First of all, I want to apologize for not updating yesterday! I was very busy all day and didn't have any internet connection during the time I was planning to post a new blog entry. Since I promised these updates would be weekly, I'll be moving them to Sunday (and maybe to Monday eventually, because in a few weeks Monday will be my day off of work).
My topic today, rather ironically, is obvious misspellings. I refer to this as an ironic topic choice because last week I was guilty of posting an obvious misspelling in my blog entry - "break" instead of "brake." I definitely want to point out, therefore, that at some point in their lives pretty much everyone is going to be guilty of committing one of these misspelling "crimes." That is perfectly fine - it's the people who constantly misspell and misuse words that I'm referring to here.
Maybe I just got off to a stronger start than some (spelling "archaeology" and "pneumonic" in 3rd grade probably isn't typical) but it seems that a lot of people lately have a habit of misusing words or misspelling words. The most common examples are: "two," "too," "to;" "there," "their," "they're;" "lose," "loose;" "you're," "your;" "peeking," "peaking;" and "board," "bored." I was especially surprised to see a lot of these mistakes pop up when I was proofreading manuscripts in my creative writing class this past semester. You would think that someone who got into a relatively well-known liberal arts college and is majoring in English would be able to spell words correctly, but I guess that isn't necessarily true. Maybe the advent of spell-check is messing with people's minds - maybe it's just making us lazy. Still others simply don't understand the difference between the words I've listed above. So, for those who don't quite get it, let me explain.
Two refers to having two of something, or 2, or more than one. This one is relatively easy to understand, because the "w" in the middle of the word makes it markedly different from "too" or "to." To refers to a direction. You are speaking TO someone, you are going TO the store. You get food TO feed your dog. This "to" goes somewhere. Too means "also." As in, "I'm hungry, too" or "I like dogs, too." None of these three words are interchangeable, simply because they don't mean the same thing. I think I learned that in grade school, but I see this mistake running rampant all over college campuses and job sites. I just don't understand.
There refers to a place. "I'm going there," or "I live there," or "There's the bus." It is not a possessive. Their, however, is a possessive. It means that something belongs to a "them;" for example, "that's their cat." They're is completely dissimilar to both "their" and "there", as it is basically equal to "they + are." It may be helpful, then, to think of "they're" as "they are." That is basically what it means, plain and simple. It is a plural form of the verb expression "to be."
The issue of their/they're/there is rather similar to "you're" vs. "your," so I will group them together. Your is a possessive, similar to "their." It means something belongs to a "you;" for example, "that's your bike." You're, much like "they're, is the same as saying "you + are" and is a form of the verb "to be." You would use the word "you're" in a sentence like this: "I heard you're tired, maybe you should go to bed." The sentence would read in your mind like: "I heard you are tired, maybe you should go to bed."
Misspellings like "loose" vs. "lose" are completely unrelated to the examples I listed above. I don't quite know why these misspellings even exist, because you don't even say "lose" the same way you would say "loose." Lose means "to come to be without" according to Dictionary.com. Loose, on the other hand, means "free or released from fastening or attachment." You would say "I hope I don't lose my keys," and "My pants feel loose today," to use each word, respectively. As you probably have determined after reading this far in my post, these two words mean two completely different things. This is the same story for "peeking/peaking." Peek means "to look or glance quickly or furtively" whereas peak means "the pointed top of a mountain or ridge." Again, two completely unrelated meanings. Last but not least, "board/bored." Bored means "wearied by dullness" and board refers to a piece of wood sawed thin.
Although I have been guilty of my fair share of misspellings in the past, it never ceases to amaze me how many people can effectively misuse the words I listed above every time they write anything. Although I'm not one to point out a misspelling in public view, I will usually say something to the offender in private. Most of the time, they don't react well. Either they respond with denial or they seem to think I'm some kind of grammar Nazi. I'm not trying to embarrass anyone when I do this - I just honestly think it makes you look a whole lot smarter when you can spell and use words correctly. Therefore, I'm not pointing out your mistakes for my own benefit; really, I'm trying to help you. A lot of people don't say anything, but you can believe me that they are very judgmental of common misspellings. I can't tell you how many times I've come out of someplace where a menu used one of the misspellings above, or a sign on a door or wall used an incorrect form of "your," and as soon as my group left everyone joked about such a common misspelling being posted in public view. People think it's funny that you don't realize you aren't spelling things right, and they definitely write you off for it before they even meet you personally.
So, yeah, I guess I am a grammar Nazi. My text messages are all grammatically correct (well, for the most part), and I tend to proofread anything I write ad nauseam. I think it gives you better credentials no matter where you work, study, or live. People think better of you when you can spell.
As a disclaimer, I have some friends who are guilty of this, and who I'm sure are giggling to themselves while reading my blog. Don't worry! We're still friends! But don't think I don't notice when you spell things wrong....
