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Ah, English! One of the easiest or hardest languages you’ll ever learn—depending on whom you ask. However, even if we’re wizards of literature or native speakers, we all slip up from time to time. We can forget how to spell and even the most simple words can elude us. Especially when we’re stressed or distracted (but social media can be to blame, too!).

We've collected some of the funniest times that people’s minds temporarily shut down and their English language skills melted like butter in a hot pan from the 716k-member-strong r/ihadastroke subreddit. When you’re done upvoting your fave pics and enjoying this list, you can check out our previous post about people who forgot how English works right here.

Bored Panda talked about the pitfalls that come with learning English, what we can do to keep our linguistic skills sharp, and the effects that social media has on our grammar with Dr. Lisa McLendon, who is the News and Information Track Chair at the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Coordinator at the Bremner Editing Center. Read on for her in-depth insights.

#1

When To Take Your Mdedicatnion

When To Take Your Mdedicatnion

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    Dr. McLendon from the University of Kansas said that some parts of the English language can be hard to learn for foreign students. A lot depends on the languages they already know.

    “For students whose native language lacks articles (a, an, the), articles are by far the hardest category of words to master. Verb tense/aspect is also really hard—the difference between ‘I read,’ ‘I am reading,’ and ‘I do read’ is nonexistent in many other languages,” the professor explained.

    However, memorizing common words doesn’t help overcome these difficulties. It’s all a matter of changing your mindset and practicing things until they become second nature. “These don’t pose any difficulties for native speakers who use them correctly without even thinking about it,” Dr. McLendon said. However, native speakers have other problems with English.

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    #5

    Did I Make A Reddit Account Just To Post My Grandpa Having His Seventh Typing Stroke Today? Yes, Yes I Did

    Did I Make A Reddit Account Just To Post My Grandpa Having His Seventh Typing Stroke Today? Yes, Yes I Did

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    #6

    Hate It When People The Food

    Hate It When People The Food

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    In Dr. McLendon’s experience as an editor and a teacher, she has found that native speakers have trouble with past passive participles in speech (e.g. saying ‘I had went’). Meanwhile, in writing, they have problems with punctuation, homophones (peek vs. peak, etc.), and misplaced modifiers.

    But for those of us who feel confident in our English and feel like there’s nowhere else to go, the journey isn’t quite over. We can’t rest on our laurels.

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    “Read! Read widely and frequently. Read magazines, newspapers, novels, even cereal boxes,” the expert said. “But be careful when scrolling through social media, which although it can give you a good idea of current slang and shorthand, is often not a great model of clarity, accuracy, or good grammar.”

    #8

    My Mom Just Sent Me This Out Of The Blue

    My Mom Just Sent Me This Out Of The Blue

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    #9

    Grandma Not Doing To Good

    Grandma Not Doing To Good

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    Dr. McLendon previously told Bored Panda that people forget words all the time because of temporary ‘blips’ in the information retrieval process in our minds. However, modern life and the easy access to technology also have an effect on our ability to spell well.

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    Spell-check, auto-correct, and editing software are now very common and they can shut down our ability to think and write for ourselves.

    “Because spell-check and autocorrect are everywhere, what seems to be the biggest problem is words that are spelled correctly but aren’t the right word, like ‘form’ instead of ‘from,’ ‘it’s’ instead of ‘its,’ or ‘defiantly’ instead of ‘definitely.’”

    #11

    How When Me The What Is You

    How When Me The What Is You

    Loududie Report

    Improving our writing skills requires conscious effort on our part. Editing and proofreading are very important, so we should take the time to carefully read over what we’ve written. Several times if necessary. Knowing what mistakes we tend to make most often is also an advantage because we can then avoid those pitfalls.

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    However, there are times when editing, stepping back for a while, and sitting down to edit again isn’t enough. Dr. McLendon suggests having someone else read over what you’ve written to catch any mistakes left behind.

    “When you’ve written something, your brain already knows what you’re thinking and what you meant to say, even if you didn’t actually say it. So when you read your own writing, you unconsciously fill in missing words, skip over typos, fail to see ambiguity, etc. Another person, someone who sees only what’s on the page and not what’s in your head, can help you spot mistakes and improve your writing. This is especially important if you are carving something in stone or getting a tattoo with words in it.”

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    #14

    What’s A Banana?

    What’s A Banana?

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    Rabbit Carrot
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In my lunch box today I have a curved red ball (Apple) and a pink smile (melon)

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    #15

    Drunk Friends Are Quality Comedians

    Drunk Friends Are Quality Comedians

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    #16

    English? Do You Speak It!

    English? Do You Speak It!

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    #17

    Spelling

    Spelling

    Report

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    #23

    First Post - Idk If My Sister’s Okay

    First Post - Idk If My Sister’s Okay

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    #24

    Ehhh... Meet??

