Misspelled words – Almost An Author

“Your the best!”

“Let’s go over their.”

“The Smith’s”

Are you cringing? I am.

Welcome to my world. Am I the only one who notices every misspelling and/or grammar mistake?

I can be driving in the car and notice such errors on signs and billboards. I can be passing through a neighborhood and find issues with various displays. Don’t even get me started about social media posts.

Being an observant copyeditor is both a blessing and a curse.

When I am writing my own pieces or editing someone else’s work, my ability to spot errors comes in handy. When I am reading someone’s social media post or fancy sign and see mistakes, I have to fight the urge to correct everything. It’s a constant struggle.

I attribute (blame?) my copyediting skills to one of my school teachers. He taught me everything from eighth grade English to Journalism to senior Honors English to college freshman composition. His teaching style? Pound grammar and punctuation rules into the students, showing no mercy. It wasn’t always pretty, but I came out of it with a keen knowledge of where commas go and don’t go, how to use a semicolon, and which verb tense to use in any situation.

Moving on to college, I majored in print and broadcast journalism, continuing my adventures in grammar. Professors marveled at my grasp of these principles. I could barely do math, but, if you handed me a piece of writing to critique, I was in my element.

I pursued a career as a college professor, using my copyediting skills every day, much to the dismay of many of my students.

For several years I served as the student newspaper adviser, and, by the time an issue was printed, I was sick of it because I had read it over and over and over in an effort to catch each and every error, with one or two always slipping by.

DISCLAIMER: I do not judge friends and family for grammar miscues. They do happen, especially with AutoCorrect and other tools in this electronic age. I am just saying I am sensitive to them, much like some people are sensitive to smells while others respond to certain sounds.

The next time you see something listed as “For Sell,” think of me and the other copyeditors who can’t help but notice such things. Copyeditors, UNTIE! Um, I mean . . . UNITE!

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.

Misheard, Misused, Misspelled Words

This month’s post is all about words you might be hearing and saying and, consequently, writing improperly. We’re not talking about homophones this time. We’re talking about misheard, misused, and misspelled words.

The idea occurred to me when I received a message from whom—before this ill-typed group of sentences appeared in my inbox—I considered an educated, real adult.

Here’s the problem. She used prolly instead of probably. This construction is not a typo. It’s a made up, wrong word. Maybe that’s how she pronounces it, but it’s still wrong, wrong, wrong. And the little red squiggly line that shows up underneath—even in Facebook messages—indicates a warning people—especially writers—should heed. (I apologize if my old English teacher, persnickety self is shining through here.) (A little bit.)

What about should of? NO! The correct use is should have. The problem probably stems from the contraction, should’ve. I agree. It sounds like should of when we speak. When writing, however, use should have or should’ve. Have is a helping verb: I should have paid attention in English class.

Suppose/supposed has a couple of problems. Here are the correct usages:
I suppose I can cook dinner tonight if you wash the dishes.

I am supposed to cook dinner tonight if I have time. (Don’t forget the d on the end.)

Supposedly, I am a good cook. Not, not, not supposably. Supposably is not correct—even if you hear everyone you know say it this way.

All of a sudden is correct. Years ago when I was teaching, a student wrote, “all of the sudden.” I stopped reading. I shook my head. I’d never heard that phrase before. I marked it as wrong. The student was irritated. A wiser colleague mentioned that all of the sudden was a colloquialism. At its worst, it’s wrong. At its best, it’s informal. Use the accepted all of a sudden in your writing.

Finally, here’s one just for fun. One of my students wrote chester drawers in an essay. I don’t believe she capitalized the C either. Again, even if in quick, slurred speech, the words sound like chester, they really should be written chest of drawers.

Now that I’m thinking about it, chester drawers could make for some interesting dialog in my next work in progress.

Happy writing!