Why YSK?
The first person who typed “should of” probably heard of it in real life that was meant to be “should’ve”, they typed “should of” online and readers thought that it’s grammatically correct to say “should of” which is in fact wrong and it became widespread throughout the years on Reddit.
I hope something could start to change.
- hardypart ( @hardypart@feddit.de ) English91•1 year ago
I’m not a grammar nazi, but “should of” is driving me up the wall.
I know right, I know people make careless grammatical mistakes all the time, including me, which is completely fine but people outright thought that “should of” is correct and use it all the time starts to get annoying
- Today ( @Today@lemmy.world ) English9•1 year ago
Same! I rather see shoulda than should of.
- 😈MedicPig🐷BabySaver😈 ( @MedicPigBabySaver@sopuli.xyz ) English6•1 year ago
Don’t crash to the floor. That’d hurt.
- hardypart ( @hardypart@feddit.de ) English3•1 year ago
Giving my best!
- lhx ( @lhx@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
But more importantly, where do you stand on the Oxford comma?
- Ghukek ( @Ghukek@lemmy.world ) English5•1 year ago
I strongly prefer it but it’s not something I feel is worth correcting someone on.
- Today ( @Today@lemmy.world ) English4•1 year ago
Oh, Dude! I’m 99% for it. On the night before my uncle’s funeral, while labeling photos for the slideshow, two of my cousins got into an Oxford comma fight. John, Joe, and Jeff. Take out the second comma. But it’s right! But it looks stupid! Fight! Fight! Fight!
- Rick ( @Rick@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
Ah funerals, people really get upset over the smallest things due to all the pain from the loss. I don’t want to ever go through that again but I know it’s just a part of life. :(
- Today ( @Today@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
Yeah. Had to do it twice in the last year. Sucks.
- Rick ( @Rick@lemmy.world ) English1•1 year ago
Damn man, I’m really sorry for your losses. I’ve experienced something similar in the past. It’s like when one person dies, more follow shortly. I feel like when people loose their loved ones, its like some peoples bodies when they are old just give up as the person they loved disappeared.
- JustZ ( @JustZ@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
It’s mandatory in a series, only. Something is only a series of there are three. Plenty of time the cadence and diction sounds like a series but isn’t.
If the first two or last two are antecedent to one another, you don’t need the comma. Said another way, if the first or last noun is not severed from the second, you need a serial command to indicate that.
It depends on what you’re trying to say.
- Art3sian ( @Art3sian@lemmy.world ) English44•1 year ago
Nice one. Who’d’ve guessed.
- quantumantics ( @quantumantics@lemmy.world ) English16•1 year ago
I wouldn’t’ve, that’s for sure!
- Anarch157a ( @Anarch157a@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
As a non-native speaker, that hurts !!!
- denemdenem ( @denemdenem@lemmy.world ) English10•1 year ago
😱 You are triggering my fear of more than 1 apostrophes in a word
- taj ( @taj@lemmy.world ) English4•1 year ago
Coulda, shoulda, woulda…
- AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘 ( @clueless_stoner@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
:(
- msdos622 ( @Lemmyin@lemmy.world ) English36•1 year ago
- MigratingApe ( @MigratingApe@lemmy.world ) English12•1 year ago
Isn’t it actually “For Fuck’s sake”?
- Izzent ( @Izzent@lemmy.world ) English4•1 year ago
Only correct take here…
lol I remember reading this on Quora
- taj ( @taj@lemmy.world ) English4•1 year ago
For fucks sake…
- Nanachi ( @Seven@lemmy.world ) English4•1 year ago
just say “F.F.S.” from that point on
- AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘 ( @clueless_stoner@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
lol
- Bumblefumble ( @Bumblefumble@beehaw.org ) English2•1 year ago
I think it would be “for fuck’s sake”.
- addie ( @addie@feddit.uk ) English35•1 year ago
Not wanting to be purposefully controversial, but language is a tool for communication and as long as it’s understood by the target audience, then I’d say it was used effectively.
The English language doesn’t have a governing body (unlike say French and Spanish) and so whatever we agree on is correct usage. “Grammatically incorrect” has long been a dog-whistle signifier for elitism (you don’t have the expensive education to know what’s correct) and racism (the local dialect that you speak isn’t our ‘prestige’ version, therefore you are inferior) and I don’t really like to see it. Even when those aren’t your intentions when correcting people, it still rankles with me.
Not that I’d write ‘should of’ on my CV or anything, but it doesn’t offend me any on an internet forum.
- a_rational_llama ( @a_rational_llama@lemm.ee ) English27•1 year ago
and as long as it’s understood by the target audience
Duy’ou-ndarstend Diz?
