Does mixing up “your” and “you’re” give you the ick?

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Bossman_Mike@reddit

Grammar is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit.

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It also tends to be the same demographic that crows about how schools are "useless" and "not teaching our kid's anything"...

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I actually didn’t survive it. It was just that horrible.

Rest in piece to me, I am now an angle in haven

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Helenarth@reddit

Preying four you 🙏🙏🙏

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ShineAtom@reddit

It was very funny!

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FitSolution2882@reddit

anyfink

FTFY

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"ain't teaching em nuffin"

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ForAllTimesSake@reddit

"ain't" is spelt aint.

More like "not teaching are kid's anything"

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paolog@reddit

I'd say it's down to several things:

Apostrophe use is a little tricky. There are countless questions on r/english and r/grammat on the subject
The subject is not always taught well in schools, or students don't understand it or don't think they need to know it
There was a time when all printed content was proofread before publishing. Now every person and their dog can churn out written content without anyone checking it first
There's an attitude that in online content, proper punctuation, etc, is unnecessary or too formal

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Inner-Purple-1742@reddit

Bloody greengrocers’ disease! Stray apostrophes… that drives me nuts too!

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docju@reddit

This reminds me of a shop I saw that had a sign “we loan garden tool,s”. Not even an apostrophe, a comma!

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Maybe some names on this thread are on purpose to make people talk about it.

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Stuffedwithdates@reddit

Who would let anyone from there tattoo a word on their body?

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LibraryOfFoxes@reddit

A local pub was advertising "Afternoon tea's".

pr0s0c@reddit

Or it might bring hope to some self-aware unemployed.

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helen269@reddit

And you should only be legally able to work at Greggs if your name is Gregg.

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Straight to jail

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LengthImaginary9017@reddit

It's not just nouns ending in -y either :(

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Beginning-Fun6616@reddit

Paid, not payed...

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karatecorgi@reddit

I believe neither is not so much wrong as one being British English and one being American. But I get that. It makes me cringe, since a lot of spellings more commonly used by Americans are accepted here but I think in the US you'd be marked for incorrect spelling. Hell, I spent most of high school in a weird "I think the US spelling looks cooler" phase and not even once was my repeated Americanised spelling (think "color, favorite") marked down or pointed out, regardless of whether it was typed or handwritten... :|

Hell, I'm sure a lot of books written by Brits can even get an American version with their spellings when sold over there but that doesn't happen here?? Like I have both a UK and US print of this one book Solitaire and was shocked to see the spelling difference :s do they think Americans won't understand what colour means unless they remove the u? Bleh, anyway mini rant over haha... Suffice to say, I'm glad I got out of that weird phase.

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National_History7493@reddit

I think most of this is overly pedantic. The whole point of language is to convey meaning, which Americanizations do. I doubt anyone's sat puzzled at what someone meant when they said "color" or "colour". This is especially true for words like "payed" and "paid", where there's absolutely no chance of getting them mixed up given context.

Also, a lot of software comes with the locale set by default to American/International English, and changing this typically requires searching through a bunch of settings (is it under accessibility, preferences, general, etc? Who knows?) to find one that allows you to change the language. And that's all for something that you only really notice once you've had it ingrained in you that one particular way of spelling is the correct one.

There's also the issue of where words are learnt. For instance, I've been doing part of my A-Levels on prime factorization algorithms, which has its largest body of research from American universities. As such, I rarely ever see the word 'factorisation', but see 'factorization' all over. Despite the majority of the literature on the subject using '-ize' instead of '-ise', my teacher still insisted that I go through my report and change every instance to reflect the British spelling.

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BlitzballPlayer@reddit

I think one issue, which actually links back to what OOP is saying in a way, is that the more errors in a piece of text, the harder it can be to understand for people whose first language isn't English in particular. This isn't to do with British vs American but more to do with spelling errors like 'payed'.

I'm from the UK but live in Portugal, and I speak Portuguese fluently, but I occasionally have some difficulty if someone texts me something with spelling or grammatical mistakes. My brain might have to work harder to parse what they've written.

"Payed" might be understood by most English speakers, especially in context, but without context or for someone quite new to the language, it can become confusing.

I remember a thread on Reddit where someone asked a question and someone responded, "It does mate." The OP responded, "What?" and then the other person confirmed that they were just agreeing with them. Just adding one comma and writing "It does, mate" makes it that bit clearer (because "It does mate" makes it look like 'mate' is a verb).

Potentially pedantic, but even small deviations can be confusing sometimes.

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Beginning-Fun6616@reddit

I'm American. It's paid.

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TheCarrot007@reddit

Both are fine in British. However one means something very different.

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karatecorgi@reddit

" "Payed" is a rare, specialized nautical term used only for sealing ships with pitch or letting out a rope "

Well... Damn. Don't get me wrong, I always used "paid" but honestly I learnt something new today. I'd never have guessed it had such a niche meaning, I thought it was just Americans trying to be quirky and different as usual lmao

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StrongExternal8955@reddit

You don't know them! You don't know what they did!

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beneaththegardenwall@reddit

😣😣😣

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Past-Anything9789@reddit

Unless it is their baby's (insert noun).

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Srddrs@reddit

6 months? The incorrect apostrophe epidemic has been happening for years. It’s ridiculous.

My big biggest bug bear at the moment is the amount of people - it started with Americans but is happening more and more here now - misusing the phrase “mind you”.

When saying thanks’ how do they pronounce the apostrophe? 🤔

-oo-

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

General abuse of apostrophes is my biggest pet peeve. Intentional bad spelling (like "ur a dikhead"), it is what it is. Stupid, but at least intentional.

And then I have a raise in blood pressure when I'm standing at a snack van and it says like

Pasties

Wraps

Ice Cream

Burgers

Chip's

Egg and bacon bap

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minecraftmedic@reddit

My pet peeve is people mis-using 'like' in all their sentences.

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

Not sure if that was a dig at me, but I used it twice correctly lol

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minecraftmedic@reddit

when I'm standing at a snack van and it says like

As opposed to when I'm standing at a snack van and it says:

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ExecutiveChimp@reddit

In modern English "like" is often used to indicate that follows is not necessarily accurate.

An more precise yet overly verbose rewording of the above example would be "when I'm standing at the snack van and it says something similar to".

Hope that helps!

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

I respectfully disagree

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minecraftmedic@reddit

Ok, well, that's like, just your opinion like.

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

I like how you truly believe in this, huh?

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bluejeansseltzer@reddit

“Jesus’ cross” is also correct as there’s a long established history of not adding an additional “s” after an apostrophe if the name already ends in an “s”. I think it may even predate the additional “s”, but iiirc it was generally reserved for when referring to those in the Bible and the Royals.

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My internal prejudice has been revealed and shoved back in my face! But am I a misogynist for assuming the lecturer was male, or for thinking a grammatical pet peeve is male-coded - or does that make me a misandrist?! Agh, alas I do not know.

I believe when I was back in Year 4 I was having to have one-to-one reading lessons with TAs as my out-loud reading ability was rubbish (and still is an entire master's later - which is another one I struggle with. Master's with a capitalisation or without? With an apostrophe or without? Too many rules as to possessiveness, generality, and such).

What do you mean by "embed speed" btw? I'm not sure I'm familiar with the term.

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beneaththegardenwall@reddit

Embed speech, as in, how do I add dialogue accurately within written prose?

The Redditor paused, considering the above.

"Maybe I ought to add an example," they mused, tapping on their phone. "That ought to be useful." The user taps the grey 'Post' button.

Minutes later, the Redditor receives a ping on their device. It's a response!

"Thank you, beneaththegardenwall!" the Redditor's reply read.

🫡

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docju@reddit

Nouns that end in “s” can have just an apostrophe as the BBC describes but it is not incorrect to say “Jesus’s”.

Oh but the worst one for me is a recovery truck with something like "Dave's Auto's" emblazoned on the side.

It really puts me in a boot loop because I know it's correct as "Auto's" is a contraction of automobiles. But I also know it's probably incorrect as Dave probably doesn't know why it's correct.

