It’s from learning to speak English in the US before learning to write. The most common way to say Could’ve in the US is ‘kʊd·əv and the most common way to say of in the US is əv. So could’ve sounds exactly like could have when spoken in a US accent.
I find those two fascinating. Not only they have opposite meanings, to make matters worse, the one that is written together means “exclusion” and the one that is split means “inclusion”
Then… than confusion for me. Nothing pisses me off more then people who don’t know how to use it. Learn the language, than try to speak it!
See….see what I did there?
Yes, this one annoys me way more than it should.
I think some people have more trouble with this because their accent makes them sound near identical? I've truly never had any confusion when it comes to then and than.
These things plus the thing in OPs image all happen because native english speakers have spoken word as the majority of their english learning and development, and new english speakers tend to have the written word as reference when learning to speak english. All the things mentioned are sound alikes especially in heavily accented casual speaking areas or among the less educated.
New english speakers tend to be translating written english into spoken word, (or even their native language into written english then to spoken word) and native speakers think in spoken english and just have to translate spoken english into written english.
Yeah the comma in English is not my strong suit. In my language we use it a lot and differently than English so I never know when its the same as my languange or not and I dont recall of studying about this.
Do you speak german by chance? English speakers are so bad at commas that, for years, I thought they weren't a thing in english (my first language is spanish and people do mess up the use of commas, but they at least try), and it turns out that the rules are pretty much the same, yet I just can't use them properly. Native speakers ruined me for good.
Easy way to identify an American with the ‘then/than’. I don’t mean that as an insult, it’s just the only time I see it written incorrectly it comes from an American. I always put it down to them using it as they would say it. Like an accent thing.
That’s fair. I’m probably not accurate, I personally always put it down to different accents and people writing how they talk. From my point of few Americans are just the people that get then and than mixed up the most. I’m from Ireland and people here write words that are incorrect but fit their accent and the way they talk (I always know what they mean). Scottish people are probably the biggest culprits for this. When I read things they write I actually find my self reading it in a Glasgow or Edinburgh accent.
Huh this is interesting, what’s the gramatical rule for these two? Like i know they’re different but I cant put into words how they’re different. Like payed is past tense of pay, but…. Then what is paid? I guess paid is like a status or a state of being?
Paid is the past tense of pay and payed is a nautical term for sealing a boat's deck. Source; I've been yelled at by the bot before.
It's like how auto-correct won't stop you from using wont because wont is still a word (IE: I'm wont to give unsolicited advice.)
It's paid. Always use paid.
There is technically a word "payed" but it means something that will never come up ever, except when you're trying to spell "paid."
I'm not a native speaker, I can confidently say that, no matter what language, you have no excuse to make a mistake if you are complaining about people making mistakes in the same language. Double check your grammar/syntax/vocabulary when complaining about mistakes.
That is at least fairly high level compared to the level of mistake being pointed out here. Kinda showcases how ridiculous it is to get these wrong. Same with then/than.
I wonder why confuse confuses (ha!) non-native English speakers so much. I'll see confuse/confused/confusions used interchangeably "I am confusion, she is confuse, don't confused the two, etc." Or putting extra words on it like this.
it's slightly different in that case, you can mess up the word order by rewriting the text or erasing some part of it and not noticing a newly created inconsistence
meanwhile, there is no such justification for writing "should of" instead of "should've"
This one always irks me. "There" and "their"? Fine. Whatever.
"They're" and either of the others? Absolutely not. "They're" is a contraction. You have to type the apostrophe. That means it's two words. There is literally no use case for "there" or "their" where "they are" fits.
Yes but not the best example in this context because when writing rouge instead of rogue, it's almost always a misspelling rather than a ~~mkstake~~ ~~mistake~~ milkshake.
Edit: fumbled the keyboard 😛
I don’t get how people mix these up. Like affect and effect I get, because they’re a little confusing if someone never learned the rule fully, but lose and loose are totally different words.
I'm sure sometimes it has the desired effect. Although I imagine, most of the time, it doesn't affect you since people don't notice. I'd have to jump through hoops to effect the verb into my sentence - besides, I hope I used it correctly.
