Why do so many people spell LOSE as LOOSE?

[dcgrumpy]

Let's add "definitely" to the list.

 

[KAMLEM]

What drives me crazy is when people say "I could care less", it's supposed to be "I couldn't care less". Unless you are really trying to say that you DO care!

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

I think it is simple phonics. The vowel sound in the word lose is most commonly created with "oo". Lose looks like it would have a long o and it is confusing for many people.

 

[bluefairy13]

What drives me crazy is when people say "I could care less", it's supposed to be "I couldn't care less". Unless you are really trying to say that you DO care!

I think when they do this they are (maybe without knowing it) using a form of the subjunctive.

I could care less, meaning, "Like" I could care less. I think it's just sarcasm.

 

[Christine]

I think it is simple phonics. The vowel sound in the word lose is most commonly created with "oo". Lose looks like it would have a long o and it is confusing for many people.

I don't know--as soon as you add an "s" to the "oo" it immediately changes the sound: think about caboose--we don't say "cabooze" or noose, etc. how come we don't confuse those words? I think people just REALLY don't know the correct way to spell lose.

 

[MyGoofy26]

What drives me crazy is when people say "I could care less", it's supposed to be "I couldn't care less". Unless you are really trying to say that you DO care!

They COULD care less. They just choose not to. They want to care a little. Nobody wants to be accused of being completely heartless.


You all have hit the major ones that bug me. Another one is using "I seen" in a sentence - spoken or written. Oh and the "dinning" one. . . does anyone else have that little narrator in your head that actually pronouces it like it's spelled so that it rhymes with "winning" instead of reading it as it was intended? Or am I the only freak? I find myself doing that often. OH! And Bippity Boppity Boutique. I always end up with "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" stuck in my head because it reads so much like "hippity hoppity"

Every once in awhile I'll come across a post that leaves me completely confused. The spelling is so bad on so many words that no matter how many times I read it, I still can't figure out what the person is trying to say. On another board I go to there's one girl that does it, but since English isn't her native language I give her a pass. But to see people who have been speaking the language their entire lives write so that it's comparable to that girl's just drives me up a wall. I'm not going to point out any particular people as I don't want to hurt feelings, but there are a few that if I see they've posted I just skip it because I know I won't be able to understand it. It kind of reminds me of those puzzles and games where things are spelled out phonetically and you have to figure out what the word really is.

 

[KAMLEM]

I think when they do this they are (maybe without knowing it) using a form of the subjunctive.

I could care less, meaning, "Like" I could care less. I think it's just sarcasm.

I really don't think that's the case, most of the time they just don't know that they are saying it incorrectly.

Another one that drives me nuts is when someone says "I borrowed him some money" instead of "I lent him some money".

 

[Kath2003]

I really hate it when grown adults cannot do the following:
1. Get the right they're/their/there
2. Get the right you're/your
3. Use the apostrophe in it's correctly
4. Use apostrophes to denote possession correct
5. Spell
6. Get the right right/write
7. Get the right two/to/too
Seriously, did people not go to school?

 

[Micca]

I started a thread requesting could we please spell definitely without an A?
(Check around, you'll see definately all over the place). I was told I was a spelling nazi. Glad to see this thread is going much better.

Spellers of the Dis UKNIGHT! (just kidding).

 

[JVL1018]

I have a lot of typos, but I am a good speller.
Typos don't bug me, words that are completely wrong are a different story.
Loose/lose is a perfect example.

Another one I read recently was something like, "She takes me for granite."

 

[BettyCv]

"She takes me for granite."

Too funny!

How about this one...

I always thought it was "I am going to try to write a book." I always hear people say "I am going to try and write a book." Is that correct?

 

[RatBoy]

Love this thread!! OK, one of my pet peeves is the incorrect use of good vs. well.

Q: How are you doing?
incorrect Answer: Good
correct answer: Well (or "I am doing well")

 

[SC Minnie]

I had an English teacher in Jr High that had an issue with 'a lot'. He hated us using it because most people would spell it wrong. People is A LOT 2 words not allot which basically means set aside.

 

[Mnementh]

Wow, I should post some of my boss's emails on here. I bet you all would be shocked because most of the things mentioned on here are in those emails. But shhh, you didn't hear that from me.

What drives me crazy is when people say "I could care less", it's supposed to be "I couldn't care less". Unless you are really trying to say that you DO care!

That's the one that's my pet peeve, too. That and the one mentioned in the OP.

 

[disney4us2002]

Another one I read recently was something like, "She takes me for granite."

I just spit coke on my monitor! I haven't read that anywhere, but it is hysterical!

I work with all college-educated women and I cannot tell you how many say "supposably" and aks instead of ask.

Here's a question: If your last name ends in an S, what do you put on the door sign? The Rosses, for example or The Ross' or something else. We've never gotten one of those signs because our last name ends in an S (not Ross).

 

[Squirlz]

Too funny!

How about this one...

I always thought it was "I am going to try to write a book." I always hear people say "I am going to try and write a book." Is that correct?

No it's not. You are correct.

 

[kaybracon]

 

[Kathi OD]

TAnother one is using "I seen" in a sentence - spoken or written.

This is the one that simply drives me up the wall. DH and his mother use it all the time and both have advanced degrees! It simply makes my blood boil every time I hear it. Don't they understand how "unejimicated" they sound?

 

[JVL1018]

I just spit coke on my monitor! I haven't read that anywhere, but it is hysterical!

I work with all college-educated women and I cannot tell you how many say "supposably" and aks instead of ask.

Here's a question: If your last name ends in an S, what do you put on the door sign? The Rosses, for example or The Ross' or something else. We've never gotten one of those signs because our last name ends in an S (not Ross).

pssst..it was here on the DIS. :-X

 

[ecuagoddess]

I have put down books that I was reading after finding a mistake.

Me, too!
I don't read threads with typos in the title either, with few exceptions. Apostrophe abuse is rampant these days, so much so that I started a Grammar Tip of the Week at my staff meeting.

Another thing that bothers me is not a spelling error, but excessive use of punctuation. For example, "haunted mansion closed for rehab?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Get a grip, people.
All errors bother me, but the ones that bug the most are the apostrophes used for plurals, could/should/would of instead of could/should/would HAVE, things like "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes," etc. If people would just read more, they would see the written form of those common expressions and hopefully get it right more often!