then and than; there, their, and they're

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Don't be sad.

i never spell anything right im shure

Then and than are the only ones I usually get screwed up on.

If everyone (speaking English) would just learn the contractions, it would help them a lot with this problem. There really aren't (are not) that many:

I'm = I am
they're = they are
you're = you are
we're = we are
it's = it is
who's = who is
don't = do not
aren't = are not
haven't = have not
I'll = I will
we'll = we will
would've = would have
should've = should have
(etc.)

If it is a contraction, it will have an apostrophe and could be rewritten as two words. If you're (you are) putting an apostrophe into a word that is not a contraction, then you might be making a mistake. If you aren't (are not) putting an apostrophe into a word that is a contraction, then you're (you are) making a mistake.

Catching mistakes like these has always been my strong point.. I just wish these kinds of skills were actually *employable*! ! Isn't that how it always goes for aspies, though?

it's not "this group" it's everyone...

just remember this sentence:

they're over there with their new toys.

English has a back-asswords writing system in which words with an identical pronunciation are spelled completely different.
Their there they're = /ðeIr/
Than then = /ðɛn/ when unstressed
your you're = /ju:r/

Same pronunciation. Different spelling. Juggling the sheer rote memorization and baffling rules in English is a constant headache.

Please forward the rest of your grammatical complaints to:
twoshots
to receive a response of either 1)English orthography sucks, 2)The grammar book you probably learned didn't know a thing about natural language and was written by a linguistic idiot. Standard English = good Dialectical chauvinism = bad.

it's = it is
its = genitive "it"
but franks = pl. franks & frank's = genitive "frank"
WTF

I mean really, standardizing the spelling is one thing, but English writing frequently has nothing to do with most modern dialects, and even less to do with many local dialects. I constantly make mistakes because I can't stand the asininity of it all. The fact that people are so concerned about spelling/speaking it "right" only reinforces a bazaar obsession with perpetuating an idiotic and time consuming system. It's just a way for people who think they know something to put down those who didn't pick it up, exactly like all other forms of dialectical chauvinism



Ah! From that I could (if I remembered my dialect maps) draw certain conclusions about where you're not from. This is actually an instance in which the sound shifts of many dialects are inconsistent with a spelling that reflects many other dialects. "which" reflects the pronunciation /ʍIʧ/ pronounced roughly hwich, but the /ʍ/ sound has been lost in many dialects.

I have actually found the writing mistakes to be fascinating on this board. There is a certain person who actually used "th" to represent /v/. Sent my phoneticist senses tingling.

As for whether or not people with AS are any more likely to make these mistakes than anyone else, I do kind of doubt it, but I'm not sure.

twoshots - never missing a chance to bash the prestige versions of English = /IŋglIʃ/

...

George Bernard Shaw - reminding you that English could practically spell the word fish "ghoti"