Monday, March 5, 2012

Happy National Grammar Day. Er, Belatedly.

Bringing current events to you in a very... non current (but very Twitarded) fashion, Twitarded would like to wish everyone a Happy National Grammar Day! March 4th — that was yesterday, for those of you who are as oblivious to dates as I am — is set aside as the twenty-four hour period for Americans to honor correct use of the English language. I imagine Canadians and Brits honour the King's English on another day.

The likelihood that I will have at least five grammar errors in this post are is very, very high.

 I don't have a Facebook account (because I rebuke Facebook and bind it in the fiery pits of Hades), but If I did, I would have had a field day yesterday. One of my favorite things to read are the obnoxious responses to Facebook misspellings. It provides hours of entertainment.

The number of people who legitimately don't know the difference is staggering. 

My absolute favorite Facebook grammar beatdown is this one. I want to find Mrs. Johanson and force her to be best friends with me. You know, in a non creepy way.


Happy Monday, everyone! May all your grammar dreams come true. Feel free to share your thoughts on National Grammar Day or grammar-related pet peeves in the comments. Bonus points if you talk like Yoda.

12 comments:

  1. Peevish I get when alleged professional writers these errors commit (I'm looking at you, Slate!)

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  2. I once knew a couple (long since divorced) where the MIL used to send back the letters the DIL sent her with corrections made in red. It was a little extreme, but I get it.

    I also feel that we have to give a nod to The Oatmeal and Hyperbole and a Half for their respective work in this field. Grammar is alot [sic] of fun!

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    1. I love the Alot. I think of it often and wish I had one.

      My dh is a 4th grade teacher so if I ever need a grammar update, I know who to ask!

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  3. Don't get me started or my head will explode! Just. Don't.

    I have developed a highly refined ability to use contextual clues to ascertain the intended meaning in the many Twilight fan fiction stories I read. God bless these authors! I love their stories and I truly appreciate that THEY'RE sharing THEIR stories for free. But please. Use spell check! Get a beta!

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    Replies
    1. I 100% agree and *try* to not let it bother me *too* much and justify it in my head as the author's hobby and provided to me as a gift so I *gulp* let it go. If the story is good enough I can squint and bear it.

      I have to admit that sometimes I really, really want to red-line some chapters (even some of the most highly rated fics) and send them back for correction. Not that I'm really all that great in the grammar department (as I'm sure there is at least one error in this post), but some of the errors are just really, really bad.

      Amazingly, some of these fics even get published without a professional edit. It's really a shame.

      Delete
  4. My pet peeve - Then and Than. "Then he said, "I am taller than you."

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  5. Darn it! I had an extra quote in front of the second then. Feel free to use your red pen.

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  6. My pet peeve: using "insure" when you mean "ensure"....not a difficult one to get people, but I go crazy every time. As for fanfic I'm with you TheRugbyMom.

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  7. Oh sweet gods...The fanfic grammar. I am forgiving and understanding to a point, but when you publish your shit, and it STILL has grammatical errors, I get pissed. I wish I could red pen the shit out of Fifty. Why didn't they talk about THAT in the Today Show discussion? Do the errors not show up in the physical books? Is it just the Kindle/Nook version? And that isn't the only example, either.

    I'm with you, @Rugbymom!

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  8. I don't think this pet peeve is grammar related, but it makes veins pop up on my neck.

    If you are inside, you drop something on the FLOOR.

    If you are outside, you drop it on the GROUND.

    How fucking hard is it to distinguish between those two options?

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  9. I'll be the first to admit that my grammar (but even more so my punctuation) is not... that great. I mean, I get the difference between your and you're and all but sometimes, I just don't pay attention.

    Okay, most of the time.

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  10. I am so anal retentive about all things grammar, spelling, punctuation, font.... DO NOT get me started about the chronic misuse of the apostrophe. Or text language.

    *FLAILS*

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