Word or spelling errors which frequently crop up on social media posts (Trivia)

[GordonT]

Fails to qualify as a "frequent" error but I've just finished reading a post from a lady on FB in which she advocates the use of "emultion" paint.

 

[Tester]

Where for were, as used on this forum

To be fair, autocorrupt has a lot to answer for!

 

[jfollows]

It would matter to an English teacher retired or otherwise and the occasional pedant most likely.

Where it matters to me is in more formal publications, such as any Reach newspaper, which can’t get this right. So I don’t believe anything I see in them. Most recently, they used censor as the word describing a monitoring device in a car’s engine, maybe next time it’ll be censer?

 

[Crithylum]

Where it matters to me is in more formal publications, such as any Reach newspaper, which can’t get this right. So I don’t believe anything I see in them. Most recently, they used censor as the word describing a monitoring device in a car’s engine, maybe next time it’ll be censer?

If I gave my true opinion about certain pieces of grammar, I may get sensored by the automatic moderator.

 

[Magdalia]

Fails to qualify as a "frequent" error but I've just finished reading a post from a lady on FB in which she advocates the use of "emultion" paint.

I am frequently annoyed by people using regular when they mean frequent. But I don't use social media so I don't know if this error is frequent there.

 

[gg1]

Stationary/stationery
Affect/effect (I often have to google that one myself, I can never remember the rule)

 

[jfollows]

Stationary/stationery
Affect/effect (I often have to google that one myself, I can never remember the rule)

Yes, I think that's the thing, I'm in the same boat occasionally, and if I were writing a newspaper article I'd check before publishing it, whereas on a social media post or a forum like this I perhaps wouldn't. I sometimes edit my posts here to correct spelling mistakes if I notice them later. I suspect, though, with Reach they just run a spellcheck which is necessary but not sufficient, and they dispensed with the luxury of sub-editors long ago, if they ever had them. The Manchester Evening News makes me wince, but I sometimes find its information on Manchester useful, however badly presented.

 

[GordonT]

Calander instead of calendar and for the town Callendar instead of Callander. Other variants are available.

 

[jfollows]

dependant/dependent
It’s normally the latter
The former is an individual who is not financially independent

 

[Ediswan]

One which annoys me is when people say things like "the bag in which the book was placed in" or "the shop to which I go to" -- might not be completely incorrect (not too sure actually), with the preposition being repeated. Always gives me the impression that someone is trying to sound smart but always ends up grating on me! I ought to get out more...

If I see something like that, my conclusion, possibly wrong, is that the writer changed their mind about what sentence structure to use, then didn't proofread the result.

 

[Thirteen]

People who spell Israel as Isreal or Keir as Kier, I wouldn't mind but autocorrect exists.

People also adding letters to surnames so Olivia Colman for example gets an added e between L and M on social media so it becomes Coleman.

I have seen a lot of dreadful use of spelling and formatting on forums and weirdly it comes from the older generation and not the younger generation.

 

[Spamcan81]

Would of instead of would have.

 

[DelW]

Would of instead of would have.

I refer you to the second paragraph of my post #3

 

[infobleep]

I have loads due to my typing on a mobile phone keyboard.

Off hand I can think of rge instead of the. You need to look at or picture a QWERTY keyboard to see how that one occurs.

There are many offers but I don't have time to list them right now. Funny enough I initially put dont instead of don't. Again, typing and thinking quickly probably caused that. I just initially typed rhat instead of that to.

 

[Howardh]

I hate "American" spelling - although I would thoroughly forgive if they would add an "s" to "math"!! But the number of times on UK shops have I seen "Off License" which should be a minimum of 20 years imprisonment.

 

[52290]

A lot of people seem to confuse there with their and ensure with insure.

 

[Gloster]

One I have frequently, in addition to the it’s/its one (which came twice in this clause), there is we‘re for were and May for may.

I dislike the frequent appearance of American spellings for offence, defence and other -ences.

 

[GordonT]

I have seen a lot of dreadful use of spelling and formatting on forums and weirdly it comes from the older generation and not the younger generation.

Some of the older generation seem to have little interest in checking out how to edit any obvious mistakes although some at least take the time to type out a supplementary post/comment showing the correction to their original mistake. There often appears to be limited interest in researching the spelling of difficult words and instead they essentially make up their own version of the word which sometimes will bear little resemblance to the word itself. Just been reading a post elsewhere from a lady who recollected as a youngster visiting "Ballochoshi" (Ballachulish).

