Basic Grammar: Difference between You're and Your.

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   Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years ago

   The majority of all articles on the net confuse you 're with your.
   
   So I thought I'd explain it.
   
   Your means:
   Your cat
   Your dog
   Your possessions
   Your time
   Your clock
   Your English
   
   It is talking about something you own and that belongs to you.
   
   You're is short for YOU ARE.
   
   It is used in the following manner.
   
   You're good at writing (You ARE good at writing).
   You're not good at grammar (You ARE not good at grammar).
   You're (You ARE) only able to write well when YOUR (ownership)g
   grammar is good.
   You're (You ARE) in deep trouble and you're (you ARE) late for work because YOUR car broke down in the rain (ask me about this).
   
   When an apostrophe is used, it means that it is substituting for another word.
   
   So:
   It's (it is) a great day (not its which is expressing ownership).
   
   There's (There is) no one at the school (not theirs which is expressing ownership).
   
   
   Hope that helps.
   
   
   
   
   
   I

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      lyndreposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for you,re grammer lesson.
      
      Your very helpful. 

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      getitriteposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Did you read my hub on silly annoying grammatical errors?  This was the first error I mentioned.

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         Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, I did!
         
         Yet, despite knowing that fellow writers also find it annoying to have to read bad grammar, I still have to let off steam occasionally!

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      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You are so right, but no matter what you or anyone else says or does, errors like this will continue. Mostly, some don't care. Consider texting and what that's done to grammar and spelling. Then, texting is carried over, one way or another, to writing. Clearly, texting is more important than learning how to write by standards.
      
      At the same time, I applaud you for giving this issue another go. There can't be enough said about it. At the heart of making ourselves understood is the matter of rule of language. If you don't go by the rule, then you risk being either misunderstood or not credible.
      
      Cheers to you!

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         Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         @ Sally, your point about the rule of language being intrinsic to meaning is one I have raised many times.
         
         What really gets me is that so many of these people want to be writers and one is not allowed to say to them, "In your dreams."
         
         You're also right about the testing.
         
         A lot of this has to do with the education model during the past 35 yeares. Many educators today grew up at a time when they were told that spelling didn't matter and 'so long as they were understood', the grammar didn't matter. What none of these morons seem to understand is that while one can explain simple ideas in basic language, the more sophisticated and complex the idea, the greater the need for grammar, structure, and vocabulary.
         
         Bad grammar results in ambiguous meaning. It results in nonsensical sentences. It slows down the reader as the reader tries to understand what the writer is saying.
         
         I've reached a point where if someone cannot be bothered to write grammatically, I'm not interested in reading it.

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   Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

   and don't forget...
   
   "Ur" was a city in ancient times
   
   

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   Thanks, that is one of my pet peeves

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      Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well, someone moved it rom the the hurbbers hangout to the grammar section, so I guess it's going to remain one of your pet peeves. I purposely didn't put it in the grammar section because I wanted it to be read.

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         Rafiniposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         (maybe if you'd made the title Pet Peeves it would have stayed there...?)

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            Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            True...   I didn't want to be impolite or sound like a moaning ninny!

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               Rafiniposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               lol   I don't think you would've.  (and I see they put it back!)

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                  Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Oh, wonderful!!!!
                  
                  One of the things I learnt in pre-press print class is that we stop reading immediately after we've learned how to read. What happens is that because we've learned how to read, our eyes just recognize the words immediately. However, when people do things like use i for I and use bad grammar, one has to slow down again in order to read, i.e. work out what they mean.
                  
                  I guess that's why i get so annoyed at having to read bad grammar. It slows down my reading process!

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                     Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Yes, that is exactly what happens to me. I can read very, very quickly, but hitting a misused "your" or "losing" with two o's or even misuse of "its" and "it's" stops me dead.  It's annoying. I know some mistakes are easy to make, but when I see someone repeating these, I think less of them for their carelessness and ignorance.

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                        Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        What gets me is that people make mistakes on their hubs but don't correct them. Surely if it was just a mistake they would find it and fix it? To me if it stands for more than a few days then that is either careless or they don't realize they have made a mistake.

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                           Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           Well, yes, but sometimes I have found an error on a page og mine years later. It is easy to miss things in our own work.

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                              Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              I guess it is

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                                 Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                 
                                 
                                 Tiny keyboard, big fingers, small brain and weak eyes.  I was not making a deliberate error there; I really mistyped.

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                                    Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                    I think the differences between the occasional typos, gramatical ignorance, and/or a complete disregard for the reader are easy to spot. If someone writes well, and there is an occasional error, I put it down as a typo. I will also do the professional thing and email them privately to tell them.
                                    
                                    If, on the other hand, there is a complete disregard for grammari, it's generally a combination of not knowing and not caring.

