Could of should of would of

No you're not. I think it's something I hate too.

I have never posted on pedants' corner before. Too scared! However, I agree that "would of" etc is awful. I also have a problem with "I was sat" instead of "I was sitting". My DIL has suddenly adopted this way of speaking and I will be saying something pedantic soon. I just won't be able to help myself .

I don't like it either. I also have a problem with confusing lay and lie, and let's not forget laid and lain.

I'm afraid that I have started correcting people on Facebook. I don't think I'm very popular with some of them. ?

I agree about 'would of' and 'should of'. Also 'loose' instead of 'lose' and its with an apostrophe when it doesn't need one.

It isn't just the younger generation who seem to have a problem with some or all of the above, either.

Well yes, it makes me 'jump' too- and English is not my language. But truly, many who make the above mistakes are not youngsters at all- being 'grammatically challenged' can happen to anyone- and is often an indication of dislexia or a poor education- and I wouldn't dream of pointing it out- a bit of tolerance is perhaps required?

I know many older people who left school aged 14 and straight into manual jobs- and who also make mistakes like 'Was you - I were ...' etc- and again, wouldn't dream of pointing this out.

Depending on who and context of course. No excuse if journalist, teacher, etc.

GN for instance drives me mad as there is no way of correcting mistakes. I know I should preview- but I type fast and don't check - as with most sites you can correct if you later notice a poorly constructed sentence, grammatical error, typo, etc.

hilda I have to stop myself correcting individuals on FB as I don't want to fall out with anyone. However, I will happily point out grammatical errors and spelling mistakes by organizations and companies.

Nina, I used to do that when I was nursing, particularly if the mistake was on the wall or notice board for all to see.

Yes granjura I would not correct any lay person and of course there are typos to consider. I do take issue though with books and newspapers getting things wrong. Yesterday I saw hoards wrongly used should have been hordes. Then baited breath ( bated ) . I really deplore errors in books which spoils my pleasure in reading.

Pollengran - I agree with the irritation felt when people say "I was sat" or I was stood." It should be "I was sitting" or "I was standing" but I think it's used so much now that it will soon be in everyday use.

My hudl likes to put it's every time, even if I type its, and I don't always remember to notice.

The man who invented autocorrect has died. I didn't even know he was I'll.

I'm bored of all this.

I also notice 'would of' etc. and the other thing that people (and GNs) also do is put 'your' when they mean 'you're.'. I find this particularly irritating.

Would this be a good time to mention a handwritten notice in the window of a local 50p/£1 shop? This was a few years ago, but still amuses me - sad I know!
"Everything a £1, Mostly"

Oh, I like that!

Agee with all above. 'So' used to begin every statement as well. May I add broadcasters who wave their arms about when speaking.

I couldn't agree more about the prevalence of bad grammar and spelling. People don't like being corrected so I normally tell them in private if I feel it appropriate.

DH makes a lot of mistakes because he heard them regularly at home and grew up making the same ones. Sometimes he refuses to believe that they are mistakes. As a child, I used to write "alot" for "a lot" and was grateful when I was corrected.

I took the Collins stationery company to task recently when they sent me a mailshot about new year diaries referring to one of their products as a "companian".

I asked them how I could have confidence that their diaries didn't have misspellings in if the spelling on their website and mailshots goes unchecked.

They were very apologetic, but it's just sloppy and put me off buying anything from them.

I will sound like an old fogey now but sometimes I think that people take pride in poor spelling and grammar - like it's their right to say and write things the way they want.

Rant ends....

I'm appalled at how illiterate some of my own generation are. When we were young we weren't a multi-racial society, so teachers and pupils didn't have language difficulties to overcome, so...what went wrong back then?

Grammar, tho..."can anyone borrow me.... "I hear a lot of this.again, from people of my own age.

You're being ironic of course, Luckygirl, aren't you?

"bored of..."

The ones that annoy me are " brought" when it should be "bought" and "defiantly " for "definitely "

You're not alone! I, too, am a bit of a stickler for punctuation. A few years ago, I completed a distance learning Proof Reading course. My tutor thought I 'over punctuated'! He was quite critical about this aspect of my work. I begged to differ! When I was at primary school in the 1950's, we spent a great deal of time on grammar and punctuation, completing endless exercises from textbooks, which, I must say, I enjoyed. As a retired primary teacher, I feel that the curriculum is overloaded, thereby not allowing enough time to be spent on the basics, and causing teachers to move on to the next stage before the previous one has been mastered. "Jack of all trades - master of none,"springs to mind. If the government wish to improve language skills, then they need to ensure that teachers are allowed the time that is required for mastery.

Arrrrrgggghhhhh!! 20 years ago - yes, 20 - I received a letter from my daughter's drama teacher which read 'could of'!

Seriously, I couldn't believe it then - and it's still grating! However, loathed as I am to say it, I've come to the conclusion that this is how language evolves and such things will be 'correct' with the next generation, as, no doubt, will the dreadful text-peak