Today is National Grammar Day (as if you didn’t know that already!), and I just wanted to wish you all an awesome day with no grammatical errors ruining it. (Good luck with that.)
It’s the perfect day to flash that shiny badge, which I am sure you have. If you don’t, here’s one for you. [Read more…]
Whether it’s due to amusement or exasperation, you be the judge.
While we live in the digital era, banner printing is not dead, as we can see billboards everywhere. After all, the real world does exist, and life is not all about 1s and 0s.
Whether we’re talking about print or digital, however, there are some things that don’t change – much to our annoyance or amusement: grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.
Today, let’s have a bit of fun and look at some signs with funny (or not) mistakes. To make things simple I’m using “grammar mistakes” as the umbrella term. [Read more…]
Yesterday, I came across this photo of a t-shirt I wouldn’t mind wearing.
I actually found it really funny, so I shared it on our Facebook page. (If you don’t visit it regularly yet, I suggest you do!) The ensuing discussion from our readers inspired me to write a quick post for the Grammar Guide.
To make it simple, let’s take a look at a few sentences.
Looking around the kitchen, the shelves needed to be restocked.
Starving like a lion, the pot roast disappeared within a few minutes.
An untrained eye may take a cursory look at the sentences and see nothing wrong with them. If you take another look, though (or if you’re a grammar “enthusiast”), you’ll see that there is no one doing the action. The first part of the sentence dangles. It does not have a noun who does the action!
Once you’ve spotted the problem, the fix is easy. Simply insert the doer of the action. Using the examples above, we have the correct sentences.
Looking around the kitchen, I saw that the shelves needed to be restocked.
Starving like a lion, I made the pot roast disappear within a few minutes.
Much like many other grammar mistakes, it is rather easy to slip up now and then. Don’t beat yourself up over it if you do find yourself making this mistake. Just proofread and make sure you make the proper adjustments.
This subject has been talked about so much that it’s pretty much a non-issue for me, but just in case you do still have problems with ending a sentence with a preposition, do take a look at that t-shirt again.
If you want to have a little bit more fun with this topic, I suggest reading “Churchill on Prepositions“.
I won’t deny it. I come very close to being an Apple fangirl at times, but I do not think that I will ever be a hundred percent blinded to the flaws that beset the company (just like any other company).
That being said, I cannot sit back and ignore two pieces that link Apple and grammar, which are two of my favorite topics.
About two weeks ago, I found myself almost snorting with laughter because of an email exchange between a Macworld UK writer and a reader. The exchange was instigated by Pedantic Reader with the subject: “Illiteracy (yours).”
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to predict the tone of that exchange, do you?
Anyhow, Pedantic Reader’s problem was (and probably is) the fact that Macworld uses the term “MacBook Pros” to refer to more than one laptop. Pedantic Reader asserts that the plural should be “MacBooks Pro” since “Pro” is being used as an adjective in this case. Here is his initial email.
I realise that it may be unreasonable to expect a British journalist to have any command of literacy, these days, but if you could grasp the fact that the plural form of MacBook Pro is MacBooks Pro, not “MacBook Pros”, you would make yourself look a lot less foolish and uneducated when you write.
“MacBook” is a noun; “Pro” is an adjective applied to it. When you are referring to more than one MacBook Pro, the correct grammar is to pluralise the noun, not the adjective.
(Does the Haslam household, when discussing two cars that are red in colour describe them as “reds car”?)
You need to address this perpetual sloppiness in your publication if you expect anyone to treat it with any respect.
Now I know this may not seem all that funny, but if you read the entire exchange, you’ll either be laughing or banging your head against your monitor.
My take on the subject is simple. I do understand where the reader is coming from. Certainly, in English at least, adjectives do not take on a plural form. However, I see “MacBook Pro” as a proper noun, hence the plural form “MacBook Pros”.
What do you writers think about this? Which form do you use?
The second article is a more recent one and can be found at ZDNet. Its title “Did Apple kill the adverb?” is more than enough to grab anyone’s attention, and it sure did catch mine.
Just like countless other people around the world, I have experienced moments of inspiration thanks to the charisma and wisdome of Steve Jobs. He has numerous quotable quotes, and “Think different” has probably moved many a seemingly average person to do bigger things than he imagined.
But there’s the issue of the adverb in the sentence.
Adverbs modify verbs. Adverbs usually end in “y”.
“Think” is a verb. “Different” functions as an adverb. Therefore it has to be in its “y” form: differently, right?
