This is from a gas pump display. If I understand this one properly, the apostrophe is unnecessary. If they mean that the magazine IS inside, then maybe this would work. Ahhh! The apostrophe is just unnecessary.

This is from a web page that was under construction. There is a subject/verb agreement problem in the first line. Content "IS" still under construction, not content "ARE." The word "pages" is the object of the preposition "on." The object of the preposition is not a subject. The comma after "users" is not needed.

SKYPE

I hope you can read this. I just learned how to capture a window on the screen. Wow! I also just opened a Skype account today. In the process of adding people to my list, I found this screen. It is such a gem. Notice the bulleted list underneath the red line of text. Ironically, spelt is mispelled. The apostrophe in contact's is unnecessary since the writer merely wanted to make a plural, not a possessive. The error is repeated in the second bullet. Ahhh! I will have to search more windows in the Skype program.

Searcy Signs

This sign is posted near the cash register in the Harding University cafeteria. I originally only noticed the error on the first line, but after closer inspection, I, with the help of my cohorts, found several other mistakes. Thanks, gals. Here are the mistakes I noticed:
1. "Its" should be "it's" because what the writer means is "it is."
2. "Your's" is never correct. It is "yours."
3. "Pickes" is not spelled correctly. It should be spelled "picks."
4. "Theives" is spelled incorrectly. It should be spelled "thieves."
As a graduate of the Harding English program, I hope that these mistakes have been noticed by others, especially those in the English department.

This sign is at Hardee's on Race Street in Searcy, Arkansas. "Biscut" should be spelled "biscuit."

Branson signs

Anyone is singular; therefore, them (which is plural) should also be singular. It should be his or her. This sign was at Celebration City.

There are two mistakes in this sign posted at Celebration City in Branson, Missouri. The word spelled ubrupt on the sign should be spelled abrupt. I can't see the other mistake, now. I think it was an error with sit/set.

I found this one in Branson. Customer is supposed to be plural, not possessive. The apostrophe should not be there. Also, "Will overflow" is a sentence fragment.

I waited in line at McDonald's for a while, so I had time to ponder this sign. The first mistake I noticed was the incorrect use of "quicker." Because this word is working to modify the verb "can serve" and answers the question how, it is an adverb. It should read "quickly" or "more quickly." My astute English teacher friends pointed out that there should be a comma before the conjunction "so" because the conjunction joins two independent clauses. (That means two word groups that could stand alone.)

CVPS??? CUPS.

There is a pronoun/antecedent agreement problem in this advertisement for Huntington Learning Center. (How ironic!) "Help your child get into the college of their dreams!" is wrong because "your child" is singular and "their" is plural. This could be corrected by changing "their" to "his or her."

I realize that it is obnoxious to say his/her rather than their. It is my humble opinion that eventually it will be acceptable to use their as a singular and plural, just as you can be singular or plural. I probably won't live long enough to see it, though.

Renewal

It should be RENEWAL. I am a bit irritated with myself for not being able to log into my account. It seems that I created a password at some point in the past. Now, I cannot remember it.

I have not closely scoured this sign. I took this one at the zoo and immediately noticed that the author used "it's" when "its" would have been appropriate.

Thanks to Melissa for this one. (Now, Brett, it is time to stop laughing at her for so quickly alerting me to this gem.) I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of the sign, but the correct spelling is A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Additionally, the author should have used "reigns" as opposed to "reins." At least, he/she did not use "rains."
Once again... the apostrophe-S ('s) does NOT a plural make. The apostrophes in this sign are wrong.

I am back!

Notice that the sticker says, "How's my driving?"

This is funny. The error I wish to address is the use of that instead of who. Folks are people, so the pronoun who should be used, not the pronoun that.

It should be "THEY'RE BACK." This one is easily checked. If, when you write or speak, you mean they are, then you should use the contraction they're. Of course, the contractions are unacceptable in formal writing.

This is a picture I took several months ago.. (Obviously, since we now believe that $2.59 gasoline is cheap!) Rather than "peice," this writer should have used "piece."

I hope the food is DEAD!

It has been a year since I last posted! Thanks to Amber for faithfully sending me pictures of mistakes she finds in her part of the state and neighboring state. I have a few new pics saved on my computer that I have been meaning to post.

This one is funny. Of course "ur" means "your." I realize that this is abbreviated to save space, but as a middle school English teacher I frequently see students who use this in formal writing. YIKES!

A few gems I have found in the past few weeks...

Cheap Das! Cheap Das! Call it what you will. If I could get it for $2.15, I'd be happy!
Set is transitive. It means to put or to place. SIT is intransitive. It means to rest or to recline. If you use SET, you must have a direct object. In other words, you have to be SETting something. COME SIT A SPELL.
It's JEWELRY. Get out the dictionary before you make a sign.

There are so very many things wrong with this letter to the editor. Before pointing out the problems, I would like to spend a few minutes on my soapbox. This is a prime example of why education, specifically English class, is so important. I cannot count the number of times students told me that English was never going to benefit them. I even had one parent say that her son was not going to need my class (She said he was going to play for the NFL.), so it did not matter whether or not he passed my class. I should stop bothering her with notes about his failure to complete homework or pass tests, she said. Having a good command of English benefits everyone, both the writer and reader. :)

This is quite comical, actually. I especially like the glimpse into the life of this young man's arguments with his family regarding his changing oil on the sidewalk.

In the first line of the letter "be" should be "are." "Beat up" should be "beaten up," or better yet, replace it with a more suitable word. In the second line "to do with" should be reworded. The last sentence in the first paragraph is painful to read. The use of "ain't" and the double negative are the most glaring mistakes. The second paragraph contains the unnecessary use of "out."

There are other issues with this letter, but I can bear it no more.

I imagine this was written in pencil on a piece of memo pad paper. The graphite was probably smudged.

I guess science was probably not a strong point for this guy either. Maybe he just skipped the unit on the benefits of trees.