Posted on 08/30/2015 10:38:18 AM PDT by B4Ranch
Proper grammar seems to be a thing of the past -- why stress about tiny technicalities, right? Wrong.
You should be a grammar stickler for many reasons. Do you want to risk turning off potential clients, employers and connections because of grammatical mistakes?
Many people are so concerned with what they are saying in an email or text message that they completely forget to pay attention to how they are saying it. If you chose to turn grammar mode off when you are communicating with friends, that is one thing, but there is absolutely no reason to send a professional communication that contains errors.
Here are six grammatical errors that are so simple, yet such common offenders. Make sure you aren’t making them.
This is probably the most common mistake I see on social media, in text messages and in emails. This one is real simple -- if you are trying to say “you are” then “you’re” is correct. If you are talking about something that belongs to you, such as “your car” then you use “your.”
Many people confuse these and don’t even realize they are doing it. It’s real easy -- “two” is a number, “too” is an adverb that means “also,” and “to” is a preposition used to express motion, direction, limit of movement, contact, a point of limit in time, purpose, intention and destination -- to name a few.
For example:
“I would like to become an entrepreneur.”
“I too would like to become an entrepreneur.”
What should have been squared away in third grade continues to haunt grammar police on a daily basis. The there/their/they’re mistake is common -- but it’s really simple to avoid.
Use “they’re” when you are trying to say “they are.”
“Their” should be used when you are indicating possession.
Finally, “there” needs to be used when referring to a location.
Example: "They're going to love working there. Their company culture is amazing!"
This one is really just pure laziness rather than a grammatical mistake. Texting has completely ruined grammar and you/u is a perfect example. I understand that “u” is perfectly acceptable if you are texting a friend and are in a rush -- but it’s not acceptable in a professional email.
Here is an excerpt of an email I received last week from a C-level executive who is in charge of a company that does business worth several hundreds of millions of dollars every year:
… that would be gr8! Talk to u soon!
He managed to nail two text slangs back to back like a champ. Again, if it was a text message, fine -- but a professional email is no place for this. This email is actually what sparked me to write this article, so thank you grammatically challenged C-level executive.
When you are talking about time you use “then” and when you are making a comparison you use “than.” It really shouldn’t be that difficult to distinguish what one to use:
“We are going to grab a quick bite to eat and then head back to the office.”
“This new software update is much better than the previous version.”
This one confuses a lot of people, mainly due to the apostrophe, which typically symbolizes possession. Use “it’s” when you are trying to say “it is” and use “its” when you are looking for the possessive form of “it.”
“I looked at its owners manual to get the correct settings.”
“It’s a beautiful day outside.”
What are some other grammar mishaps that drive you nuts? Share them in the comments section below.
How about “younz?” Heard of that one?
BTTT!
It’s ‘a’ history because the ‘h’ is hard.
I just googled my terminology for the “condition” and the “impacted” part is correct. (Just substitute “stool” for “BM”.) But I knew that and didn’t want to say it. Your word choice may be applicable too, but I’m not going to look that up. But I will compromise with you and go with, “impacted #2”. I don’t want to tell you what word is used for the proper medical terminology. Let’s just say they call it “_____ impaction”.
All this could be solved by a Edit button at forums... : )
Hang,hanged,hung
Yer Purdy. :-)
Now I know Dan Quayle should have just said “taters” after reading this thread. LOL
Hang hanged hung sounds kind of Chinese, doesn’t it?
I have seen this used by Social Workers and Grievance Studies types and it comes off like the Bowery Boys. Simple concepts expressed in other than simple language for any reason other than to provide clarity in meaning are mere obfustications.
99.99% of the post in here I can read and understand the posters meaning and intention. There are a very small few who think using a lot of words which most persons never used nor for that matter most in higher education never used except in specific rare cases makes them seem smarter. Many times if you look the words up and connect it with the subject it's gibberish LOL. I've seen it done in one forum in here I'll not mention.
A persons region they live in also influences their language and grammar especially when using phonetics to spell. Local dialects have more influence than English books in school. If you go to Louisiana you'll hear a dialect many can not understand. If you send someone from Tennessee to Boston or New Jersey you will see a person struggling to communicate. But I also noticed after about a year in the Navy everyone seemed to loose their dialect somewhat except for foreign nationals.
When I was in school the word "ain't" drove teachers nuts LOL. Now it is accepted.
The other ones that rub me the wrong way are folks who use the wrong word, such bare arms for bear arms, or tales for tails, or breaks for brakes.
The second, I had to say everything three times and write it down twice to make myself understood.
After learning to speak like Johnny Carson, I had fewer problems...
That (and other ordinary gibberish) seemed to pick up a lot when people started posting from 'smart' phones, especially those with auto-complete and auto-correct functions.
ok here is my big bugaboo.
Hanged and hung. Past tense
Pictures are hung.
People are hanged.
And frankly, I judge intelligence and character with how people use the two terms.
This one is real simple.
-PJ
Which would create new problems in discussions over who said what to whom.
Just post a correction afterward.
Yer kinda Purdy too. :-)
It is to communicate to others, at that given time, in a clear and efficient manner. And grammars point, it reason for being is to expedite, to service, that function..with commonly understood rules..
If grammar rules set in the past now interfere with that function...its bad grammar.... language and spelling are dynamic ...they change
Reads something that was perfectly spelled and grammatically correct for its time from the 16th century, the 17th century, the 18th century, the 19th century, the 20th century and now 21st century and see how its change
Never let form interfere with function...
Language, the written word and its grammar is not a historical tool to put on display in preserved state like a like a covered wagon or a flintlock in a museum ....
Sometimes grammar Nazi's function like they intend to be preservers of the dead, the dying or the arcane syntax that you might find in great written works of the past
To put in simpler terms ...”lighten up Francis”...if you can clearly understand what was written...it served its function.
One of the ironies of that image is that the gun in the image used as a threat (M16/AR15) was designed by (wait for it) a white guy!
I’ve got an inkling you’re right!;-)
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