An opportunity for correcting common typos.

[Jubatus]

There/they're/their

Your/you're

Hear/here

 

I see these words applied wrongly all too often, and though I'm convinced these mistakes have spread too far and deep to ever be satisfactorily eliminated I feel I must address them in the hope that at least some correction will occur.

 

I for one strive to write english to the best of my ability, and I welcome corrections for they can help me become even better. With this in mind I ask of you not to take this post as an insult but as a helping hand.

 

I find this matter quite serious, because even though we might understand what is being written, the improper usage of these words not only disrupts the flow of reading but their spreading can cause problems as well for those taking them to habit; e.g. writing "there" when it should have said "their" in a job application could prove disastrous. Now, some of you will argue that you of course take greater care in writing correctly when writing a job application, but that's really no excuse for not writing correctly all the time.

 

Feel free to add more examples of common typos. And so, without further ado:

 

there ( P ) Pronunciation Key (thâr)

 

adv.

 

At or in that place: sit over there.

To, into, or toward that place: wouldn't go there again.

At that stage, moment, or point: Stop there before you make any more mistakes.

In that matter: I can't agree with him there.

 

pron.

 

Used to introduce a clause or sentence: There are numerous items. There must be another exit.

Used to indicate an unspecified person in direct address: Hello there.

 

adj.

 

Used especially for emphasis after the demonstrative pronoun that or those, or after a noun modified by the demonstrative adjective that or those: That person there ought to know the directions to town.

Nonstandard. Used for emphasis between a demonstrative adjective meaning “that” or “those” and a noun: No one is sitting at that there table. Them there beans ought to be picked.

 

n.

 

That place or point: stopped and went on from there.

 

interj.

 

Used to express feelings such as relief, satisfaction, sympathy, or anger: There, now I can have some peace!

 

-----

 

they're ( P ) Pronunciation Key (thâr)

 

Contraction of they are.

 

-----

 

their ( P ) Pronunciation Key (thâr)

 

adj. The possessive form of they.

 

Used as a modifier before a noun: their accomplishments; their home town.

Usage Problem. His, her, or its: “It is fatal for anyone who writes to think of their sex” (Virginia Woolf).

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

your ( P ) Pronunciation Key (yr, yôr, yr; yr when unstressed)

 

adj. The possessive form of you.

 

Used as a modifier before a noun: your boots; your accomplishments.

A person's; one's: The light switch is on your right.

Informal. Used with little or no sense of possession to indicate a type familiar to the listener: your basic three-story frame house.

 

-----

 

you're ( P ) Pronunciation Key (yr; yr when unstressed)

 

Contraction of you are.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

hear ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hîr)

 

v. heard, (hûrd) hear·ing, hears

v. tr.

 

To perceive (sound) by the ear: Can you hear the signal?

To learn by hearing; be told by others: I heard she got married.

 

To listen to attentively: Hear what I have to tell you.

To listen to in an official, professional, or formal capacity: heard the last witness in the afternoon.

To listen to and consider favorably: Lord, hear my prayer!

To attend or participate in: hear Mass.

 

v. intr.

 

To be capable of perceiving sound.

To receive news or information; learn: I heard about your accident.

To consider, permit, or consent to something. Used only in the negative: I won't hear of your going!

 

Phrasal Verb:

 

hear from

To get a letter, telephone call, or transmitted communication from.

To be reprimanded by: If you don't do your homework, you're going to hear from me.

 

Idiom:

 

hear, hear

Used to express approval.

 

-----

 

here ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hîr)

 

adv.

 

At or in this place: Stop here for a rest.

At this time; now: We'll adjourn the meeting here and discuss remaining issues after lunch.

At or on this point, detail, or item: Here I must disagree.

In the present life or condition.

To this place; hither: Come here, please.

 

adj.

 

Used especially for emphasis after the demonstrative pronoun this or these, or after a noun modified by the demonstrative adjective this or these: This tire here is flat.

Nonstandard. Used for emphasis between the demonstrative adjective this or these and a noun: This here tire is flat.

 

interj.