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Khaleesi1536@reddit

Why is everyone using ‘lead’ when they mean the past tense ‘led’? I see this absolutely everywhere these days and it sets my teeth on edge

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karatecorgi@reddit

Incorrect use of apostrophe, man... Sometimes I swear people stick it in "just in case"?? You see it so often on supposedly professional signage :l

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paolog@reddit

Facebook? Tiktok? Surely not Reddit (the horror)?

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beneaththegardenwall@reddit

I don't use The Clock App so I can't confirm.

However, I have seen such transgressions on FB and Reddit. I know.

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Inner-Purple-1742@reddit

They’re called homophones.

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nohairday@reddit

The one that bothers me even more is when they mix up than and then.

As in "he got more then them"

Like nails down a chalkboard in my brain.

I have to upvote you for the sheer joy you have taken in beating a two line piece of code that cares not whether you live or die. I am standing back from my phone and applauding. When it comes to the AI war, I want to be in a trench with you...!

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EclipseHERO@reddit

Ideally, I don't wanna be in a trench.

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NessaGuin@reddit

The bot is only as smart as "find replace" context is for meat Popsicles.

Except and accept

Effect and affect.

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ay880@reddit

It's mixing "too" and "to" for me, like how hard it is to add an extra "o" while you're at it

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EhDinnaeEvenKen@reddit

One that gets to me is when some southern English people will add the letter r unnecessarily while typing out words that have a long open vowel sound in their local accent, spelling can't as carn't, bath as barth, or dance as darnce.

w1zz00@reddit

Never heard that one

That said, even if someone makes a mistake because they are dyslexic, I still don’t care. Dyslexic people can be stupid or intelligent just like anyone else, and just like anyone else they’re stupid more often than not. I’ll assume anyone who makes a basic mistake like “alot” to be stupid until I see evidence that suggests otherwise, at which point I will change my opinion. I don’t see that as “writing off”, just a default assumption that has usually turned out to be right when it comes to people I know in real life.

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Boredpanda31@reddit

I don't have dyslexia but two siblings who do (diagnosed as adults), and them being diagnosed taught me to stop being a judgemental bitch.

Because it's tedious. Nobody is criticising people who are dyslexic. We all know this but some people just have to be prissy about it.

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stinkface_lover@reddit

But you are! Saying 'I cant stand people who dont know proper grammar' is criticising people with dyslexia. There's loads of reasons people might not know proper grammar, but a big one is a learning disability. This whole post has peolle smugly patting themselves on the back for knowing their, there and they're, without ever stopping and considering the reason it might be hard for some people. I think people have a right to say there are reasons for struggling with grammar beyond laziness.

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chocklityclair@reddit

Some people are talking about it because they want to pretend that people who are dyslexic are being criticised.

I get pissed off when people don't listen to instructions and need them repeated. 'Oh, but you're slagging off deaf people!!!!' Nope.

I get pissed off when people don't look where they're going. 'Oh, but you're having a go at blind people!!!!' Again, nope.

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Ok_Schedule8095@reddit

The OP in this chain did an edit to exclude people with disabilities. Before that edit he was criticising adults who don't know the difference which includes people with dyslexia.

KiwiNo2638@reddit

Autocorrect, and swipe keyboards never went to school.

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MuchConnection5541@reddit

You get frustrated seeing someone spell incorrectly, i. Sorry were being examined on an internet chat forum ill do better on my mock exam

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143Emanate34Elaborat@reddit

Certainly with the amount of places and ways you can spell/grammar check these days, there are no excuses.

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Kittimm@reddit

Same with them/than and have/of.

'Well youre in the wrong sub cause this isnt about poor people.'

Like, of course its about people who have a disability that causes difficulty with this stuff to some extent.

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louwyatt@reddit

I'm quite badly dyslexic and I know this can be tough for people to understand, but simple mistakes like that are incredibly easy. I can spell incredibly complex words, I've got a masters degree, I'm not a idiot. It is just how my brain works.

Dyslexia is always a common one for people to be abusive towards. You wouldn't tease a blind man for not being able to see. But a Dyslexic person making a minor spelling or grammar mistake, people are happy to.

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FuckedQuestions@reddit

Sorry for having a disability, I guess?

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Usual-Tone-262@reddit

I agree. I see “alot” more than “a lot” recently and it annoys me so much. I want to suggest to those people that they go the whole way and combine the indefinite article with all nouns just to be consistent, but for some reason they only combine it with some.

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Spider-Thwip@reddit

I could care less.

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feesh_face@reddit

*grind

Hate it but you get a pass if you don’t use English as first language.

LetsChatLife@reddit

It's reasonable!

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jacoscar@reddit

As a non native English speaker, I would never confuse your with you’re or there with their or its and it’s. Even my classmates who had the worst mark in English wouldn’t make that mistake, because the meaning is completely different.

Maybe because with your mother tongue you learn to write after you learn to speak, while with a second language you learn to do both at the same time.

We also tend to pronounce ’their’ and ‘there’ differently even though they are supposed to be pronounced the same!

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85Neon85@reddit

Woman/women. Grrr.

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Curious_Peter@reddit

Personally, No.
I read the sentence and understand the meaning.

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Necessary_Money_9757@reddit

Yes. I am otherwise pretty relaxed about grammar, but I instantly notice when someone uses the wrong your or there, and it makes me completely ignore what they're saying.

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I_am_invincible@reddit

If it’s someone I grew up with and I know had the same level of education as me - yes, it’s irritating.

But if it's someone I don’t know, or if English isn't their first language (most of whom manage English grammar better than native speakers anyway), then I don’t judge.

I always correct my kids (and they aren't 5 either, closer to 35!).

This is the point I always make whenever this topic comes up, because inevitably, someone will try to argue that "language changes".

If a child is trying to say or spell the word "house" and they keep saying or spelling "mouse", you would correct them.

You would not accept this is the new way to say it and join in.

So why shouldn't you correct an adult when they do it?

Language changed a lot several hundred years ago because the majority of the population did not communicate by reading and writing. Almost all communication was oral.

This is not the case in modern times. We have a 98%+ literacy rate in the UK and most other modern countries.we don't live in the 1300s any more.

We have standardised English lessons with spellings of words barely changing over the past 100 years.

So for someone to try to say that "language changes" to justify why they do things wrong is just ridiculous. They're trying to dismiss the point because they don't want to admit they are wrong.

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Lizardaug@reddit

Not completely true I am a big advocate for language changes. I know it's wrong and I simply don't care. Keeping language hard stuck is silly. Literally meaning figuratively now is fine. Could of is just easier to type than could have.

Jestermaxing soymogging I don't understand but if the kids want to make up words then I'll support them too.

We should be updating our language with a digital age the same way the Americans shaped their language around the typewriter we took should update it around the keyboard

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baron_warden@reddit

Making up words and spelling things wrong are two different things. One aids communication, the other hampers it.

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Lizardaug@reddit

Could of is not a misspelling it's just gramatically incorrect. Similarly color as much as it erks me is just easier to type. The Americans kind of win there.

Changing spellings and grammar should be the norm

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Kingreaper@reddit

"Could of" is written in place of "could've" - they sound the same but are spelt differently, like the there/their/they're trio. Personally I consider using the wrong spelling for the meaning to be a spelling error not a grammatical error, but you can feel free to disagree.

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cosi_fan_tutte_@reddit

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johndoe60610@reddit

Or, try ~~and~~ to do better.

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ChiefIndica@reddit

I don't see it come up nearly as often as "could care less", but have you noticed how often Americans say "just can't" when they clearly mean "can't just"?

It's not the same thing!

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Usual-Tone-262@reddit

“I could care less” is a completely different thing from what we’re talking about in this thread, though. It’s just an Americanism. Yes, it doesn’t make literal sense and I’m not American so don’t use it myself. But it’s not a spelling mistake or even a grammar mistake - it’s a semantic thing.

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DamnitGravity@reddit

Ah, I see your confusion.

