Is it my fault I have bad English?

[chicken_nugget24]

I accidentally wrote, "could of" instead of "should have" and I got laughed at. Maybe my English is worse than I thought.

I've always struggled with the different tenses, in fact, I still get mixed up now. My punctuation isn't great and my spelling is awful. I'm using a word checker now because I don't want to be laughed at again 😕

I've got dyslexia and autism, so it's harder for me. Is it my fault? Does everyone do this? Should I take some courses? Or should I just calm down?

Updates

+1 y

Thanks for you're help everyone! Also I'm a native speaker 😭😂

[nolabels]

Hang in there.

Although I have good spelling skills, my grammar, sentence composition skills, and so on, are not the greatest.

Good for you for saying that you have trouble with it yourself.

I wouldn't know what to say to help you. That's for you to work out for yourself, in your own way.

If someone gives you trouble, just tell them that you have this difficulty.

If they come around to you, great.

If not, they're not worthy of your attention. That's their problem, certainly not yours.

Yours is a courageous question!

👍😊

[SnowedIn]

Sorry you got laughed at. That's just shitty. Ignore them.

English is hard. I don't know if you're a native English speaker or not, but there are plenty of people who are native English speakers and their written English is terrible.

So, I wouldn't tell you to calm down, but I wouldn't worry about it all that much.

Should you take courses? YES! 🙂 Not so much because you need them but because the language is beautiful and understanding how it's fits together is both useful and fun.

[chicken_nugget24]

I'm native, yes and I know there are people who have worse English that me lol. There are probably free courses online?

[SnowedIn]

There are!

[chicken_nugget24]

I'll have a look and thanks again ❤️

[SnowedIn]

You're welcome! You should also think about a college English course in person at your local community college. It won't be expensive and it'll give you all of what you want with the benefit of the in person piece.

Here's the other thing: what those people said/did is the mark of immature, insecure, self righteous folks. They're wielding the rules of English to make up for some inner insecurities.

I've read your stuff. You're fine. Can we all get better? Sure. Everyone can improve. But don't sweat this.

[chicken_nugget24]

I'll have a look and tysm again 🥰

[SnowedIn]

Thank you for MHO!

[caring__1]

Stop being so hard on yourself. I have multiple graduate degrees and have been speaking English for 73 years, and I am still far from perfect. Judge yourself on your effort, not the results. Perfection will never be possible for anyone (especially for those who make fun of you for being less than perfect).

We all face challenges. They just tend to be different for each individual. As long as you are open to learning and applying whatever knowledge you acquire, you are perfectly fine. Blaming yourself or others or the weather won't change what has already happened. Be kind to yourself.

[caring__1]

By the way, "could" means it is an available option, while "should" turns it into an obligation. We tend to resist obligations, even when we put them on ourselves.

[chicken_nugget24]

Thanks and I think I was using it right then 😂

[caring__1]

You're welcome. You'd be surprised how often people are criticized for speaking properly. If you don't say it the way they say it, they assume you must be wrong.

Even dictionaries tend to change words when people insist on misusing them. An example of that is "forte," meaning a thing at which someone excels. It was originally pronounced "fort," but people insisted on saying "fortay," so dictionaries now say either is acceptable. Flustered and frustrated are both proper words, but you'd be surprised how often I hear people say they are flustrated (which isn't a proper word).

Just laugh to yourself at people's rigidity, and then get on with your life.

[chicken_nugget24]

I like that:)

[caring__1]

After all, doesn't everyone know that chicken comes from nuggets, tuna comes from cans, and frozen pizza is best eaten straight out of the freezer?

[chicken_nugget24]

Ffs 😂

[Emelina]

Hey, well calm down and its just English you're learning... thats why you are in that class so you can learn all of this; when you get laughed at ignore those other humans, they probably do thesame as you or even worse they don't do any of the homework. Relax and no it's not your fault, it's just a simple mistake and you're doing just fine - you even corrected yourself, and that's awesome 🙂.

[chicken_nugget24]

Thank you but I'm a native speaker 😭😂

[Emelina]

With your disability it's a slow process to get what you're learning. Still don't be to hard on yourself.

[chicken_nugget24]

❤️❤️❤️

[astrophelle]

Mine isn't good either but I don't mind my grammatical mistakes, but when a few people laughing at my Italian accent it’a broke my self-confidence plus every time I say "beach" they get it as "bitch" which is really embarrassing and being misunderstood like this makes me so nervous. I mean these are the problems we all have , don't make yourself sad just take a course like me and practice and it will get better over time.

[chicken_nugget24]

Thank you and I'm a native speaker

[astrophelle]

Then what's upsetting you😄? Everyone can make mistakes in their native language it's normal. It can be caused by stress, excitement or distraction so you will make more mistakes if you keep stressing yourself out.

[chicken_nugget24]

I'm overally sensitive 😕

[midnightmoon05]

English is hard to understand for most because the language is not logical. There are a lot of exceptions to the rules. So unless you study English with someone who have master the language well:.. chances are.. you are not going to get it well.

[Ms_Facesitter]

You could always study more. It's my fault for not being able to speak French, because I don't do anything about it. Which I will now attempt to change, thanks for the reminder :(
But don't let it get to you, because mistakes are normal. Especially when it's not your first language, it's normal to make mistakes.

[BoopBoopBeep]

When I was a younger man I read Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage. It's actually quite funny in places if you like sardonic humor and a book I find helpful to this day.

[Andres77]

I’m sure the public school system didn’t help

[chicken_nugget24]

I had a mixture of public, home and private. Learning was, and still is very hard for me

[WhitneySnow]

Don’t worry about it. They shouldn’t be mean to you like that. Not your fault you have dyslexia and autism.

[sheena30]

don't worry about it, sometimes my spellcheck works sometimes it doesn't, I always thinkit is their ignorance if they just read and reply withou being a teacher

[thedaffodils]

It’s not your native language though. Don’t worry about it.

[chicken_nugget24]

It is my native language 😂

[DizzyDesii]

Unless I’m at work, i speak and text in straight slang. Folks just gotta deal with it

[Spade_01]

Wth. Laughing at such a petty thing IS the problem, NOT the inability to talk efficiently in a certain language.

[BrookeAZ90]

Should of instead of have is an extremely common mistake that lifelong English speakers make often.

[gothbxtch]

not your fault at all!! <33 i’m neurodivergent myself. anyone who laughed at you is a huge asshole.

[talka20]

Not at all just keep goin n improving no worries... we all are learning in our own ways

[PointTaken]

Damn. That's a dumb thing to get laughed at. You don't need to worry. Many who only speak English still mess it up.

[LiamJHayden]

That is sad. Unless it is formal paper why should people care? And even if it is, people should helpfully correct not disparage.

[Joshuabenitez]

I make writing errors like that too. I am bad with English. Don't let it stop you from pursing your dreams

[call_me_scar]

Na I fuck up all the time just look at my posts no one's perfect

[TrillXHippy]

English is the only language that I speak and you really shouldn’t let it get to you.

[JesseP1nk]

We all have to play with the cards we have been dealt. I tell you 1 year later noone gives a fuck about it and have probably forgot about it. You wanna get better, then practice and learn.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

No, it's not your fault

[Dargil]

Much better than my Spanish.