Spelling, grammar, and context errors can be disastrous if they survive the editing process. Common mistakes include “affect” versus “effect,” mistakenly squishing “every day” into “everyday,” and confusing a metaphor for a simile. Acknowledgement of grammar errors is only the first step, however—committed communicators must take steps to prevent them.
That’s why CorrectEnglish is essential for anyone who wants to communicate effectively in academic, professional, or interpersonal settings. The cutting-edge AI compares your writing to over 63,000 grammar rules in real-time as you type, highlighting errors and suggesting specific corrections.
With CorrectEnglish, you can leave resume mistakes behind in 2019. The program even includes a plagiarism checker to ensure complete originality in everything you write. Whether you’re an English language learner or an experienced speaker, CorrectEnglish is the ideal grammar tool on both desktop and mobile.
Having access to proofreading tools doesn’t mean that everyone will use them, though—and proper grammar may be a serious concern, but writing mistakes are often hilarious. Here are some of the wackiest, weirdest, and most entertaining grammar errors catalogued online.
If you’ve ever wondered why grammar is important in communication, these embarrassing slip-ups prove just how vital it really is.
Spelling
One spelling error can discredit your entire message if it isn’t caught and corrected.
This is painfully demonstrated by a billboard for Cincinnati State college, advertising their biomedical sciences program. The sign reads “Be a biomedical technincian” instead of “technician.” Given the serious nature of scientific education, it’s a deeply unfortunate error.1
Less seriously, there’s the juice brand “Original,” which printed labels calling itself both “Orignal” and “Orginal.” When looking at the item beside properly spelled alternatives, customers were likely to choose another juice brand.
Even published articles sometimes appear with grammatical or spelling errors. In 2014, the New York Times newspaper fell victim printed a sub-heading which described former U.S. President Barack Obama’s “reponse” instead of his “response.” Even worse, the mistake was printed on the paper’s front page.2
Another newspaper printed the headline, “Human brian is still evolving, says scientist.” Presumably, people named Brian were especially miffed about this awkward spelling error.3
Cathay Pacific, a major Hong Kong-based airline, painted their logo on their newest jets as “CATHAY PACIIC” and had to issue a formal apology before correcting their mistake.4
Perhaps the most extreme example is a failed bank heist in Bangladesh. The hackers were stopped because they repeatedly misspelled “foundation” as “fandation,” which caught the authorities’ attention.5
Grammar
A sports’ bar is a place to have a drink while watching football. One bar’s sign, which read “Sport’s bar,” instead implied that the owner’s name was Sport by misplacing an apostrophe.1
In another apostrophe-related error, the Yancey County News’ leading headline asked, “So what’s is the president’s gun policy?”, which literally means “So what is is the president’s gun policy?” and damages the intended gravity of the piece.
One memorable, somewhat incomprehensible grammar error is U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2017 tweet, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” Presumably, the last word was intended to be “coverage,” but since the tweet was never completed or officially corrected, no one will ever know. On the other hand, the Internet went wild over its new favorite fictional word, “covfefe.”2
Context
Among the best examples of published context errors is this billboard that reads, “Imagine more snacks than you can imagine.”1
In another case, a Brazilian news magazine meant to write that a political candidate enjoyed “reading Tolstoy” in his spare time. Instead, they printed that said politician enjoyed “watching Toy Story,” which gave a very different impression. Similarly funny, one newspaper described a jazz band’s “tenorist” as a “terrorist” instead.6
A particular UK supermarket printed multiple “Frozen Basted Turkeys” labels as “Frozen Bastard Turkeys,” prompting a mixture of amused and horrified customers.6 Arguably the most hilarious context error is a pie chart published in the Winnipeg Sun. The chart displays survey responses to the question, “What was the best part of the Super Bowl?” The displayed answers are 27% “No” and 73% “Yes.”3
How To Avoid Mistakes (Even Silly Ones)
In summary, grammar, spelling, and context errors might be occasionally entertaining, but they can also destroy your messages’ impact and clarity.
Thankfully, CorrectEnglish considers all of this and more in real-time, marking potential problems as you type for easy correction. It’s like having an expert grammarian in your pocket at all times. With CorrectEnglish, you’ll never have to fear typos again.
To learn more about improving your English grammar online, visit correctenglish.com.
