almost compulsory would of/should of/could of (sometimes with an ov!!) which I see irritates other GNs two (to). The usual claim is to blame an 'auto-correct' facility, though I wasn't aware that also removed the option of checking something before hitting 'send'?!

[NB -- any apparently careless erorr's in the above text may or may not be deliborate. I will/shall now try to consentrate on sumfink else].

Well done Dr Watson, you’d have been top 🥇in Miss Marydoll’s Maffs Klass!

When did spelling, punctuation and grammar become unimportant as long as the little darlings were expressing themselves…🤔

JackyB

Where to start?

Possibly loose/lose would be my first choice. Especially where it distorts the meaning.

Oh yes. I absolutely hate the misuse of these 2 words.

Have you noticed some people on TV say "tweny tweny" in stead of twenty, twenty?

Lots of people on Facebook start their posts with " hope this is aloud" , it makes my fingers twitch 😀