Humor Me, Please

In the past I have ranted about people and their poor grammar. It used to get me incensed.

Friends, I have mellowed. Seeing it's as a possessive now just makes me give a half-hearted eyeroll. What about your for you're and here for hear and there for they're? I barely blink an eye; I chalk it up to the need for speed and a general carelessness. (Not that that makes it okay, of course.)

I will admit that misspelled ad copy sometimes shocks me. I'm tempted to write a letter to the Geek Squad about this one. 

No, what burns me now is self-proclaimed "writers" who don't know the basics of grammar. Here's an example I've written, because I'm not in the mood to point fingers at specific individuals:

Mom gave the gift to my sister and I.

Um, no. Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go; do not collect $200.

My sentence is an example of overcorrection. Our moms nagged us to say "and I," not "and me," so we use it all the time. Well, sometimes "and me" is the right thing! Take out my sister and and you have Mom gave the gift to I. Nobody says that, because it's wrong. This applies to sentences with other personal pronouns, of course. She or her, he or him, we or us, they or them.

I think the other grammar gripe-slash-lesson will have to wait for another blog entry. I need more coffee. Can you guess what else bothers me about "writers"? What annoys you?

Comments

[lily/rebecca]

ending a sentence with a preposition?
dangling participles??
misuse of a comma - i bet that is a HUGE peev as it is probably the most common error in punctuation. (or misuse of a colon/semi-colon...)

you know...it DOES really bother me when i see "your" for "you are" (you're) or "hear" for "here" or "were" for "we are" (we're)but i confess the whole "it's" and "its"...always has confounded me. or confounded i. oh, crap. i think i've annoyed you again....

[Alison]

It's = it is.
Its = possessive.

Easy peasy!

[platypotamus]

I stop by Apostrophe Catastrophe from time to time. I'm sure there are probably a number of similar sites out there.

[Mist 1]

I am almost afraid to leave a comment here; lest I misuse punctuation.

Please don't mark up my blog with red pen and have me write it again. I blog with wine and late at night. I never use the spell check.

I was told that there/they're/their would be no tests.

[lily/rebecca]

but possessive....like, "Sally's cheese" that rule isn't the same, then.
"Its cheese", works, but "Sally's cheese", doesn't *scratching head*

or, it works only with pronouns?

although, hers is possessive. and her's isn't a word, right?

that's why i err with my It's and Its. i don't think of it being possessive without the apostrophe.

sorry to make this a grammar class...but it will help me to know the answers. (though i refuse to use capital letters in e-mails or blogs, sorry)

[LittleMike]

Mine is something more heard in spoken English.

1) "Whether or not" You do not have to say 'or not'. The 'not' is implied in whether.

2) Q: "How are you doing today?" A: "Good" Good is an adjective. You have been asked how you are 'doing' (a verb), so your reponse should be an adverb.... "Well" ("I am doing well, thank you.")

3) Better and Best vs. the world: "He plays the violin better than me." Wrong! "He plays the violin better than I." Why? Becuase what you just said is actually a shortened version of the following, "He plays the violin better than I play the violin."

Ok, now... don't say a word about my punctuation or spelling. I'm a chemist, not an english major. These are verbal peeves more than anything else.

--LittleMike

[saundrah]

Mah Na Mah Na Do dooo dodo do Mah Na Mah Na Do dodo doooo Mah Na Mah Na Do dooo dodo do dodo do dodo do dodo dodo dodo do DO DO DO!

I be playin' violin for years, yo.

[Susan]

My mistakes in my blog are because I blog right before bed time, and my brain thinks faster than I can type and that spell check on Blogger doesn' really work all that efficiently.
Of course I proofread, but sometimes I miss things until after I read the published post, the next day.

Even though I got "A"s in English, I have forgotten what participles and prepositions are. Plus I think alot of people write they way they talk.

Somebody please tell me that they have the same problem!

And someone can feel free to tell me how bad my grammar is on this response!

[Susan]

Oops! I already know the mistake I made in the first sentence and I did proofread it! See what I mean? I guess I am just not patient enough.

