Originally published by Bored Panda View Original Article
73 Grammar Fails That Might Make You Wonder How Anyone Even Came Up With That Spelling

73 Grammar Fails That Might Make You Wonder How Anyone Even Came Up With That Spelling

English is the most widely spoken language, with roughly 1.5 billion speakers worldwide. However, many would agree that it is also notoriously confusing. 

It has odd rules, including silent letters and homophones that can baffle even native speakers. That’s likely why many of them make these simple yet hilarious mistakes and get featured on the Illiterate Britain social media page. 

Here are some first-grade-level errors that turned into pure comedy gold. Don’t forget to upvote those that made you laugh and scratch your head at the same time.

#1 I Must Start Behaving

© Photo: Gareth 'frank' Pugh

#2 Those Are Certainly All Words

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

#3 Slamanala Is Not A Nice Thing To Get

© Photo: Adam Marshall

Many of you have probably noticed the slight shift in written English. A good handful of people nowadays would use an apostrophe-s (‘s) to denote plurality, seemingly unaware that it is conventionally used to denote possession. 

Social media could be one of the biggest influencers for this shift, something English teacher Suchitra Sharma also noticed.

#4 Spotted Today In A Popular Whimsical Store. Unless It’s For Farmers?

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

#5 Not Quite Sure He Doesn't Like The Bobs

© Photo: Gerry White

#6 What Are They Actually Trying To Say?

© Photo: Claire Heller

Sharma spoke to Bored Panda about her own struggles as someone who speaks English as a second language. She also noted that short-form videos online have made everyone multilingual in their own way, even native English speakers. 

“With all the reels and media content we consume, our minds live in a forever multilingual, multiregister state now,” she said. “Even for 50-year-olds like me, '6-7,’ ‘low key,' and other phrases used by Gen Z and Gen Alpha have become a part of our natural vocabulary.

#7 Well, It Confused Me. The Tiny Thank You Too

© Photo: Paul Holford

#8 Ah....thats What They Are Called

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

#9 I Think A Dog Might Have Written This

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

Slang terms and even written language trends have also influenced these shifts. As Sharma points out, language is elastic, and we see it in today’s AI world, where written text is way too polished. 

“When I see people still making those phonetic spelling and grammatical errors, I enjoy their voice. They are not getting dumber or illiterate. Their minds are now absorbing multiple lingos, and they are shifting registers and gears. Since texting or posting online has become ‘like being at home,’ some people are choosing to write how they speak,” she said.

#10 4 Persis

© Photo: Kelly Williams

#11 This Notice Was Stuck To The Wall In My Friend's Bathroom By The Senior Carer, Who Apparently Had Top Level Care Svqs (Qualifications)

© Photo: Peter Munro

#12 I Don't Think It Has

© Photo: Jane Roderkerken

The digital space is pretty much a free-for-all. You don’t need to adhere to proper writing rules, and no one will police you for not doing so. Preply’s Language Trends and Digital Media Expert Madeline Enos sees this as another major influence on how people communicate through text today.

#13 Stop It! You're Just Teasing Me With This Amazing Timber

© Photo: Claire Coulter

#14 Not All At Once I Hope!

© Photo: John Mattocks

#15 I'll Pass Thank You

© Photo: Julie Shaw

“Digital and social media platforms often reward being able to respond to fast-moving trends and cultural conversations as quickly as possible,” Enos said. “This can mean users care less about perfect spelling, punctuation, and grammar because speed can seem more important than correcting mistakes.

“As a result, people may be more likely to guess the spelling of words they’ve only heard before when writing a quick response, rather than taking the time to check everything is precisely correct.”

#16 Sounds A Bit Wonky To Me LOL. From My Local Site

© Photo: Eliza Andrews-Johnson

#17 Shiver Me Timbers

© Photo: Matt Dummer

#18 In Any Case They Aren't Gargles. They're Growtesks

© Photo: Joe Francis

Many of the texts here are words people wrote as they sounded, seemingly oblivious to proper spelling. According to Enos, it isn’t necessarily a sign of declining literacy standards, but rather a sign of language evolution. 

“Spelling a word phonetically when you’ve only heard it, rather than read it, is a long-standing phenomenon that has helped shape the way language evolves over time,” she explained. “One example is ‘rebracketing.’ This happens when speakers mishear or reinterpret the boundary between words. Over time, these reinterpretations can even change how words are used.”

#19 On A Local Spotted Site

© Photo: Denise Bowman

#20 Crikey, I Thought The Last One Was Bad. This Is A Goggle In The Title And A Gargle In The Description

© Photo: Joe Francis

#21 I’m White With No Style - Would I Fit The Bill?

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

The examples on this list are largely humorous, even ridiculous for some. However, Sharma says it wouldn’t be accurate to conclude that people are becoming dumber or less literate. 

“For educators who want to address this issue, the gold standards of reading comprehension and writing are still the same. I would perhaps add that educators should be teaching about shifting registers when the situation demands it and treat social writing online as informal communication,” she said.

