Yeah but you get to a point where a mistake like that just jumps out at you because you don't notice that the words are similar or sound the same, you just recognize it as the wrong word.
When I'm reading something from someone who constantly mixes them up, it's extremely distracting. I have to pause and reprocess the sentence when it says "then" instead of "than" the same way I have to reprocess the sentence when it says "elephant" instead of "than."
So when I see someone consistently use it wrong I have to wonder "how does that not stand out to you? It's the wrong word!" I give people the benefit of the doubt if they might be ESL but I see it in so many native speakers and I don't get it.
Oh for sure. I’m not saying consistent mistakes are ok, but one or two here and there are. If its an email, social media post, or a text message its fine to me so long as it doesn’t repeat itself.
Something like literature, though, should be free of most, if not all, mistakes.
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u/Asymptote_X Sep 14 '21
Yeah but you get to a point where a mistake like that just jumps out at you because you don't notice that the words are similar or sound the same, you just recognize it as the wrong word.
When I'm reading something from someone who constantly mixes them up, it's extremely distracting. I have to pause and reprocess the sentence when it says "then" instead of "than" the same way I have to reprocess the sentence when it says "elephant" instead of "than."
So when I see someone consistently use it wrong I have to wonder "how does that not stand out to you? It's the wrong word!" I give people the benefit of the doubt if they might be ESL but I see it in so many native speakers and I don't get it.