Used to respond to a roll call, attract attention, command an animal, or rebuke, admonish, or concur.

 

n.

 

This place: “It would be difficult from here, with the certainty of armed gunmen inside, to bring him out alive” (Howard Kaplan).

The present time or state: We are living in the here and can only speculate about the hereafter.

 

Idiom:

 

neither here nor there

Unimportant and irrelevant.

 

EDIT: P.S.: Hereby applying for this post to become stuck.

[Homuncul]

I feel I somehow belong in hear:D

[Jubatus]

Originally posted by Homuncul

I feel I somehow belong in hear:D

 

Very funny, Homuncul "ZZzzzzZZZzzzz - huh?!"

 

In addition to the above I will offer this tool for spelling, which I use when in doubt...English is not my native tongue after all. I run this in a second window; it offers both a dictionary and a synonym feature - just in case you wanna flavour your posts by not using the same word over and over

 

Dictionary

[Eldritch]

Thought I'd throw in this one, just in case it was needed.

 

its / it's

 

its

adj. The possessive form of it.

Used as a modifier before a noun: The airline canceled its early flight to New York.

 

Usage Note: Its is the possessive form of the pronoun it and is correctly written without an apostrophe. It should not be confused with the contraction it's (for it is or it has), which should always have an apostrophe.

[Thrackan Solo]

Oh come on....

 

Does it really jerk your chain that much?

 

People are'nt perfect we will make mistakes:rolleyes: get over it

[Eldritch]

It's not that it's necessarily "jerking anyone's chain." If you read Jubatus' original post you'd see that the intention of this thread is merely to promote good writing habits as well as to help clarify posts.

 

For those who speak English as a second language, words can be particularly baffling - especially since we have many words that sound alike but are spelled differently. When spoken this doesn't account for much, but when looking at a piece of writing the wrong word can cause confusion at best and a gross misunderstanding at worst.

[Jubatus]

Originally posted by Eldritch

It's not that it's necessarily "jerking anyone's chain." If you read Jubatus' original post you'd see that the intention of this thread is merely to promote good writing habits as well as to help clarify posts.

 

For those who speak English as a second language, words can be particularly baffling - especially since we have many words that sound alike but are spelled differently. When spoken this doesn't account for much, but when looking at a piece of writing the wrong word can cause confusion at best and a gross misunderstanding at worst.

 

Thanks for the support, Eldritch, and you're quite right. As stated in the original post this isn't about me "having my chain jerked" as Thrackan put it, it's about proper writing for easy understanding, and that comes about alot faster and more efficiently if you can read a piece of text fluently without stumbling at various typos. The writing of words and sentences is standardized for a reason: Easy recognizability and thus easy comprehension. It's communication...Something rather important to mankind.

 

Naturally we all make mistakes, Thrackan, but I'm not talking about random, singular typos like "teh" and "are'nt"; I'm talking about the persistent ones (there/they're/their etc.) that have spread so far and deep all over the net that I fear they have an irreversible negative influence on writing. Sometimes I wonder if there are people out there who don't even know the words "their" and "you're" exist.

 

I'm used to people regarding me as some holier-than-thou condescending bastard when I bring their attention to these mistakes, but I refuse to let that stop me from promoting proper writing.

 

That aside, I now want to promote paragraphs. It simply makes for easier reading. Writing a 50 lines chunk of text without any paragraphing you risk people not wanting to even bother reading what you have to say.

[Dagobahn Eagle]

I'm learning German as a third language, and speak English as a second language.

 

All I can say is that while it's okay for a foreigner to not know English perfectly (and for an English speaker for that matter), I think there are people who are simply too lazy to learn the language correctly.

 

If I kept confusing two German words, I'd be more than happy if someone corrected me, not offended.

 

I remember when I first posted a Fan Fiction story on an X-Wing: Alliance site. One of the two feedback e-mails I got back contained some helpful information on my grammar (which in my middle school years wasn't too good:)). Guess what? I welcomed the help.

 

Here are mine:

 

It's: Short for "it is". So you cannot write that the plane "had to delay it's flight", as that would mean that the plane "had to delay it is flight".