This is what's known as 'extending a conversation'. It's taking a topic, and extending it beyond the initial premise towards other subjects tangential to that original statement or question.

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helen269@reddit

Just reply to whatever they're saying, but put 'of' instead of 'have' where appropriate.

Quiet sarcasm. Innit.

CollThom@reddit

Well I’m from Scotland and the way I say should’ve would sound like should uv but not with an obvious gap. Like my pronunciation would make it sound like an “uv” sound. The people I’ve heard say it with the same accent as me really say should have with a proper gap. Does my head in!

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LavenderClouds6@reddit

If someone speaks "should of" it doesnt bother me, if they would write "should have". Then I feel its a case of regional accent/pronunciation. But when they type it out the way it sounds? Yes.

I will say "Id ve done that" instead of "Id have" but id never write it that way.

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No_Professor_1624@reddit

it absolutely does

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Aware_Beat5301@reddit

People spelling the wrong to and, too gives me the ick for some reason...

Blerrrr 🤮

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GreenWoodDragon@reddit

Yes. It's basic English.

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Covet-Player7636@reddit

Yes. It suggests the person is uneducated. Or is so lazy or lacking in attentiveness that they managed to survive x years of full time education without picking up this pretty basic principle. I mean it’s not hard to see that one is a contraction of ‘you are’ whilst the other performs a totally different function in language.

Would you trust that person with any job requiring accuracy or attention to detail?

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ExultentPisces@reddit

Basic, unintentional grammatical errors are fine. No one is perfect.

Just flat out not giving a shit about spelling or grammar is a bit off putting.

While we’re at it, something which does “give me the ick” is the phrase “give me the ick”.

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

I've made a career editing documents and so I used to feel annoyed by basic errors in English, but then my daughter turned out to be dyslexic and there's almost nothing anyone can do to help her use words 100% correctly.

Part of the issue is that it takes up such a Herculean effort for her to recall what the rules or spellings are that she's literally too exhausted to then finish the task she's set herself. So generally I advise now that it's better to complete a written task as best she can, rather than aim to do it perfectly. As Syd Field said: don't get it right, get it written.

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ExultentPisces@reddit

In my experience, many dyslexic people can have better spelling and grammar than others. Because they know what their weakness is and put real effort into overcoming it. Not all dyslexic folk of course, but a fair number of them.

I used to work with a guy who was mildly dyslexic, but he’d just use that as an excuse for being really lazy with his writing. That annoyed me, especially as it was usually me who had to redo all his work.

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

She's definitely improving gradually, as the school has adapted to fit her learning style and we support her more. But it's definitely been better to allow this process to happen in the background and let the work be what it needs to be in the meantime.

She's a very quick reader, but her brain doesn't learn spellings when she reads like might usually happen. So she has two completely distinct tasks where I only had one: learn how to read English; and learn how to correctly spell English words (without the benefit of regular reinforcement of how words are spelled from her reading).

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iMac_Hunt@reddit

Honestly, I find grammar nazis are often more annoying than the mistakes themselves. It’s usually less about being helpful and more about performing intellectual superiority - and often details a conversation.

I sometimes use grammar incorrectly as I’m typing quickly. Am I aware of the correct use of ‘their’, ‘they’re’ and ‘there’? Yes. Does it matter that I messed it up? No.

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MuchConnection5541@reddit

Oh yeah these people should just be teachers if they insist they know all, especially it being on a chat forum on the internet and its ganna be marked my the creator of English themselves, i tell them to get a life

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S_mawds@reddit

I really enjoy it when the grammar police are out and actually make a mistake in their reply.

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ExultentPisces@reddit

They’re definitely in the top three worst people called Nazis.

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Yes. Because they’re so so so easy to distinguish so grown adults not being able to is very off putting, what’s even worse is people confusing generally and genuinely, they don’t even sound the same

FeedingTheBadWolf@reddit

You can just copy and paste minus the mistake but maybe that's what you meant...

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exponentialism@reddit

Same, idk why grown adults are suddenly talking like 5 year olds.

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kittiestkitty@reddit

I’m deaf so I’ve learned language more through books, magazines, subtitles etc vs spoken and my grammar/writing reflect that.

Similarly, I think this is a bunch of people all consuming the same crappy content, which then gets digested back into our spoken and written language because of some Maisie w The Fillers parroting all of the vapid TikTok vernacular she knows on shows like Love Island.

We’re definitely not smarter for all of this, that’s for sure.

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louwyatt@reddit

Some people can't help it, though. I'm dyslexic and minor mistakes like that do slip through. People can be so judgmental about spelling but can very touchy when people judge them for their math or logic skills.

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The-Yellow-Badger@reddit

I judge internally. While it makes me angry and in my head, it IS a big deal, to many others it’s not that deep, so I judge silently and move on. I’m not in the business of making people feel stupid.

eugene-fraxby@reddit

‘The ick’ enrages me. Your / you’re does not.

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chuckiestealady@reddit

If English is an additional language to you, I totally forgive you. It’s one of the hardest languages to learn.

It gives seeing what they want to see and assumption/projecting things onto people and paranoia vibes.

They could one hundred percent be right like, but some people are super judgemental and overreact over fuck all, going around thinking everyone else is weird when really it's them

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PhoenixOnTheMend@reddit

Everyone's petrified to enjoy them selfs because they don't wanna be cringe or someone has the ick for this or said something once

It's sad life was wild and fun before the Internet everyone's so repressed it's sad as.

Your joking about being perfect with English right like you seriously gonna live your life being upset about how people communicate we all have different skills and as long as communication is understood then why care.

I feel down votes incoming. Life's to short to worry about good grammar. We all won't be on death bed thinking about how at least I had good grammar or maybe you will I don't know.

Live your life people

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MaxMouseOCX@reddit

I was joking about fad words, not perfect English... You see, I'm old as fuck and I've heard many of them, even some that have arisen more than once.

That's all, it was a throw away quip, and you've read FAR too much into it - somehow.

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shaky2236@reddit

Getting the ick from the word ick gives me the ick

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Amazing-Heron-105@reddit

It's such an Americanism and a teen girl one at that

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Nag_vd_Lang_Piel@reddit

Thank you. Was looking for this

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AwkwardBugger@reddit

A lot of the “your” and “you’re” can be typos or bad autocorrect so I’m somewhat forgiving. Plus I can see how some people might find them difficult to get right.

Sergeant_Fred_Colon@reddit

Does that make you loose you're mind?

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badreligionlover@reddit

Just no need for that is there!? Day ruined. Thanks mysterious internet stranger.

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Sufficient-Till-6022@reddit

Yeh it does. Their is just know way I can tolerate incorrectly used words.

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Yes, it absolutely does give me the ick. I've dated a handful of women over the past year, and the ones that can't try to learn the difference between "you're" and "your" are honestly not very intelligent in other aspects.

It's funny to me, because "you're" literally shows you it's a contraction of "you" and "are". It's right there, and still people mess it up.

In regular everyday communications, i couldn't give less of a shit.

If I was bothered by such things I'd have had an aneurysm during the early days of texting and be resting six feet under by now, and besides i read the word identically regardless of how it's written so it's hardly interupting my ability to understand what you're saying. If it's in something more formal it'll throw me off a little more, because it's normal to have more scrutiny for things that could be a phishing attempt; a simple misuse of your or you're probably isn't really a big red flag, but if you're already be nitpicky and you come across that it's going to register more than in a reddit post.

Also please understand with regards to the responses you're receiving, reddit isn't a representative sample, it's a lot more anal about these things. So take however many people here claim it's an issue and dial it back by like 60% and you're probably getting at a more accurate assessment.

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RackemFrackem@reddit

Saying "the ick" gives me the ick.

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Evening_Night_1991@reddit

Cue all the "ick gives me the ick" comments on repeat. OK we get it guys, we also know that you've read the comments first and still proceeded to repeat what's already been said. It wasn't funny or original the first time and it's irrelevant to the question.