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                                       Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                       
                                       
                                       Yes, we all make mistakes when typing fast, and there are some situations (such as forum posting) when friends should be able to allow one another the luxury of not having to edit every single word of a forum post. That is what I understood Lisa HW to mean in speaking of "informal writing." 
                                       
                                       I disagree with your assertion that there is no such thing as informal writing.  As writers we had better know the difference between different types of writing, between different levels of writing, between what is appropriate for differing audiences and differing situations. If not, then we are not as good at writing as our credentials may claim.  (You don't need to remind me again of how great and experienced a writer you are.  I have read numerous times that you are one of the most experienced published writers posting in the forums.)
                                       
                                       [PS - Like others, I am a big fan of the subjunctive.]

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   Pcunixposted 12 years ago

   It is something that frequently annoys me also.
   
   Especially when done by someone whose opinions I strongly disagree with

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   ediggityposted 12 years ago

   Your a great teacher.

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   saltposted 12 years ago

   what sophie said!

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   Muldanianposted 12 years ago

   I have never understood why people get these two mixed up, and have noticed that online the correct word is rarely used.  Something else which seems common from writers from the UK is the misspelling of the word can't as carnt.  The difficulty I have is in determining whether to use the word effect or affect.

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   2uesdayposted 12 years ago

   Eats,Shoots and Leaves.
   
   http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/t … leaves.pdf

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   astigpinoy16posted 12 years ago

   hello I'm new to HP, someone mentioned about the grammar section, I saw that while browsing the Hubber's hangout, where could I see that, could you give me a link because I am not really confident with my grammar. English is not my native language.
   
   I am planning to post my 1st hub this week.
   
   many thanks to all of you!

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    wildernessposted 12 years ago

    You're referring to days of yore when your grammar mattered.  In ths mdrn tms it be all gd.

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       Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Huh?

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          wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Sorry - just a play on words, with a side comment on texting.

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             Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Yes...I got it...that's why the smiley...

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                wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                (slaps forehead).  You're way ahead of me - your smiley went right past me. 

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    habeeposted 12 years ago

    I've written several hubs about grammar and writing skills. I had to - I'm a retired English and writing instructor!

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       Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I feel your pain!

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    rebekahELLEposted 12 years ago

    primarily affect is used as a verb and effect is used as a noun.  I use the a=action=verb=affect.
    
    'The weather had an effect on her party.'
    'She didn't let it affect her mood.'
    
    it is one of the biggest grammar mistakes. I'm sure we've all messed it up at some point.

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    Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

    More Than Anyone Wants to Know About Those "You're"/"Your" Errors in Online Writing (but in defense of a whole lot of people who, I'm guessing, do the kind of "you're"/"your" typing error I frequently do...) :
    
    If it gives anyone who is particularly bothered by the old "your"/"you're" thing (or "there"/"they're"/"their" kind of thing), a lot of those aren't a matter of someone's not knowing grammar and/or spelling.  I just caught a "too"/"to" one that I just did at the end of a long comment-response on one of my Hubs.  I have to have many, many, more similar typing errors that neither I, nor spell-check, has picked up.  (Spell-check doesn't pick those up because they're spelled correctly (just not used correctly in the text).  Grammar-check may pick them up as someone goes along, but lots of times I type where there is a running grammar-checker.  I don't run grammar check on everything because of the "bugs" that can exist between what grammar-checker "approves of" and the context within which I've made some "disapproved" choice of words or punctuation.  So, between being fairly sure of my own knowledge of grammar rules in less-than-complicated writing, and the fact that the grammar-checker can sometimes be kind of useless in more complicated or specialized, mean I don't run grammar-checker lots of times.
    
    Anyway, just my spare-time writing files alone add up to somewhere over 9000 files.  A good number of those files contain several hundred or several thousand words.  I type what I write from what I'm hearing in my head; and it's really easy to do that "you're"/"your" thing when you type thousands of words a day, and the fingers that type are only typing words that are being sent to them via the "internal ear".
    
    I don't imagine I'm the only one guilty of that "you're"/"your" or "too"/"to" every once in awhile.  When I see that someone else has that kind of error in his work I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it's a typing error - not a spelling error.  (In my case and being from Massachusetts, I'm, of course, "hearing" "yor", whether I'm thinking "you're" or "your" - and I've been known to make typing errors ("erruz") of that variety too. )
    
    I'm hoping this post doesn't look like "reading the riot act", because it's with a sense of humor that I'm writing it; and I know the intent of the thread is to be helpful.  It's just that some people's "peeves" are the "you're"/"your" kind of thing.  Mine is having people assume that all mistakes are the result of someone's "not knowing better". Another one for me, though, is worrying about other people's writing mistakes.

