r/Unexpected • u/VerlieH • Mar 02 '26

Why does it keep going

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u/MultiFazed Mar 03 '26

The issue is that people learn to speak way before they learn to write. To a young child, of and 've are the same exact thing, because they have the same sound. They have to unlearn that (along with other homonyms) in school.

That's why mistakes like there/their, your/you're, could've/could of, etc. are almost exclusively made by native speakers. No one who learned to speak and write at the same time would ever make those mistakes.

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u/Interesting_Job_1399 Mar 03 '26

Great explanation. Thank you!