 

Viet Nam: Spelled as two words, just as much as United States can't be spelled Unitedstates. While the English language allows Vietnam, I feel it's a bit disrespectful, the same way as it'd be disrespectful to write Republicofchina, Unitedkingdom, and Unitedstates.

 

English: Languages/nationalities (English, Canadian, Korean, etc.) are always written with the first letter Capitalized. For example, "Canadian" instead of "canadian".

[Eldritch]

Originally posted by Dagobahn Eagle

It's: Short for "it is". So you cannot write that the plane "had to delay it's flight", as that would mean that the plane "had to delay it is flight".

Originally posted by Eldritch

Thought I'd throw in this one, just in case it was needed.

 

its / it's

 

its

adj. The possessive form of it.

Used as a modifier before a noun: The airline canceled its early flight to New York.

 

Usage Note: Its is the possessive form of the pronoun it and is correctly written without an apostrophe. It should not be confused with the contraction it's (for it is or it has), which should always have an apostrophe.

Glad you're going over it again, though - many people make the its/it's mistake and use the contraction when they want the possessive form, and vice versa

[Eldritch]

A couple more I see every now and again:

 

were / we're

 

were (wûr)

v.

Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative of be.

 

we're (wîr)

 

Contraction of we are.

 

 

 

where / wear

 

where (hwâr, wâr)

adv.

At or in what place: Where is the telephone?

In what situation or position: Where would we be without your help?

From what place or source: Where did you get this idea?

To what place; toward what end: Where is this argument leading?

 

wear (wâr)

v.

To carry or have on the person as covering, adornment, or protection: wearing a jacket; must wear a seat belt.

[ShockV1.89]

Shouldn't this thread belong in the Swamp? It seems like a great thread, but it isn't really a "serious discussion" thread.

[Eldritch]

It's not exactly a Swamp thread.

 

And since the way people spell can have a significant impact on what they're trying to express, I believe it's a serious topic, even if it isn't a discussion. Just as useful as the thread on the proper way to debate, methinks.

[Jubatus]

Originally posted by ShockV1.89

Shouldn't this thread belong in the Swamp? It seems like a great thread, but it isn't really a "serious discussion" thread.

 

Originally posted by Eldritch

And since the way people spell can have a significant impact on what they're trying to express, I believe it's a serious topic, even if it isn't a discussion. Just as useful as the thread on the proper way to debate, methinks.

 

And that is why I in the original post appealed for this thread to become a sticky

[SkinWalker]

I have to agree...

 

This is definately a thread worthy of the Senate Chambers. One does not have to discuss religion, science or politics in order for it to be considered serious.

 

I've actually been thinking of including some critiques of music, literature or the arts within these "halls," but I've been reluctant so as not to start a rash of movie reviews or television program reviews.... The difference would be critique vs. review. "Man, the Matrix was kick-a55, dude! you gotta see it," would be non-serious. An in depth look at the symbolism and similarities with the Matrix and current philosophy, or a comparisson of Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? to Homer's Oddessy would be serious.

 

Writing skills are extremely important in any serious venue, particularly if you are writing your arguments to be read by others. I habitually make grammatical and spelling mistakes, but as I catch them, I cannot go without editing the post. I also frequently correct the portions of posts that I quote... though many might not notice. Okay... so I'm a little compulsive about it.

 

Still, if you are attempting to make a point, writing skills go a long way to obtaining credibility. Some of the writing habits you will see on the LucasForums will belie their ages and nationalities and make writers seem much older than they really are... the reverse is also true. C'Jais and ShadowTemplar are both teens and English is not their first languages, yet I'm always amazed at their abilities to express themselves efficiently in even the most heated discussions.

 

There are others that do just the opposite: they are over 25 and make even the simplest of mistakes... giving the impression that you are debating a 12 year old (of course this is often true!).

 

Regardless, I try to avoid pointing out their mistakes (at least not too obviously!) as I think this is a larger breach of debate/discussion etiquette than making the mistakes. This thread is good, since now I can get this all off my chest!