Understanding written text is more difficult when the existing established conventions that impart meaning are ignored.
Sure, those conventions evolve over time, some errors are worse than others, and no one’s going to write perfectly all the time. But that doesn’t mean anything goes and the writer has no responsibility to write clearly and correctly.
Agree with you wholeheartedly
I perfectly understand “Duy’ou-ndarstend Diz?” but I really would not want to read this over and over again.
Of course, I don’t aim to change everyone, you do you. I just want to use the opportunity to say there is a difference between “should have” and “should of”.
- RedundantObsession ( @RedundantObsession@lemmy.world ) English4•1 year ago
I see your point, and in some way I agree myself. Language is always evolving, and the way English is spoken today is far off from what it was back in the day. And the way we use language tells a lot about a persons background and history. This is not something negative, this is personality and differences between people.
And it’s not someone’s job to change someone or everyone, but it should be accepted to correct when others are wrong. I for one like when people do this to me; I actually encourage my friends to do that to me. This is how I learn and develop my language, and should not be viewed as a negative. If I use language “wrong”, I at least want to be aware of it so I can correct it if I feel the need. I think this should of been how more peoples think it about 😋
- noisetricks ( @noisetricks@sopuli.xyz ) English1•1 year ago
*Have course
- RagingSnarkasm ( @RagingSnarkasm@lemmy.world ) English11•1 year ago
Wait, my 6th grade English teacher was a racist? That explains a lot.
Thanks for the info about French and Spanish governing bodies. TIL
- Confuzzeled ( @Confuzzeled@lemmy.world ) English10•1 year ago
What I’m hearing is we need to set up some kind of formal governing body to properly enforce the grammar rules of English. Maybe Hugo boss could make some uniforms.
- Exitlude ( @Exitlude@beehaw.org ) English3•1 year ago
It doesn’t necessarily have to invoke that kind of imagery. Spanish has the Royal Spanish Academy and within my lifetime they have removed a couple of letters from the alphabet (ch, ll).
- Confuzzeled ( @Confuzzeled@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
Ah I was just being glib to try and be humorous. Alas my “sense of humour” rarely gets the response looked for. I will keep working on it.
- RedundantObsession ( @RedundantObsession@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
I slightly changed my breathing pattern after reading your comment, if that helps. Not full nose-blow-funny, but you caused a small, positive reaction. Keep it up!
- Confuzzeled ( @Confuzzeled@lemmy.world ) English1•1 year ago
Thanks, the feedback is appreciated. I’ll try and work my way up from heavier breathing pattern to semi snort, and from there? the sky’s the limit.
- Lifter ( @Lifter@discuss.tchncs.de ) English2•1 year ago
I guess that would finally settle the colour vs color debate
- Anarch157a ( @Anarch157a@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
Portuguese has it too. Our language is governed by an international treaty between Portuguese speaking countries.
- 😈MedicPig🐷BabySaver😈 ( @MedicPigBabySaver@sopuli.xyz ) English5•1 year ago
Ha, “rankles”. (✿☉。☉)
- toadmode ( @toadmode@beehaw.org ) English1•1 year ago
French and Spanish have “governing bodies”, but in practice they don’t actually govern how people use the languages.
- Sonemonkey ( @Sonemonkey@lemmy.world ) English23•1 year ago
“Should of” is bone apple tea material.
- AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘 ( @clueless_stoner@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
Should of have’ve known that.
- Drew Got No Clue ( @ndr@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
I feel pain.
- Drew Got No Clue ( @ndr@lemmy.world ) English22•1 year ago
Typing “should of” is a sign of failing to understand the basics of English grammar.
- blackbelt352 ( @blackbelt352@lemmy.sdf.org ) English7•1 year ago
Eh, it’s just shifting of how written work is relfective our spoken word. It’s pretty rare for me to use a stronger “ah” sound when saying “would have” most of the time defaulting to a softer schwa sound, which sounds almost exactly how how “of” sounds. English has been changing and evolving for centuries. There’s even major epochs like the great vowel shift. Hell if Shakespeare were around today and making the drastic changes to the english language like he did back then he’d be crucified by internet prescriptivists for using English improperly.
If you’d like something a bit more modern, Mark Twain broke english rules all the time in his writings and he’s considered one of, if not, the greatest American writers.
- Drew Got No Clue ( @ndr@lemmy.world ) English7•1 year ago
I’m sorry but it doesn’t fully work here. ‘of’ phonetically should not be spelled with a ‘f’, so they are already using a word that is not pronounced as it is written, might as well use “would’ve”, which removes the part that isn’t pronounced as it was traditionally “ha-”, but at least it’s still correct.
