We're LOSING weight--not LOOSING IT!

trainguy917

I am not trying to be mean, but as an English teacher and lover of language, I can't take it anymore. I've seen this issue addressed on here before, but it just isn't getting through. Please, please, please people--you are not trying to LOOSE weight! Loose is the opposite of tight. So if you LOSE weight, your pants will become more LOOSE.

spicespice10

hahaha.. Thanks! I always get those two confused :laugh:

tlowder

Thank you! That drives me nuts too. Happy Friday everyone!

cbirdso

Thank you for saying this again. I know people complain about being corrected, but seeing loose substituted for lose by SO MANY people is annoying.

LongMom

I've trained my brain to just skim over grammar issues in posts because don't even get me started on the whole they're/there/their debauchery. Or you're/your.....must stop

red01angel

THANK YOU!!!!

GOD this drives me insane...and it takes a huge effort on my part not to go into threads where I see this and ask: "ENGLISH MOTHER@#$^#$!! DO YOU SPEAK IT?!" :-P


As a former English teacher of mine would say: every time you spell it wrong, a dolphin gets run over by a jet ski.

ajswriter

I am on the admin side v. the teaching side right now, but part of me really wants to tattoo 'there, their, they're" on my arm...

Shawna_831

Just remember you have to LOSE before your clothes get LOOSE!

HeatherMN

*Like*

jeanywren

I have learned to slide over these words.............we can't educate everyone and this site is to encourage people, not to be critical. Folks like to be able to express themselves and should not get flack for it!! Have a great day everyone!!!

Caralyn

Thank you so much for posting this. I have a slight annoyance with this issue also. The way I was taught to remember the difference between "lose" and "loose" is that "lose" looses one of the "o's", thus emphasizing the meaning of the word "lose". I also agree with the posts below regarding the use of there/their/they're and your/you're One of the other common errors is the use of to/too. I'm beginning to think many people slept through that part of their English class!

questionablemethods

GOD this drives me insane...and it takes a huge effort on my part not to go into threads where I see this and ask: "ENGLISH MOTHER@#$^#$!! DO YOU SPEAK IT?!" :-P

Speaking a language and writing a language are very different abilities. All children (except under rare deprivation or abusive circumstances) acquire the language to which they are exposed. Not everyone learns to read or write a language. In fact, there are a HUGE number of languages in the world with no writing system whatsoever. And yes, from a grammatical standpoint, those languages are as complex and expressive as all written languages.

I try to spell things according to standard spelling conventions (I am usually a meticulous person and I also have a BA in English). However, I am also finishing up a PhD in linguistics, so I feel the need to say a bit. Not everyone cares about spelling conventions. While that might say something about their formal education level or their attention to detail, it most likely does not say anything about their intelligence or their ability to speak English. That is an (incredible!) ability they would have acquired (to nearly an adult level!) before ever entering formal schooling.

Not that anyone cares. Carry on with your already in progress spelling rants....

trainguy917

I have learned to slide over these words.............we can't educate everyone and this site is to encourage people, not to be critical. Folks like to be able to express themselves and should not get flack for it!! Have a great day everyone!!!

Maybe everyone can't be taught, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying. Where better than on a site like this one, a largely text-based forum, to hold up standards of correct language use? If people choose to use shorthand or text-style language, such as lol and the like, that is a choice. If they don't know how to spell something, especially a word so central to what we are doing here--losing weight--it bears pointing it out. If we don't fight to keep our language standardized, communication--the thing we are doing here--suffers.

thumper44

I am not trying to be mean, but as an English teacher and lover of language, I can't take it anymore. I've seen this issue addressed on here before, but it just isn't getting through. Please, please, please people--you are not trying to LOOSE weight! Loose is the opposite of tight. So if you LOSE weight, your pants will become more LOOSE.

You can't take it anymore? It just isnt' getting through? Oh my, what will the world come to.
Have you ever thought that most people on here don't have an education like yourself? Most people scan over the words because we know what their meaning is.. Or is it there or they're.. :noway:

This is a quote from another thread that was about the same thing. Thanks spob.

People are entitled to be wrong! Please do not turn this into a site for perfectionists. It is more important that people have their say in a non judgemental atmosphere. I see these errors and I know what the writer intended sometimes it is easier than other times. Improper grammar, syntax and or improper word use may be disturbing to those with more education or knowledge but with all due respect please take your red pen some where else. People are here to lose (or loose weight ) not to be told they can not spell! I am not trying to be mean but I would hate to think that any one would clam up out of fear that they used the wrong word when celebrating something that makes them feel good about themselves. We are not hosting a Mensa meeting here. We are sharing. Sometimes it is ugly. No one is here for English lessons, we are here to rally one another!

MamaLovesPapa

One way I remember to spell "lose" & "loose" correctly is to remember the word "lost". When you lose something it is lost. Lost has one "o" and so does the word "lose". As far as the words "their, they're and there", the meanings have been ingrained in my head by wonderful english teachers. Tattooing them on your arm? LMAO! That was a good one! Thanks for the chuckle :O)

Luckymam

Hahaha! I'm exactly the same - I thought I was the only one!!!