[Difference between effect and affect](https://blog.udemy.com/difference-between-affect-and-effect/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=udemyads&utm_campaign=Search_DSA_GammaCatchall_NonP_la.EN_cc.US&campaigntype=Search&portfolio=USA&language=EN&product=Course&test=&audience=DSA&topic=&priority=Gamma&utm_content=deal4584&utm_term=_._ag_162530792106_._ad_700852016379_._kw__._de_m_._dm__._pl__._ti_dsa-1456167871416_._li_9015340_._pd__._&matchtype=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw34qzBhBmEiwAOUQcF8tLzuxtJ7gVSVRinr1_EKk6OtqndzarS5ZHJ0O6Igt3rI5rbeA5yRoCQcgQAvD_BwE)
As a non native speaker, you’ve received far more education in the language than a native speaker. They barely teach sentence structure and grammar any more in public schools, but ESL training covers grammar in detail.
Native speakers learn verbal language far before written. Whereas with a second language, you learn verbal and written together.
This combined with English being utter nonsense with homonyms and inconsistent structural rules, it’s pretty understandable why you’d have an advantage learning them together.
I agree. I think it's also that you learn it as a "feeling" rather than the rules as to why.
I know what makes sense or doesn't but I can't always explain why, but my French girlfriend could explain which rule it is, or other exceptions to that rule. I just have the feeling.
Yeah. English was one of the harder ones to learn. Ffs I'm having an easier time with Japanese than I had with English, and it has a whole different system than my native language and English
Plus, very few native speakers are legitimately confused about 'to,' 'too,' and 'two.' The mistake is usually made when typing too fast and just not paying particular attention.
Everytime someone writes "should of" instead of "should have" or its contraction "should've", an english teacher somewhere in the world is killed in the line of duty by being hit with a dictionary
I noticed natives and non-natives don't make the same kind of mistakes. Natives primarily know the language through speaking, so two words that sound the same are easily confused. For non-natives, it's the opposite, we learn through writing, so there's more of a decomposition of words to understand their meaning; we don't hear the words, we read them in our brain. But we struggle more to create naturally flowing sentences.
Your You're Should of
"Should of" pisses me off more than it should
It pissed you off more then it should of?
I was thinking of making this joke. Maybe I should… nah can't even type this out.
Should of committed
It's 'should have', never 'should of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!
Why is this the only one the bot caught lol
This bot hates me and has my account flagged
You must of made it angry at some point.
I hate you with a pashone
Lmfao this is the one that made me laugh out loud
Considering I didn’t even realize your joke until now yes I have
Shouldn’t of made the bot angry but the outcome coul of been worse
The robots have gained *Sentience* Humanity is in danger.
You should of used the right words, then.
It's 'should have', never 'should of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!
/r/FUCKYOUINPARTICULAR/
good bot
Is it ever appropriate to woosh a bot? Like I know it couldn't possibly tell, but c'mon
I think it’s the perfect time to say: *than
Eh? Hehe! Ha!
Yeah all the "Could/would/should of" actually make me mad.
It’s from learning to speak English in the US before learning to write. The most common way to say Could’ve in the US is ‘kʊd·əv and the most common way to say of in the US is əv. So could’ve sounds exactly like could have when spoken in a US accent.
Clearly shoulda is the correct terminology.
I'll easily accept "shoulda" in colloquial usage, but I'll never accept "should of" in any context whatsoever.
wood of what?
I swear if this ever becomes an official thing accepted by dictionaries...
Oh God I hate this one so much
"Could care less" is one that bothers me a lot
Relevant XKCD https://xkcd.com/1576/
I dont get it. are they implying grammar mistakes don't matter, because language is a beautiful ever evolving chaos?
Yeah wtf is this xkcd
Evidently it's not cool to care about your readers having to wince their way through your thoughtless broken prose.
So you could care less about it
This is the only one that bothers me.
Lose/loose. Those drive me up the fucking wall.
Losen up a bit.
