Is it worth discussing grammar?

[foxytwo]

I had a good education when I was younger but when you get to my age, 71, you don't take things as seriously as some people do. I don't have time to sweat the small stuff as I am having fun doing what I want to do and not worrying about being correct all the time.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[wmhawth]

So the Law School Dean was taking a friend out to play tennis on campus. They approached the court and his friend saw the sign: "FACULTY ONLY NO GUESTS ALLOWED"

The friend felt uncomfortable and asked The Dean if he was really sure it would be OK for them to play.

"Of course it is," said The Dean. That sign clearly means, "Faculty Only? NO! Guests Allowed."

Good example of why punctuation matters.

[Bark'n]

In my professional life, it's definitely a pet peeve of mine. On a public forum, I don't have an issue with it. It just provides me with a general overview of where our nation is placed regarding how our public schools are covering the basics.

[Dadsnugun]

I used to spell fairly well and be able to use grammar and punctuation decently.

[wmhawth]

In my professional life, it's definitely a pet peeve of mine. On a public forum, I don't have an issue with it. It just provides me with a general overview of where our nation is placed regarding how our public schools are covering the basics.

I'm not really a spelling and grammar Nazi but I was raised and educated by spelling and grammar Nazis. If any of them happen to be looking down from their perches above on some of what exists as written communication now they must be seething.

[SamRudolph]

Really I only consider it a problem if someone has no sense of how to make a sentence or paragraph readable. When you have a massive wall of text that's not divided by subject and has no coherent train of thought, or that lacks enough correct spelling and grammar to easily figure out the meaning, I skip the post.

[Stubborn]

Leaving punctuation aside, English grammar can be very frustrating but, there are some very basic issues that are, I suppose, my pet peeves for instance:

There, their and they're
There, placement or location: put it over there, there is a place for everything.
Their, shows possession: their laws are very restrictive, I like their new truck.
They're, contraction: they are

Is it legal for them to go in there if they're carrying their handguns?

Similarly your and you're
Your, possession: is this your pistol, your dog is well trained
You're, contraction: you are

If you're carrying your firearm then make sure it is properly holstered.

So anyone else share these peeves or others? Oh, by the way, I learned this in our public school system so don't take this as high and mighty over schooled nit-picking. Nor, do I claim to be a world class proof reader or master of English writing. Also, I see these same errors in professional correspondence where the misuse of words frustrates me more than in this forum.

With the huge number of visitors we have; and, given that some of the visitors are likely our mutual detractors why do we give them one more issue to condemn us, our point of view or, our intellect?

AMEN! Along with here and hear. Here is a place, where I am right now. Hear, is what you do with your ears.

[limatunes]

The only thing I get kind of annoyed with is text message speech (when you have a full keyboard) and incoherent posts (up to and including not even a period or capital letter at the start of a new sentence to where you have to guess where old thoughts end and the new begin).

I also get really annoyed with rambling walls of text with no paragraph breaks. If it's too bad I'll actually edit a post and put breaks into it just so I can read it.

That being said, I'm no English prof and I make plenty of mistakes. Just about the time I started getting on someone's back for this or that someone else will go behind me and highlight all of the places where I have made grammatical errors.

I do try my best, however, and find it incredibly lazy when someone can't even put a . at the end of a sentence, capitalize a proper noun or the first letter of a sentence, hit the "enter" button to start a new paragraph or spell out "you" (vs "u"). Those seem to be minimal steps anyone can take without having to borrow a grammar book from the library.

[SIXTO]

I'm afraid to post anything in this thread.

[bbqgrill]

I'm afraid to post anything in this thread.

Sixto, I know you are joking, you write very well. Though, it is kinda funny that I am the only person who has been called out for an error.

[MotorCityGun]

That goes for Ghetto talk to. I hate having to ask muggers to repeat themselves because they cannot speak proper English.

Ebonics is recognized as a local dialect here in Motown and is not corrected by teachers. In fact, these (union) teachers are some of the worst offenders of bastardizing the English language. And when teachers can't/won't speak properly and will not correct improper use of the language due to political correctness or ignorance, it is futile and hopeless to expect the students (i.e. future muggers) to do so.

[Ally]

I am going to chime in here. There are those of us how have difficulties with writing, whether it be a learning disability or a brain injury. When we write anything it usually takes a lot of time and energy to even to attempt to post. Yes there are time that the way it turns out may not be correct but at least we try.

[czman2006]

Some people have a way with words, some people not have way!

[dcselby1]

Funny thing is I can still cite the Gettysburg address I memorized in the 7th grade and a long poem from 1st grade.

Funny how the mind works.

That IS funny. When I was in the first grade, I had to memorize and recite "The Night Before Christmas" before the entire school. I was petrified, but did it and I STILL remember it almost 60 years later!

[dcselby1]

When I was working, one of my security officers turned in an incident report. it was typewritten (computer) single-spaced, about 8 1/2" X 11". There were TWO periods and I think one of them was an error! Too many grammatical and spelling errors to mention.