They use ‘of’ because they don’t understand (or pay attention to) the grammar of what they’re saying.
- DesGrieux ( @DesGrieux@sh.itjust.works ) English1•1 year ago
Shakespeare did not “make” changes, he’s just a very good record of changes that had taken place.
- berkeleyblue ( @berkeleyblue@lemmy.world ) English19•1 year ago
I’m certainly no grammar freak and English also isn’t my native language but this deives me insane… Same with your vs you’re… it’s soooo easy…
- AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘 ( @clueless_stoner@lemmy.world ) English6•1 year ago
Same here. I think some people just make it a habit to type/write wome words incorrectly.
- Ashralien ( @Ashralien@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
I pressed my break to stop the car…
- Atemu ( @Atemu@lemmy.ml ) English2•1 year ago
Your correct about that
- Bored Stonerian ( @Gigate@sopuli.xyz ) English19•1 year ago
“Should of” is evidence of someone who never, ever reads.
- _n9 ( @_n9@lemmy.ml ) English3•1 year ago
I’ve seen “should of” in a book before. I think it was house of leaves, that had a bunch of them in it but it was only from one characters perspective if I remember correctly, so it might have been a stylistic choice. Still recommend the book though.
- RedundantObsession ( @RedundantObsession@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
I have that book, but never read it. Too many foot notes, for one, some of them could of been chapters by them selves! (Sorry)
Is it a “correct” or easier way to enjoy the book? Is it meant to be “different” in that way? I’ve only heard good things about it, so really would like getting to it. My go to time wasting social media is no more a part of my life, so now at least I have the time…
- bnfdhfdhfd ( @bnfdhfdhfd@lemmy.world ) English15•1 year ago
People who say “should of” makes me want to loose my mind
- TWeaK ( @TWeaK@lemmy.ml ) English5•1 year ago
Right on queue.
- SpezCanLigmaBalls ( @SpezCanLigmaBalls@lemmy.world ) English13•1 year ago
Damn I should of known this
- AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘 ( @clueless_stoner@lemmy.world ) English7•1 year ago
DownvotersCanLigmaBalls
- Izzent ( @Izzent@lemmy.world ) English5•1 year ago
Downvoted 🥵
- AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘 ( @clueless_stoner@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
Oh shit
- Tyr-Raidho-Othala ( @Tyr_Raidho_Othala@lemmy.fmhy.ml ) English4•1 year ago
Damn, and here I thought Redditors were the only ones who couldn’t detect a joke
- SpezCanLigmaBalls ( @SpezCanLigmaBalls@lemmy.world ) English5•1 year ago
Lmao right? This is obviously a joke
- Exi ( @Exi@lemmy.world ) English11•1 year ago
I could care less.
- s38b35M5 ( @s38b35M5@lemmy.world ) English2•1 year ago
My in-laws and I have a Signal group where we share fun spellings and pronunciations. We call it “udder mayham.” It’s fun.
I could care less.
This one is popular.
- TurboDiesel ( @TurboDiesel@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
udder mayham
That’s an eggcorn right?
- ewe ( @ewe@lemmy.world ) English1•1 year ago
I could care more or less.
- nieceandtows ( @nieceandtows@lemmy.world ) English11•1 year ago
Crazy thing is, it’s getting widespread acceptance, and will probably accepted as grammatically correct in a few years.
- Kabe ( @kabe@lemmy.world ) English10•1 year ago
A bit like how putting “would” in a third conditional if-clause has become standard in US English (“We wouldn’t have been late if we would have taken a taxi”).
I know language evolves but it doesn’t stop my left eye from twitching whenever I hear it.
- axtualdave ( @axtualdave@lemmy.world ) English3•1 year ago
Not until the definition of the word “of” changes. It is not a synonym for the word “have,” nor will be anytime soon.
Perhaps, when speaking, accent, mush-mouthed laziness, or plain ignorance will confuse “should have” and “should of”, but one is objectively correct, and one is not.
- erisir ( @erisir@lemmy.world ) English10•1 year ago
language is full of idiosyncrasies like this (my favorite is an ekename -> a nekename -> a nickname. see Wikipedia). it’s perfectly conceivable that should have would be fully re-analyzed in speech like that, so the proper form of the verb to have would become of after should
- Chaser ( @Chaser@sopuli.xyz ) English7•1 year ago
Same deal with the word “Apron”. It started out as napron, so people would say a napron which turned into an apron
- lenguen ( @lenguen@lemmy.world ) English7•1 year ago
Golly, I should of known that
- Black616Angel ( @Black616Angel@feddit.de ) English5•1 year ago
- Golly, eye should of noun that
- terwn43lp ( @toxicbubble@lemmy.world ) English7•1 year ago
shoulda