#22 Horce!

© Photo: Pete Williams

#23 Comment On A Post About Resellers

© Photo: Karen James

#24 Not Sure I Want To See How This Plays Out

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

Although informal communication exists, Enos says it is still important to learn and build strong literacy and grammar skills. 

“For educators and tutors, it can be more useful to strengthen core literacy and grammar skills than to focus too heavily on individual online mistakes. Building those communication foundations can help people express themselves more clearly and confidently, both online and offline.”

#25 Womens Willie's Brand New

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

#26 Lincoln 2014

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

#27 Food Fighters

© Photo: Helen Ginger

#28 A Gem

© Photo: Darren Livermore

#29 Well, That's That Then

© Photo: Emma Lait Hamilton

#30 Let's Hope This Is Their Defence Barrister

© Photo: Andrew Gill

#31 Home Bargains Finest!

© Photo: Claire Helen Maddern

#32 From A Thread About Boat-Based Immigrants

© Photo: David Williams

#33 I Have Noticed A Huge Amount Of Shop Fronts, Awnings, Signs With Massive Errors

© Photo: Joseph Griffin

#34 Perfect For The Wee Kiddies

© Photo: Amanda Foster

#35 Oh No... Not The Gestpo

© Photo: Gavin Haywood

#36 A Local Group 'Celebratina' The Quys Who Stopped A Dinghy From Collecting Migrants From France

© Photo: Alison Pendlebury-Brown

#37 I Know A Battery-Powered David, If That Helps

© Photo: Jacky Peterson

#38 My Pasty Tastes A Bit Leathery

© Photo: Phil Terry

#39 As Opposed To Being Armed With A Phaser? Good Job It Was Unphased Then. It Could Have Turned Deadly Quite Quickly

© Photo: Catriona Elliott Roberts

#40 Platesfull

© Photo: Illiterate Britain

#41 Little Desert

© Photo: Gee Cee

#42 Stalker Cats And Their Lawnmowers Eh?

© Photo: Shari Day

#43 Shack Attack

© Photo: Graeme Lake

#44 A Distant Relation Of The Boulder Terrier

© Photo: Jessica Taylor

#45 Clam Pensions Are Great For Shellfish People

© Photo: Stuart Rishton

#46 They Never Actually Revealed What The Dingy And Illegal Thing It Was He Destroyed

© Photo: Pete Williams

#47 Now The Nights Are Drawing In, Do You Struggle For Enough Light To See Where You’ve Left Your Baked Goods?

Introducing Candles Scones By Jml! No More Faffing About In The Dark When You Own Candle Scones By Jml! Find Them In Wilkinson’s, Robert Dyas And All Good Stores

© Photo: Dawn Marie

#48 Who's Eileen?

© Photo: Sarah Poppins

#49 Thankfully, I Don't Think Anyone Ever Found A Body

© Photo: Andi LG

#50 Spotted On Market Place

© Photo: Vicky Ferguson

#51 Why Is That Urgent?

© Photo: James Milburn

#52 Spotted During One Of My Ground-Hops A Few Months Ago

© Photo: Jethro Fairley

#53 Wow ..wonder What That Dog Looks Like ??

© Photo: Natalie Acton

#54 Spelt Wrong Twice Ffs

© Photo: Daniel Dolman

#55 Yep!

© Photo: Suzanne Price

#56 Flea For Your Lives!

© Photo: Ash Burton

#57 Bowels

© Photo: Debs Rutter

#58 Just A Post On My Local Community Page 🤣. The Irony Of Trying To Correct People's Spellings And Making Mistakes Like This 🤣🤣

© Photo: Chloe Shotter-Browne

#59 Always Put A Capital A For Anythink

© Photo: Alan Hyde

#60 Band On The Run???

© Photo: Jamie Pizey

#61 Well?

© Photo: Emma Davis

#62

© Photo: Maria Brown

#63

© Photo: Anon

#64 Funny-Illiterate-Britain-Posts

© Photo: Claire Heller

#65 This Popped Up On Facebook Earlier

© Photo: Lisa Crankshaw

#66 Blimey..she Wants A Lot For Free !!

© Photo: Natalie Acton

#67 Stepping Hill Hospital, It's Been There For At Least 20 Years And When They Put A New One Up They Faithfully Copied The Original Letter For Letter

© Photo: Barrie Harnett

#68 Got To Love An Apostrophe

© Photo: Darren Brnoski

#69

© Photo: Melanie Broom-Sopp

#70 Needs Softer Toilets

© Photo: Alan Whiteland

#71 A Local Restaurant Advertising On Facebook

© Photo: Jason Naicker

#72 Hope They Didn’t Barge Anyone Out The Way To Grab The Bargain…

© Photo: Alison Eldridge

#73 Hmmmm

© Photo: Michelle Mckenzie Mcardle

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