#011 - Your defiantly a women !!
So many websites and blogs are spoiled by people who just don't get it.... the difference between your and you're, their and there, definitely and defiantly, woman and women, the list goes on and on. Such a shame.
I'm not perfect. I strive to be. I'm damned well near 10% perfect but a good 90% imperfect. If you spot a typo on my site PLEASE TELL ME. I WANT to know. It is amazing the number of people who get offended when you point things out that are wrong. I'm talking more about Facebook than WA, but I've noticed these mistakes here too, and spellcheckers won't pick them up because they are words that are spelled right but are in the wrong context. PLEASE ask people to criticize your site, not your sight, although maybe that's the problem :)
Here's a list of some of the most common errors and I will add to it when time permits.
YOUR & YOU'RE (probably THE commonest mistake)
You're = You are. (You're clever, NOT your clever).
Your = belonging to or associated with. (Your friend Dave, NOT you're friend Dave)
DEFIANTLY & DEFINITELY
DEFIANTLY = In a rebellious manner (My son defiantly said he wasn't going to school)
DEFINITELY = Without doubt (I told him he was definitely going to school)
SITE & SIGHT
Site = a website, a construction site, etc.
Sight = eyesight, a sorry sight, in sight of land etc.
THEIR THERE THEY'RE
Their (again, belonging to or associated with) = I like their friends
There (in, at or to that place or position) = My friends are over there.
They're (They are) = They're looking good for their age, I'll have to go over there and tell them.
TO TOO TWO
To = I like to be nice to people on the bus.
Too = There are too many people on this bus
Two = Only two (2) people are on this bus.
WOMAN & WOMEN (A common mistake unbelievably)
Woman = 1 female. Only one womAn is on this bus.
Women = 2 or more females. There are four womEn on this bus.
If English isn't your first language, you can't really be blamed for these errors. But if it is, you really need to know the difference in these words to give your site any credibility.
And yes, I know this blog isn't spaced out very well, and I'm not sure why this is. If I've made a grammatical error anywhere, PLEASE let me no. (Just testing!)
- Dave.
P.S. By the way, I'm not suggesting, of course, by the title of this blog, that it is only women who make these mistakes. They are mistakes that are made by all sexes, and species, although the little dog at the top got it right :)
Recent Comments
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My common error is prodcut, for product. The plural "s" does my head in too. Though with Paul's help I am getting better at it. Now they are mistakes I do know about. I wouldn't get offended at someone pointing out my errors. In fact I've asked several people I've come to know here at WA, to check out my site any time and let me know of any. It is dreadfully difficult for a non native English speaker to get the spelling and grammar correct. My hat goes off to them for the effort they put in and for not giving up.
When I'm writing, I always type cahrge instead of charge (just did it again and had to correct it, lol) and quuen instead of queen. Not sure why. I think my brain is too fast for my fingers, or is it the other way round?. Anyway, I'm off to cahrge the quuen :)
Excellent post, this is a total pet hate of mine! Many of us here at WA would do well to keep this post as a reference point. I've seen many instances of decent (or even very good!) content being completely undermined by poor grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It makes the author appear completely unbelievable as an authority even though they may be extremely well informed! Cheers.
Thanks Dom. I agree. I love your shades by the way, being a lover of exotic birds, palm trees and the sun. Now there's a niche I hadn't thought of. Crazy shades, lol. CrazyShades.com :) :) Looks like it's been taken though, lol :)
I love to read your blog posts, not only are they helpful but humorous as well. I like your spelling test too, just to let you KNOW. Lol
Thanks Dave, great post!
Thanks Deb. I found your profile interesting and humorous and this is the way I tend to write now, otherwise my blogs would be fairly boring at times, I think. I always like to include an animal related image or cartoon too :)
Grate post. :)
This is not one, this is my biggest, pet hate.
I especially get irked when I read people's comments of "what a good article" and all of the above mistakes (and then some) have been made - seriously aren't you doing the writer a favour by pointing out the incorrect grammar?
I guess it is a sign of the times and with texting will only get worse.