[Elisabeth]

Try teaching French to native speakers of American English who know no grammar at all. Nada.

One of my favorites is "I should have went to the store." And, of course, some 35 years later, I still agonize over the fact that I once got a failing grade on an English homework assignment (in France) when I failed to use the correct past form for the verb to lie, to lie, or to lay (I can't remember which one) - only to realize after I moved to the U.S. that native speakers of English mix them up too. I wrote about this here.

[catheroo]

GAH! My biggest peeve is that one you mentioned, using "I" instead of "me."

Come to Joe and I's house...
Unless "I" is the name of the other party living in said house, this is WRONG. UGH.

Me hate that one more than any other. (wink)

[gina]

I find bad grammar downright disturbing. Whether it is in a chat, an e-mail, a letter, or a neighborhood newsletter. I cringe when I notice grammatical and spelling errors.

Good to know I am not alone. ;)

[AlisonM]

Heh. I already listed a few peeves (thanks for the trackback!) but after reading this, I got to thinking. . .

In print advertising, the use of exclamation points for emphasis on words that don't end the sentence. Big! sale today, for example. In the same vein, quotation marks used for emphasis - "HUGE" savings is not a quote from anyone.

The other one seems to have moved over the years from pompous, self-absorbed business types to common use. At least, back when I was working among pompous, self-absorbed business types, they were the only ones who did this. My boss told the client during a meeting "Myself and the team will handle that for you." How do you not fall to the floor convulsing? You know you can't, because it will do bad things to the business relationship, but the pain!!! "Myself" is an object. In addition, it is reflexive, which means there has to be an "I" somewhere else in the same sentence for "myself" to refer back to. And while it can come after a preposition (I bought it for myself) it's not to be used just because there's a preposition (John bought it for myself - OW!!!!) It absolutely slays me when I see or hear this, not only because it's awful and horrible and ignorantly pretentious, but it reminds me of working for that guy.

[The CEO]

You all are not alone. Nope, not alone at all. But a small "i" is a loop counter. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. I think a quantuum physics guy said that.

[Margaret]

My pet peeve is administrators who use myself inappropriately, ie If you want to be on this committee, see Brian or myself. ACKKKK! It's not reflexive! But they think it sounds fancier than me.

[madame l.]

then and than
oftener than youd thoughten

[madame l.]

sorry,
i meant: THEN youd thoughten

[melanie]

I would love to be a writer, but i would never pass the test. I have seriously poor grammar, and tend to write as i speak. That is an even worse attrocity.

i do love to mesh the pictures in my head with various letters to represent them, but its excecution leaves a lot to be desired. but in the meantime, i will disvow the need to be prudent and precise, and enjoy the flow that comes from my scattered visualizations!

thanks for the lessons as always! you are an inspiration. :hug:

[Thomas]

My pet peeve? When people say, "Sir, you're making a scene." No, my ACTIONS are making the scene. You can say, "Sir, by dangling your pendulous testicles in the punch bowl, you're making a scene." Without specifing the action, one must say, "Sir, you're CREATING a scene." By doing so, you remove the emphasis from the YOU and placing it squarely on the shoulders of CREATING.

That and ebonics piss me off. Too many gangstas, not enough quick-lime lined shallow graves.

[lily/rebecca]

ali? i think you need to create more grammar and word usage blogtime for us. please? we seem to have serious issues that need addressing (need to be addressed? which is correct?).

[anica]

:lol:

[AlisonM]

I think it's "been done needin' addressination." I could be wrong, though.

[Chris]

I frequently jump up onto my high horse about grammar and then notice I forgot to edit a post or a comment. I'm not one to talk.

[bhd]

I just had the pleasure of posting a bunch of signs for the WSU extention (sic) service training.

This sign was constructed using a computer.

Which had a spell checker.

[jeorg]

grammar mistakes really only bother me when it comes from people who "think" they know grammar or are "trying" to sound intelligent. the regular joe schmo's don't bug me since language is a fluid thing.