Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Yours or Theirs

Grrrrrrrrrr.....we all make typos but lately I have seen just plain out misspellings that no spell check is going to pick up. It is the wrong usage of a correctly spelled set of words. Now I am NOT professing to be an English master, but people who are earning nice $$$ on blogs and websites or are attempting to sell their crafts, are blowing this and need a smack upside their heads!!! This is also not a case of the new lingo replacing the old. It is just using the words incorrectly.
The first group is your or you're. If you can substitute the words 'you are' in place of your and it sounds right then the spelling is YOU'RE.
For example:
1-Your house is nice.
2-You are house is nice.
#2 is wrong, so the spelling is YOUR, choice #1

1-Your due at the show by 5:00.
2-You are due at the show by 5:00.
#2 is correct so use YOU'RE...okay?!

Group 2...there, their, they're
They're there at their house....confused?
Again, if you can substitute 'they are' and it sounds correct, use THEY'RE. In my example: They are there at their house.
THERE...is a place/location word and inside is another location...here...tHERE. So if you are (or you're) referencing a place, use there.
Last one...their. They're there at THEIR house. Whose house? THEIRS!!! It belongs to them.

I just finished reading a popular craft blog with thousands of visitors monthly, thousands,  and both you're and their were misused. Don't rely on spell check. It will not pick this up but your readers may and be turned off by what you're
saying because you don't know how to right  write. And they also may not by buy!  English is fun.......... :)

11 comments:

Unknown said...

I have seen this a lot too. Sad. It probably happens to me too, I am trying hard to keep spelling errors out of my blog.
If you find some in mine, you are more then welcome to smack me upside the head!

Kath said...

Yup I probable do the same thing too! And I know I used the correct one there. That is another one Two, to and too, oh when to use which? Ans I do spell check almost everything. Mom told me to spell it like it sounds and you'll be close. So if you can't understand what I write, read it out loud, it's how I talk. Well that's what the sister says!

Raige Creations said...

I fear I am guilty of this. I am even guilty of lesser grammatical errors and foolish spelling mistakes, that I only discover months after posting on blog and for some reason go back to see what I wrote. And they are still there.
you can slap me Barbra. :)

Baby Huggables said...

I am one for miss-use of these words all the time, I get to typing faster then speed and then after my blog is up.. then I realize what I have done.

I will have to make a note of this to refer back to so I can print it off and hang it up for reference.. lol.

Great blog by the way :)

Finding Charm said...

It bugs me too. I know spelling/grammar might be hard for some people. That's what I tell myself, because to me, it's a pretty simple one to get - You're Your, and others you've mentioned. Has nothing to do with spelling. I think anymore, people just don't take the time to think about it. 'Oh, there's an apostrophe, what does that mean?' This younger generation! Who knows, maybe the words will begin to mean the same thing. hehe.

LetaMarieDesigns said...

I have typed their for there by accident knowing the correct usage.My problem is knowing (because I don't remember) where to put the commas, etc... Also I know you are not suppose to us the word I when saying something like "my husband and I went to... You are suppose to say (write) me. But so many do it the other way that the correct way doesn't look correct to most.

Pussyfoots said...

If you would say, "I went to the store," then it is correct to say, "My husband and I went to the store."
Otherwise use 'me,' as in, "Susan came to see my husband and me."

I often feel like ranting about the English usage on Facebook and in blogs. I wonder what's happening in our schools that so many people misuse these common words. I'm not talking about typos; I'm talking about the same people on several different days, etc.

Abracadebra Designs said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Abracadebra Designs said...

Wow, I had just posted a comment thanking you for the reminder to double check, and would you believe that there was a typo in the comment? I guess that means that I better start triple checking!!!
-Debbie

Barbra said...

Love all the comments and my intent is not to make anyone tense and I make my fair share of typos but usage is critical especially in your shops...off soap box!

Taylor said...

Thank you! With spell-check and "chat speak" people are getting so lazy these days. We are going to forget how to write and speak. Take the time to appreciate what you're writing and proof-read your work or have someone else do it.