Why is the spelling of ad (advertisement) so confused with add (adding and subtracting)

[LiberalFighter]

Geesh! There isn't even a second d in the word advertisement.

[marybourg]

1. What I see confused on DU is writing

"there" when the poster means "their".

[coalition_unwilling]

6. Or it's (contraction) when the poster means its (3rd-person singular possessive) - n/t

[marybourg]

10. A lot of people were never told that

we only use "it's" when we mean "it is".

[coalition_unwilling]

11. I see mis-use of this often enough, that I think people are trying

to prove how educated they are when, had they simply trusted their instincts, they would have been just fine.

Somehow putting an apostrophe between 'it' and 'is' must prove how 'serious' one is, or something like that.

[marybourg]

13. ??

[coalition_unwilling]

15. People think they're supposed to use an apostrophe to indicate possession and, yes,

that is one way to indicate possession. People know (or think they know) that its wrong to limit its' use to merely it's intended meaning. So, if they use an apostrophe for possession when none is needed or, worse, an apostrophe for contraction when they mean possession, they are doing so to prove something, perhaps how serious or erudite they are (at least in their own minds).

[RC]

8. Lose and loose.

They don't confuse lost and loost. Maybe their spelling ability isn't that loose yet.

[aquart]

2. Common error based on the way the brain organizes information.

Same goes for there their they're, your you're, and others.

They seem to be bundled by sound and sometimes the brain selects the wrong one.

[LiberalFighter]

4. I do that too when typing

and then recheck it and correct. Usually, I think I put in there first and correct if it should be the other.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. substracting?

[LiberalFighter]

5. Sorry

[RebelOne]

7. It is a common error and drives me crazy when I see it. n/t

[MADem]

9. I do not know, but it bugs me when I see it!

I think some people might not like two letter words!

I also get a "fingers on the blackboard" feeling when I see people misuse reign and rein. It is "free rein"--as in, drop the reins and let the horse go where it will, not "free reign" as if some crazy-ass king is making rules willy-nilly or something. The latter doesn't make a doggone bit of sense!

[coalition_unwilling]

12. On a humorous note, yesterday I saw someone claim that democratic

principles don't 'jive' with American politics.

When questioned, the poster subsequently confirmed that, yes, he was "jive talkin' "

But his confirmation did not jibe with my understanding of what he was getting at

[HopeHoops]

14. To whom are you speaking?

[CTyankee]

18. Turn that around: You are speaking to whom?

right?

[HopeHoops]

19. Same use of "whom". If you can replace it with "him" or "her", it is "whom".

[CTyankee]

20. yes, whom is correct after the preposition "to".

I meant that if you turn it around it can be understood better...

[HopeHoops]

23. Hmm. Clever you are.

(in my best Yoda voice)

[CTyankee]

24. that I am...

[Rhiannon12866]

16. There and their. You're and your. Anything to do with apostrophes...

[surrealAmerican]

17. Too many people count on spell-check ...

... to correct their typos, instead of proofreading their posts.

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Spell check is partly to blame. It doesn't understand context. n/t

[Spider Jerusalem]

22. By whom? I don't see that.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

25. My big beef...."Between John and I" Everyone says this on TV, including the well educated. Or

he is "older than me"

What's really funny is when people get mixed up with two people and possessive case.

I have heard a couple people, amazing, say:

"John and I's book"

[Fawke Em]

26. Are these the same people who use, "myself," when they mean, "me?"

As in: "This proposal is egregious to Obama and myself," instead of "This proposal is egregious to Obama and me."

You wouldn't say, "This proposal is egregious to myself." Why use the reflexive pronoun?