Text speak is so annoying. Not really necessary any more with querty 'keyboards' on smartphones. I cud txt 4 hrs 2 my mny fds if i wtd 2 but tht wud be no gud :)
Texting has a lot to answer for in my books, Eagle. Add to that the fact that people get lazier with their spelling. They don't use the common sense that spell checkers, can't do grammar checks for them. With the exception of the "bad spelling culprits" raised here, it can be hard to proof read your own writing at times. I do appreciate the help of others checking my articles out, as you can have a blind spot regarding your own errors. Another "set of eyes" can be quite handy at times.
The first I was going to do was correct your spelling!!! Then chew you out for the title!!
You definitely got our attention. When I see errors, I ask if the person would be offended before pointing them out. Kyle appreciated the heads up!!!!
Sometimes it is difficult to see our own mistakes. I've noticed a few on other member's sites :)
I can't stop laughing! I will let you "Know", I am guilty of correcting grammar mistakes Too when I see them. I try and do it with humor and so far no one has walloped me. Tomorrow's another day and we'll see. I thoroughly enjoyed Your post even though I am indeed a woman.
PS: I just noticed that you are British so just for you, I try and do this with Humour
Haha :) One of my 4A groups is called The Humor Room. I was told by a Canadian that it should have a 'u' in it. I always spell it the American way, also I use 'z's instead of 's's
like apologize, criticize, publicize, all words we spell here with an 'se' not a 'ze' :)
I write British English at home too. Getting an underline for keying in an "s" instead of a "z" drives me nuts at times - realise - realize - guess what word is underlined? :)
Great discussion Dave. It's important for those who are marketing online to understand these rules as our goal is to become authorities in our niche.
Gawd Dave, thought for a moment you were talking about me!
Thanks for posting this, Dave. That's my pet beef too. You can add to the list apostrophe 's' to words that are plural, eg. "I have many idea's"; "in a few week's I will ...."; "thank's for that".
'Their' is also spelt 'thier' sometimes.
Then there are sentences which are not sentences; sentences with punctuation in strange places. It helps if you read aloud (not 'allowed') what you have written to find where comas and fullstops should go.
I used to do a fair bit of proofreading and these sort of mistakes just jump off the page at me. I have pointed them out to some people here after seeing their websites, and I risk offending them. However, it does not help them if everyone tells them 'great site'. Feedback is aimed at improving their website, and if they want to look professional, spelling and grammar should be correct. Even those, whose first language is not English, can eliminate many mistakes by first writing content on a word processor (eg. MS Word) and then copying, correcting and pasting content on to their site.
That said, yes, I make mistakes too, often. I corrected a few here after re-reading what I'd written - everyone could at least do that.
Agreed. I made the mistake of telling someone on facebook that their profile picture was not very good, and why. It didn't go down too well. This was someone I've known well for a couple years. Sometimes one can be too honest :)
Hey Mariette, proof read my site any time you want! Hopefully you won't find too many errors. :)
I agree with your remark about "great site" on the feedback page. I prefer to be helpful in my analysis of a persons site. After all, my site is not perfect. Perhaps occasionally, it's because some people are new and don't understand at times what to look out for. Even a quick double check of spelling would result in more errors being rectified.. Maybe some people are in too much of a rush to get through the training?
Great post Dave, and it really attracted my attention! You're right, these kinds of misspellings are REALLY annoying. They also make it harder for people to read and understand the content on your website because their mind has to stop and say "what was that" and figure out what it is supposed to say. Use a spellchecker and a grammar checker and then go through it with a fine tooth comb!
(Oh, and btw, you misspelled know in the last sentence ;)
Thanks Rosina. I see you read it all the way through then :)
My own most common mistake is I say I've just read Rosinas blog, not Rosina's blog. I must have been off school the day they taught that.
Or is it off of school? That confuses me too :)
Just say "away from school" and you don't have to deal with it ;) Many times there are alternative ways to say things that make it easier on you and your reader.
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The mind is an interesting thing -- you will read and convert it in your head and not see the mistake. Not too long ago I found a mistake on a website that had been there at least 5 years -- and I know I'd read it 100 times! I think having a second party take a look can really be helpful!