Some common spelling mistakes in English...

[Skwim]

My biggest problem with American English was being brought up by an English mother. I learned to spell it colour first and had to relearn it as color. What's surprising is that the US adopted Old English spelling while England adopted French spelling, due to the differences between the Oxford and Webster dictionaries. While the Brits were becoming francofied, we were busy holding on to the roots of the language. In fact, the English accent we love to mimic (destroy?) was developed after the Revolutionary War. New Englanders sound more like Brits of that era than do modern Brits. Yes, our American English is more authentic that silly Brit stuff.

I'm a volunteer sound tech for a local community theater whose name is XXX XXX Theatre (British spelling), which has always struck me as pretentious.


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[Skwim]

The so-called rules of English (such as don't split infinitives) were things dreamed up by the dons of Cambridge and Oxford so that one could clearly separate those who had an education and those who did not...and WHICH school they attended--so the upper class could look down on the middle and lower classes, Oxford grads could look down on Cambridge grads and both could look down on graduates of other, lesser, schools...but also so the middle class, who kept the Empire going, could more effectively communicate with each other.

Some common rules of spelling and grammar are needed so that people speaking the same language can continue to communicate, but as @jeager106 points out, language as it is spoken continues to evolve, so that people across America, and in other English-speaking places, are effectively speaking different dialects if not actual languages...

A few years ago when writing a book I was well aware of the necessity of using proper grammar, punctuation, and standard spellings, which was reinforced by the several corrections in grammar and punctuation the publisher made. But outside such rigid agencies I will commonly disregard a grammar or punctuation rule.


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[Scuba Pete]

The perks of not being a native English speakers at all, right?

I don't know if I would call it a 'perk'. I grew up with a Brit weighted vocabulary. I remember my ex getting upset one day when I said that I felt a might peckish. When asked what that meant, I told her i was feeling a bit hungry. Her response was an impatient "Why didn't you say that in the first place". Well, I did and me mum would right understand. As GB Shaw once opined: "England and America are two countries separated by the same language"

 

[Revoltingest]

It can be rough for newbies working with the contractors I use.
Typical conversation....
"Put some weasel pi*s on the Nancy Kerrigan & stick it in the goddammit."
"Hold the dumb end of the yoyo."

 

[Scuba Pete]

One thing that will always irk me: when people use the word 'less' instead of 'fewer'.

Incorrect: There are less reasons to vote for Clinton.
Correct: There are fewer reasons to vote for Trump.

 

[SomeRandom]

My biggest problem with American English was being brought up by an English mother. I learned to spell it colour first and had to relearn it as color. What's surprising is that the US adopted Old English spelling while England adopted French spelling, due to the differences between the Oxford and Webster dictionaries. While the Brits were becoming francofied, we were busy holding on to the roots of the language. In fact, the English accent we love to mimic (destroy?) was developed after the Revolutionary War. New Englanders sound more like Brits of that era than do modern Brits. Yes, our American English is more authentic that silly Brit stuff.

Mate try going to an Aussie school!!
This is us when were learning to touch type and English!

Teacher: Remember class, spell check is your friend. When touch typing you might miss a key or two, so please be aware of your spell checker.
Me: Boots up word processor and selects AU English as the language
Word Processor: Why did you spell color with a "U"?
Me: Umm, I selected AU English not American English
Word Processor:........"Colour is spelled incorrectly."
Me: Bugger it, have it your way.
Teacher: Color is spelled wrong, it's colour
Me: -_-

 

[Scuba Pete]

At least it's not auto-cowrecked. You got to choose in any event.

 

[SomeRandom]

At least it's not auto-cowrecked. You got to choose in any event.

Lol. Sometimes it was. Because we learnt how to mingle with the settings, so it was a common prank in school to set someone's computer to auto correct when they weren't looking.
Ahh Good ol' auto correct. Its slogan should read something like
"Auto Correct. Making people sound dumber than they actually are since the 90s!"

Although to this day, I still constantly switch back and forth between UK spelling and US spelling. Often without realizing it.

 

[Scuba Pete]

One of many sunsets I have enjoyed here in the Keys from Bayside Grill.
A picture is worth a thousand words... all of them grammatically correct!
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[Valjean]

Whaaaaat?!?!

This should clarify:

It can be rough for newbies working with the contractors I use.
Typical conversation....
"Put some weasel pi*s on the Nancy Kerrigan & stick it in the goddammit."
"Hold the dumb end of the yoyo."

 

[Smart_Guy]

What's wrong with a sentence like, "I'm going with him"? or "It is I"?
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Wait, did I say pronouns? I wanted to say prepositions, my bad.

I've been told it is informal or weak to end sentences with prepositions.

 

[Smart_Guy]

I don't know if I would call it a 'perk'. I grew up with a Brit weighted vocabulary. I remember my ex getting upset one day when I said that I felt a might peckish. When asked what that meant, I told her i was feeling a bit hungry. Her response was an impatient "Why didn't you say that in the first place". Well, I did and me mum would right understand. As GB Shaw once opined: "England and America are two countries separated by the same language"

I mean it for myself. I'm not a native English speakers and learned that there are differences early so no surprises strike me as often.

 

[gnomon]

Hello guys.

Without any ado at all (except for the hello above)... let's get started.

Its and it's:
There is a big difference here. "Its" is the possessive form of the pronoun "it". Example for it is "this car looks ugly. Its grill is so big and deformed". The two relate exactly the same as with "he" and "his", and "she" and "her".
"It's" on the other hand is an abbreviation of either "it is" or "it has". And example for them is "it's interesting how it's been only two hours since we got here". The first "it's" stands for "it is" and the second stands for "it has".

