@ocean17: I’m too. I’m German, my English is not the best, but it’s hopeless, how often even English people mix up words like you’re - your / there - they’re - their / were - wear / its - it’s.
But German has similar problems…
I see this so often now and it bugs the cr*p out of me - more than all of the other mistakes combined. Something so simple does not seem to be taught in school any more. It makes me wonder what IS taught.
Up ‘til now though, I thought it was just the current kids exhibiting a lack of education. However, Bill is no youngster so yes - disillusionment and disappointment. Sad.
May I remind you all that even Thomas Jefferson made mistakes like that in his letters - although not all the time, and as far as I’ve read, not often. So let’s not get too nitpicky about this issue, shall we?
Hello all.
I think this is the first ever grammatical mistake I’ve seen in Calvin And Hobbes strips.
Bill is human after all.
And who knows that this could be a printing mistake or editor’s mistake or may be mistake by gocomics.
Don’t be so harsh on Bill.
Rephrasing Hobbes’ comments in the last panel - “You are mom’s bother.”
P.S. Wonder how a six-year old boy cannot budge a car but he and his imagination can.
Good morning all! We are assuming that Calvin didn’t just release the handbrake and put it in neutral which is quite easy if the car is a stick-shift. Also, did Watterson do his own lettering? In comic books like Spiderman, the artist draws the strip but does not actually do the lettering. It might not be his fault. And if it is, then he is human after all.
I just love Hobbes’ bushy tail! When the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end I know I’m at the point of no return. It’s big decision time and I have to just live with whatever choice I make, forever and ever and ever and ever!
Sometimes you just have got to cover your eyes with your arms and go, “Oh crap!”, and not come out until the, “&%$@ hits the fan”, like my dear old grandma used to say!
Considering the high quality of Watterson’s art and writing over ten years, I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt regarding his use of “you’re”. Chalk it up to a mental glitch.
This reminds me of a true-to-life experience involving our SUV, with my two sons inside. The oldest (and most likely troublemaker) was about Calvin’s age at the time. Nothing like coming out to see a cop talking to your son through the window, while your vehicle is blocking at least 2 lanes of traffic. (Son had been told to lock them inside while I made an urgent run to a restroom. He wouldn’t unlock it until I told him to!)
Neighbor’s kid did that as a teen. Pushed Dad’s classic sports car “just a little” to make room in the driveway, and it ended up in the middle of the street. Lots of scambling and recruiting of others to get it back where it belonged before (1) Dad or Mom got home or (2) any damage occurred.
Rolling Rolling Rolling
Keep that car a going.
Keep that car a going.
And HIDE!
LX013
I do not mind mistakes in English usage by those who speak and write it as a second language. In fact they sometimes come up with very interesting and enjoyable variations that enhance what they intend to say.
What irks me, are those who should know better. Their mistakes indicate carelessness and indifference to language.
I(t) [a typo I missed and saw just now.] also irks me when I make those mistakes. I am especially susceptible to typos. For instance I write on when I mean one or sky when I mean sly.
My mother was also bothered when I did it. But I was in the car, pulled down the gear shift, rolled out the driveway, across the street and into the back end of the neighbors car parked in their driveway! I didn’t sit down for a month!
“Upset with grammar mistakes people are. No problem do I see. Perfect English it is”. -Yoda
Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw that said
“Graduate of Yoda’s School of Grammar am I.”
I think I’ve been reading forum/blog posts too long. I didn’t even notice the typo on the first pass. That particular one used to grab my eyes like a magnet.
Calvin, when YOUR Mom finds out , YOU’RE going to be in trouble. Ha! Kids today don’t kneed to no good English. They gots “self-respect!” If I made a mistake to the none, eye kneeded “self-defence!”
@TheSkulker – your little joke, right? “Small consolation but at last he got the possessive right for “Mom’s”.”
Of course “Mom’s” is a contraction for “Mom is” (going to be bothered), not the possessive, so if you weren’t joking, the statement would be quite ironic along with your other comments. I found it funny, either way….
My mother would hit us with whatever came to hand at the moment. Turned me into a diplomat at a very early age. My sister resisted and suffered for it. Calvin may find himself “bothered” to such an extent he never forgets it. There may be lightening bolts coming out of the eyes and hands of his mother……
I do get irritated reading stuff from someone that makes constant grammatical errors, but we all make an occasional error. I know that when I’m really tired and write something, then read it the next day, I can usually find something I messed up on, that I’d never have done if I’d been wide awake!
I’ve read all of Calvin and Hobbes many times and Waterson doesn’t make too many mistakes, so I sure can’t be critical of him for the rare one!