    Ehhh... Meet??

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    Malakai
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It says "Meet Someone" twice...and very badly, at that

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    #25

    Wat Iss The Foooonf

    Wat Iss The Foooonf

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    Reagan Maher
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm more concerned with the fact that it says baby legs sold here🤔😬🤨😶

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    #26

    The Mercedes F1 Team After Today's Race

    The Mercedes F1 Team After Today's Race

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    #27

    I Don't Know

    I Don't Know

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    #28

    At Least Google Knew What I Was Going For

    At Least Google Knew What I Was Going For

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    JK Rowling
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Probably because Google has to deal with this c**p all the time

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    #32

    He Couldn't Handle The Metric System--

    He Couldn't Handle The Metric System--

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    Alex T
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    they related so hard, there were no words. Only the overwhelming emotion in which was translated into incoherent letter form

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    #34

    Uhhh...sureee...?

    Uhhh...sureee...?

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    #35

    Ah Yes

    Ah Yes

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    #36

    Laughed His Ass Off Ass Off

    Laughed His Ass Off Ass Off

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    #38

    He Started Speaking Enchantement Table

    He Started Speaking Enchantement Table

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    #39

    I Understand Half Of This Sentence Lmao

    I Understand Half Of This Sentence Lmao

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    #41

    “That’s Great Dad” Lmaooo-

    “That’s Great Dad” Lmaooo-

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    #43

    Unsleep

    Unsleep

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    Alex T
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    yo this was in another post about like When Peoples Brain.exe Stopped Functioning

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    #44

    I Am Sport

    I Am Sport

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    #45

    Among Us Stroke

    Among Us Stroke

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    #47

    With God Things All Possible Are

    With God Things All Possible Are

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    Kanga9ine
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's just God trying to talk like Yoda. He used to dress up like Darth Vader and sneak up on Jesus......"Jesus, I am your Faaaather."

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    #48

    What Happened?

    What Happened?

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    #51

    Spelling

    Spelling

    Report

    #52

    Girls Is Can What?

    Girls Is Can What?

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    WholettheCatsout
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Girls can change the world therefore is Brave..?" That's all my brain can handle today.

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    #53

    What?

    What?

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    #56

    My Friend On Psn Asked Me To Join His Party...

    My Friend On Psn Asked Me To Join His Party...

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    Chris Palmer
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All I know is if he shoots like he types it should be an easy victory.

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    #57

    1 Like

    1 Like

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    #59

    Got A Bit Drunk And Texted One Of My Friends This

    Got A Bit Drunk And Texted One Of My Friends This

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    #61

    Ladies And Gentleman, Meet My Sister

    Ladies And Gentleman, Meet My Sister

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    David Martin
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Can we focus on the lovers in a gondola for just a moment? I'm intrigued by that story arc

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    #62

    Me And My Wife Be Like:

    Me And My Wife Be Like:

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    #63

    ‘What?’ Indeed

    ‘What?’ Indeed

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    Rabbit Carrot
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There’s a word for that. It’s not ‘what’ it’s ‘bigot’.

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    #64

    Stroke Time (Repost From My Old Acc)

    Stroke Time (Repost From My Old Acc)

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    #65

    Glad Someone Finally Someone Said It

    Glad Someone Finally Someone Said It

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    #66

    My Friend Woke Up At 3am And Messaged Me This, I Think He Was Tired.

    My Friend Woke Up At 3am And Messaged Me This, I Think He Was Tired.

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    #67

    Be Careful That You...

    Be Careful That You...

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    Corey Smith
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That sounds more like a translation issue, like "All your base are belong to us."

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    #68

    Fakes Mloler

    Fakes Mloler

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    #72

    Okay??

    Okay??

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    Rabbit Carrot
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is he saying hello to his dead father or is the son also dead to lol.

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    #73

    New Scares Me

    New Scares Me

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    Alex T
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i- i'm gonna need to take this into serious consideration

    #74

    My Friend Had A Stork

    My Friend Had A Stork

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    #76

    I Guess I Should Shut Up

    I Guess I Should Shut Up

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    #80

    Don't Try To Think About It Too Long. Or Blood Will Shoot Out Your Nose.

    Don't Try To Think About It Too Long. Or Blood Will Shoot Out Your Nose.

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    FoxFace
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think what they’re trying to say is that dogs ggove you chanes, haagwhicj tey dont

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    #81

    Spelling

    Spelling

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    #83

    Yes, Whatever It Is The Question (Found On A Facebook Group)

    Yes, Whatever It Is The Question (Found On A Facebook Group)

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    #84

    My Friends Having A Stroke

    My Friends Having A Stroke

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