Ten Exhibits of Grammar Snobbery

Gosh, I’m guilty cos I’ve ever done the following : “its”, “going forward” and “who” (instead of “that”). 🙂 And “cos” – see the first line above. No excuse – sometimes may be due to laziness or mood. Or maybe sometimes I really don’t realise it. Being a non-native English speaker is not a good excuse, I know. But I agree that we should always take extra care in how we write instead of treating it lightly. Great post! 🙂

Totally agree with you there…

Huh. I always thought it was spelled “paradiggum.”

I am really not sure about the singular they or their. While I don’t like using “he” if either a statement could apply to either sex, “they” just doesn’t sound correct. Is this actually accepted nowadays in formal writing?

Yes. Yes. Yes. I especially agreed about the mispronunciation of paradigm. It worries me when “professionals” seem woefully undereducated. Visiting my cardiologist, I saw a box clearly labeled “Monitor Manuels.” One can only assume they were written in Spanish.

As a former copy editor, I’m totally with you on all of these. My particular misspelling pet peeve lately is “lightening,” when talking about weather and not hair. The mispronunciation of nuclear drives me nuts, too. “Nuke-you-ler.” Gah. I can’t even make my mouth work that way, how can people consistently pronounce it like that?

Yes!! Right on! Also, abusing apostrophe’s when attempting to signify plural’s gets me. These are always the same people who leave the apostrophes out of the contractions, for some reason.

I second the annoyance with using apostrophes for plurals. It seems like I’ve been seeing that one EVERYWHERE lately. There seems to be a lot of misuse of “everyday” and “every day” as well. Those are two of my pet peeves. You can cut people slack for it in their blogs and emails, but these things are showing up more and more even in professional settings these days. It’s a little disturbing.

omg get over yourself

Hmm. As long as someone doesn’t type L!k3 Dis Cuz itz Ko0L – I think I’m okay. That’s by far much worse in my opinion, than messing up your/you’re or anything else really.

While I appreciate proper form, I always keep in mind that people are far more important than lofty standards. Population percentages are not “grammatical notion”, but fact, and while “his” has been historically correct, this is no longer the case. As society advances and discards archaic notions, grammar follows. Language is fluid. While it is always important to learn the basics, one should also enjoy the nuances. At the very least, shed the pretension. In other words, “Whom say I ain’t got good english?” 🙂

I have to agree about the singular “they” – while it still often seems wrong to me, it definitely doesn’t seem right to use “he” or “she” either. A friend of mine constantly corrects people when they use the term “nauseous” when they mean “nauseated.” But I think that’s an example of the evolution of language. No one now would think that you meant you were causing nausea if you said youwere nauseous.

I hate when people can’t figure out how to spell ‘yeah’. Gong forward, I would like you to include this in your grammar entries. 😀 Oh, I don’t have a nut sack, so don’t bother attempting to kick me in it.

I like it when people accidentally write ‘defiantly’ instead of ‘definitely’. Also, I like to use the female pronoun as the generic, since women are the majority.

this is so wonderful. I really enjoy it when people use other words instead of definitely, like “defiantly” or “definitively.” I like to pretend that the person is actually doing something defiantly.

p.s. You’ll probably enjoy this. http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

A few of my grammar snob items: – Using “good” instead of “well.” – Not knowing when to use “less” or “fewer.” – Using “Joe and I” in situations that actually do call for “Joe and me.” – Mixing up “effect” and “affect.” Or “insure” and “ensure.” Or other similar words that sound similar but don’t mean the same thing. – “Lend” or “borrow.” Rawr. (I’m an English teacher. Can you tell?)

How about those who start sentences without capitalizing the first word? That just makes my Strunk and White shrivel up and blow away! 🙂

RYN: > why “eunuch” and “concubine”? Why not? > Seems unusual in this day and age to have either one. And so it is, very unusual. > Are you referring to BWV 1008? That’s the cello suite I mean, yes. As far as I know, there’s no connection between it and eunuchs or harems, though. Davo

I can spell pretty much any word, but when it comes to grammar and punctuation I have never been very good at either of those, and as far as I am concerned as long as a person knows what I mean it’s all good.

Good topic. > They vs. He; Their vs. His I used to be a stickler for that as well. I still don’t myself use the plural, but I guess I’m being habituated, as it doesn’t sound as bad when I hear it. There is no good solution, but I am conservative when it comes to usage, so I still opt for the traditional form. > Grammer “Smleh” should have put “hamburgar” instead of “hamburger” to show that he/she was pulling his/her own leg. > Your vs. You’re I sometimes use “Yr” as an affectation because they was a common abbreviation in old correspondence. I sometimes use the prefix “ur” meaning “original, primitive.” I don’t think I ever heard “paradigm” mispronounced. “Nucular” still always sticks in my craw. I deprecate, if not disdain, all the others. Davo PS there is probably a grammatical error in this note, as it is a law that such discussions almost always contain violations of what is being derided, but I don’t see any in yr entry. I’d be blind, of course, to my own.

Saw you on reader’s choice. I guess I’m like you when it comes to grammar. I CRINGE when I spot one! And I almost always make corrections. And English is not even my mother-tongue.

http://iampaddy.com/spell/

LMAO @ Clio’s link. The intentional error on that page is hilarious.

I once worked with a lady, in upper management, that constantly used the phrase “proceed forward”. It drove me nuts. When writing in a professional setting, I check and double check my grammar compulsively. However, when I write here, I just write. No apostrophes are used (to be fair, it states that on my front page) and I do use “aint” a lot. What bugs me to no end is when people make acompound word two. Week End, Birth Day and on.

Afterthought: My husband and I went to a local museum today and on one of the displays the caption said “….this bag was used to smuggle items threw the enemy lines”.

I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve written. Incorrect grammar drives me crazy. You’re/your is my #1 pet peeve. Sadly, I can’t even go out to dinner anymore without finding numerous errors on “menu’s” at restaurants.

I’m very particular about grammar and usage, but I’d say you are over the top! lol! But that’s ok. 🙂

I think I love you.