I don’t mind grammatical errors near as much as the “fingernails down a chalkboard” feeling I get when I hear people say “nucular” instead of “nuclear”!
This strip gives me the heebie-jeebies because I’ve seen the face of a little kid who got accidentally run over by his family car in his own driveway. Nothing like babysitting a cute blond preschooler with a big scar up the side of his face.
I’m glad Calvin caught on so immediately that it’s a major emergency. His face looks totally electrified.
And I remember how this turns out. Thank God he’s a decent kid.
Well, I guess his mum now learnt something new … always keep the handbrake engaged and the car in gear when parking … it keeps little twerps like Calvin and their stuffed tiger from pushing it down the hill!
margueritem over 14 years ago
I think so, too…..
cleokaya over 14 years ago
That’s the problem when you put a tiger in your tank.
mike.firesmith over 14 years ago
Good morning Marg! Good morning Fran and Kizzzy! Good Morning L’Wolf! Good Morning Grog!
A friend of mine did this when she was seven years old. Wow. Talk about exciting!
Her parents were bothered by it, yes
hobbsfriend over 14 years ago
you should always pay attention to the reaction of the tail!!!
MontanaLady over 14 years ago
Key phrase: What could go wrong!!!
COWBOY7 over 14 years ago
Now you’ve done it, Calvin! Again! LOL
Good Morning, Mike, Fran, Grog, Marg and all.
ladywolf17 over 14 years ago
Oh no! Oh no! Stop car!……STOP!
rentier over 14 years ago
After hesitation and in spite of bushy tail Hobbes is helping, he should better hear on bushy tail!
margueritem over 14 years ago
Always pay attention to the tail, LX013. ‘Morning, all!
anoop.odlme over 14 years ago
Its mom’s fault. She should have parked with hand brakes on!
ARF2 over 14 years ago
And so soon after the TV got stolen, too!
garfield246 over 14 years ago
…And off to Plot B we go!
ocean17 over 14 years ago
Oh no, not the “you’re” spelling mistake! Argh! Nnngh! I’m so disillusioned!
Tineli over 14 years ago
@ocean17: I’m too. I’m German, my English is not the best, but it’s hopeless, how often even English people mix up words like you’re - your / there - they’re - their / were - wear / its - it’s. But German has similar problems…
Yukoner over 14 years ago
Look carefully - the apostrophe is there.
Sandfan over 14 years ago
@Yukoner: the apostrophe should not be there. Should be your, the pronoun; not you’re, the contraction of you are.
Yukoner over 14 years ago
Mea culpa.
TheSkulker over 14 years ago
Yukoner said
Look carefully - the apostrophe is there
Exactly, that’s what we’re talking about - it shouldn’t be!
“you’re” is a contraction for “you are” - “your Mom” is the possessive form meaning the “Mom belonging to you”.
Small consolation but at last he got the possessive right for “Mom’s”.
TheSkulker over 14 years ago
ocean17 and Tineli, I’m with you there.
I see this so often now and it bugs the cr*p out of me - more than all of the other mistakes combined. Something so simple does not seem to be taught in school any more. It makes me wonder what IS taught.
Up ‘til now though, I thought it was just the current kids exhibiting a lack of education. However, Bill is no youngster so yes - disillusionment and disappointment. Sad.
lazygrazer over 14 years ago
I always get your and yer mixed up. ………………………………… Meanwhile, it looks like someone’s about to have an auto body experience.
Rakkav over 14 years ago
May I remind you all that even Thomas Jefferson made mistakes like that in his letters - although not all the time, and as far as I’ve read, not often. So let’s not get too nitpicky about this issue, shall we?
moronbis over 14 years ago
Hello all. I think this is the first ever grammatical mistake I’ve seen in Calvin And Hobbes strips. Bill is human after all. And who knows that this could be a printing mistake or editor’s mistake or may be mistake by gocomics. Don’t be so harsh on Bill.
Rephrasing Hobbes’ comments in the last panel - “You are mom’s bother.”
P.S. Wonder how a six-year old boy cannot budge a car but he and his imagination can.
moronbis over 14 years ago
grammatical or spelling mistake? not sure…
Puddleglum2 over 14 years ago
Is Hobbes also bright-eyed (and bushy-tailed)?
“Imagination, it’s funny It makes a cloudy day sunny”
It’s not the first time, however it happened! “It’s not unusual” - Tom Jones
pouncingtiger over 14 years ago
“What could go wrong?” A very foreshadowing and usually the one who says it, is doomed. It’s been nice knowing you, Calvin.
