# Most common typo/bad spelling/grammar on the web? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2001, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319 "2001-07-31T08:42:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/21 "2001-08-01T01:10:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Danimal \* > \*\*The use of “cum” for “come” annoys me to no end. And unlike some of the other errors here, it seems to be nearly exclusive to the Internet. Grrr! > \*\* Ha. I advised a young teen [on another board] that he or she might want to consider not spelling “come” as “cum” or someone might end up slapping him or her. S/he didn’t disagree. I’m more bothered by people using the inncorrect word or non-word (u no what i mean? u must have seen them in ur surfin of the net b4. n e way…) than by simple spelling errors. Probably because I’m not a hypocrite; I know my own spelling isn’t great, but it just isn’t easy for everyone. As long as the word is used correctly, and a good attempt to spell it is made, I’m happy. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/22 "2001-08-01T01:14:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > I’m more bothered by people using the inncorrect word …Probably because I’m not a hypocrite; I know my own spelling isn’t great. \*\* For example, ocassionally I spell incorrect incorrectly. damn. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sparklo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sparklo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparklo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/23 "2001-08-01T01:16:09Z")
I’ll second **Manduck’s** lose vs. loose. Sure, it’s just a type. 😛 Also, I have to be careful now about spelling certain words; now that I’ve seen “wierd” so often, it starts to look right. ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/24 "2001-08-01T01:37:55Z")
I place my vote for “loose=lose,” “looser=loser.” Makes my fillings ache every time I see it posted. Also, the refusal to use proper capitalization causes me to react like a victim of Tourette’s Syndrome. In quiet defense of teh=the: I’ve done this one myself as a result of a too rapid preview of my post. Of course, I always spot it just after hitting the submit button and then I have to spend the next week writhing in shame. \* **Zaph’enath** , the “ism” in science is schism. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![barking\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@barking\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barking_frog)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/25 "2001-08-01T02:50:18Z")
Using “a” when “an” is supposed to be used doesn’t really bother me, but when someone does the opposite it annoys me to no end, I mean, where does “an falcon” come from? Nonetheless, it is amusing when you hear someone call someone “a idiot”. Here are some more: to/too/two amature (no such word)/amateur calender/calandar/calendar And of course, seperate and separate. Also, the other day while playing a game, someone announced, “Here come the calvary!” Of course, he didn’t mean that the hill where Jesus died was coming towards him, but rather, cavalry. However, I think I’ll put my vote in with the your/you’re crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/26 "2001-08-01T05:45:49Z")
Actually, I have started to strenuously support the position that apostrophes are for missing letters. If there’s not a missing letter, then dang it, there shouldn’t be an apostrophe. My case in point is the Ten Real SATs book put out by ETS, which writes the SAT I and the SAT II Writing tests. The Writing test is a pretty picky grammar test, for which I help kids prepare. My point here is that the company that cannot afford to be making grammar mistakes does NOT have an apostrophe to pluralize the abbreviation. And as I understand it, yes, possessives DO have a missing letter, or atleast that’s where it originated, as in, “Thomas, his bed.” I’d like to know when that change became “official.” And isn’t it amazing how many stores will post signs using an apostrophe for a plural word? Didn’t these people go to 4th grade? ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/27 "2001-08-01T06:16:16Z")
This one was mentioned, but it “definAtely” bothers me. Did not see… opps for oops (seems like a simple one to sound out) ect. for etc. (does someone actually say “ectetera” or is it just a typo?) The H4XOR mention was hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Medicinal\_Herb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Medicinal\_Herb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medicinal_Herb)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/28 "2001-08-01T06:26:09Z")
If “Thomas’ bed” started out as “Thomas, his bed”, it must have been back in the deep, dark folds of history. I’m thinking even before there was a language called “english”. A minor point. Other than that, a hearty (or is it hardy?) me too to everything else in this thread. These kinds of grammatical sin seem to be especially prevalent on the internet. I have read few letters that contain such questionable content. And speaking of “especially”, when something is prepared specifically for a certain person or occasion, is it prepared “especially” or “specially”? ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/29 "2001-08-01T06:54:24Z")
My ex-boyfriend had a tendency to write long, rambling passages on the nature of existence. One such passage used several fifty-dollar words (“paradigm” being one example), then about halfway through he used the word “extreem.” He was quite annoyed when I busted out laughing, and he sputtered some retort about not needing to spellcheck personal stuff … he didn’t seem to understand that if he was trying to impress me with his deep intellectual philosophy, he threw the whole image by spelling buzzwords correctly and basic words wrong. Also, when I lurked in a few Pagan chatrooms a while back, I would inevitably be asked if I worshipped Satin. This would usually lead to a discussion of rayon vs. silk. Dragonblink the Compulsive Proof-Reader ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/30 "2001-08-01T08:03:43Z")
That reminds me of the 4th graders I taught in Compton, CA. English was mostly a second language. “Teacher, I’m boring.” “Well, try to be more interesting.” They never got it. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/31 "2001-08-01T10:12:08Z")
