Would you like some help?

[Grgranny]

I have been thinking of doing this for quite a long time now. I thought if someone needed help spelling something, they could either post it here or pm me.

I can't understand why people keep mispelling definitely!
Some others are desperate and extension.

Just trying to help.

 

[nicole_l]

Well, now I understand your signature.
I agree, misspellings are annoying...
At least no one here TyPeS lYk diS. (as you will see often on livejournal)

 

[Tonichelle]

When I'm in a hurry or am tired, I definitely spell definitely wrong But I think I'm getting better at it

 

[CzarinaAnya]

When I'm paying attention and not making typos, I'm a pretty good speller, I think. I'm here for anyone, also, if they need it. Especially when there's a certain skater's name they just can't figure out.

 

[JonnyCoop]

Aint some of those Russian names fun? I've been noticing that a lot of the Russian and Ukrainian juniors this year (especially in pairs and dance) have got some that require about five serious glances to figure out how to pronounce; spelling is even more tricky.

Reminds me of how glad I was that Anton Sikharulidze had finally gotten to a position where he was shown on television -- finally, I thought, I know how to pronounce it!!

But getting to the point of this thread -- I rely on my handy-dandy little Barron's POCKET GUIDE TO CORRECT SPELLING. If you know approximately how to spell it, this works. If however, you are one of these people who spells "koala" as "QUOLLA" (as my friend Marcia once tried to do during a Scrabble game, and no it was not a question of trying to get points with the QU, she honestly thought that was how you spelled it), this will not be of much help to you.

Actually, my big pet peeve is putting apostrophes in where they don't belong. Like Ladie's Short Program or Apple's $1.89/lb and stuff like that. Totally makes me grind my teeth....

 

[megsk8z]

Grgranny, I love you for this. Definitely.

 

[Vash01]

Actually, my big pet peeve is putting apostrophes in where they don't belong. Like Ladie's Short Program or Apple's $1.89/lb and stuff like that. Totally makes me grind my teeth....

I find them really annoying too (e.g. Apple's and It's when it is NOT meant to be IT IS). Seeing 'definitely' being spelled incorrectly used to really irritate me. There are few more words that are very frequently spelled incorrectly. Basically I have a very low tolerance for wrong spellings.

 

[Mathman]

I am a terible speller, and the only thing that saves me is, when I write a long post, I compose it first in a word processing apllication which has spellcheck, then paste it into GS.

Mathman

 

[4dogknight]

Grgranny

There is a new book on the market I think you might enjoy:
"Eats, Shoots & Leaves. The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" by Lynn Truss.

Here's a snippet from an amazon review.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–The title refers to the "Panda" entry in a poorly punctuated wildlife manual that, if believed, indicates the panda is truly to be feared, especially after eating. Truss, a self-described "punctuation stickler," has written a humorous but helpful guide that was a surprise best-seller in England. The book has been exported without re-editing, so some of the humor and grammar are "veddy" British; however, much of the information and history of punctuation are universal. The author takes pains to distinguish British versus American usage in her discussions. She is horrified at signs like BANANAS' and express checkout lines for "15 items or less." The short chapters are easy to follow and the discussions are light yet substantial. Punctuation marks are discussed individually with known history, geographical differences, and common mistakes. Teens will enjoy reading for fun and even for elucidation; a lot of information is packed into this small book.–Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

4dk - for whom the phrase, "I for one" and the word utilizing, is like waving a red flag in front of a charging bull.

 

[guinevere]

Oooh, one of my favorite subjects!

"Definitely" is high on my list of misspelling pet peeves, probably tied with folks using the word "loose" when it should be "lose" (I see that one lots and lots on the web). It's/its is a close 2nd (or is that 3rd?).

To be fair, though, I am a great speller, and a rotten typist. I look at the keyboard while I type, rather than the screen, and sometimes I don't catch the typos before I hit "Submit Reply". Most of the time I'll go back and edit, though

4dk, thanks for the info about that book - I'll have to check it out!

 

[Grgranny]

I had to laugh at my first thoughts on that book. Were you thinking I would just enjoy it or were you thinking I needed it to learn punctuation?
Just joking.,/*/?#

 

[Ladskater]

There are also on-line dictionaries available or the good old fashioned kind. I always check, if I am not sure. It's always good to proof read ones' comments before posting. It's not unusual to make a mistake late at night or when in a hurry.

 

[JonnyCoop]

It's always good to proof read ones' comments before posting. It's not unusual to make a mistake late at night or when in a hurry.

Or if drunk. [JOKING!! ]

I used to use the word "irregardless" all the time at a previous job and it got to the point where every time I used it, one of my supervisors would be falling off her chair laughing. Cured me of that eventually, I can tell you.

 

[SingAlto]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's obsessive about spelling things correctly. I think it all started for me when I was in 4th grade. I excelled in spelling, and by the time 4th grade finished I was already in the 7th grade spelling book. I've been anal ever since.

 

[Kurt's Girl]

I'm a terrible speller. Most of the time I can get by but there are certian words...the afformentioned "definetly" being high on the list--that I just can't seem to spell to save my life. And I'm a darned English major. Thank God for MS Word spellcheck and the good old fashioned Dictionary.