I went to the fridge at work to liberate some ham for my lunch the other day. I was really looking forward to it but when I got there it had gone. Apparently, as it was approaching its “use by” date, a colleague had thoughtfully taken it to the local food bank.

As I deliberated what to have for lunch, I pottered around the kitchen and spotted the selection of books on one of the tables for sale to raise money for charity. I picked up a book called Grammar for Grown-ups by a bloke called Craig Shrives. I’d never heard of him, but it turns out he’s a friend and ex-colleague of two of the lads with whom I watch Wigan Athletic. Small world, eh?

I will read the book, but the main reason for buying it was to donate to the charity. I hope it includes some reference to some of the pet hates I come across in today’s written social media.

Of/Have – “I could of eaten a horse.” Just because that’s how it is pronounced in your (my) local accent, that doesn’t make it right.

Lose/Loose – You must see hundreds of other people use the correct use of these two words all of the time. Does it not inspire you to get it right? Makes me loose my temper!

Your/You’re – Not much to say about this, probably the single most annoying grammatical error made today. Piers Morgan has made a Twitter career out of putting down detractors who commit this particular grammatical sin.

Who’s/Whose – All about the possession. It’s the same as it’s and its.

As/Has – I suspect this is mainly a Northern thing in a world in which we often drop our Hs. “He as gone to the pub”. Well, quite. There’s a thought.

See you in the classroom – Griff