Native-speaker errors: your/you're, should of, less/fewer
What natives get wrong (should of, your/you're, its/it's, me and him went) — and why C2 learners can know better
I recognize the canonical native errors, avoid importing them, and never preach.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
"You should of seen they're faces!" — two native slips in one text message.
"You should of seen they're faces!" — two native slips in one text message.
Between you and me, he couldn't care less whose turn it is.
Between you and me, he couldn't care less whose turn it is.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The native error hit parade:
| Error | Correct | Why it happens |
|---|---|---|
| *should of | should have | 've sounds like of |
| *your right | you're right | homophones |
| *it's tail | its tail | apostrophe instinct |
| *me and him went | he and I went | case in coordination |
| *between you and I | between you and me | hypercorrection! |
| *could care less | couldn't care less | eroded idiom (US) |
These are sound-driven slips — learners, who learn through writing, often beat natives here. Know them; never correct people aloud.
- Importing native slips as 'authentic': should of is never correct in writing
- Hypercorrecting back: between you and I is wrong despite sounding posh
- Correcting natives aloud — know it, don't preach it
Common Error Patterns
Sound-driven slips adopted from natives
should have, you're, its — trust the writing system
"You should of seen they're faces!" — two native slips in one text message.
"You should of seen they're faces!" — two native slips in one text message.
Spot them: should have, their faces.
Between you and me, he couldn't care less whose turn it is.
Between you and me, he couldn't care less whose turn it is.
Both idioms in their correct form.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises