Why some native speakers spell "whats" in stead of "what's" ?

Question

I am studying English as a second lauguage and see many people do that. It confuses me.

Answer 1

It is spelt "what's", ignore people who put "whats", they are just being lazy.

P.S. You need to put "do" in-between "Why" and "some".

Instead is all one word.

Finally, it would make more sense if you put "write" instead of "spell" as you haven't mentioned before then which word it is you are asking about the spelling of, so you would have to either write that instead or write "spell "what's" "whats" instead of the proper spelling".

Answer 2

It should always be 'what's' since the apostrophe (') replaces the 'i' that the speaker has taken away from the spelling. This is known as a contraction, and makes it easier to say and also less formal.
The only possible situation where you could type 'whats' as a plural noun would be in a sentence like this: 'I've no idea about the whats and whys of the situation', in other words, the speaker is admitting lack of knowledge about some questions that have been asked and is referring to them by using interrogatives as nouns. However, this is unusual (the most common use of this is in the expression 'the whys and the wherefores' (i.e. the circumstances surrounding a situation)).
Why people continue to make this mistake has no other reason than laziness or failing to spell check before they submit written work. It may also help you to know that 'language' is the correct spelling and 'instead' is a single word.

Answer 3

Contractions are a uniquely English thing. Until you are comfortable with the language, it will be easier if you don't use them.

You don't have to be confused when encountering a contraction, even if it is spelled wrong. The contraction always combines two words - in your example, "what is = what's". So there will ALWAYS be an apostrophe. If there is none, the word is misspelled.

Good luck with your studies - there are many incongruities in the English language, so it's not always easy to learn.

Answer 4

Because English people are just as confused about the english language as the rest of the world.

It is a very complicated language and even some of the most intelligent english people occasionally get it wrong.

P.S. don't start a sentence with 'because', in the english language this is classed as wrong for some reason. (but i still do it)

Answer 5

"Whats" is not a word. People often leave out the appostrophe (') in laziness, or they honestly do not know it should be there.

"What's" is simply short for "what is."

What's wrong with this picture?
(What is wrong with this picture?)

The same thing happens often with:

its and it's
("its" refers to a possessive pronoun: "The dog hurt its paw.")
("it's" is the shortened version of "it is": "It's time to go.")

There are more examples, but I will leave it at this. The English language can be tricky because there are so many other languages and incorporations within it that make it difficult for a person just learning it to catch on to all the rules that do not apply in other, more logical languages.

Answer 6

When they do that, they're just wrong. It could be laziness, but it could also just be ignorance and they don't know it's wrong. "What's" is a contraction (a shortening) of the two words, "What is." Other words like this are "don't," ""couldn't," etc.
If your English is good enough, read a book called "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynn Truss. It's all about punctuation mistakes like these, plus a lot more. It's very readable and often quite funny.

Answer 7

Because they're too lazy to hit the apostraphe on the keyboard. Or write it. Most of the time, even for me, "native speakers" tend to forget punctuation, capitalization, and everything else you are going to learn about proper English grammar. Have a nice day.

Answer 8

Because people don't seem to realise that apostrophes, commas, etc serve a purpose, (and an important one at that) in the English Language. It annoys the hell out of me, especially on signs and professional letters. AAAAAAAAAGH!

Don't worry, you're not wrong, and there is not another variation, it's just carelessness, ignorance, or laziness.

Answer 9

It is pure laziness, the gramatically correct way is what's, the apostrophe is replacing the i in what is.

People who write whats either don't know or can't be bothered to write it properly - it's just another sign that the world is getting lazier by the day

Answer 10

They sound the same. They are spelling based on the sound.

I have the same problem when I read Spanish written by native speakers that doesn't include diacritic marks. If I read it out loud, I can usually figure it out.