It’s not so much about being stupid as simply picking up bad habits and never being corrected.
On a daily basis, you will be sure to encounter ‘should of’ instead of ‘should have,’ ‘apart of’ instead of ‘a part of,’ ‘where’ instead of ‘were,’ ‘specially’ instead of ‘especially,’ ‘to’ instead of ‘too,’ and there/their/they’re being used indiscriminately.
I leave ‘should of/could of/might of’ users alone because explaining that they’ve mistaken the contraction of ‘have’ when hearing the likes of ‘should’ve’ spoken aloud as sounding like ‘should of’ makes them go cross-eyed.
I’ve tried with my best mate but the Rubicon has been well and truly crossed on that front.
Amazing that anyone can tolerate this level of pedantry, I know.
Man, see what happens when I don’t get any new figure delivered in time for the weekend to play with…