 

[gg1]

People who spell Israel as Isreal or Keir as Kier, I wouldn't mind but autocorrect exists.

Only if you're responding on a phone, there's no autocorrect if you're using a PC.

On a PC you'll get a red squiggly line to highlight an invalid word (such as 'Isreal') but not when your misspelling also happens to be a valid name or word such as 'Kier' or most of the examples highlighted earlier in this thread. For me autocorrect is more trouble than it's worth, more often than not autoincorrect would be a more accurate term.

 

[jfollows]

"Autocorrect" I loathe with passion, the idea that a computer knows how to spell better than I do is unacceptable, however I don't mind wiggly lines under things which might be wrong. The majority of mistakes, though, are not words spelled incorrectly per se, they're different words spelled correctly which might sound the same or similar.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Off hand I can think of rge instead of the. You need to look at or picture a QWERTY keyboard to see how that one occurs.

I am finding that for some unfathomable reason I am increasingly typing "teh" instead of "the" and "taht" instead of "that" these days - and this is with a computer keyboard... Is this an age related thing to do with brain speed against finger speed?


PS I also hate autocorrupt... ( that's what I call it - with good reason... )

 

[Merle Haggard]

I hate "American" spelling - although I would thoroughly forgive if they would add an "s" to "math"!! But the number of times on UK shops have I seen "Off License" which should be a minimum of 20 years imprisonment.

Being pedantic perhaps, but 'license' is a valid English word - it' the verb form of the noun 'licence'.
But it could mean somewhere that you can license your car away from the local DVLO

 

[infobleep]

I am finding that for some unfathomable reason I am increasingly typing "teh" instead of "the" and "taht" instead of "that" these days - and this is with a computer keyboard... Is this an age related thing to do with brain speed against finger speed?


PS I also hate autocorrupt... ( that's what I call it - with good reason... )

If I switched my autocorrect off, I'd have even more corrections to do!

One thing that happens to be as well is I type i, but in this case, annoying, my phone doesn't correct it to I.

 

[SargeNpton]

Compliment / Complement
Imply / Infer

 

[DelW]

I have loads due to my typing on a mobile phone keyboard.

Off hand I can think of rge instead of the. You need to look at or picture a QWERTY keyboard to see how that one occurs.

There are many offers but I don't have time to list them right now. Funny enough I initially put dont instead of don't. Again, typing and thinking quickly probably caused that. I just initially typed rhat instead of that to.

(My bold) - that was another one

A lot of people seem to confuse there with their ...

and "they're" as well

 

[Djgr]

Loose instead of lose.

The words don't even sound the same!

 

[Lewisham2221]

My own contribution to this thread would be the use "been" instead of "being".

"Autocorrect" I loathe with passion, the idea that a computer knows how to spell better than I do is unacceptable, however I don't mind wiggly lines under things which might be wrong. The majority of mistakes, though, are not words spelled incorrectly per se, they're different words spelled correctly which might sound the same or similar.

Autocorrect, on a smartphone or similar device, is very useful for correcting accidental typos due to trying to type quickly, on a small keyboard, where there's no physically boundaries between keys and it's therefore very easy to mistype.

The words don't even sound the same!

Phonetically, they both start with the "loo" sound, it's only the end of the word that's different.

 

[jfollows]

Autocorrect, on a smartphone or similar device, is very useful for correcting accidental typos due to trying to type quickly, on a small keyboard, where there's no physically boundaries between keys and it's therefore very easy to mistype.

I hear what you’re saying and I understand what you’re saying, but I still disagree with you, I loathe it even on a small phone device.

 

[GordonT]

I have seen a lot of dreadful use of spelling and formatting on forums and weirdly it comes from the older generation and not the younger generation.

On the other hand some in the younger generation (usually knowingly) corrupt certain words usually to shorten them e.g. "wots" for "what's";

 

[Railsigns]

I hear what you’re saying and I understand what you’re saying, but I still disagree with you, I loathe it even on a small phone device.

Comma splice!

I often see prefixes detached from words and their spelling altered to make a legitimate word, but one that doesn't quite fit. In this alternative world, objects are miss placed, people are often miss guided, and Romesh Ranganathan presents a TV show about his miss adventures in faraway lands (I never mis an episode). You may see him in a land where the locals only read none fiction books, drink none alcoholic beer, and cook their breakfasts in none stick frying pans. The errors seem to be none stop.