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       Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Someone on here not that long ago did not know the difference. And though by just leaving out the contraction that it was the same word. It's good to point it out.
       
       And, like you said, no one is perfect and we do make errors like that. I've made that mistake often actually and not noticed it until I have published the hub, then I corrected it.

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       Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       @ Lisa. If someone types 2000 words, and they are constantly using You're for Your, then that has nothing to do with a typo. One can see when something is a typo because it happens occasionally, not all the time.
       
       Also, I happen to think it's impolite to one's reader to present them with something that is not proofed. I have no desire to read what anyone has to say when their language is difficult tor read.
       
       That includes what you wrote above. I didn't read each word because it was so badly punctuated that it was unpleasant to read.

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          Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Sophia, good point about the difference between seeing the same mistake throughout someone's writing.  As far as proofing goes, most writers will tell you if they write thousands of words, even several proofing runs usually result in a "sly" error here or there.
          
          As far as not reading goes, I don't necessarily expect anyone to read what I'm "inspired" to write.  It's there if they feel like it..  As far as any grammar errors (perceived or real) are concerned, I see forum discussions as informal.  I spend my work hours needing to produce "perfection" for other people's scientific, medical, and legal material.  The thousands of words I write on sites like this one are material I write in my spare time (instead of, say, doing crossword puzzles or watching television).   I don't plan to spin my wheels over aiming for absolute perfection in my spare-time writing. 
          
          Anyone who has read more a couple of my Hubs would see that even with my writing here being spare-time writing, I put a lot of effort into trying to offer readers something "real" and "human".  With many of the topics about which I write people post questions and comments about their own serious situations, and a lot of those are quite the challenge when it comes to trying to think up what I can possibly say to be of help to them.
          
          So, if a reader is insulted by the occasional imperfection in grammar (or else if it's someone who doesn't "get" that writers who are confident in their own knowledge of grammar are often also confident enough to be "a little creative" with punctuation for the purpose of trying to come across as less-than-robotic), they don't have to read what I write.
          
          This is truly not intended to come across as hostile.  The thing is, I think one reason one my pet peeves is people's worrying about other people's grammar flaws is the length of time I've been writing on this site.  If anyone reads some people's Hubs, or if anyone were to see some of the comments I get on Hubs about things like dealing with grief and loss, he'd see how being on a site like this can be an eye-opener when it comes to some of the awful things people have to deal with in life.  Really - I just think there are other things people could be spending their worries on.
          
          In any case, every so often someone who uses his spare time by writing about things he sees as "serious issues" is going to get a little worn out and edgy every year or so.  I suppose that's why I couldn't resist being candid with my original response to this thread.   Essentially, I'm acknowledging that my response on this thread was pretty much asking for the nasty return it got; and I'm acknowledging that it my immediate response (so quickly typed up) would have been better left un-typed.     (Time for me to exit the forums for a few months - at least     ).  I don't care if anyone bothered to read any of this.  It felt good to write it.
          
          .....and I still say that worrying about other people's grammar flaws is worrying about the awfully small stuff.      

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             Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I can agree with this also, but only if you don't try to pull me too far from normal. A little recklessness can be exciting and fun, a bit of grammatical deviance can actually aid understanding.
             
             But that is almost only true when it is done on purpose.  I suppose serendipitous accidents can occur, but those are very, very rare.  People who can write can bend the rules and get away with it, but those who simply write badly can't hold my interest.
             
             Good writing needs to be mostly good.

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             Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Lisa, I've been published as a writer since 1963. Yes, I was 11 or 12 years old, but then I won my first nation wide writing competion when I was 18. I have been published on three cointinents, have been an editor for several publishers, have ghostwritten books for some pretty impressive people, done celebrity interviews for some well established celebrity magazines, have an IMDB credit for a movie, and have written on every topic that I can conceive of. Forgive me, but I'm very comfortable in my skin as a writer.  I don't moan about grammar because I'm insecure but because it slows down my reading process and I don't have time to slow down.
             
             With regard to playing agony auntie to the myriads of struggling humanity, forgive me, but I hail from Africa. Until you've witnessed one in four people dying of HIV, poverty so intense that the poorest person in America would be deemed very rich there, and when my own life has been on the line time and time again, forgive me if I don't see that as an excuse for not taking the time to write grammatically. I've also spent a great deal of my life writing about very serious issues.
             
             There is no such thing as 'informal' writing. There are just those that actually have to think in order to write. I don't think in order to write. I am typing this at something like 80 to 100 wpm and I can assure you that I am thinking it as I am typing it. It is still grammatically correct. And if it wasn't, I would go back and fix it. Of course, on occasion, there are typos, but as I explained before, one can tell the difference between a typo and sloppiness and ignorance.

