Why are so many people ignorant of grammar/punctuation: the difference between cats and cat's for example?
405681
You're probably just gifted in that area. Maybe you should work as an editor!
195302
Because nobody cares. A lot of people aren't serious, for one thing.  And the terrible shortened spelling and grammar of text messaging is getting carried over to the net.\nI guess some people don't understand that it makes a terrible impression when every word is spelled incorrectly and what's written barely makes sense.  One minor mistake isn't what I mean-it's the questions and answers that are barely in English. Soon there will be a new dialet of English--Weblish.\nI don't understand why people can't take pride in their written correspondence. I even spell check my emails, and people laugh at me for it.\nAlso I have a feeling there's a lot of young kids on here whose grammar isn't good to begin with.
604992
My favorite question ever was, "Why can't anybody use proper grammer?"  I do not know why people do not use spell check.  They are lazy, I guess.
620502
Also, what about their disregard of basic grammar.  It is amazing how many people have no idea when to use "are" or "is".\n\nWhy bother with spelling?! Because if you have a lot of stupid spelling mistakes, it seems to say something for your intelligence...like a lack of any.\n\n:)
374564
THANK YOU THANK  YOU THANK YOU!! I'm so glad this was asked. I'm so sick of people not knowing the proper spelling and grammar. I guess they don't realize how ignorant they look.
1024268
Grammar, like spelling, seems to be in a constant state of flux.  When I was going to school I was taught "yes, always."  However, I use a comma before "and" when I have a series that could mean two different things, only one of which I intend.  For example: I have two patterns, one of them is black and white and the other one is red and green.  I might state this as: "I have two patterns: black and white, and red and green."  Leaving out the comma before the "and" might lead one to believe that both patterns had all four colours.  (My apologies if that's not the best example, there are probably better ways to word that particular sentence which avoid the comma dilemma altogether, but I hope it gives you an idea of my meaning.)
218343
Because they don't understand that word order, tenses, etc. may be different in different lands. The same would be true if an English-speaking person tried using perhaps Spanish or French for the first time: it would sound funny to a Spanish or French-speaking person.
658879
I hear you, lot of people cant spell for crap.  I'm assuming you spelled grammar wrong on purpose just to make a point.
824987
[ ] are brackets.  They are used inside parentheses and to add words into direct quotes.  \nExample:  Cats prefer to stay dry. (With rare exceptions [such as Persians], cats do not enjoy being in pools of water.)  According to Dr. Fish, "They [Persians] are used in films and plays that require cats to swim."\nA semi-colon is used to link two separate ideas in one sentence; some prefer using the double dash (--) instead of a semi-colon.\nA comma does not link two separate ideas without the use of a conjunction (and, but, & or).
1056987
Sometimes I wonder about people who post here who say the are going to attend a university, yet they misspell words and their grammar is simply awful.  Makes me wonder what kind of university they will be attending.  Some questions posted are almost incomprehensible, what with poor spelling, and bad sentence structure.  Sometimes, I know very literate people will misspell on purpose... but I don't do that myself. I like to see words written correctly.  I try to correct my own sentences, most of the time. I don't know, is it that people want to sound/look dumb so they "fit in"?  \n\nI do realize that this site has people from all around the world, and for many, English is probably not  their native language, so grammar and spelling may be difficult for them.  I'm not frustrated, but I do censor what I read at times, based on the type question, and the literacy of it too.   I figure, if someone cannot write pretty much correctly, they will probably be clueless as to what I write in my replies.  Maybe that is presumptuous on my part, but I do like to use words that a barely literate person probably won't be able to read or understand.  \n\nThen again, spelling doesn't always affect my replies, especially with kids.
1088082
I do understand what you're trying to say, and I do not usually try to make a big deal out of the grammar and spelling mistakes of others.  However, I do get very annoyed when I am trying to read a post that is written so poorly that I have to read the words more than once to try and figure out what the person is saying.  There is also a spell check on this board, so there really is no reason for misspelled words.  Now, punctuation is a whole different story, I suppose.  In either case though, there is still no reason for someone to be mean about it or to make fun of someone for it, even if it is extremely annoying.
204867
In the past I have been asked to proof read papers people are writing for a college class.  Their grammar and spelling were so bad I just had to tell them to type it in Word and use its spelling and grammar tools to proof it.  Being obsessive compulsive, I just couldn't deal with the thought of it. \n\nI'm not perfect but the lack of grammatical skills most people possess amazes me.  What amazes me even more are the grades college students are getting turning in papers like that.  I imagine there is some point the teachers just throw up their hands and say, "f-ck it!"  \n\nApathy seems to be the root of the problem for both teachers and students; they just don't care.
861798
That's like asking why don't the Brits know how to construct a grammatically correct sentence and punctuate properly, neither of which you have done.
370369
Regrettably, many of us are more interested in our two points (thank you) than being serious.\n  \nFor the same reason as the class clown.\n\nFor the same reason, I guess, that so many people don't use spell check.
892092
I think you are right. There is so much we don,t know, and a lot of people don't care. My partner was never in to cats, as I was, but after living with them now for years, he has observed a lot about their communication behaviour. Again, the dummies don,t notice or care.We have had an atrocious record with animals and I don't think we care enough to find out more about them. Glad you're a thinker! :)
585650
The kinds of grammar "mistakes" that native speakers do are quite different from the kinds of grammar that non-native speakers use.  When native speakers read the grammar of non-native speakers, they often say, "Huh?" or "That's not English!" where, when they hear native-speaker English that doesn't meet their expectations, they still recognize it as English but say, "That person isn't well-educated."  A native speaker, for example, would never make a mistake with articles or prepositions, but non-native speakers make them frequently.\n\nSo what causes native speakers to "break" the rules then?  In many cases, spelling English is actually quite difficult for native speakers, so some spelling mistakes may be simply because they don't know how to spell the word.  We have to memorize spelling rules just like you did.  However, often new ways of spelling are actually different forms that are more appropriate for the online genre.  I think that most native speakers know that the word can be spelled "because", for example, but they use the form "becoz" because it's a form that is often used in online contexts.  So, in that way, they are simply using the written form that fits the context better.  Those who aren't part of the same social group might not recognize the new written form as a new form and rather interpret it as a mistake.  There are some words that now have two possible spellings: "through" and "thru" are both quite acceptable, and "tonight" and "tonite" are both quite common as well, for example.\n\nIn all languages, the language of the people of high status is considered to be the best form and often the language of people of low status is considered to be "uneducated" or "full of mistakes".  But this is not really true; they are simply forms that aren't accepted by society.\n\nPerhaps in your native language the spelling isn't as variable as it is in English, but because the spelling system of English is so far from the pronunciation, it is possible to have many potential spellings of a word, and spelling is a skill that children practice extensively in school, for example.\n\nWhether or not people get annoyed by different forms than the ones they expect depends on how much they want to use the differences in language to judge the person who created it, I imagine.  In other words, that "annoyance" is actually a form of linguistic discrimination.
482971
The real question is:\nWhy don't people use spell check?