And to conclude: Does mixing up “your” and “you’re” give you the ick?’ is grammatically correct. There’s no issue with how they asked the question. 100 comments complaining about "the ick" won't change that.

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benitoaramando@reddit

So using your own point, they all came from incorrect or informal usage that became widely recognised.

Umm, yes...and?

Their apology exists because of the exact behaviour I was calling out.

No because I'm not an ass and once I can understand what someone is saying I don't care how they spell. Sure we used 2 txt lik dis 4 yrs B4

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NinjamaticNemesis@reddit

I'm in that camp that "Give you the ick" is worse.

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AttitudeAdjuster33-1@reddit

Lose and loose triggers me

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UsernameRemorse@reddit

The same people criticise foreign people for not wanting to communicate in our language (innit), yet they can't even be bothered to use it themselves

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BorisBoris88@reddit

Using myself/yourself, when me/you is correct bothers me far more than it should

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Left-Ad-3412@reddit

My wife and I were talking to a girl about coming to join us for some fun and she got them mixed up in a WhatsApp group... My wife and I instantly looked at each other and were like... "No"

So yeah... It definitely puts both of us off someone. Same as their/they're/there lol

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Busy-Doughnut6180@reddit

It used to but tbh nowadays my autocorrect does what it wants so when I see it I just assume the same thing happened to them.

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anti-sugar_dependant@reddit

Yes it gives me the ick. But you can't point it out (assuming normal conversational context not signs or legal documents and so on), because pointing it out is classist and ableist. As long as you can understand what they wrote, even if their spelling and grammar is awful, unless they asked for feedback you can't comment. Which sucks because I desperately want to comment every time.

I think this is one of those times it's ok to comment, and by comment I mean share online because I can't reply. This is a letter I got from a doctor the other day. My name is not Amber (it's close enough that people sometimes confuse it but it was correct at the top of the letter), and where are the capital letters at the start of each sentence? Some spaces missing too. I wondered if AI wrote it, but even AI isn't that sloppy. Definite ick. But on the plus side I don't have skin cancer.

Oh definitely yes and it is worse when they use yore instead because it is much less common.

Ricky_Martins_Vagina@reddit

Your / you're

There / their / they're

Where / were / we're

Should of / should have / should've

Etc

They don't give me "the ick" because I'm not an attention seeking moron, but they do make me think less of you when used incorrectly.

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CompetitiveFennel681@reddit

It tells me you don't understand basic grammar.

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Mr_Bumcrest@reddit

Saying 'gives me the ick' gives me the ick

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infinitude_@reddit

The word ick gives me the ick

Idk why it just feels like I’m talking to a child

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Yaseuk@reddit

No. Becuase I don’t know if someone has learning difficulties or hasn’t had the same education as me. Online I just learn to let it go.

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SportTawk@reddit

What gets me is bought and brought when people talk about buying things

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CertainlyRobotic@reddit

Adults displaying a lack of basic grade school intelligence is extremely off putting.

I wouldn't put much if any trust in a person who can't properly distinguish between your and you're, their and there..

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NessaGuin@reddit

Using "gives you the ick" gives me the ick.

I've come to accept people across the globe, English as a first, second or even third language can and will mix them up. I've joked that the very next time I need to use one after correcting someone, I'll end up doing the exact same mistake.

Could of for example because many say could've close enough that you hear of and thus start to write it.

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JLaws23@reddit

I don’t think OP is saying this. I live between Essex and London and people in Essex hardly speak one language, their own native language - English.

Hardly any of them know the difference between your and you’re. They even use “youse” instead of saying “you guys” or something similar.

Genuine ICK.

If you’re not British then idgaf what you say or how you spell it.

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rbtny20@reddit

Regional dialects, innit.

There isn't only one way to speak English. Of course there are times when non-standard grammar and language may not be appropriate, but let people talk how they talk.

Youse lot are so up tight sometimes.

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JLaws23@reddit

Still sounds thick af, sorry to say.

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rbtny20@reddit

'Regional dialects sound thick' is certainly a take.

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JLaws23@reddit

lol are you from Essex? I said that using those words or completing ignoring the fact that the word “are” exists makes you sound thick. Not the regional accent. Your comprehension is damaging and now you want me to look bad for your poor reading skills.

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rbtny20@reddit

Never been to Essex. 'Youse' isn't exclusively used there.

We're on Reddit, it's not an English test and there's a variety of reasons why it may happen.

I don't mind folk pulling up my spelling on words if I've genuinely got something wrong. But it's not something I do personally.

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Distinct_Sir_9086@reddit

I don’t know why people care so much, yes it’s incorrect but if you know what the other person meant then why make a big deal out of it? It only matters if it’s a professional or formal context imo.

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Ok_Let_2772@reddit

It's definitely a common pet peeve, especially since it's such a fundamental lesson. My own parents drilled that stuff into me, so it just jumps out immediately.

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Far_Magazine_1147@reddit

I prefer ur

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CarpetGripperRod@reddit

The only thing that bothers me these days is the apparent inability of everyone, everywhere, to appreciate the distinction between "less" and "fewer".

It's incredible the extent to which it's evident in certain online rants - we can call it "The Ubiquitous Correlation": every time a certain political stance is being presented, the incidence of your, "their" "its" being used incorrectly soars.

Yes I find it really off putting. To me, it’s a really easy thing to learn, that we generally learn quite early on in our school career. I find it sloppy and lazy that people don’t make the effort to distinguish between them. I also hate it when people use ‘of’ instead of ‘have’ in sentences like ‘I should have realised’.

That’s for native English speakers, mind you! I’d never judge someone for whom it’s a second language! It’s complicated enough!

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Cute_Bagel@reddit

yes, but not as much as "could care less"

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Unusual_Cow_@reddit

We're taught, but most people would fail all those tests today :/
Have you seen those YouTube videos where people can't answer simple maths questions.

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sapphire-sky-dragon@reddit

Yes, its a real bug bear along with to and too.

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Razzilith@reddit

the "ick" no.

it makes me think somebody is stupid if english is their first language.

it doesn't bother me at all if it's not their first language... UNLESS they're trying to insult somebody. then gloves are off and you deserve to be mocked.

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Willing_Coconut4364@reddit

Only when it's written down. If you say it wrong I'm fine.

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SignificantIsopod797@reddit

Using the phrase “gives you the ick” gives me as much rage as mixing up you’re and your

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coltoncruise81@reddit

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Familiar-Woodpecker5@reddit

Some people are dyslexic 🤷‍♀️

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Johnny2Bad1968@reddit

Absolutely! I fully accept that I am a

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I find it funny I'm seeing statements like

"Total lack of care"

It's spelling and grammar at the end of the day.. I know you worked hard for your A* but who really cares?

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FitSolution2882@reddit

Not as bad as "we was" - christ, it makes me sneer.

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MmeFelixFelicis@reddit (OP)

We was 😂 I've never heard anything sound more wrong.

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FitSolution2882@reddit

I just don't understand it.

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ampmz@reddit

I’m dyslexic so no I don’t care, and I find people who make a big deal out of it insufferable.

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jazzyjjr99@reddit

Yeah for real, being a dyslexic i get stuff wrong all the time no one picks up on but You're/Your is the only thing people bring up, its a meme at this point, doesn't feel like an attempt to education anymore.

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SirScoaf@reddit

My girlfriend is dyslexic and seriously struggled with English. She confuses them but I honestly don’t care as she’s a wonderful person and I’m an ex teacher so if it was to annoy anyone it would be me! I don’t correct it as I’m not a wally and there are more important things in life. If it was in professional correspondence I would definitely be drawn to it, but not in everyday exchanges between us.

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Acrobatic-Shirt8540@reddit

It's so common, and very easy to do when typing on phones. I've done it and not noticed even though I'm well aware of the difference.

Then I had to make a conscious effort to unlearn that.

After many years I’ve mostly got the hang of some basics, but I am always using almost too many commas.

When reading other people’s posts if their gramma is super bad I will struggle as not even all types of dyslexia are the same, and we don’t all have the same issues.