Puddleglum2 over 14 years ago
Calvin, try HALT (Who goes there?), or CEASE MOVING, or even AVAST if the car is ship-shape!
Herocoder over 14 years ago
It’d be nice if Mom was just ‘bothered’ .. Oh boy! are we in trouble!
merichards over 14 years ago
Is something wrong with the handbrake?
JTGAM over 14 years ago
Good morning all! We are assuming that Calvin didn’t just release the handbrake and put it in neutral which is quite easy if the car is a stick-shift. Also, did Watterson do his own lettering? In comic books like Spiderman, the artist draws the strip but does not actually do the lettering. It might not be his fault. And if it is, then he is human after all.
Dino-1 over 14 years ago
I just love Hobbes’ bushy tail! When the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end I know I’m at the point of no return. It’s big decision time and I have to just live with whatever choice I make, forever and ever and ever and ever! Sometimes you just have got to cover your eyes with your arms and go, “Oh crap!”, and not come out until the, “&%$@ hits the fan”, like my dear old grandma used to say!
barefootbob over 14 years ago
this is going to be bad…
rshive over 14 years ago
Yes Calvin, she will be bothered!
rentier over 14 years ago
Yes, yes Marg, that’s true!
Rise22 over 14 years ago
Ever notice how many people cannot use “then” and “than” correctly?
rentier over 14 years ago
I think Bill Watterson meant you are the cause of bothering of Mom!
rentier over 14 years ago
Rise22 Certainly many people write there, which don’t have English as mother tongue! You should excuse the mistakes, will you please!
orz over 14 years ago
I find that most people who make simple mistakes are those whose native tongue is English.
paullp Premium Member over 14 years ago
Considering the high quality of Watterson’s art and writing over ten years, I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt regarding his use of “you’re”. Chalk it up to a mental glitch.
Smiley Rmom over 14 years ago
This reminds me of a true-to-life experience involving our SUV, with my two sons inside. The oldest (and most likely troublemaker) was about Calvin’s age at the time. Nothing like coming out to see a cop talking to your son through the window, while your vehicle is blocking at least 2 lanes of traffic. (Son had been told to lock them inside while I made an urgent run to a restroom. He wouldn’t unlock it until I told him to!)
Mary Ritz Walling Premium Member over 14 years ago
Neighbor’s kid did that as a teen. Pushed Dad’s classic sports car “just a little” to make room in the driveway, and it ended up in the middle of the street. Lots of scambling and recruiting of others to get it back where it belonged before (1) Dad or Mom got home or (2) any damage occurred.
Dance2Live over 14 years ago
grammatical error! oh how i can’t stand these! it should be YOUR not YOU’RE.
poohbear8192 over 14 years ago
Rolling Rolling Rolling Keep that car a going. Keep that car a going. And HIDE!
LX013
I do not mind mistakes in English usage by those who speak and write it as a second language. In fact they sometimes come up with very interesting and enjoyable variations that enhance what they intend to say.
What irks me, are those who should know better. Their mistakes indicate carelessness and indifference to language.
I(t) [a typo I missed and saw just now.] also irks me when I make those mistakes. I am especially susceptible to typos. For instance I write on when I mean one or sky when I mean sly.
rentier over 14 years ago
Yes, some are careless in typeing!
Dry and Dusty Premium Member over 14 years ago
grazer ROFLMAO!!! Very good!
mark.parkhill over 14 years ago
My mother was also bothered when I did it. But I was in the car, pulled down the gear shift, rolled out the driveway, across the street and into the back end of the neighbors car parked in their driveway! I didn’t sit down for a month!
aelwero over 14 years ago
[respect] grazer said, about 6 hours ago
I always get your and yer mixed up. ………………………………… Meanwhile, it looks like someone’s about to have an auto body experience. [/respect]
yer on it ;)
JTGAM over 14 years ago
“Upset with grammar mistakes people are. No problem do I see. Perfect English it is”. -Yoda Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw that said “Graduate of Yoda’s School of Grammar am I.”
kab2rb over 14 years ago
What’s the difference between further and farther or even and evan? All you English majors.
rotts over 14 years ago
sounds like German:
Ich gehe die Treppe hinauf (I climb the stairs up)
Captain_Commando over 14 years ago
I agree, Hobbes. Mom’s definitely going to be bothered…
harrietbe over 14 years ago
It’s the editors job to catch a grammatical glitch like this one. Ocean17, you’ve missed “you’re” calling.
Love the look of Hobbes tail! Calvin should have listened to Hobbes wise voice, but, NO, and he’s in for it now.
