Misspellings of "definitely"

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Back when more lay people (as opposed to computer geeks like me) started entering the online world, about 30 years ago, I immediately noticed that a lot of them didn't know how to spell definitely. In fact, it seems that many of them didn't even know how to SAY it! Over the years the mangling of this word has continued...actually, it's gotten worse and worse, at least in terms of how often it's misspelled.

Here are a few versions I've seen:

- defiantly (see what I mean about pronouncing it?--how do you go from defiant to thinking it's the base of definitely?)
- definately (this seems to be THE most common misspelling)
- deffinatly
- definetly

Okay, for the record, it's DEFINITELY; its root word involves FINITE--and as you can see, there is no "a" in "finite."

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Adding an "apostrophe s" to a word doesn't make it plural

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For some reason (that I cannot fathom) people have gotten the idea that adding apostrophe s to a word makes it plural. For example:

apple's
family's
table's
the Brady's

WRONG! Adding an apostrophe and the letter 's' does not make a word plural, it makes it possessive. With the examples above:

"The apple's color was dark red."
"My family's surname is hundreds of years old."
"The kitchen table's top is ceramic tile."
"That is Marcia Brady's book."

If you want to make a word plural, you add an s to its end. However, depending on the word, it may be necessary to add an es to its end or change a final y to ies. Again, using the examples above:

"The apples were dark red."
"The families on this block are friendly."
"This store has beautiful dining room tables."
"I'm going to visit the Bradys tomorrow."

Some examples of words that need es added to make them plural:

churches
potatoes
grasses

When making family names, such as Brady, possessive, the placement of the apostrophe depends on whether you're referring to one or more members of the family.

For one member:

"That is Marcia Brady's book."

For more than one member:

"Those are the Bradys' books."

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Misuse of "formally" for "formerly"

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Every time I see this particular pet peeve of mine, I wonder what the person is thinking...er, wait, clearly they're NOT thinking! If they were, they'd realize that they're using the wrong word. Here's an example:

"This store was formally known as Garden World."

If it was formally known as Garden World, I can't help but wonder what it was informally known as!

The word they're looking for is formerly, as in a former condition, not a formal one:

"This store was formerly known as Garden World."

Now I feel better. :)


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Misuse of "who's" for "whose"

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This is another case of words that sound alike, yet have completely different meanings and are not interchangeable: who's and whose.

Who's is a  contraction meaning who is, while whose means belonging to who(m). But, just like it's being misused for its, it's very common to see who's misused for whose.

These are INCORRECT:

"Do you know who's house that is?"
"Who's phone is ringing?
"That is who's book I borrowed."

Think about what those sentences are actually saying by expanding out the contraction who's:

"Do you know who is house that is?"
"Who is phone is ringing?"
"That is who is book I borrowed."

Pretty nonsensical, right? Now the correct versions:

"Do you know whose house that is?"
"Whose phone is ringing?"
"That is whose book I borrowed."

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Misuse of "except" for "accept"

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During a segment on a local newscast when I was living in Dallas, there was a sign behind the counter at a store. Its message: "Checks not excepted." Okay, then! What the hell does that mean?! Oh, I know! The clueless owner doesn't know the difference between accept and except.

Here are some examples of the two words used correctly:

"I can't accept the fact that she's only 30."
"Will you accept my invitation?"
"Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother."
"Checks not accepted."

"She likes all colors except red."
"Except for Monday, weekdays aren't that bad."
"That's an exception to the rule."

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Misuse of "should of" (would of, could of, might of) for "should have" or "should've" (would've, could've, might've)

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This one really stumps me...but it also DOESN'T stump me! Let me explain.

When people say or write should of when they mean should have, I can see how they may have arrived there. If they've heard it as should've, that certainly sounds like should of. So that's why I'm not stumped by it. However...

How is it that they never learned the correct word combination? What do they think should of even means?! Where were they when should have (would have, could have, might have) was taught in school?

Here's a rundown on the correct terms:

"He should've picked up his clothes."
"You could've played another game before leaving."
"I would've preferred coffee but they only had tea."
 "The team might've been good this year if Mark hadn't been injured."

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Misuse of "there" for "their" or "they're"

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The misuse of there for their or they're has reached epidemic proportions! Since these words are so commonly misused, here's how to tell them apart:

There refers to a place, as in "I'm going there tomorrow."

Their means "belonging to them," as in "Their house is on the corner."

They're is a contraction of they are, as in "They're going to the library."

These words are not interchangeable! Each one has a distinct meaning. Here are some examples:

- there
when did you get there?
please put the book over there on the coffee table
there used to be a school here

- their
when did you get their birthday present?
please put their book on the coffee table
their school used to be on that corner

- they're
when they're ready to leave, they'll call us
they're working on a new book
they're reminiscing about the old school

All three in one sentence:
"They're going to be there tomorrow for their father's birthday party."

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Incorrect use of "your" for "you're"

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Much like the misuse of it's for its, the misuse of your for you're annoys the hell out of me, and I don't know why people don't know the difference. I learned the two distinctly different words back in...oh...first grade?!

Your means "belonging to you," as in:

"Your right hand is broken."
"Did you bring your purse?"
"What is your favorite food?"

On the other hand, you're is a contraction of you are, as in:

"You're right about that."
"Do you know which movie you're going to see?"
"When you're eating chocolate, you're very happy!"

If you're unsure of which word to use, just think about it like this:

- your needs to be followed by the name of an object:

your hand
your house
your phone
your daughter
your spouse

- you're describes something you are doing:

you're right about that
you're going to the store
you're watching TV
you're very intelligentyou're playing soccer

Both words in one sentence:

"You're taking good care of your new phone."

It's really not that difficult!

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Incorrect use of "it's" for "its"

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I have no idea when this phenomenon started, but it became glaringly obvious after the masses started using the Internet: it's misused for its.

For example: "The book is in it's place on the shelf." UGH!!

See, here's the thing: it's is a contraction of it is--which means that, in the example above, the person is actually saying, "The book is in it is place on the shelf"...which makes NO SENSE whatsoever.

The word they're looking for is its--which means "belonging to it." The sentence should read, "The book is in its place on the shelf."

Think of it just like the words "his" and "hers"--neither of which has an apostrophe in it. (Although I frequently see "hers" misspelled as "her's"...and I don't know why they do that, either!)

His, hers, its. Belonging to him, belonging to her, belonging to it. Simple. NO APOSTROPHES.

Some examples:

"Let me know when it's time to go home."
"It's okay with me if you come over tomorrow."
"It's supposed to rain today.

"Put the book back in its place on the shelf."
"After the test, the teacher will post its answers on the board."
"My car needs its smog test this month."

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