I've come across an American website called Grammarly on Facebook and I've decided we Brits are paragons of sense, spelling and good grammar compared to the other lot across the pond. Here are Grammarly's top 10 'problems' in American English:
I've never encountered anybody who didn't know the difference between then and than or bear and bare. Certainly never met anyone who dropped the words affect and effect into their conversation often enough to get them mixed up. No one I know makes a lot into one word, though people sometimes think thankyou is a word. And as for could of, it's a bit like the unicorn: the reports of its existence are exaggerated.
That leaves your/you're, to/too/two, there/they're/their, lose/loose (and you can add chose/choose to that list). All I can say is you don't hear the difference between these words, so it is understandable that people confuse them.
That leaves definately. O gawd, I hate that word. It's used in Glasgow all the time - usually wrongly. I can see why it's used wrongly in everyday conversation but why is it coming up wrongly on computers - especially Facebook?
Which brings me to a pet peeve:
DO PEOPLE NOT HAVE SOFTWARE ON THEIR COMPUTERS THAT TELL THEM WHEN THEY'VE SPELT A WORD WRONGLY?
Sorry to shout. But there's such a thing as wilful stupidity and having the software to keep you right and not using it is a good example of just that.
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