I think this is one traditionalists might have to take on the chin. (I am not excluding myself.) Sure, “think differently” is the correct form, but would it have had the same impact that the message bearer wanted? Besides, and I hate to say this, this is one of those things that are being used in informal settings more and more. In certain cases, exceptions (erroneous as they may be) may be made.
Just make sure you don’t forget your adverbs.
Photo via vedia
Grammar can be a pain in the butt, but grammar can also be fun. In the recent weeks, the Grammar Guide has been rather serious. Why don’t we have a little bit of fun today, and take a look at this infographic called “15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly”? ((Source: copyblogger))
The light tone of the title notwithstanding, the mistakes – let’s call a spade a spade – are really not that silly at all. As we always say, everyone makes mistakes. When it comes to the 15 in the infographic, however, unless they are typographical mistakes, committing the errors makes a writer look bad. I see two reasons for that:
So what are the 15 goofy mistakes? Most of them will not surprise you, especially since we’ve covered some of them in the past. Here’s a quick rundown before you take a look at the infographic.
15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly
I like the concept presented in the intro: “Engaging online writing is informal, conversational, and fun, but certain goofy mistakes just make you look silly…and not in a good way.” I don’t know about you, but I agree, and I definitely think that “informal, conversation, and fun” does not equate to goofy mistakes!
Which of these do you (sometimes) make? Off the top of my head, the most recent one I made was to interchange loose and lose – courtesy of fingers flying faster than my brain. Proofreading did help, though!
Which ones bug you? For me, could of, would of, and should of just does not cut it. No, I don’t count them as typographical errors!
We all make mistakes. There really is nothing wrong with that as long as we can take constructive feedback. A little sense of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves make everything better. Understandably, we might find it easier to chuckle when the mistake is not ours! Still, that does not mean that we should not make it a point to be open to admitting our mistakes and making sure they are corrected.
All this talk about mistakes stems from the topic of today’s grammar post. I think it’s about time we have a little fun, and take a look at some funny English signs again. While I am a stickler for grammar, especially when it comes to specific situations, I also like looking at humorous signs that may not live up to my standards. This is a good way to spend a 5- or 10-minute break from work. Try it!
Our first sign highlights the difficulty that prepositions pose for a lot of people.
No Parking Above Sign
Native English speakers may not think about it much, but the issue of prepositions is something that many learners of the language face. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if even native English speakers make preposition slips now and then. I hope that it is not this kind of mistake, though. It is kind of hard to park above a sign – unless you are a bird who “parks” on a wire!
You’re no stranger to Engrish.com, are you? They have some of the funniest signs I have seen, and since I have a sweet tooth, this just cracked me up.
We Free Dessert
Now this is the kind of mistake that I find more irritating than funny. Some people are just too caught up in themselves thinking that they are superior to others. I believe those people are bound to mess up at one point, and sure enough, whoever made this sign made a fool of himself. ((Via Real Life Moron))
English Is Our Language
We all have our unforgettable experiences, but this sign confuses me.
An Forgettable Experience
I saved the most hilarious one in my book for last.
Eat Here and Get Gas
Do you have other funny English signs to share?
We all have our pet peeves when it comes to writing, and I think that some of you will agree that the prevalent habit of misusing – or overusing – quotations marks is of those things. To be honest, this does not bother me as much as interchanging your and you’re. However, the discovery of a blog focusing on the unnecessary use of quotation marks has led me to write about the issue. ((the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks))
Before I bombard you with some rules on the use of quotation marks, let me add a little bit of fun to your Monday by sharing how the real world makes use of these punctuation marks.
First up is a Halloween sign somewhere in Hollywood. ((Source: the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks))
I am not sure if the guys who made the sign are being sarcastic, or they just don’t know what they’re doing. In any case, it’s probably not a good idea to buy fireworks from them! ((Source: The Huffington Post))
When did this propensity for overusing quotation marks start? I have no idea, but it definitely is not a recent trend. Take a look at this photo published 50 years ago by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ((Source: Motivated Grammar))
Maz stands for Bill Mazeroski, a popular baseball player during that time. His home run during the final game of the ’60s Series turned him into a legend, leading some overly enthusiastic fans to push for him as president.
Now that we’ve seen a few examples of how quotation marks can be used incorrectly, let’s take a look at two major rules for the use of quotation marks.
When you are incorporating another person’s words into your writing, you have to use quotations marks.
He said, “You have to follow the rules.”
The judge said that he was not willing to “bend the rules” for that particular case.
In the first example, the first letter of the quoted statement is capitalized because it is a complete sentence. In the second example, the quoted material is a fragment, so no capitalization is required.
I think this is the most common source of incorrect usage of quotation marks. Some correct examples of this particular usage are seen below.
