It's just a little annoying to me when I see certain things out there on the internet. Maybe it's in a forum (not mine, mind you) or someone's blog or something, but you probably get the picture. I'm talking about completely retarded English.

     First is the misconception of would've, could've and should've. Some folks are trying to replace them with would of, could of or should of, but I'm not going to let them. I see this quite a bit lately, especially from younger users. I think the misconception comes from simply hearing the words used and never understanding that the words are actually contractions of would have, could have and should have, and they are now trying to type these words they've been hearing all their lives without ever actually seeing them properly in print anywhere.

     I got into an argument with someone once over this. It was a verbal conversation I was having with a highschooler [or high schooler if you prefer]. He said, "It IS would of!"

     I said, "No, it isn't would OF...it's would've as in would have."

     He said, "Huh?"

     "What the Hell does would of even mean?", I said. "The only time those syllables make any sense at all next to one another is if someone were to say 'That pile of wood there belongs to me...it's wood of mine'. But that's not 'would' as in 'I would have done that'.

     He told me I was crazy.

     It's very telling of the education system in place now. This was a person in high school. I know that I learned about contractions in high school (and probably before that). I am also sure that those particular words were in the lessons. Certainly those same words are broken down in the lessons currently taught as well. Why is that particular misconception or misperception so rampant at this time. Is it because kids are now learning to type before they know a lot about the language they are speaking and typing?