When I see "loosing" it always makes me want to get a big red pen, cross it out and write "LOSING - ONE 'O'!"

I also can't stand incorrect use of apostrophes. You know when you read, "here are my photo's".

You don't need an apostrophe - it's just a plural!

imagymrat

ACK! Not this again! :laugh: :noway: but I agree!

questionablemethods

If we don't fight to keep our language standardized, communication--the thing we are doing here--suffers.

This is a commonly held belief. However, I don't think it is borne out when you look at the history of every standardized written language out there. The fact that you understand what someone is communicating when they use "loose" instead of "lose" shows that communication can still take place. I am not meaning to imply that a written standard serves no purpose, I just don't think it's purpose is quite what everyone thinks it is. It certainly DOES serve as a sort of "linguistic gatekeeper" and marker of socio-economic and educational status, though.

kspeach

I have learned to deal with it online and such. I found out a gal I knew actually had dyslexia and that was part of her problem. Plus, my own sister has learning disabilities, but you'd never know it unless you asked her to read or write.

That said, I can't buy something from a business that has typos in ads, web pages, etc. Our local newspaper is notorious.

My biggest pet peeve is ITS vs IT'S! But I try to deal with it online....

ChellieIrish

OK I am not gonna lie lol yes it is one of my my pet hates but ... We are all here for the same reason TO LOSE WEIGHT and to give each other SUPPORT :drinker:

Crumbs I am NOT going to avoid a thread just because of how something is spelt ... let's look at the bigger picture here, to give and receive the support we all need

We are not in school here so why the lessons :flowerforyou:

MissingMinnesota

Okay I am sick of the complaining about peoples spelling. I am sorry but I am one of the many people out there that have or had a learning disability with languge arts mainly spelling. This does not mean I am uneducated since I have a college degree. So if I misspell something I am sorry it offends your little eyes but get the f' over it. It happens, this board doesn't have a spelling or gramer check so things will be missed. Oh well. Life goes on. We are here to support eachother not nitpick and every little thing someone might have any issue with.

kayemme

it actually doesn't bother me that some people make mistakes in typing, but it bothers me when i'm trying to read because, for me, when i read, i'm hearing the word in my head. so when i see the word "loose" it gives me the soft "s" and it throws off my reading pattern.

it would be a lot less bothersome if it were an uncommon word; and being also a lover of language and having studied linguistics and cultural anthropology, i totally get that language is always totally in flux and changes generation from generation, even if only slightly.

but as this is a site about "losing" weight, not "loosing" weight, this one particular mark should be noted. and in the end it doesn't matter because for every one person that corrects it, another incorrect usage will be in its place.

i know that sometimes people get irritated that i don't capitalize; i try to make up for it in punctuation. so i'm not really complaining about it, but it does make me crazy when i pronounce the soft s in my head.

lyndsloo

Haha, this is so silly!

Obviously people are going to treat a weight loss forum much differently than they would a report to their boss or a cover letter for a job. The purpose of this site is to receive encouragement and become accountable for life choices. I'd replace those red pens with gold stars, people! What's the point in focusing on the little things? Early childhood teachers, like myself, refer to it as imaginative spelling! Try focusing on what they're actually saying, not HOW they are saying it!

katslosingit

I've seen it so often it throws me when people write it the correct way. I end up reading it wrong in my head. haha

Simplicity

My other favourite is choosen/chosen. I too am an advocate of good grammar but unfortunately my brain lets me down. I am terrible at sentence structure and spend hours arranging and rearraging all my courswork for university lol. I do think that the English language is fantastic and should be respected. Saying that it doesn't bother me that much when people spell things incorrectly or use bad grammar, nobody is perfect though txt spk is rly anying!
Saying all this I will never forget how to spell floccinaucinihilipilification tee hee!

Ben

weaklink109

..


As a former English teacher of mine would say: every time you spell it wrong, a dolphin gets run over by a jet ski.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

All this loosening of spelling standards could make me lose it. There is no doubt that they're out there--the language police, of which I am one--with their attention to detail.:noway: :noway: :noway: Okay, does that about cover it?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Seriously, it makes my eye skip for a moment during reading, but I have learned to overlook it. :flowerforyou: I try to remember why we are all here. And I also try to remember that losing one's waistline doesn't mean losing one's civility in the process.

princessorchid

As a former English teacher of mine would say: every time you spell it wrong, a dolphin gets run over by a jet ski.

Heeheeeeee

cbirdso

There is nothing wrong with any kind of self improvement --- even the spelling kind! I think your comment worked. I've seen fewer mix ups since this was posted.

TracieJ65

Silly me! I thought this was a site that was designed for people to support one another in a weight loss, life change journey! For how upset you are about the mess up of "loose" and "lose" I am upset that this became a thread on this site, and under the motivation/support section! I am most certainly neither motivated or supported by it! I am sure that I have made this mistake, unintentionally, but would never presume to correct a group of people on an online site about it. Especially considering that I have no idea if they are NOT American, might have dyslexia, might not have been taught correctly, might not care about their spelling while typing in threads on a weight loss site, or whatever.