Good morning all you English teachers. :-)
coffeeturtle over 14 years ago
“What could possibly go wrong?”
LOL!
bonnevilledriver over 14 years ago
Should have known!!
sastha over 14 years ago
Love reading the comments and it definitely helps to appreciate the comic above.
I think we need to forgive Bill for the mistake, it is just a typo… We should be grateful to him for creating such an awesome cartoon series.
This is my first comment in 5 years of visiting this website every single day. :)
benbrilling over 14 years ago
I think I’ve been reading forum/blog posts too long. I didn’t even notice the typo on the first pass. That particular one used to grab my eyes like a magnet.
benbrilling over 14 years ago
People really should have tails if that works so well for Hobbes.
lewisbower over 14 years ago
Calvin, when YOUR Mom finds out , YOU’RE going to be in trouble. Ha! Kids today don’t kneed to no good English. They gots “self-respect!” If I made a mistake to the none, eye kneeded “self-defence!”
jeffsxq over 14 years ago
@TheSkulker – your little joke, right? “Small consolation but at last he got the possessive right for “Mom’s”.”
Of course “Mom’s” is a contraction for “Mom is” (going to be bothered), not the possessive, so if you weren’t joking, the statement would be quite ironic along with your other comments. I found it funny, either way….
khpage over 14 years ago
My mother would hit us with whatever came to hand at the moment. Turned me into a diplomat at a very early age. My sister resisted and suffered for it. Calvin may find himself “bothered” to such an extent he never forgets it. There may be lightening bolts coming out of the eyes and hands of his mother……
rogcbrand over 14 years ago
I do get irritated reading stuff from someone that makes constant grammatical errors, but we all make an occasional error. I know that when I’m really tired and write something, then read it the next day, I can usually find something I messed up on, that I’d never have done if I’d been wide awake!
I’ve read all of Calvin and Hobbes many times and Waterson doesn’t make too many mistakes, so I sure can’t be critical of him for the rare one!
rentier over 14 years ago
Brandon, I am with you, we all make mistakes somewhere and sometimes!
ratlum over 14 years ago
He is right nothing has happened yet.
rbdav1 over 14 years ago
So witch….which one of them got in and turned the key (Mom’s fault for leaving it in) and shifting to neutral?
rentier over 14 years ago
Netherland - Uruguy 3:2 !!
Gypsy214 over 14 years ago
Another brilliant plan goes horribly wrong….
glitterygal07 over 14 years ago
When Calvin and Hobbes argue it’s so funny
Mythreesons over 14 years ago
Hobbes is the one who made the grammatical error. He has never been to school like Calving has, so please quit picking on him.
cats32 over 14 years ago
one time i crashed my moms car into a tree!
rowena28 Premium Member over 14 years ago
Anyone can make a careless grammatical error, but there is NO excuse for it not to have been caught by an editor before the strip was run.
Gretchen's Mom over 14 years ago
I don’t mind grammatical errors near as much as the “fingernails down a chalkboard” feeling I get when I hear people say “nucular” instead of “nuclear”!
dafodil over 14 years ago
Should have left the car in park.
GROG Premium Member over 14 years ago
Hobbes, you should know better than to listen to Calvin. Now it’s another fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into.
Good Evening, Mike, Marg & ♠Lonewolf!
moronbis over 14 years ago
@Mythreesons valid point :)
Rockingwoman over 14 years ago
Mom won’t like her car careening down the drive way, to hit a tree, or another car or what ever! Not a good scene!
avonsalis over 14 years ago
This strip gives me the heebie-jeebies because I’ve seen the face of a little kid who got accidentally run over by his family car in his own driveway. Nothing like babysitting a cute blond preschooler with a big scar up the side of his face.
I’m glad Calvin caught on so immediately that it’s a major emergency. His face looks totally electrified.
And I remember how this turns out. Thank God he’s a decent kid.
W6BXQ, John over 14 years ago
TheSkulker,
Exactly right until you called “mom’s” possessive. In the usage here, it is the contraction for “mom is”.
Spade Jr. over 14 years ago
now if only we could get all these comments as the story line for a 4-panel strip….
Mihir Asher over 14 years ago
Well, I guess his mum now learnt something new … always keep the handbrake engaged and the car in gear when parking … it keeps little twerps like Calvin and their stuffed tiger from pushing it down the hill!
nancycloon over 14 years ago
Maybe if mom didn’t hate to be bothered so much Calvin wouldn’t be such a naughty brat.
holeycow over 14 years ago
I think his mom will be bothered too…