Dear internet, please learn to spell.

People. Your spelling is atrocious. And it's getting worse every day.

Far too many people confuse the difference between your/you're, their/they're, to/too, and its/it's - or even worse, they don't even realize there is a difference. There are even plenty of Facebook groups dedicated into setting people straight. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they've worked yet. And what's even more depressing is that most 2nd graders understand the right usage.

So in an effort to do my part in making the world a better place, I'm providing a little guide of what words to use and when.

Your/You're
You're is a contraction of "you are". If you can't interchange "you are" and "you're" in a sentence, you're using the wrong one.

Their/They're/There
Same as above. "They're" is a contraction of "they are". If you can't interchange "they are" and "they're" in a sentence, you're using the wrong one. "Their" is possessive, when referring to an object of someone (like their car). If it's neither of those, use there (generally speaking). And if you want to use all three in a sentence, it'd look something like this: "They're putting their things over there."

To/Too
Only use "too" in these cases: when it can be replaced by "also", like "I want some ice cream, too." or when it means "in excess" like "Your iPod is playing too loudly." An easy way to remember this is the extra "o" is only used when you're adding more on to something.

Its/It's
It's is a contraction of "it is". If you can't interchange "it is" and it's, then you're doing it wrong.

We're/Were
And although this one is probably more obvious, "we're" IS NOT the same as were. "We're" can only be used when interchangeable with "we are." "Were" is a something completely different.

Fortunately I'm not alone in this pet peeve. This little bit below is taken from postings found across the web:

Let's review:

"Your" signifies ownership or relation, which refers to something owned by someone, a title or friend/relation. Examples:

"Your car is cool."
"Your status is lame."
"Your shirt is ugly."

"You're" is an abbreviation of "you are", which is what you'd say when speaking to someone about who or what they are, be it insult, praise, fact or random statement. Examples:

"You're a moron."
"You're fantastic!"
"You're ugly."

Comments

Cory, I was so glad to see your blog. I just blogged a rant yesterday about the phrase, "the reason why."   See below.  Nice to meet ya!  Lora Saindon

Do spelling, grammar and proper language usage matter anymore?  Is it just me?  Are we moving to a really sadly illiterate society? One of the biggest things lately that really bothers me, is the use of the phrase, "the reason why."  Oh my goodness!  How redundant is that?

Even news people, who are supposedly educated use that phrase. People!   The reason IS why.    All you say is, "the reason I wrote this today is..."  Get it?  Why, has no place in that statement.  Reason = Why.  Grammar 101.

Okay, enough about that.  There' s one more thing that has just been driving me crazy.  Professional writers who misuse the words "than" and "then."  It seems more and more, people don't know the difference between "then" and "than."

Than, is used for comparison or preference.    Then, is related to time or the order in which things occur.

For instance:  I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.

Go to the store, then go to the party.

There are many, many more common errors I hear and read daily.  Does it matter?   I think it does.  I'm just sayin'....
Thanks for letting me rant.....  Have a lovely day!

You might want to post this for users who can't spell.

How to use apostrophe's - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/983161/apostrophe.pdf
How to spell - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/983161/learn_to_fucking_spell.gif

Thanks so much. I'll pass this along.
One to add from my side is then and than. Sometimes this could be by mistake but sometime by ignorance and the latter case need to be worked on! Btw, another set of words is later and latter.
It is as much about spelling as grammar. If only Elements of Style were sitting on every blogger's desk...err...desktop.
Yes I agree.
Good thought, thank you!
I recently had to thank someone for pulling me up for making the "your", "You're", grammar error!
I agree. I'm tired of seeing these common mistakes. I know my grammar isn't 100% perfect, but it's a lot better than most.
lose / loose is another one.

["Were" is a something completely different.] - read it back to yourself ;o)

Daz.

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