Quote Originally Posted by catnapper
I freely admit I'm an awful typer. I try to catch my mistakes (not always very good at doing so though )

Anyway, my biggest pet peeve that I've seen many people - both young and old do - is using "of" instead of "have"

For instance: I should have gone to the park

Someone would say: I should of gone to the park.

I know they are thinking what they hear. We constantly murder english in our speach. What we are saying is "should've" which is a contraction of "should have".

"Of" is a preposition. "Have" is a verb. Don't mix them up!
I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to say anything more in this thread, but Kim brings up a good point. A lot of spelling mistakes (my own included) are because we do not pronounce our words correctly. Another example would be, "First off;" the actual expression is "first of all" indicating that you are going to give at least two reasons why you feel/believe a certain way. But somehow it has all become run together and may people now just say, and type, "first off." Another example, I have a problem with words that begin with "pre" and "per" (is it "performance" or "preformance", is it "prescription" or "perscription"). I can usually figure it out, but it really takes a lot of concentration on my part as to how to correctly pronounce the word. Another thing I find a little confusing (okay, irritating) is that everyone seems to use the word "anyways", I had always thought the word was "anyway," no "s"; however, now the common usage seems to be with the "s" added on. Is that correct?
Logan, I had to smile when you mentioned "separate," I have to spellcheck that word all of the time; that is how I know the "a" is right.
And kitten645, how do you know the poor lost animal wasn't really "wondering" (where he was-lol).