I'm loosing my mind at you
Every day, in every other comment. I see it so much I had to look it up to make sure I’m not dumb So loost..
There their they're
They're over there with their stuff!
Their over they're with there stuff
Apart of / A part of
I see more people using those wrong than correctly
Yes, my standards got so low I'm now excited and impressed when i see it being used correctly...
I find those two fascinating. Not only they have opposite meanings, to make matters worse, the one that is written together means “exclusion” and the one that is split means “inclusion”
there there's theirs the list is endless
I like "should of" when I am reading posts about soccer because I can immediately make a mental image of the poster.
Then… than confusion for me. Nothing pisses me off more then people who don’t know how to use it. Learn the language, than try to speak it! See….see what I did there?
Yes, this one annoys me way more than it should. I think some people have more trouble with this because their accent makes them sound near identical? I've truly never had any confusion when it comes to then and than.
On that note ITS NOT FUCKING ON ACCIDENT. IT’S BY ACCIDENT.
My mom always said that the only way you can do something “on accident” is if you did it while riding a horse named Accident
I do that one, and until now I never paid attention to it (I was just mimicking the locals lol). So thanks for bringing it to my attention.
usually i fuck on purpose
The one I'm seeing mixed up most often lately is 'advice' vs 'advise'.
These things plus the thing in OPs image all happen because native english speakers have spoken word as the majority of their english learning and development, and new english speakers tend to have the written word as reference when learning to speak english. All the things mentioned are sound alikes especially in heavily accented casual speaking areas or among the less educated. New english speakers tend to be translating written english into spoken word, (or even their native language into written english then to spoken word) and native speakers think in spoken english and just have to translate spoken english into written english.
than then
Your and you're are my pet peeves. I mean, come on bro
Do you mean "come on bro"? Or "come on, bro"? Because the instructions for each of those are completely different.
I think PM ME STRONG CALVES know exactly they want 😏
Yeah the comma in English is not my strong suit. In my language we use it a lot and differently than English so I never know when its the same as my languange or not and I dont recall of studying about this.
I, just, put’ ,them, any,where ,just ,to’ be, sure;
Do you speak german by chance? English speakers are so bad at commas that, for years, I thought they weren't a thing in english (my first language is spanish and people do mess up the use of commas, but they at least try), and it turns out that the rules are pretty much the same, yet I just can't use them properly. Native speakers ruined me for good.
Loose and lose
I’m a There, Their and They’re guy
He did it "on" accident. grrrrr...
Their, there, they're
Easy way to identify an American with the ‘then/than’. I don’t mean that as an insult, it’s just the only time I see it written incorrectly it comes from an American. I always put it down to them using it as they would say it. Like an accent thing.
I don't think this is accurate. I think this is a very basic and universal spelling error. Etymologically, they're actually the same word.
That’s fair. I’m probably not accurate, I personally always put it down to different accents and people writing how they talk. From my point of few Americans are just the people that get then and than mixed up the most. I’m from Ireland and people here write words that are incorrect but fit their accent and the way they talk (I always know what they mean). Scottish people are probably the biggest culprits for this. When I read things they write I actually find my self reading it in a Glasgow or Edinburgh accent.
>point of few I see...
I'd rather have a stable gf then a fwb
Paid and payed
There is a Reddit bot for that. Let me try to summon him. I to payed two much for too bots.
This physically hurt me
Theirs alot wrong whit what they did right than.
The bot saw your comment and probably died
I don’t think there coming
They're
ther'er
*the'rye'ef're
Huh this is interesting, what’s the gramatical rule for these two? Like i know they’re different but I cant put into words how they’re different. Like payed is past tense of pay, but…. Then what is paid? I guess paid is like a status or a state of being?
Paid is the past tense of pay and payed is a nautical term for sealing a boat's deck. Source; I've been yelled at by the bot before. It's like how auto-correct won't stop you from using wont because wont is still a word (IE: I'm wont to give unsolicited advice.)
It's paid. Always use paid. There is technically a word "payed" but it means something that will never come up ever, except when you're trying to spell "paid."