Don’t you loosers have anything better to do then criticize people and there grammar? Its not as if the web, and it’s users, give a damn about you grammar-nazis. Their of the opinion that you all need to just chill out. They could care less. You could of come up with a better question than this. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/32 "2001-08-01T11:08:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zuma \* > \*\*Don’t you loosers have anything better to do then criticize people and there grammar? Its not as if the web, and it’s users, give a damn about you grammar-nazis. Their of the opinion that you all need to just chill out. They could care less. You could of come up with a better question than this. \*\* I think yourll find teh word should of bin spelt ‘gramm **e** r’ ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/33 "2001-08-01T15:55:04Z")
pestie > [@](#): > > Was it an acronym? The sentence was “[City name] pride parades are boring.” There is no way an apostrophe is appropriate anywhere in that sentence. Danimal > [@](#): > > The use of “cum” for “come” annoys me to no end. And unlike some of the other errors here, it seems to be nearly exclusive to the Internet. “Cum” is used pretty much exclusively in pornography, as in “his cum spattered my chest.” So I guess we know what sort of websites YOU’RE frequenting! It’s used in offline porn too, and I’ve always felt it’s a useful construction, better than turning “come” into a noun. But if on the off chance you’re not surfing the pornsites, then yeah, I agree it’s a nasty use of “cum” but I think perhaps it’s a (gross) style choice instead of a “typo.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/34 "2001-08-01T16:09:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peedin \* > \*\*Excercise. Do people pronounce it that way? \*\* Popeye does ---
**Author:** ![WEW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@WEW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WEW)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/35 "2001-08-01T16:43:27Z")
Chilidogg, you’re right. I worked for a company that had an orientation for new employees, after which, the new employees were said to be orientated. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It should be oriented. It’s like saying your flight has been cancelated. I hate the to/too/two mix up, the apostrophe for plural mistake (near the English building at the University of North Texas is a business called “Joe’s Copy’s”), and the you’re/your blunder. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/36 "2001-08-01T19:56:51Z")
> [@](#): > > “[City name] pride parades are boring.” Using an apostrophe here is fine if the intent is to say that the parades of or belonging to the city are boring. Then the word is possessive, and does need an apostrophe. In English, we can swing both ways with this sentence. You could say, “Anaheim pride parades are boring.” In this case “Anaheim” becomes a kind of adjective, I guess, and is not a noun that can own things like parades. > [@](#): > > I think yourll find teh word should of bin spelt ‘grammer’ MS Word does NOT like the word “grammer”. For that matter, neither does [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). Unless you’re implying that if Zuma is going to be so loose with English that he/she might as well go and misspell “grammar” also. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/37 "2001-08-01T20:17:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WEW \* > **Chilidogg, you’re right. I worked for a company that had an orientation for new employees, after which, the new employees were said to be orientated. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It should be oriented. It’s like saying your flight has been cancelated.** According to [Merriam Webster](http://www.m-w.com), “orientated” is a recognised form of “oriented.” This one used to piss me off also, until I was forced to realise it is a real word. It still sounds weird, though. I agree with everything else that people have said so far, and I have a few of my own to add: “I have better clothes than her.” You would never say, “I have better clothes than her has.” Why say it that way without the “has”? A couple of my friends say “halarious” instead of “hilarious” and “enless” instead of “unless.” I also hate when people end their sentences with prepositions. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/38 "2001-08-01T20:25:09Z")
I’m on a lot of transit and rail-related boards, and the plural of “bus” is almost invariably spelled “busses.” NO, NO, NO! “Busses” is the plural of buss, meaning kiss. The plural of bus is plain old “buses”! ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/39 "2001-08-01T20:29:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FireUnderpantsBoobs \* > I also hate when people end their sentences with prepositions. Aw, what’d ya say that for? Anyway, Merriam Webster simply chronicles the sorry state of the language as understood by its least acute users. Every time I’ve had a serious usage beef, M-W sides with the illiterate moron I’m attempting to educate. It offers “unusual” as an appropriate meaning for “unique,” for example. Fie, I say. Fie upon it. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319/40 "2001-08-01T20:52:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jadis \* > **I tried in vain to explain the difference (in general, affect is a verb and effect is a noun).** Just some more info on the forms of “affect” and “effect” from [http://www.m-w.com](http://www.m-w.com). Prior to your post, I thought I was the only person annoyed by this. > [@](#): > > usage: The confusion of the verbs affect and effect is not only quite common but has a long history. Effect was used in place of 3affect as early as 1494 and in place of 2affect as early as 1652. If you think you want to use the verb effect but are not certain, check the definitions in this dictionary. The noun affect is sometimes mistakenly used for effect. Except when your topic is psychology, you will seldom need the noun affect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-common-typo-bad-spelling-grammar-on-the-web/74319.md?page=3)