Should of?!?!?
Okay, there is no such a thing as "should of". That's a wrong English... ah... thing. It is a mistake people make (hey, that rhymes!) when they try to type "should have". So yeah, the right spelling is "should have" or, as an abbreviation, "should've".

Your and you're:
I believe this is so obvious. "Your" is basically the possessive form of "you", and "you're" is an abbreviation of "you are". Because of the way they sound, just like the earlier problems, this misspelling is seen from time to time.

There and they're (and rarely "their"):
Same as above, these two are sometimes confused with each other because of how they sound. "There" is the distant form the "here" (there are other uses for it too), "they're" is an abbreviation of "they are, and "their" is the possessive form of "they".

Me and I ?
Okay, this is not a spelling mistake really, it is more of a verbal miss use. Sometimes, usually when more than one subject/object is used, "me" could be mistakenly used instead of "I". When the referred noun is used as a subject part of speech, "I" is used, but when it is used as an object part of speech, "me" is used. Examples for that are " Carlita and I went to the grocery store" and "RF gave gifts to Psychoslice and me".

Abdul?!?!
There is no such a word or name as "Abdul". It's a made up name by the misinformed non Arabs that became ridiculously common. Originally it is "abd" and a transformed "al", where the former means slave or creation and the latter is just the definitive article "the" in Arabic cut from the word that should follow it. When it is used, the right and correct way to use it is to connect it to another word without spaces. An example is "Abdulelah", or it can be spelled "AbdulElah" as the connected word is originally Elah, as Muslims use it to refer to God. Arabs before Islam used it too with other gods. That name is actually "Abd" + "al" + "Elah". The only way that "Abdul" is correct word, as opposed to my explanation, is that if it is originated from something else other than that. Actually, there are three ways to put such names depending on their position in the context, but that's complicated and I believe it is okay to just used the above mentioned form in languages other than Arabic.

I've and I have:
The first one; "I've" is obviously an abbreviation of "I have". What could be hidden here tho is that "have" here is an auxiliary verb, not a lexical verb. In layman language, auxiliary verbs are verbs used to support other verbs like in cases of perfect tense sentences; e.g I have seen. Here it can be abbreviated to "I've seen". A lexical verb "have" is as in the example "I have some shawurma here". It is formally wrong to say "I've some shawurma here". Some Americans use it, and there is no problem with that at all. All I'm doing here is telling how the correct way to do it in good standard English.

Am I missing anything else?

You do not understand the evolution of language?

That is simply the nicest way I can say it.

 

[Smart_Guy]

This should clarify:

Okay, point taken.

 

[Smart_Guy]

You do not understand the evolution of language?

That is simply the nicest way I can say it.

I'm a creationist

 

[gnomon]

I'm a creationist

Well howza!!!!

Booyaa!!!

Do you like the Elvis impersonations?

I like a warm milk on a winters night.

Keeps the loins ready and the mind infantile to enjoy what's left of the fallout devastation of Saturday morning cartoons.

And there is always peanut butter.

edit: a creationist. Oh my God?!

 

[Valjean]

When a word has two possible spellings, like gray and grey; or alternate pronunciations, like herb (aspirated vs unaspirated "h)," We should write the one corresponding to actual pronunciation, and pronounce the one as it's written (aspirated).

English is already an orthographic mess. It takes kids years to learn to read and write correctly. We shouldn't exacerbate the problem by teaching ambiguities.
Think of the children!

 

[Skwim]

Wait, did I say pronouns? I wanted to say prepositions, my bad.

I've been told it is informal or weak to end sentences with prepositions.

Grammarians do say it's best not to end a sentence with a weak word, and prepositions are considered weak words. However, a preposition may properly end a sentence where a reconstruction that buries the preposition inside the sentence violates the idiom. Take the sentence "Where is the girl from?" To take "from" from its terminal position and put it elsewhere grates on the ear: "From where is the girl?" Or take the sentence "I have no idea what it's about." Putting "about" within the sentence, "What it's about I have no idea" is unnecessarily stilted. Then there's Winston Churchill's old chestnut after being chided about ending a sentence with a preposition: "This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put." I've always loved this one.


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[Smart_Guy]

Well howza!!!!

Booyaa!!!

Do you like the Elvis impersonations?

I like a warm milk on a winters night.

Keeps the loins ready and the mind infantile to enjoy what's left of the fallout devastation of Saturday morning cartoons.

And there is always peanut butter.

edit: a creationist. Oh my God?!

I... beg your pardon??

 

[Smart_Guy]

When a word has two possible spellings, like gray and grey; or alternate pronunciations, like herb (aspirated vs unaspirated "h)," We should write the one corresponding to actual pronunciation, and pronounce the one as it's written (aspirated).

English is already an orthographic mess. It takes kids years to learn to read and write correctly. We shouldn't exacerbate the problem by teaching ambiguities.
Think of the children!

Yes, no arguing that. But that spelling would change within a range of correct spellings, not come up with a wrong one intentionally and consider it correct and insist on it. Like "honor". It is incorrect by all means to spell it as "aunor" or something.

I of course say "incorrect" and not "wrong" to emphasize that who make this mistake do it in the spelling only that it could pass okay in normal cases. I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything. I'm talking about standard English, not your easy going daily use of it. So correcting it for children within specific scenarios and contexts is okay so that they know it for their future, not to punish them. A child wants to win prices in quizzes too when they get in one, right?