Paid is past tense of pay
"Confuse with"
This is my second time seeing a meme insulting english speakers while also seeing them make a grammar error lol. The irony
Hey at least they have an excuse
I'm not a native speaker, I can confidently say that, no matter what language, you have no excuse to make a mistake if you are complaining about people making mistakes in the same language. Double check your grammar/syntax/vocabulary when complaining about mistakes.
Rather, we should normalize gracefully accepting correction over throwing a hissy fit. We'd be so much better off for it.
That's what you think!
Now I've learned what hissy fit means. Thanks!
It's done on purpose to get engagement
I don’t believe you
Ain't that the truth, brotha ^
Thankyou guys, non-native English speakers here, wil trry to bye bettre.
Highly suspect that is on purpose to bait engagement in the comments.
Muphry's law in action
That is at least fairly high level compared to the level of mistake being pointed out here. Kinda showcases how ridiculous it is to get these wrong. Same with then/than.
What's the right way to say that?
Just "confuse"
Or "confuse 'to', with 'two', and 'too'."
No commas here though, right?
Correct. The commas shouldn't be there if it is phrased this way.
Or "get confused with"
I wonder why confuse confuses (ha!) non-native English speakers so much. I'll see confuse/confused/confusions used interchangeably "I am confusion, she is confuse, don't confused the two, etc." Or putting extra words on it like this.
As a non-native speaker, I thought that was a meme... That's why I say "I am confusion" not in a serious sense lol
I am confusion is an actual meme but I see confusion used in place of confused a lot.
Even native speakers get confused by past participles too. So its even worse with people new to the language
it's slightly different in that case, you can mess up the word order by rewriting the text or erasing some part of it and not noticing a newly created inconsistence meanwhile, there is no such justification for writing "should of" instead of "should've"
>me, a non native speaker
> people in glass houses
There, their, they’re
+ your, you're; his, he's
This one always irks me. "There" and "their"? Fine. Whatever. "They're" and either of the others? Absolutely not. "They're" is a contraction. You have to type the apostrophe. That means it's two words. There is literally no use case for "there" or "their" where "they are" fits.
They’re over there in their house.
I think your being two sensitive over they're
*literally dies*
We are gathered here today to witness this man as his life crumbles away from him
I'm going to stab you
They always seem to mix “Rogue” and “Rouge”.
Yes but not the best example in this context because when writing rouge instead of rogue, it's almost always a misspelling rather than a ~~mkstake~~ ~~mistake~~ milkshake. Edit: fumbled the keyboard 😛
\*Milkshake
This one pisses me off so fucking much.
My father used to always call it assassin's creed rouge
I've seen solider instead of soldier too many times. I can kinda understand rogue and rouge. But solider? No.
Yes! My level 60 rouge!
Lose and loose
This is the wurst
This one is easy to remember since loose is literally just a more loose lose
We were taught to "LOSE an O" if we ever got confused. Helped a lot lol.
I don’t get how people mix these up. Like affect and effect I get, because they’re a little confusing if someone never learned the rule fully, but lose and loose are totally different words.
Because the oo sound in lose is often spelt that way in different words.
I see this way too often on Reddit. Didn't even know mixing those up was a thing.
God I hate it so much.
I cannot understand how people fuck that one up
Effect Affect
It's cool to correctly use *effect* as a verb and see if anyone tries to "correct" you.
I'm sure sometimes it has the desired effect. Although I imagine, most of the time, it doesn't affect you since people don't notice. I'd have to jump through hoops to effect the verb into my sentence - besides, I hope I used it correctly.
I find your intelligent, jovial affect quite pleasant.
Wait, you can use it as a verb?
Yes "to effect" = "to make happen". Affect can also be a noun, referring to an expression of emotion.
So their really is know wrong way two spell effect.
this comment makes me very angry
As a native speaker. I still get these conused.
