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Ur never be the same again… REALLY?!

It’s got to the point where I feel I need to vent my anger again. This time at poor spelling and grammar. I’ve always been a keen speller and usually quite accurate with my use of grammar. I’m not going to chastise those of us whose mother tongue isn’t English either – you’ve got a hard enough time as it is learning all our exceptions.

The people I’m going to have a right go at in this post are all you brits who just don’t care! Why not? It’s not that hard to get right. The rules here are pretty simple, and you should have had them learnt by 6 years old! What are the main culprits then?

  • You’re and your
  • Wear, where and were
  • Who’s and whose

And to top it off, people are confusing you’re and you’ll, thanks in no small part to the “text speak” abbreviation ur. It really gets my goat. It should get yours too, but clearly we’ve grown into a society of people who just don’t give a crap about what they put down on paper.

I discovered yesterday that in some (maybe all?) universities, students are no longer penalised on poor spelling and grammar, but on their arguments. I used to be warned in my university days that poor spelling could mean the difference between a very good grade and an abysmal one. A first class piece of work being marked down to a third class grade was not unheard of amongst my peers, although a rare sight.

We need to care more. How can you possibly confuse you’re (you are) and you’ll (you will), and then say “Ur be doing X or Y today”, and just as bad “Your be doing this tomorrow”.

Come on people. We’re British. We’re supposed to be good at what we do. Certainly not lacklustre and downright rubbish. I’m going to leave the learning as an exercise for the reader. I’m ashamed of everyone who doesn’t know these simple rules.

By Tomislav Simnett

Tom runs Initforthe, a software development consultancy in Manchester, UK. He's been programming for over 30 years. In his spare time, he enjoys motorbikes, skiing, cycling. He has a wife and two children, and he spends as much time not working with them, and trying to see life through the eyes of an eternally curious child.

6 replies on “Ur never be the same again… REALLY?!”

I am in complete agreement with the above comment. I didn’t get the opportunity to go to university but I think I can spell reasonably well. Words that irritate me are:
1. Whether (which of the two)
2. Weather (the condition of the atmosphere)
3. Wether (a castrated Ram!)

Other words are:
1. There (in that place)
2. Their (belonging to them)
3. They’re (the third person)

If you really are struggling with spelling and grammar, I suggest going on AskOxford.com. If not, go back to school!

I’ve checked and double checked. The use of incredulous in this particular instance is correct; the sense of disbelief at the sheer amount of money raked in by the government on vehicle related tax.

I hope the use of “text language” is never allowed on paper at any school, college or university. I fear that at some point in the future it will be. Simon, it took me a while to fathom your sentence and I work for a large mobile phone firm. It’s not just about it being quicker, it is also about being less costly, or to put it another way, about being a bit tight. It costs 10 pence less to send a text like yours as it’s easier to cram it all into one message rather than let it carry on in to two. Don’t get me wrong, I abbreviate in the texts I send, but not to that extent. As long as no one writes to me like that in a letter and so forth, I will remain a happy bunny! Oh and to david, VS was unfortunately socially accepted a while back now (if it’s in the context in which I think you mean), so I will let you off. He he he. x

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