DickMidnight
Crowing
- Oct 23, 2021
- 2,902
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I feel that this thread is long overdue. As all of our writing and communication becomes more casual and moves away from anything resembling formal, using proper grammar has sadly become a thing of the past.
Now, I understand that things like forum posts, text messages, and e-mails (with some exceptions), are largely informal writing vehicles. This definitely gives us some level of creative license. For example, I don’t like the way capital letters look. I don’t use them when writing informally, but that doesn’t mean we should throw all the rules of grammar out the window.
Language has rules for a reason. When we all follow the same ones, it becomes a lot easier to communicate and understand each other.
Let’s start with a few basics, and then we will work our ways into some more specific examples of grammatical faux pas.
1. Run-on sentences. For the love of god, please separate your complete thoughts with periods. A basic rule of thumb is that anywhere you’d pause if you were speaking out loud is probably a good place to use a period when you’re writing. To go a step further, reading a huge text block is the worst, so consider using spaces between your sentences. Those of us reading along will thank you.
2. Use less words. I promise you that whatever you’re trying to say will sound better and be way more clear if you delete a few words from the sentence. If you feel that all of the information is important, split it into two sentences. For example: “My dad used his tools to build a coop for the chickens that are mine out behind the garage at our house” becomes “My dad built a coop for my chickens. It’s behind our garage”
Let’s move on to some common spelling/tense/diction/syntax errors.
1. Lose vs loose. You can lose your keys. A screw can become loose. You can not loose your favorite shirt.
2. Definitely vs definatly/defiantly. The word is spelled with an “e” at the end. When you use an “a” you’re spelling it incorrectly, and usually auto-correct will turn it into defiantly, which is a different word altogether.
3. Subject vs object pronouns. I’m specifically speaking about when to use “I” vs when to use “me”. If you’re the subject of the sentence, you use the subject pronoun “I”. If you’re the object of the sentence, you use the object pronoun “me”. For example: “john and I went to the store” is correct because “john and I” are the subjects of the sentence. “My mom bought dinner for my sister and me” is correct because the subjects of the sentence are “my sister and me”.
A very useful hack to get this right is just to remove the other person from the sentence altogether and ask yourself if the sentence still makes sense. “John and I went to the store” becomes “I went to the store” and it still works. “Me and jessica played soccer” becomes “Me played soccer” and it becomes pretty clear something isn’t right.
4. Its vs it’s. the former is used to show possession, while the latter means “it is”. If you get in the habit of reading “it’s” as “it is”, you’ll never get this one wrong again.
5. Irregardless is technically a word, but it means the same thing as regardless, so don’t use it. It’s considered a “nonstandard use” of regardless and people will think you’re stupid. Just say regardless.
6. Who vs that/which. It drives me crazy when I see something like this: “I have a lot of friends that keep chickens”. When you’re talking about people, you use “who”. When you’re talking about inanimate objects, go with “that”. For example: “I have a big basket in my closet that holds all of my shoes”. When it comes to animals, the rule is that if they have names, you can use who. if they don’t have a name, use that or which.
Okay! I’m just about out of ideas. Please feel free to ask me any grammar related questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Now, I understand that things like forum posts, text messages, and e-mails (with some exceptions), are largely informal writing vehicles. This definitely gives us some level of creative license. For example, I don’t like the way capital letters look. I don’t use them when writing informally, but that doesn’t mean we should throw all the rules of grammar out the window.
Language has rules for a reason. When we all follow the same ones, it becomes a lot easier to communicate and understand each other.
Let’s start with a few basics, and then we will work our ways into some more specific examples of grammatical faux pas.
1. Run-on sentences. For the love of god, please separate your complete thoughts with periods. A basic rule of thumb is that anywhere you’d pause if you were speaking out loud is probably a good place to use a period when you’re writing. To go a step further, reading a huge text block is the worst, so consider using spaces between your sentences. Those of us reading along will thank you.
2. Use less words. I promise you that whatever you’re trying to say will sound better and be way more clear if you delete a few words from the sentence. If you feel that all of the information is important, split it into two sentences. For example: “My dad used his tools to build a coop for the chickens that are mine out behind the garage at our house” becomes “My dad built a coop for my chickens. It’s behind our garage”
Let’s move on to some common spelling/tense/diction/syntax errors.
1. Lose vs loose. You can lose your keys. A screw can become loose. You can not loose your favorite shirt.
2. Definitely vs definatly/defiantly. The word is spelled with an “e” at the end. When you use an “a” you’re spelling it incorrectly, and usually auto-correct will turn it into defiantly, which is a different word altogether.
3. Subject vs object pronouns. I’m specifically speaking about when to use “I” vs when to use “me”. If you’re the subject of the sentence, you use the subject pronoun “I”. If you’re the object of the sentence, you use the object pronoun “me”. For example: “john and I went to the store” is correct because “john and I” are the subjects of the sentence. “My mom bought dinner for my sister and me” is correct because the subjects of the sentence are “my sister and me”.
A very useful hack to get this right is just to remove the other person from the sentence altogether and ask yourself if the sentence still makes sense. “John and I went to the store” becomes “I went to the store” and it still works. “Me and jessica played soccer” becomes “Me played soccer” and it becomes pretty clear something isn’t right.
4. Its vs it’s. the former is used to show possession, while the latter means “it is”. If you get in the habit of reading “it’s” as “it is”, you’ll never get this one wrong again.
5. Irregardless is technically a word, but it means the same thing as regardless, so don’t use it. It’s considered a “nonstandard use” of regardless and people will think you’re stupid. Just say regardless.
6. Who vs that/which. It drives me crazy when I see something like this: “I have a lot of friends that keep chickens”. When you’re talking about people, you use “who”. When you’re talking about inanimate objects, go with “that”. For example: “I have a big basket in my closet that holds all of my shoes”. When it comes to animals, the rule is that if they have names, you can use who. if they don’t have a name, use that or which.
Okay! I’m just about out of ideas. Please feel free to ask me any grammar related questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.
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