But it’s also not a choice for us.

Are some people just lazy? Yeah probably.

The “uneducated” “school dropouts” “people who didn’t pay attention in school” (all quotes from this post) people that many have mentioned. May actually (like myself, my brother and my uncle) have dyslexia or other learning difficulties that didn’t get picked up until later in life.

Yes if English is your first language, no if it isn't.

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Usually written by the type that paint roundabouts and insist on forriners speaking English.

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BedGirl5444@reddit

Yes. Loose and lose even more.

And English is not my first language either

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Violet351@reddit

Not really because sometimes autocorrect does its thing and people don’t notice

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Plot_3@reddit

I find this annoying but unfortunately it is easily done when texting, as if you miss type you’re the autocorrect changes it to your. This has happened to me and I feel mortified when I read the text after sending. I am a primary school teacher and should definitely know better.

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Safe-Essay4128@reddit

I'm not sure about giving me the ick. It annoys me when I notice that I did it. Mostly because I use speech to text a lot and it mixes them up and then I send the text before noticing and it's very annoying. But sometimes just because my fingers type in ways that my brain doesn't read until afterwards.

Yes!

And "effect" and "affect" !

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Dean_Learner77@reddit

Not as much as people using the phrase 'the ick'

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Puddskye@reddit

Yes. Especially when it comes from native speakers (though that's usually what happens). Imagine not knowing something you're supposed to learn at... 8 or 9.

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Accomplished-Ad3585@reddit

Yes it annoys me.

Are we seriously still using the term "the ick"??....

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mrbadger2000@reddit

Yes. It re'ally doe's

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LavenderClouds6@reddit

Alternative-Bee2962@reddit

Not everyone is aware and I have severe dyslexia and autism and I am English born and bred and my teachers tried their hardest with me and so did my mum, but I have struggled my whole life and I have to get friends to check anything important and correct any mistakes I make and I still get my words wrong and my spelling and grammar is really bad.

So not everyone is doing it because they are uneducated or lazy and in some cases it is a genuine mistake and I rely on spell check and grammar checks and even with that sometimes my own spell check doesn't have a clue what I am trying to spell lol. I have done everything I can to try and get things like this correct and even at 44 I still struggle.

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Internal_Example1185@reddit

Don't even get me started on LOSE vs LOOSE...

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jmhobs@reddit

Yes, but sometimes autocorrect likes to show me up on WhatsApp!

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Lowermains@reddit

Chester draws! Who the fek is Chester?

Oh ye meant to type, chest of draWERS!

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PerplePurp@reddit

While i do notice it, I also find people are very judgemental about it. See most of the comments below.

Not everyone went to a great school. and even if you did, schools often write kids off if they are not a high achiever, meaning they can receive a low standard of education.

And if you struggled at school anyway, that's a lot of information coming at you. I moved schools 8 times. Lots of kids come from chaotic households. School is not easy for many reasons.

I was still making the your / you're mistake when i was 30 (when i got diagnosed dyslexic) and it mortified me.

I doubt many people remember everything they were taught at school. This just happens to be very visible.

If people are still making this mistake by the time they leave education - why are we blaming them, but not their education provider?

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Glittering_Vast938@reddit

Education wasn’t great in this country until the National Curriculum was introduced.

World War I and II history wasn’t even taught officially on the curriculum until the late 80s and early 90s.

Both world wars became core modern history topics, especially at Key Stage 2 (primary school) and Key Stage 3 (secondary school)

Figuratively, often misspelled as literally. It literally kills me when people do it...

Others have covered almost the full gamut.

A funny one to see is someone selling 'a chester draws'.

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Ok_Deer1956@reddit

It's definitely something I notice too, especially since it's such a fundamental rule. I think it's the lack of effort that's off-putting, not the occasional typo. My own parents drilled that stuff into me, so it just sticks out.

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Greatgrowler@reddit

It doesn’t bother me a great deal but at one time it would of done.

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No-Smoke6622@reddit

forgetthenineties@reddit

Depends. If someone is dyslexic or English isn't their first language I don't care. If they're born and bred with English as a first language I hate it lol

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Easy-Equal@reddit

People that use the term Ick give me the Ick

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Fjordi_Cruyff@reddit

I'm (very mildly) offended by it. If you're trying to get a point across, don't make me work harder to understand it, just use the rules of written communication that were given to all of us.

Diem-Perdidi@reddit

There's one that irritates me that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere in this thread, and that's mistaking nouns for adjectives, like 'bias' instead of 'biased'. 'You don't know him, don't be prejudice.'

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Anime_Over_Lord@reddit

Yes but not nearly as bad as "could of" "would of"

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Zealousideal-Air574@reddit

“Your a c*nt if you do”

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Coconutpieplates@reddit

Not really. Not everyone had the same schooling/ education growing up. Obviously, we are all meant to learn it early on, but I know a handful of people that never get it right. They had learning difficulties and were quite left behind, so I don't think its a reflection on them most of the time.

Ah come on, living languages are fluid, and 'The Ick' is a very common phrase (nowadays) that I would argue has entered the vernacular, in many countries.

Also personally I feel like it works very well to describe a particular feeling about a particular situation.

I think it's effective and a positive addition in the same sense that saying you woke up with 'The Fear' after a night of heavy drinking does. People who have experienced The Fear, completely understand it, without further explanation. The Ick works the same way.

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_CANNiBALHoRSE_@reddit

Whether it's entered the vernacular or not makes little difference as to whether I like the phrase.

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Acegonia@reddit

I hear you. I personally have problems with phrases like "its giving." or "periodt"

But that's because (cuz!) im old and cantankerous and resistant to change.

Of course you may like or dislike whatever you want, but for me this is one of the less problematic phrases happening these days.

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ilikeyourgetup@reddit

“Vibes”

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APiousCultist@reddit

Bad grammar only really matters if it creates confusion. I don't like it because I'm a stick in the mud, but no one is actually confused by "I could of cared less" so the words did their job just fine.

I’m not to an educated standard and I do get it mixed up sometimes.

Does it make me a bad person, no. Does it also mean I’m failing at life. Also no

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MinimumBeginning5144@reddit

I don't mind seeing "your" and "you're" mixed up, as it's most often due to autocorrect on a mobile phone, with the writer being too much in a hurry to notice the unintended error.

Instead, what I can't stand is grammatical errors such as "He told Jane and I", even in some BBC literary series such as "The Other Bennet Sister".

Other annoyances of mine include the use of the backslash \ instead of the normal slash `/`. Notice I call it normal slash. Before the backslash was invented the "forward slash" was just called "slash". The backslash should only be used in computer code.

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migo_81@reddit

Not as someone using arks/Axe instead of ask

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Sea_Line888@reddit

Yes ,been and being and ect and not etc are two others that destroy me , they must undo autocorrect half the time.

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angels-and-insects@reddit

Nope. I have a lot of dyslexic friends and family and a dyslexic partner. I'm just happy they text me. My partner used to barely ever text out of shame about his dyslexia. Now he just goes for it and that's wonderful.

It's casual conversation in an informal setting. If we wouldn't mouth off at someone for pronunciation mistakes or a stutter, we don't need to give them hell over spelling.

(Just to clarify, if someone genuinely struggle with spelling, reading, grammar etc., of course I don't blame them for getting it wrong. But other people who have no challenges with this, seem to get it wrong out of pure laziness or ignorance)

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Psyk60@reddit

Yes - this is such an incredibly basic piece of grammar, I don't even understand how people get it wrong. I am also not a native English speaker, and in my language your and you're are two very different sounding words, so potentially that makes it easier.

Sounds like you do understand how people get it wrong. That's exactly why they make the mistake, the words sound the same. Being a non-native speaker gives you an advantage because you never thought of them as being the same word in the first place. While a native English speaker doesn't learn they are different words until they learn how to spell.

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MumblingMak@reddit

It drives me insane. But maybe that’s because I teach literacy!

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minecraftmedic@reddit

Not as much as people using "would of" instead of "would've".