His excuse was that he was too “busy” to attend the meeting.
I “love” waking up at 6 in the morning to go jogging.
In both examples, the quotation marks are used to indicate that the words inside mean something else. In the first sentence, it is implied that the person’s excuse – being busy – is a load of cr*p. In the second sentence, it is implied that the prospect of waking up early in the morning is not really pleasant for the person uttering the statement.
Obviously, there are more rules governing the use of quotation marks. However, I think that if you know these two by heart, you’ll be quite safe from making egregious mistakes.
Given those two rules, though, can you now pinpoint the reasons I posted those signs in the first part of this post? Why do you think people continue to misuse quotation marks this way?
It’s been more than a month since I posted the first group of funny (or not-so-funny for some) signs on FWJ. When I woke up this morning, I thought that it would be a good idea to post some more signs for the grammar section. After all, it is a Monday, and we can all use some cheering up on this day of the week.
First up comes lots of lot’s.
Photo courtesy of Steve Dinn
We can’t point fingers at Sony here, but the sign sure does take something away from the message, doesn’t it? Just so we’re all clear on what’s wrong, check out the rules for using apostrophes in a previous post.
Here’s the next sign.
Photo courtesy of Avocado8
The message would have been so much more meaningful if they had just gotten the difference between “then” and “than.” If you remember, this is one mistake that just might make you look stupid, even if you aren’t.
Photo courtesy of NY Law Blog
They did get “you’re” right, but even the most ataraxic writer might feel chest pains from that subject-verb agreement mistake. I know I am NOT recommending this law school to anyone – not even to someone I do not like.
For our last image, can someone point out to me what’s wrong?
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Perry
I have to admit that this is one of the most common mistakes that I encounter, whether in spoken or written English. It pains me to say this, but we just might be facing the possibility that one day, few and less might be used interchangeably. What do you have to say about that?
It’s not yet too late to celebrate one of the most important days of the year: National Punctuation Day! I am not making this up, although my love for quirky holidays is well known. You can check the official web site for the holiday to confirm that this is for real.
With the tag line “A celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotation marks, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and the ever-mysterious ellipsis,” National Punctuation Day is a great excuse to party tonight. If it’s too late for you to organize something, you can always do it over the weekend. 😉
So how can you celebrate this special day? Jeff Rubin, the founder, shares his game plan (together with the reminder not to overdo it):
Thinking about my day, I haven’t really followed anything – except for sleeping late! Maybe tomorrow?
Anyhow, if you’re interested in punctuation products, they also have cool stuff in the online shop. You can also check out the recipe for Punctuation Meatloaf (THE official meatloaf of the holiday) in the web site.
I’ll pass up on making the meatloaf, but I might have a drink or two later and make a toast to the brilliant guys behind National Punctuation Day.
I remember a classmate in university who failed a test simply because she did not use proper capitalization. For some reason, at that time, it was a cool thing to write everything in small letters. Unfortunately for her, the professor didn’t think it was “cool” – she was given an automatic failing mark.
Today, it seems that the fashion of not using proper capitalization is making a comeback. For some, it may be borne out of ignorance or apathy. For freelance writers, there are no excuses. I did a little digging and found some common capitalization mistakes people make.
“Okay” can function as an adjective or an adverb and is used to mean “all right.” It can be shortened to “OK,” with both letters capitalized. While “ok” is understandable and is considered to be non-standard usage by some, it is still more proper to capitalize both letters. Are you OK with that?
Here’s a piece of trivia that you may find cool (thanks to Merriam-Webster):
OK is the abbreviation of oll korrect, facetious alteration of all correct
First Known Use: 1839
This is a problem I always seem to have. For one reason or another, I forget to put ID cards back in my wallet, and I end up having to negotiate with whatever authority I am dealing with that day. Do take note of how I used that initial-letter abbreviation – we write “ID” and not “id.”
We all know that mother, father, aunt, uncle, etc. are all common nouns. So should we ever capitalize them? Well here are a couple of examples of when these words should be capitalized.
I tell my Aunt Lai everything.
She doesn’t want to live with Mother.
As you can see, in the above examples, the words are used as proper names and should thus be capitalized.
Of course, I cannot overlook title capitalization, but we already have a useful post on this topic – A Sense of Capital En-TITLE-ment. Do click on that link for more details.
You may be thinking – is capitalization really that important? Yesterday, I saw a hilarious tweet that I think will help convince you of the importance of using proper capitalization. WARNING: example may be a little crude for some. It does help drive the point home, though.
Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse.
Convinced yet?
Photo credit: familymwr
