Freakin Grammar Police

paddyrg

Sugarplumfairy wrote: »

...a missed apostrophe or a comma in the wrong place is hardly a hanging offence.

People on these forums are from all different backgrounds, different levels of education and most likely different countries...

Absolutely. I make a lot of effort with my posts (usually), but I know I probably mis-spell some words, or mis-apostrophise(!) some - that's life, and there's not much I can do beyond what I do.

As for people from different backgrounds and countries, excellent point, and is another reason for people to post as articulately and in as good English as they can. Reading foreign posts can be tough, reading sloppily-written foreign posts is tougher. At least if we all make an effort to communicate in good English, more people can understand.

vikingaero

Never mind the MSE Grammar Polis, the MSE Food Polis are just as bad:

"I had a McDonalds for lunch today...."

googler

garethgas wrote: »

What comma ?

I'd suggest

You do that in an English exam, and I'm afraid you'll fail.

as opposed to your;

You do that in an English exam and i'm afraid you'll fail.

No?

LittleVoice

googler wrote: »

I'd suggest

You do that in an English exam, and I'm afraid you'll fail.

as opposed to your;

You do that in an English exam and i'm afraid you'll fail.

No?

How about two (parenthetical) commas?

"You do that in an English exam and, I'm afraid, you'll fail."

Sugarplumfairy_2

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Well if you think that everyone who corrects grammar or spelling does it for kicks then carry on.

Personally I think it is insulting to ignore the corrections without giving any thought to the corrector.

As I said before, we don't know why they pick up on grammar and spelling and demand 'perfection'.

That's the point of this thread though. I was pointing out the posters who only comment on the grammar and don't actually put any input into the thread.

Sugarplumfairy_2

paddyrg wrote: »

Absolutely. I make a lot of effort with my posts (usually), but I know I probably mis-spell some words, or mis-apostrophise(!) some - that's life, and there's not much I can do beyond what I do.

As for people from different backgrounds and countries, excellent point, and is another reason for people to post as articulately and in as good English as they can. Reading foreign posts can be tough, reading sloppily-written foreign posts is tougher. At least if we all make an effort to communicate in good English, more people can understand.

And my point is, that could possibly be as articulate as they are. Who are we to point it out to them when not even responding to the Thread.

GraceCourt

Azari wrote: »

Actually, they can.

You are correct, but for the wrong reasons!

Sentences can commence with the word "and" and be grammatically corect, for example:

"And" is a three-letter word.

Azari wrote: »

Wrong: I went shopping today. And bought a book.

Correct: I read a very interesting book, today. And what did I learn from it? That Charles the second ...

Commencing a sentence with a conjunction is, and always will be, grammatically wrong - despite your claim to the contrary.

Consider this version of your "correct" version:

I read a very interesting book, today. What did I learn from it? That Charles the Second ...

You see? It conveys exactly the same meaning, but it is grammatically correct - at least, it is when the "s" in "second" is capitalised, because the word is part of the title of that particular English king, assuming that King Charles the Second is the person to whom you were referring in your example!

You are using what is described as "Conversational English" - it is written in a way that reflects conversation, but as far as grammar is concerned, it's wrong, just as much as it is common (but incorrect) for people to use the word "may" (permissive) when they really mean "might" (probabilistic), "which" (changing an object to a subject) when they mean "that" (qualifying an object or a subject), or "who" (pronoun) when they mean "whom" (objective or dative case of "who").

Language is supposed to convey meaning - therefore grammatically incorrect language conveys meaning incorrectly, usually by making it ambiguous. And please don't say that language is dynamic and therefore changes over time: of course it does - we would all struggle to understand Medieval English! However, the English language ought not to change solely because some English speakers don't understand it, or have failed - for whatever reason - to learn it sufficiently to be proficient in its use.

I understand the sentiments of the original poster, and actually I am very sympathetic, but the content of some of the follow-up comments just could not be ignored!

vax2002

Its the art of the troll who disagrees with the opinions given and throws out the teddy.

GraceCourt

Pollycat wrote: »

Seriously, why does anyone need more than one ! or ?? (the second ? is the ending to my question).:)

In the spirit of providing useful feedback, rather than being what some readers might refer to as a "grammar Nazi", perhaps you could have posted the following, instead?

Seriously, why does anyone need more than one exclamation point or interrogation mark?

:beer:

Sugarplumfairy_2

vax2002 wrote: »

Its the art of the troll who disagrees with the opinions given and throws out the teddy.

Personally haven't seen any teddy throwing, must have missed that.