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                Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                But it bothers me that you failed to use the subjunctive in your conditional sentence.
                
                That's how fussy I am.

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                   Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Oh, dear.

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    DTR0005posted 12 years ago

    And with this explanation, you've said it all...

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    DTR0005posted 12 years ago

    And with this explanation, you've said it all...

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    teamrnposted 12 years ago

    I understand when I see schoolchildren's 'yur' as they text. But I cringe when I see 'your great' written by adults.

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    ralwusposted 12 years ago

    what's (what is) a hurbber?

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       SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       yor a hurbber....

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          ralwusposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          am I now? gee, thanks.

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    TLMinutposted 12 years ago

    I've caught myself doing that sort of thing as well even though I get annoyed when I see it. I teach my kids all sorts of little tricks for spelling, including the "affect with an 'a' is an action".
    
    What aggravates me more than seeing such mistakes online is seeing them in textbooks! I enrolled in college again recently, studied through the first six chapters while waiting for the term to begin and found close to FIFTY mistakes!! I withdrew.

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       Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       This is happening in most books. I put it down to several factors.
       
       1) Level of education and dumbing down.
       2) People in other countries who are not native English speakers doing the editing.
       3) Writers not knowing how to write anymore.

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    Helpful Hannaposted 12 years ago

    I have a tenedency to notice homophone mistakes along with other types of grammatical errors.  I actually enjoy finding them.  I think I would love to be an editor or at least proofread people's writing.

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    TLMinutposted 12 years ago

    About using i for I, I don't do it but I do prefer it. Using the capital seems so pompous and self-important. We don't capitalize other pronouns, neither do we capitalize other letters used alone (like 'a' or i.e.).

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    Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

    I always use I, that is what I was taught to do

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    Sally's Troveposted 12 years ago

    I agree. It's too much work to do for them what they should be doing for themselves and for their readers. Why should I put that effort in for them? Within the first 10 words, they've either got me or lost me.

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 12 years ago

    I made a mistake on this issue on one of my hubs. Not that I don't know better - sometimes I just type too fast for my own good. Someone left a totally obnoxiosly arrogant comment explaining the difference. Now I just don't leave a comment box. If this is the biggest issue that person has going on in their life....

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       Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       @ Nellie, there is a difference between a typo and a consistent use of bad grammar. Some people don't know how to tell the difference. Something that is consistently used throughout the piece is bad grammar (which I find unacceptable if someone is writing for a living). A typo happens once or twice and is obvious because the rest of it is correct.
       
       For instance, 'teh' typed once or twice in a piece is a typo if the rest of the time, 'the' is used. If 'teh' is used all the time, that is not a typo. This is an inability to spell.
       
       Many use speed of typing as an excuse for bad grammar.  Bad grammar does NOT happen because one types too fast.  Bad grammar is the result of speaking incorrectly and having to think in order to get the grammar correct. People who speak well write well. Good grammar is automatic.

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    thirdmilleniumposted 12 years ago

    Can't we do something about anyways?
    I riles me

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    Pearldiverposted 12 years ago

    Thanks fer what yo did yor very smort!

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    tonymac04posted 12 years ago

    This is meant to be a writing site, not a blog site. In my view good writing means thinking about what you are writing, not spilling a rant! If you think about what you are writing then you can't mistake "your" for "you're".
    I agree we should not get too hung up about this, but if we want people to read our writing and to get some enjoyment out of it we should at least take our writing seriously enough to think about what we are writing.
    It is in a sense just good manners - would you put a poorly-baked cake in front of guests? And our readers are our guests and need to be taken as seriously as we would a guest in our homes.
    Also the question of number in writing is important - we should not write for example "lots of people" but "many people".
    English is a tricky language, especially for those for whom it is not their mother tongue. So a degree of patience is required in a place like HubPages where people from all over the world are writing.
    It is a matter of judgement when to see failings in grammar as interestingly quaint or something that needs serious correction.
    But we do need to rmember, I think, that this is primarily a writing place where we can share our writing, not our ranting necessarily!

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    TLMinutposted 12 years ago

    This seems to be a perfectly acceptable thread for a writer's forum. Whether or not it's someone's pet peeve, it still is considerate to teach someone who doesn't know the correct word to use. It's also considerate to point out a typo (privately) in someone's writing - what if the writer is being judged by a possible employer on the strength of their writing skills? The writer's who don't care can ignore the advice.
    
    What about those for whom English is not their native language? I always want to offer to help them rewrite. Help is something I appreciated greatly when I lived and/or traveled in other countries.

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       Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I have always told my readers that they can feel free to point out my mistakes publicly or privately.
       
       I make mistakes. I sometimes catch them myself and sometimes I don't. I don't feel any shame about that, so why should I care if it is public?

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