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Ornery-Assignment-42@reddit

I try not to judge people I know nothing about who are just trying to get a point across but people I went to school with posting on Facebook, not knowing the difference between your you’re, their there they’re, to too. We had the same education!

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No, I get the ick when people put other people down because of grammar and spelling.

We are a country of mixed social economics and educations.

It's elitist and gross.

(Traitors season, when people start ripping on contestants for incorrectly spelling names, is a particularly ick time for me)

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It's classist because that's where judgment for those who are seemingly 'less educated' comes from.

The written word and language are one form of learning style that some people pick up and find extremely logical and easier than others.

However, that is no barometer of intellect or ability, and to assume they are intertwined is classist.

Some people are written word 'Dumb as F**' but are unbelievable problem solvers.

I once saw an informational vinyl banner on a bus with the wrong 'there'. The grammar mistake infuriated me because of how many eyes had passed over it before it existed for me to read...

Someone had composed the text. Someone had designed it. Someone had laid it up and sent it to print. Someone had processed and delivered the product. Someone had applied it to the bus. All of these steps needed approving, and yet every step either missed the error, or didn't think the error reflected poorly on the bus company.

Language matters. Clear communication matters. It feels like we're in a kind of decay.

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wolfie66666@reddit

I am English, but I get really annoyed about bad grammar. Don’t start me on less or fewer!

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NationalTry8466@reddit

Yes! Yes!

If you’ve got to the ick stage on grammar errors like your/you’re, then you’re practically fluent.

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Snoo93102@reddit

It used to bother me a lot more but I've had to become more lax in a situation where most times I'm the only one bothered if that makes sense? But I always automatically clock it as soon as it crops up in a sentence. I can't not notice it.

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EclipseHERO@reddit

I was taught these differences at school when I was young. People messing that up is usually just because they didn't listen. Very occasionally the mistake can happen even to people like myself who DID pay attention but that's always down to tiredness and thus reduced senses in the moment.

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Voltalox@reddit

Depends on the context/situation. If English isn't your first language you get a pass. If you have dyxlexia you get a pass, etc.

derekclysdale@reddit

don't

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curious-fridge@reddit

No it does not give me the ick but lead/led does.

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LostCtrl-Splatt@reddit

People that use the ick give me the ick... Damn

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GrownDandilion@reddit

Nope because I am grown up and the "ick" is bullshit

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Timely_Resist_2744@reddit

It does, same as mixing up their, there and they're and specific/pacific, but it tends to only give me the ick if its an adult native speaker (who are usually the worst offenders for getting it wrong).

I'm currently learning french and I'm certain I make similar mistakes with the french language all the time, but you learn through your mistakes and is a great way to improve. So I give allowances for those who are children, EAL or those who have obvious additional needs, as they're building their confidence in how the world works in the UK (even if it is something simple like getting on public transport or going to the shop), and grammatically perfect English comes secondary to that.

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UncutOlder@reddit

It does matter; there IS a difference between their/there; your/you’re & to/too. Illiteracy seems to be becoming prevalent:(

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Ohbc@reddit

Absolutely. It's such a basic mistake, it feels like the person just doesn't care. I only see people who are native speakers make this mistake. When you learn English as a second language, you learn the pronunciation and the spelling at the same time and this kind of thing is drilled in very early.

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Intruder313@reddit

Yep but not as much as the fact that the majority now spell lose as loose - I fear this becoming an official OED change soon :(

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constipated_coconut@reddit

Bad grammar in general pisses me off

On accident

Accept vs except

They’re/their/there

We’re/where/we’re

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LazyEmu5073@reddit

On accident

Oh deer, your the only comment to mention this!! To the people who say that, I ask them if they say "by purpose"!

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constipated_coconut@reddit

Not to be that person but *dear 😅

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Random_Guy_47@reddit

By far the most annoying one is "I could care less"

Yep.

Another one for me is people using the past participle in place of the basic past tense. e.g., “Yeah, I seen that.”

I probably just haven't noticed how prevalent it is because I say it myself!

Most of my UK friends don't say it, with the exception of one or two. Though they have Irish heritage so I did wonder if it might be related.

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Wibblejellytime@reddit

Breath and breathe. People don't seem to know the difference, even on tattoos!

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MinimumCut140@reddit

*Apologise.

Dazz316@reddit

In texting and random messages? No.

At work in professional emails and stuff? Yes.

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kmaclennan@reddit

"Should of", "would of", "could of", etc.. These make me very sad to see. Also seen people saying they brought something instead of bought. I don't understand how that one happens.

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Extreme_Swimming6380@reddit

If I do it, yes. If other people do it, no.

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docju@reddit

You see it all the time on reels and TikToks. Many do it deliberately because they know they will be corrected and it drives engagement, so in those cases it is best not to correct them.

I don’t like it personally. I did see a comment the other day that had “you’r” which I am guessing was designed to hedge bets…

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ShowMeYourPapers@reddit

I realise this and just block the account.

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Prudent-Level-7006@reddit

Ick, er no. I mean it might even be accidental, I know which one is right but just write on autopilot sometimes, but it's not really a showing of overall intelligence, and doesn't Ick mean creepy anyway?

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AffectionateWeb613@reddit

It doesn’t give me the ick - people using that term gives me the ick! But it’s just grammatically wrong and shows a lack of education or lack of care when writing.

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abyssal-isopod86@reddit

Yep.

As does using the wrong they're, there or their.

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TheHawkinator@reddit

If it was in like a book or a professionally published work, or a work email I would care, but if it's just on the internet or informally I'm not really too bothered. The purpose of language is to communicate and as long as we all know what's being communicated I'm of the live and let live position.

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herwiththepurplehair@reddit

If someone is a native speaker, they really should have got the hang of it by now. And if they are talking down to me or being rude, you bet I'm calling them out on sh*tty grammar and spelling lol.

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unbelievablydull82@reddit

Sometimes, but then again, some people are dyslexic, and some people's first language isn't English, so it's not my right to judge

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Snoo93102@reddit

Grammar trolls thread lol You were the teachers who through black board rubbers at kids in the class room. Lol

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Great-Big-3101@reddit

the teachers who through black board rubbers

It definitely turns me off, but I don't judge people too deeply about it.

It doesn't necessarily mean they're stupid, it's not like smart people are born knowing grammar.

TheSnowmansIceCastle@reddit

I used to care about all kinds of grammar/spelling errors. One day I realized it just made no difference at all. As long as I understand the intent of the statement it's fine. If the grammar/spelling creates a situation where there's confusion about the meaning, I'll ask for clarification. Life is too short to get upset about this kind of trivial error. FWIW, spelling and grammar norms change over time so who knows of what is currently a mistake will become the standard?

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LongBeakedSnipe@reddit

I think often people are just projecting what their parents did to them as kids, or something similar.

Yeah I think it’s really common in TikTok, YouTube and IG so people pick it up. Some of my friends spell everything as if they are American, it’s frustrating but I get why.

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Obvious-Fruit-506@reddit

I’m irked by this too!!

Like, actually listen to what you’re saying people!!!

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purple_crow34@reddit

I think we may need another apology for using the Americanised variant of "apologise" in your initial apology.

In all seriousness though, it's really not a massive deal if English isn't your first language. I'd have no leg to stand on if I were to whinge about it, considering that I only speak English and very dodgy German.

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Perfect-Change-896@reddit

“I genuinely thought” and “I generally thought” being used incorrectly makes my eye twitch

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DamnitGravity@reddit

Grammar errors like that, as well as things like 'could of' or 'could care less', are all examples to me of people who don't think.

It takes very little brain power to realise 'could care less' makes no sense, and that 'could of' is clearly a mishearing of 'could've'.

The fact that these mistakes still linger in a person's written or verbal language is an indication to me that this person doesn't think about how they write/speak, so therefore likely isn't particularly introspective. They are the type who likely hold opinions they can't back up; they just believe what they believe because they've never bothered to question it.

