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edders' campaign for grammatical excellence

yellowtaxi

no...grammer is spelt rite.

Yellowtaxi, it's time for a few home truths.
1. "Grammer" is spelt "grammar".
2. "Rite" is spelt "right"
3. "Rite" should be "rightly" as an adverb modifies a verb, and "spelt" is a verb.
4. There should be an apostrophe in "Ive".

How on earth can you say you "pride yourself" on your knowledge of grammar and spelling!? :tongue:

Reply 321

Zeitgeist

edders

No, just to educate people in the ways of the written word. After all, command English effectively and you will go a long way in life! :smile:

yes, an excellent idea! i find a lot of modern abbreviation really annoying - when legible! :rolleyes:

Reply 322

generalebriety

16

Argh... stuff like this scares me. :tongue:

Why's it so important to show off your good grammar skills? I'm not boasting, but I would consider my grammar almost impeccable and my spelling the same. With so many people around advertising "job's" and "position's" I doubt people actually realise what an apostrophe is any more. Good English will get you somewhere in life, but even if u tlk lik dis all ur life, you won't be frowned upon, especially in current society. If you're good at what you do, you shouldn't need to know what a split infinitive is or be able to hold a debate for or against it. :smile:

Besides, grammar and spelling are 'hazy' to say the least. So many people write 'anymore' they forget there's a space there, and we're coming to the same end with apostrophes and spaces elsewhere. One guy I know was called a 'loser' last week because he didn't spell like a moron, and this isn't the only time I've seen it happen. I'm not trying to reinforce your point (although I'm succeeding), I'm saying that so few people know good English from bad English it's hardly worth bothering.

I'll stick to my decent spelling, punctuation and grammar and not worry about the 'rewards'. Getting little gold star stickers or badges saying "I CAN SPELL! :smile:

" is for primary school. :tongue:

But (oh crap, I started a sentence with a conjunction) thanks for the offer. :biggrin:

-Billy

Reply 323

MadNatSci

12

Hmm... I have to say that I am in fact one of those losers who becomes slightly irritated every time she sees a grammatical error. Especially one involving an apostrophe... aaargh! :smile:

Joking aside, I can tolerate poor grammar to a point and there is, of course, the argument that language is constantly evolving and trying to stop it is pointless.

However... there are limits. Wen I red a posst splet so badlee wiv gramer as like crap, as thiz, its kinda hard 2 wrk owt wot theyz sayin u no wot i men?

OK, so it's an exaggeration. Sort of. But poor spelling and grammar DO make it difficult for other people to understand what's being said. Plus, I expect most people would have slightly more confidence in a company that makes sure its promotional materials are correctly spelt and punctuated: it seems more professional and therefore good grammar should be a useful asset in terms of employability, if you ask me. I don't see any reason why good grammar and spelling shouldn't be celebrated. I also think it's never too late to learn and if people pick things up from this thread, so much the better. :smile:

Reply 324

generalebriety

16

MadNatSci

OK, so it's an exaggeration. Sort of.

Heh, I know what you mean... I just don't think it should be turned into something rewardable... you speak the language, great, but spell it as well and get a bar of chocolate. I think good spelling should be mandatory for all those who don't want to look stupid, and all those who simply can't be bothered trying to spell well should be shot... along with all those people who think my spelling and grammar are 'posh', and the people who try to imitate my grammar thinking long, complicated words will win my favour. You know... the sort of people who make fun of you by talking to you not just with long words, but grandiloquently... they don't think or ponder between replies, they cogitate... and they don't abbreviate at all. Can't stand it. Ok, I'm "going off on one" a bit there. :smile:

Our language is dying out. Moreover, we're not the only ones doing it. The French have their own little abbreviation system, and even the Germans are getting lazy with umlauts and the 'ß' letter. And the sad truth is that most people that use this don't know when to stop and end up writing it in essays, exams, reports, and everything else. (I know people who have done this, and it's not a great minority.)

I agree with you, spelling and grammar errors are annoying. But I don't think we should be teaching people to spell; I think we should be teaching people to care about spelling. Otherwise we're not progressing linguistically - I've seen people even in this thread that seem to consider vowels blasphemy - we're just turning back into cavemen. And maybe cavewomen, if sexism rules stay longer than written script. :tongue:

Wow, I can talk rubbish sometimes. :smile:

-Billy

P.S. Musicman: the phrase is "How on Earth..." - you missed the capital letter for the name of a planet.

