Common Spelling and Grammatical Errors on the Internet

The following is simply a collection of the most obvious and common language errors I have noticed lately on the internet. Their appearance here indicates a consistent pattern and not just random typing errors ("typos") or unfamiliarity with the language (foreign and new speakers).

 

Type

Penetration

Incorrect Form

Correct Form

Explanation

Mnemonic*

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spelling

Common

definately

definitely

 

Finite or infinite, not finate or infinate

Spelling

Common

your (for "you are")

you're

Two words are run together: you are becomes you're

 

Spelling

Common

its (for "it is")

it's

Two words are run together: it is becomes it's

 

Spelling

Common

it's (that which belongs to it)

its

 

Same as most other possessive pronouns: his, hers, ours, theirs (exception: one's)

Spelling

Common

to (more than needed, or "also")

too

 

o+o

Spelling Occasional now (to have knowledge of) know   You don't always know it now
Spelling Occasional seperate separate   The 2 e's are separated by 2 a's: e-a-a-e
Spelling Occasional were (the location of something) where   Note the pattern: Where? Here and there

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grammatical

Pandemic

There's ("there is") apples† somewhere

There are apples somewhere

 

Rearrange: Does "Apples is there" really sound right to you?

Grammatical

Common

... was the former ...

... is the former ...

Unless you are talking about a time prior to the present but after the time in the past when the condition existed, the state of being "former" exists now, not then.

This type of temporal grammar is about logic. Think about what existed when

 

 

 

 

 

 

Punctuation Pandemic Hyphen - used to replace a colon (:) or semicolon (;) in less than rigorously formal discourse M-dash―named after its size in metal type Hyphens (-) are used to break compound words and to run-on words at the ends of lines, not to break up sentences in the manner of colons and semicolons. If your HTML program doesn't have a list of symbols, the code for the M-dash (―) is —. If you don't have access to the underlying HTML, a double hyphen (--) may be used Hyphens (-) are small; they break up small units like words. M-dashes (―) are large; they break up large units like clauses and sentences
           

 

*Memory device. Apples stands for any plural noun.