[K the Failure]

(Original post by Catherine.)
I'm not saying that it's right for English natives to make these kinds of mistakes. Heck, I'm sometimes a bit of a grammar Nazi. But, as always, here is Stephen Fry to put everything into perspective:

Here's another perspective...

'Your' and 'you're' have completely different meanings and use in syntax!

[FinalFan3]

(Original post by TheCurlyHairedDude)
I'm 18 and still don't know what the difference between effect and affect is?

Affect is a verb, effect is a noun.

The game was badly affected by the weather.

The weather had a bad effect on the game.

[Ho Chi Minh]

It's probably got something to do with lack of education, although laziness plays a big role. Communication is so swift these days that people take shortcuts a lot.


I know it's taking pedantry a step further, but I get irritated by split infinitives in formal writing.

[philistine]

Because, and this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, most of the British population (or any other, as a matter of fact), are, without a doubt, idiots.

[SillyEddy]

I used to help a few friends with proof-reading for their A-level essays. The number of times that these sort of errors came up was crazy.

All I could really think was, "Okay, seriously? Which bit of English are you doing?"


No. My spelling and grammar are not perfect, but I did not take an A-level in it either. I did take maths, physics, electronics, etc... And I did not get points for using the completely wrong formulae! The fact that our college makes students do grammar lessons as part of A-level English and the fact that so many people still don't understand it just confuses me to no end.

[TheCurlyHairedDude]

(Original post by FinalFan3)
Affect is a verb, effect is a noun.

The game was badly affected by the weather.

The weather had a bad effect on the game.

What the hell are verbs and nouns, I don't even know what adjectives are. I swear I didn't learn any of it, not sure how I got 2 b's for English LMAO

[Inverse]

(Original post by hannah_dru)
I think it's not taught properly in schools anymore.

Any more*

Alternatively, students can't be bothered to learn it any more.

[hannah_dru]

(Original post by Inverse)
Any more*

Alternatively, students can't be bothered to learn it any more.

Oh noes, I made one mistake!! No one is perfect.

I'm not a student...I do know most of my grammar though, it's a job requirement.

[camaieu]

(Original post by K the Failure)
Here's another perspective...

'Your' and 'you're' have completely different meanings and use in syntax!

I understand that. I also understand that correct spelling and grammar is extremely important - but on the other hand, I also believe that everyone is liable to a mistake or two. I firmly believe that it's important to be able to differentiate between 'your' and 'you're', but at the same time, I make mistakes, and it's so wearisome to have the grammar Nazis hunting you down for it.

You'll find that in any language, grammar rules are being broken, not just in English, and there must be, of course, a deeper reason for that. Perhaps technology is playing a part in this.

[odkfn]

(Original post by Really_Gonna_Rock_)
Their/there/they're, your/you're....!!!!!

Why oh why do people confuse these words and so often use the incorrect form????

I'm talking about NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS ffs!!!!!!

Now if you're foreign and you learned English as a second language, I'll forgive you for forgetting the correct form!!!!

But if you're a NATIVE BLOODY ENGLISH SPEAKER, there is no excuse!

Don't they get taught the difference between them in school these days???

Rant over!

your making a good point - their probably just stupid.

(lol)

[Topcat19]

America's influence is depressingly omnipresent.

[ilem]

[raaachek]

(Original post by Arekkusu)
Don't you mean "comma splices are the worst, they are everywhere"?!

Sorry, I'm really dopey. I can't tell if that was a joke

[raaachek]

I had a teacher who would go balistic at people starting sentences with conjunctions (something that's actually allowed), yet would make such basic mistakes herself! She'd put 'however' after a comma when meaning 'but', put apostrophes in plural words, and she once spelt 'lonely' as 'lonley'. And she was an English teacher!

[raaachek]

(Original post by hannah_dru)
Oh noes, I made one mistake!! No one is perfect.

I'm not a student...I do know most of my grammar though, it's a job requirement.

You didn't make a mistake. You were supposed to say 'anymore' there. You'd say 'any more' if you were saying something like, 'I don't have any more cookies'.

[hannah_dru]

(Original post by raaachek)
You didn't make a mistake. You were supposed to say 'anymore' there. You'd say 'any more' if you were saying something like, 'I don't have any more cookies'.

Thank you

[Arekkusu]

(Original post by raaachek)
Sorry, I'm really dopey. I can't tell if that was a joke

Yep, put a comma splice in your sentence, see it's not funny now I've had to explain it is it?

[raaachek]

(Original post by Arekkusu)
Yep, put a comma splice in your sentence, see it's not funny now I've had to explain it is it?

Oh

[Hylean]

Given that spelling is a completely arbitrary representation of the sounds which come out of our mouths, it doesn't really bother me in non-formal writing. The way they spell the words represents the pronunciation, and the context tells us the meaning, so there's no real issue in my opinion. Formal writing is slightly different, really.

(Original post by FinalFan3)
Affect is a verb, effect is a noun.

The game was badly affected by the weather.

The weather had a bad effect on the game.

Both are nouns and both are verbs, just so you know.

[Kolya]

(Original post by Deziah)
When it's people who complain about foreign people coming to our country and not speaking English, yet they can't even establish the difference between basic grammar which they were taught in their native language when they were about five! I'm so ashamed to be British when this happens.

Right. They're almost as bad as those silly people posting on TSR who can't differentiate between grammar and orthographic conventions. I'm so ashamed to be British when this happens.