P.P.S. On re-reading I noticed my post seemed to say I was against those who couldn't spell. I'm against those who can't be bothered to spell. People who can't spell for whatever reason - fine by me. :tongue:

Reply 325

MadNatSci

12

generalebriety

Heh, I know what you mean... I just don't think it should be turned into something rewardable... you speak the language, great, but spell it as well and get a bar of chocolate. I think good spelling should be mandatory for all those who don't want to look stupid, and all those who simply can't be bothered trying to spell well should be shot... along with all those people who think my spelling and grammar are 'posh', and the people who try to imitate my grammar thinking long, complicated words will win my favour. You know... the sort of people who make fun of you by talking to you not just with long words, but grandiloquently... they don't think or ponder between replies, they cogitate... and they don't abbreviate at all. Can't stand it. Ok, I'm "going off on one" a bit there. :smile:

Our language is dying out. Moreover, we're not the only ones doing it. The French have their own little abbreviation system, and even the Germans are getting lazy with umlauts and the 'ß' letter. And the sad truth is that most people that use this don't know when to stop and end up writing it in essays, exams, reports, and everything else. (I know people who have done this, and it's not a great minority.)

I agree with you, spelling and grammar errors are annoying. But I don't think we should be teaching people to spell; I think we should be teaching people to care about spelling. Otherwise we're not progressing linguistically - I've seen people even in this thread that seem to consider vowels blasphemy - we're just turning back into cavemen. And maybe cavewomen, if sexism rules stay longer than written script. :tongue:

Wow, I can talk rubbish sometimes. :smile:

-Billy

P.S. Musicman: the phrase is "How on Earth..." - you missed the capital letter for the name of a planet.

P.P.S. On re-reading I noticed my post seemed to say I was against those who couldn't spell. I'm against those who can't be bothered to spell. People who can't spell for whatever reason - fine by me. :tongue:

Hehe, I do tend to agree with you in general :smile:

I just have fewer principles and more need to read posts and literature I don't feel the urge to correct! What a pedant I am. Sorry everyone...

Reply 326

Unregistered

generalebriety

Good English will get you somewhere in life, but even if u tlk lik dis all ur life, you won't be frowned upon, especially in current society.

Yeah, it would go down really well on your personal statement or application forms for most jobs above minimum wage.

generalebriety

So many people write 'anymore' they forget there's a space there...

At least that echoes "anywhere", "anyone", and even "anyhow". It's much better than "alot". I have never really understood why people want to add an "a" to the front of that but not really many other words, even when I have done it myself!

generalebriety

One guy I know was called a 'loser' last week because he didn't spell like a moron, and this isn't the only time I've seen it happen. I'm not trying to reinforce your point (although I'm succeeding), I'm saying that so few people know good English from bad English it's hardly worth bothering.

Well, it is if you want to get anywhere in the world. If you only want to work in low-skilled jobs, not go to university etc, being able to read and write well is less important, but in applying for many other jobs, courses etc it most definitely is important as well as when you are producing work for your course or for your job.

Reply 327

musicman

generalebriety

P.S. Musicman: the phrase is "How on Earth..." - you missed the capital letter for the name of a planet.

P.S. generalebriety: I wasn't the one saying I "prided myself" upon good spelling and grammar.
P.P.S: Some considerable time ago, "they forget there's a space there" (in your first post) would have been frowned upon due to the omission of "that" before "there's" - perhaps this supports your point about language evolution.

Reply 328

AcerBen

1

The only thing that bothers me about grammar on internet forums is people putting an apostrophe in the possessive form of its. I reckon nearly 50% of people do it.

Reply 329

Unregistered

AcerBen

The only thing that bothers me about grammar on internet forums is people putting an apostrophe in the possessive form of its. I reckon nearly 50% of people do it.

yeah, I tend to miss out the ' fairly often, but putting it in when it shouldn't be there is something else altogether/

I also have a real problem with teachers who can't spell or punctuate..

rosie

Reply 330

F. Poste

LMFAO at the edits :biggrin:

Reply 331

Geogger

13

F. Poste

LMFAO at the edits :biggrin:

TeeHee

Reply 332

immortal

10

edders

I will be givin out rep next few weeks to those peeple who construct gramatically sound sentences. Obviously, the beter ritten and more stylish posts will be rewarded. Points for proper use of the colon, semicolon, apostrophy, hyfun, epsis etc.

It is not long-winded posts that will be rewarded; posts that read well are what I'm looking for. As such, everyday practices such as elision (eg. "don't") are fine.

It is individual posts that will be rewarded. Therefore consistently good grammar by the author is not required; it is simply necessary in the post you would like to reward.

This is an ongoing process: as such there will be no single 'winner'. Indeed, we shall all be winners as we read examples of good writing!

Please remember, the point of this exercise is not to criticise non-conventional grammar but to reward its good usage.

Feel free to nominate people by posting links to their well-written posts here. Alternatively, simply copy and paste the post into your own posting here, stating who it was by and which thread it was in.
I hope this will be a learning experience for us all.

:biggrin:

People and their posts awarded so far:

26/7/04: eleenia

'givin'?
'peeple'?
'beter'?
'ritten'?

ooh and, grammatical excellence is what you wanted.