Grammar / Spelling / Punctuation Discussion and Appreciation (questions welcome!)

[Goose]

One trend that I've seen in several fanfics recently is to spell the past tense of "pay" as "payed"; however, the past tense of "pay" is "paid", is it not? Or is "payed" some kind of new trend, or just people being, well... wrong?

[SF_and_Coffee]

One trend that I've seen in several fanfics recently is to spell the past tense of "pay" as "payed"; however, the past tense of "pay" is "paid", is it not? Or is "payed" some kind of new trend, or just people being, well... wrong?

It's just people spelling it wrong. "Paid" is the correct past tense form of "pay", just as "laid" is the correct past tense of "lay"... "said" of "say", etc.

[Goose]

It's just people spelling it wrong. "Paid" is the correct past tense form of "pay", just as "laid" is the correct past tense of "lay"... "said" of "say", etc.

I was just a bit shocked to see it in a fic with absolutely no other mistakes. At all. And I've seen it being misspelt several times now, and not by the same author. Is it a common spelling error that I've just not noticed before, or?

[SF_and_Coffee]

It seems to be a pretty common spelling error. I see it all over the web, often by people who otherwise make few mistakes. I wish I knew why this one slips by them.

Interestingly, there is one case in which "payed" is the correct term. Maybe this is part of what confuses people?

[Goose]

It seems to be a pretty common spelling error. I see it all over the web, often by people who otherwise make few mistakes. I wish I knew why this one slips by them.

Interestingly, there is one case in which "payed" is the correct term. Maybe this is part of what confuses people?

Might be. I just typed the sentence "I payed him the money" into Word, Chrome and on my iPad; of those three, only Word recognised it as wrong, but did not offer the correct "paid" as one of the alternatives. Both Chrome and the iPad failed to either auto-correct or highlight the word as misspelt. However, Chrome REFUSES to accept "recognised" as the correct spelling of that word, even though I've set it to British English...

[SF_and_Coffee]

Now you know why I simply don't trust spell-checking software of any sort, and rarely bother with it.

[Goose]

Now you know why I simply don't trust spell-checking software of any sort, and rarely bother with it.

I do use it, but if I'm writing something important, I always read it over once or twice; I usually manage to catch a few errors that have slipped past the software.

[mathpiglet]

Now you know why I simply don't trust spell-checking software of any sort, and rarely bother with it.

I use it, but with caution.

I do use it, but if I'm writing something important, I always read it over once or twice; I usually manage to catch a few errors that have slipped past the software.

Absolutely! Great idea.

[sbz]

Might be. I just typed the sentence "I payed him the money" into Word, Chrome and on my iPad; of those three, only Word recognised it as wrong, but did not offer the correct "paid" as one of the alternatives. Both Chrome and the iPad failed to either auto-correct or highlight the word as misspelt.

Well see, here's the thing. Because "payed" is a proper word as SF highlighted (though that usage is, IMO, too rare to be the explanation for this error), a straight spellchecker almost certainly won't catch it because it's not spelt wrong. Probably what caught it in Word was the grammar checker, which indiscriminately highlights any word for which there are similar sounding words, ie steak and stake, even if your word is the correct one (which is why I turn the grammar checker off).

Spell check is good for catching typos (though not of the extra letter tacked on the end vareity, ie though and thought) and when you know what you're trying to spell and can get close enough for it to suggest the word. It's not good if you're a plain bad speller because you need to have enough knowledge to recognize which suggestion is right. And if you're a plain bad speller, grammar checker is the worst thing you can use because it will more than likely confuse the heck out of you with its highlighting of correct usage.

[Whytewytch]

Now you know why I simply don't trust spell-checking software of any sort, and rarely bother with it.

I also only use the spell-checker with caution. Personally, I find there is no substitute for basic knowledge. Running a 2nd, 3rd or 4th eye over the work, as well as using a beta or two seems to catch the rest.

[LizzieAnne]

It's just people spelling it wrong. "Paid" is the correct past tense form of "pay", just as "laid" is the correct past tense of "lay"... "said" of "say", etc.

Oh..you've just touched on my own favourite to word to hate, and I mean the one I have trouble getting my own head around.
Lie, lay, laid, lying, laying. I have a site I go to for this one - every time.

Present tense: Lie
Past tense: lay

Present: lay
Past tense: laid

So the present and past tense can both be lay which makes it...fun!

[Whytewytch]

Oh..you've just touched on my own favourite to word to hate, and I mean the one I have trouble getting my own head around.
Lie, lay, laid, lying, laying. I have a site I go to for this one - every time.

Present tense: Lie
Past tense: lay

Present: lay
Past tense: laid

So the present and past tense can both be lay which makes it...fun!

I also have to check this one every single time. This is just one of those ones that drives me round the bend 'cause I can never remember it.

My favorite grammar website has this to say about lie vs lay:

To recline
lie, lying
lay
has/have/had lain

To put or place
(verb followed by an object)
lay, laying
laid
has/have/had laid

To tell a falsehood
lie, lying
lied
has/have/had lied



Examples in the Present Tense:

I like to lie down for a nap at 2:00 p.m.
I am lying down for a nap today.
The hens lay eggs.
The hen is laying eggs.
I am tempted to lie about my age.
I am not lying about my age.

Examples in the Past Tense:

I lay down for a nap yesterday at 2:00 p.m.
The hen laid two eggs yesterday.
He lied on the witness stand.

Examples with a Participle (has, have):

I have lain down for a nap every day this week.
The hen has laid two eggs every day this week.
He has lied each day on the witness stand.

There's even a handy chart!

[LizzieAnne]

I also have to check this one every single time. This is just one of those ones that drives me round the bend 'cause I can never remember it.

Glad it's not just me then.

I think I like your website better...and the chart. *bookmarks it*

[Whytewytch]

Glad it's not just me then.

I think I like your website better...and the chart. *bookmarks it*

LOL! You are not alone! I found the website when I first began to beta. When I edit someone's work, if I see a mistake repeated, I like to explain the rule, not just keep correcting. I assume (sometimes even correctly!) that they would want to know so they don't make the same mistake in future docs and I can concentrate on something else (another aspect of grammar, plot, characterization, etc). I actually don't know the "rules" of grammar so much as have a feel for it--it looks, sounds, feels, right or wrong. I have had to re-learn the rules since coming back to writing.

[LizzieAnne]

Same here..I go on instinct but read the rules in the areas I know I'm weakest.