To me, it reeks of intellectual laziness, and I confess, when I see these mistakes my brain does tend to assume the writer/speaker is... let's go with 'lacking in education'.

As for the phrase 'the ick', it's not my favorite phrase, I think there are better ways of expressing that someone or something is off-putting, as 'the ick' sounds very immature to my ear, indicating the person is a teen, or they're an adult who's trying to prove they're 'hip with the kids'.

But I acknowledge 'the ick' is likely a phrase that will rise in popularity, so while I will likely never use it, and while hearing it will likely make me frown, it won't completely put me off someone. But it will cause me to leap to certain assumptions about them, the same as the spelling errors do.

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dospc@reddit

Using clichés and phrases that don't make sense is a sign of not thinking, but spelling and grammar errors are absolutely NOT.

I'm a 1.5 gen immigrant so I'm used to being around people like my parents or my friends' parents who make mistakes with their English and that doesn't bother me. And I have dyslexic friends so the idd mistake doesn't faze me. I also try to be understanding of people who didn't get to finish school etc.

But wilful ignorance does- the kind of people who should know better but just don't care. Sloppy online dating profiles are a turnoff. If someone knows they are using the wrong spelling or form of its or there/their or whatever abd they don't care and think it doesn't matter, then that's a turnoff. Laziness and lack of appreciation for how words have meaning isn't appealing.

Both my husband and I are grammar pedants to a degree and met on a dating app so it worked out for us. You just have to fibd soneond who matches, wherever you fall on the issue.

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salamanderwolf@reddit

Mixing them up in a book, is a crime.

Mixing them up in an internet comment, when you're typing quickly, or English is not your first language is understandable. People pointing the mistake out....wankers. Pure wankers with no life.

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lunchbox3@reddit

The only time it’s acceptable to point out is when the original commenter who made the mistake is being a bully or a total wanker, OR is calling someone out on their grammar mistakes! Then a well placed *you’re is objectively very funny.

Also I am a native speaker who absolutely knows the difference and when to use each but I struggle with spelling of homophones when typing quickly and mix them up still. I’ll notice other peoples mistake but never judge.

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Funtimetilbedtime@reddit

Yes but it has happened time as a typo. In messages you can edit them but not on emails. It’s quite embarrassing…I want to send a follow up email announcing I know the difference but then I’d look crazy! Do I stick to looking stupid instead…

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EUskeptik@reddit

I agree. These people should of paid more attention at school.

Arny2103@reddit

From harmless grammatical opinions to pure savagery by the end of that comment.

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Fabulous_Intern181@reddit

Native speaker here and yeah, a lot of us notice it too The difference is we know the rule, but in casual texting people get lazy, type fast, or just don’t care

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SpecialEbb2641@reddit

Yes it is huge ick for me!!

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Not as much as bought and brought.

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quartersessions@reddit

It does, to be honest - and did even more when I was younger.

Using 'your' in place of everything is fairly normalised. Its a bit snobby to be put off buy it.

Im not saying its right but so long as the level of English isnt lik dis then whatever.

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Scofield442@reddit

b~~u~~y it

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Eastern-Move549@reddit

Lol

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Scofield442@reddit

I no longer feel icky! 😂

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Borrow/ lend We was… Work colleague, why the need to precede the word with “ work “, what other type of colleague can there be?

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ownworstenemy38@reddit

I get downvoted a lot for correcting this.

It doesn’t give me the ick. Being chewed out for correcting it does.

But mixing up “of”and “have”…I just don’t understand how this happens.

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tempsdix@reddit

Not a native speaker either; but it really depends on the person. It's an initial turn-off, but I can think of at least one person who writes "your" instead of "you're" and I find it endearing. Perhaps because they have always tried to look very polished and perfect in everything, and that's just a place where the mask slips.

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LimitFine5869@reddit

Discrete or variations of for discreet! 😏

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BobbyP27@reddit

When we were learning English, teachers really emphasized these kinds of differences a lot. I’m wondering when it’s your native language, is it taught differently?

The way a person acquires a language natively in the home/community and the way a person learns a language in a classroom setting are quite different. In the first case, you learn purely on the basis of the spoken language, and there is no deliberate teaching of anything like rules. Your brain figures the rules out, but it is an unconscious process. If you learn a language in a classroom setting, it is very common to use a rules first approach, with the rules of grammar outlined clearly and explicitly. It is also common to learn writing alongside or even before the spoken language. So when people who are native speakers learn "your" and "you're" there I no teacher, there is no active teaching process. It is simply hearing other people speak and copying.

In the spoken language, your and you're sound identical (for many accents). Same with there/their/they're. For someone who acquires the language natively, these are basically the same words, and the distinction in the written form has to be actively learned. To a person who learns the language in a classroom setting, the distinction coming from the rules and structure of the language come first. It is entirely clear that they are different, and the fact that they happen to sound the same is incidental, of secondary importance.

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Major-Credit-2442@reddit

Should of Could of Would of

These annoy me more

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Visual-Knowledge-730@reddit

I blame Autocorrect & people just want to send the message, they can’t be bothered to adjust it or even think about it.

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Speshjunior@reddit

Not as bad as:

Usually it's in the context of a relationship/potential romantic partner and represents something that puts you off them. Eg you might be really fancying someone but if they give you the ick for using you're/your incorrectly you're less likely to fancy them after discovering that/pursue a romantic relationship.

The word "ick" does that for me. Whoever got that word out onto the internet needs to spend some serious time being water boarded.

On a serious note ref your question; I genuinely think you are setting yourself up for a life of stress if people rushing out text messages with poor spelling has such an impact. Keep up your own standards and be as zen as your can with other people's is my advice.

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SacredShape@reddit

It could of given me the ick in fact it definitely should of, maybe it would of

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Your and you’re, there, their and they’re and where, were, wear and we’re are really common things to mix up, even for native speakers.

I try not to judge, as everyone has different levels of education and aptitude when it comes to literacy. Dyslexic people can also mix them up really easily.

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pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit

Yes. They’re common, everyday words that an adult native speaker should know the difference between. Misspelling uncommon words I don’t have a problem with.

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ducksoupmilliband@reddit

Agreed. It's a vague term that reminds me of the childish word "icky".

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Jturnster89@reddit

Not as much as people using "the ick"

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iffyClyro@reddit

Yes. However I don’t need the person to be wrong I just need “it” to be correct.

People get offended when they’re corrected but my dyslexic/ADHD brain just really struggles to process what on earth someone means when they’re corrected get their your/you’re mixed up. Same with their, there and they’re.

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Bksudbjdua@reddit

I think there's a difference between the language we speak when writing a text, and when we are sending an official email.

In work, I will make sure my spelling is correct. On WhatsApp, I couldn't give a fk.

If I can be bothered I will correct myself if I accidentally use the wrong spelling. I speak different to how English is spelled, so a lot of the time I'll write "yer" instead of "your". E.g. I thought he said it was in yer bag.

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gobuddy99@reddit

Yes it does. Almost as much as confusing it's and its. Yes I will judge people on that kind of thing.
I think it's my age though. Apostrophes are going out of fashion, that's just the way it is with a living language.

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JoeyJoJoeJr_Shabadoo@reddit

Almost as much as confusing it's and its

This mistake is far more understandable. "Its" is an exception to the usual rule.

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toby1jabroni@reddit

Not especially, but someone saying something “gives me the ick” makes me suspect they are about 13 years old.

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mka_@reddit

It doesn't bother me at all

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AchillesNtortus@reddit

When a foreigner makes a mistake in English, I will always give them a pass. English is an easy language to communicate in, but very hard to speak well as there are few consistent rules.

Children making mistakes are even easier to accept because they often apply general rules to words that are full of exceptions. For example, the plural of goat is goats; the plural of sheep is not sheeps, sheep's or sheepies.

Your, you're and yore are homonyms that native speakers are too lazy to get right. This really annoys me.

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Choccybizzle@reddit

Yes it does. I can forgive the odd one as could be autocorrect or maybe they’re rushing the message, but consistently messing it up bugs me.

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thecheesycheeselover@reddit

Yes, I dislike it

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Wait-Whos-Joe@reddit

your not wrong, i think alot of people feel that way, its you're life so go with person with good grammer,

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Shoulder-Ordinary@reddit

No. I always wonder why some people think language and spelling should be set now. Some people get really caught up in spelling as if our language has always has been as it is now. Life would probably be easier and simpler if "photograph" was spelt as it sounds "fotograf". I don't care that it's "dumbing it down", there is more to care about and more to fight for.

It depends on the context - in a work email I would definitely be raising eyebrows at the sloppiness, casually texting with a friend I wouldn't think anything of it, with predictive text it's so easy to accidentally end up with the wrong one even if you know the correct one and I'm not expecting proofreading in a casual text thread.

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Traditional_Cress987@reddit

Omg massive ick! Am I a snob?

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GodsBicep@reddit

Personally I dont care because Im not a dork. If I can understand what's being said then the message is being conveyed properly.

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BalianofReddit@reddit

Your example is a sign that a person either doesn't read that much, didn't do well at English in school or an overly aggressive spell checker.

Honestly, it doesn't piss me off to see it because nobody's perfect. I've less tolerance for it from a native english speaker and absolutely all the time in the world for someone who's learned it as a second language.

I have just noticed that my predictive text is off and doesn't add apostrophes most of the time (something im apparently completely reliant on happening automatically now), the same could be true in your example.

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Excellent_Bank6964@reddit

My baby’s is possesive eg my baby’s blanket, babies is plural 1 baby; 2 babies - sorry me being me!

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Afraid-Astronomer886@reddit

Y O U ^apostrophe^ R E means you are, Y O U R means your

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Evening-Web-3038@reddit

When someone texts me things like “your so sweet” I get randomly turned off.

Talking of icks, how is it "random" when it seems to happen when someone does a specific thing?

That has always been a bit cringe in my eyes lol. Reminds me of being in school and those 'mad' people who would 'act randomly'. Nah, you're just being normal if not a bit kooky and there is nothing 'random' about your 'random act'. It especially irked me because I enjoyed maths. Random would be, for example, me throwing my left sock out into my garden and putting a piece of bread in the toilet. It wouldn't be getting the ick when someone uses your instead of you're etc. That would be decidedly non-random IMO.

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AnonyCass@reddit

It's a little annoying but does not pacifically give me the ick...

(hoping that doesn't go down like a lead balloon, even though its obviously a joke)

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Their, they're, it'll be alright

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On internet comments and the like people are typing on phones so It doesn't bother me. But I've seen it on work emails and paperwork, then it does bother me.

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Claire4Win@reddit

Nah. It think you should accept the changes in you're language.

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never_cake@reddit

I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to foreign English speakers, the neurodiverse or children. Native English speakers with neurotypical brains though.. not so much. It's either they're stupid or they don't care. Neither of which I think is appealing.

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DickEd209@reddit

Good grammar is knowing your shit and knowing you're shit.

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cheandbis@reddit

People make mistakes. My biggest peeve is the culture we have where it's seemingly against the rules to point out these mistakes and therefore people never learn.

If I made a post saying that Sydney was the capital of Australia, I'd have loads of replies telling me it was Canberra and I was wrong, no one would bat an eyelid.

Yes. Especially for native English speakers because they were taught the difference at school and it doesn’t take a lot of thought to work out which one is correct by saying the long version out loud.

Misusing them is laziness.

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Mothmanrmj@reddit

People confusing their and there also give me the ick.

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Bluerocky67@reddit

I have a friend who uses his instead of he’s. So annoying. I’m used to ‘your’ being wrong now, barely notice it (I use your/you’re correctly in texts)

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George_Salt@reddit

Yes, but I also accept that since AI was let loose on spelling and grammar checkers the correct version is frequently being autocorrected to the wrong version. I've caught it happening, as have a couple of other people I've spoken to about this - including an English teacher who is being driven crazy when their correct grammar is being 'corrected' to incorrect grammar. WhatsApp seems to suffer from this a lot.

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sleepyprojectionist@reddit

It shouldn’t annoy me, but it still does.

On Reddit I don’t know if the person typing speaks English as a first language or not and I don’t know if they have dyslexia or some other condition that might affect them.

I’m far from perfect, so I try not to be a hypocrite. It is very easy to fall back on the prejudiced view that anyone misspelling words must lack education, but I know from experience that simply isn’t true. Some of the smartest engineers I know can’t string a coherent sentence together to save their lives, but they can diagnose a complex mechanical/optical/electronic issue at a glance.

I will still correct people on occasion, but in my head people are like me and will appreciate it.

If no one tells me I am wrong then I am unable to learn from my mistakes.

Unfortunately reality often deviates from what I think should happen.

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vicarofsorrows@reddit

People never used to confuse them when English education was given proper respect, back in days of your….

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nickmasonsdrumstick@reddit

A lot more about modern life gives me the "Ick" as it is put these days. As long as I use them correctly (sometimes misspelled or autocorrect does me). As much as I can. I dont care if anyone else uses them accordingly or not.

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romeo__golf@reddit

Yes. The occasional slip-up is no big deal (auto-correct has a lot to answer for!) but people who regularly misuse these or type things like "could of" instead of "could have" really bug me.

I wouldn't say anything, and I'm sure I make the odd grammatical mistake too, but I definitely judge them slightly for these simple ones.

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FoalKid@reddit

I’m a native English speaker, studied English, and work in a role that revolves around making language helpful and easy to understand.

I still occasionally make this mistake in a first draft/when replying to a message.

I would never allow this to happen in my work, and I correct it even in a text once I see it - but it happens. People still understand your meaning, which at the end of the day is the most important thing.

Also, dyslexia exists - as do other conditions, permanent or temporary (ie. stress, multitasking etc) that lead to people making mistakes. It’s not a big deal

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Petrichor_ness@reddit

For me it's the context more than the actual grammar/mistake.

If someone's kicking off in a rant on the local town FB page about how they're allowed to park on double yellow lines/let their dog run about off lead without control/let their kids rid their electric scooters on the road at night with no lights etc. That's when I'm judging them.

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Dunnohye@reddit

Any bad grammar does tbh. But I would always be understanding if it’s not someone’s first language. The fact they can speak it at all is worlds better than me. Top pet peeves:

“We was” “I could care less” “Give it me”

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SnooDonuts3141@reddit

People who reply with 'the phrase "the ick" gives me the ick' give me the ick.

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dhardyuk@reddit

I enjoy it most when it’s yore

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TieDyePandas@reddit

No, it's inconsequential to my everyday life, I can understand what the writer is going for.

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To and too, too. They might sound the same but they’re fundamentally different words and people never use two for either of these so it can’t be that difficult.

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KittyHalfEyes@reddit

Funny i have noticed, it’s always a foreigner ( new to western co) is who interested in English grammar, and looks down on others who struggles.

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Ganntak@reddit

Yes. I can actually tell if they do it when speaking.

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PlusRespond2485@reddit

It does. But if English is not your first language I would 100% respect that because to someone who has learned it all their life, the British language is still as confusing as fudge.

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Shn_Wttn@reddit

Then and than is worse 😡😡😡

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sennalvera@reddit

Doesn't bother me if it's in a comment reply or whatsapp. Will make me think twice about a blog post. If it's in a story or book I'll stop reading. It's actually something I've been noticing increasingly in self-published stuff - not outright spelling mistakes, it's obviously been run through a spellcheck, but it's common to see misattributions. Just the other day I was trying to read something that consistently miswrote 'thorough' as 'throughout'.

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ogresound1987@reddit

Yes. It does bother me.

In my personal life I don’t care or pay attention. Mainly because it would be hypocritical of me. My grammar and spelling are often shocking, particularly when I’m typing fast or multitasking.

I care about the context of spelling and grammatical errors. Life doesn't need to be a constant test. I'll overlook errors in online posts and instant messages/sms.

Your time on the planet is short - don't get worked up about minor textual transgressions.

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