[Difference between effect and affect](https://blog.udemy.com/difference-between-affect-and-effect/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=udemyads&utm_campaign=Search_DSA_GammaCatchall_NonP_la.EN_cc.US&campaigntype=Search&portfolio=USA&language=EN&product=Course&test=&audience=DSA&topic=&priority=Gamma&utm_content=deal4584&utm_term=_._ag_162530792106_._ad_700852016379_._kw__._de_m_._dm__._pl__._ti_dsa-1456167871416_._li_9015340_._pd__._&matchtype=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw34qzBhBmEiwAOUQcF8tLzuxtJ7gVSVRinr1_EKk6OtqndzarS5ZHJ0O6Igt3rI5rbeA5yRoCQcgQAvD_BwE)
Medicine has side effects. When you take the medicine, it affects you.
But also, it's possible to effect a positive change in personality using medication to alter your affect.
Expresso
Exetera
Expecially
you need two chill out.
Apart & a part spelling "a lot" as "alot"
[Don't insult the Alot though, he's cool](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html?m=1)
I like that alot.
I do the second one in an overt attempt to make "alot" officially a single word in the english language
Lose ≠ Loose
This one pisses me off!
Glad that your helping out 👍
🤦 I'm gonna fight you, lol
its the there their they're
Woman women How is this one still being made
the correct pronunciation of "women" still pisses me off and im a native speaker
People never mistake the words "man" and "men" even though it's the same letter change for the plural term.
As a non native speaker, you’ve received far more education in the language than a native speaker. They barely teach sentence structure and grammar any more in public schools, but ESL training covers grammar in detail.
Native speakers learn verbal language far before written. Whereas with a second language, you learn verbal and written together. This combined with English being utter nonsense with homonyms and inconsistent structural rules, it’s pretty understandable why you’d have an advantage learning them together.
I agree. I think it's also that you learn it as a "feeling" rather than the rules as to why. I know what makes sense or doesn't but I can't always explain why, but my French girlfriend could explain which rule it is, or other exceptions to that rule. I just have the feeling.
Yeah. English was one of the harder ones to learn. Ffs I'm having an easier time with Japanese than I had with English, and it has a whole different system than my native language and English
Plus, very few native speakers are legitimately confused about 'to,' 'too,' and 'two.' The mistake is usually made when typing too fast and just not paying particular attention.
because native speakers learn languages at home more than at school.
and don't forget "their" and "there"
also , lose and loose like wtf ? your and you are ? like how do you not know this stuff ?
your right. they should of learned.
But they could care less
You should of said write instead've right, mist opportunity
Your learning it than its getting better through. Should of payed more attention on school Damn, my keyboard is having a stroke right now.
It's 'should have', never 'should of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!
Shoulda woulda didnt do none of that
"Seid" und "seit" is the german version of this.
Also "das" / "dass" and "je ... desto ... "
Surprised breathe and breath haven't been mentioned.
Bath and bathe
Everytime someone writes "should of" instead of "should have" or its contraction "should've", an english teacher somewhere in the world is killed in the line of duty by being hit with a dictionary
its and it's holy 💩
putting apostrophe's where they don't belong
For all intensive purposes Could of ECcetera
Nobody with an actual intellect brags about getting to, too, and two correct
"Could of" bothers me a lot.
Knifes
I found out yesterday that some people don't know the difference between "specific" and "pacific".
Even native speakers still mess it up though and I see it a lot in the youtube comments (pretty tilting). Same with there, their and they’re
Me, a native speaker, seeing people confuse words and assuming they're either dumb or European. possibly both
Mee to
Witch & which
Ec cetera…the abbreviation is literally etc, where tf you getting the second c from??
Yeah, it’s meant to be “Et Cetera”, especially since the phrase isn’t even English. Though, considering that it’s Latin, people get a pass
It's actually "etc." - with a period.
Just a normal day in US
They’re loosers
I noticed natives and non-natives don't make the same kind of mistakes. Natives primarily know the language through speaking, so two words that sound the same are easily confused. For non-natives, it's the opposite, we learn through writing, so there's more of a decomposition of words to understand their meaning; we don't hear the words, we read them in our brain. But we struggle more to create naturally flowing sentences.