Why Grammar Nazis Are Important

Back to our story in a jiffy (I reserve the right to define "jiffy") but first:

I know what yez all say about me. 

"Oh, he's such a Grammar Nazi,"; " He's always calling me on using "your" instead of "you're", or not putting my apostrophe's in the right place's, or not having commas ..."; "Doesn't he understand that language is a living thing, that it changes and flows with the development of our culture?".  Oh, all that and "What an asshole."

Well, yes, yes, yes, and I suppose, sometimes, yes.

But look at what can happen when we forget that rules are there for a reason.  Two point one three million dollars, people. 

Now everybody can go back to thinking this doesn't matter to them (sic).  That its (sic) not important to learn and use proper grammar.  And that I may just be a little sic.

Your (sic) wrong.

Comments

[Julio Cesar]

This was the plot behind a TV show called "Ed".

He was a successful lawyer and was fired due to a "misplaced" comma. He ends up in his childhood town owning a bowling alley...

[ladybug]

ohh. i so love this.
i bless my english teachers from 4th-8th grade when i see stuff like this!

[more a closet grammar nazi, myself]

loved your wedding pics, btw. made me miss my daddy tho... your girls are blessed to have a dad who is so captivated by them!

look forward to reading your parents' meeting story!

ladybug

[Sara Sue]

Why do I feel shame??

[Sara Sue]

Oh BTW, the site looks great, very clean & crisp!

[Laura]

Now we just need a good article about Canadian spelling errors and we'll be all set. ;)

[wordgirl]

I did that the other day on my post...by accident. Sometimes I change my mind mid-sentence and I end up with differing parts of sentences stuck together. I fixed it.

[menoblog]

Your right. People should be careful with there commas, And than we will all be okay.

(Than and then is another one that always gets me.)

I'd like to be a grammar nazi, but i get confused sometimes with quote marks and commas and caps.

Going to start reading your story today.

[MrsDoF]

My 6th and 7th grade English teachers are doing an extra jig in the golden streets today.
Stand your ground, you Grammar Nazi, you........

[decrepitoldfool]

Maybe if English teachers started charging what Lawyers do, they'd be taken more seriously by lawyers. Of course then the rest of us could never afford grammar lessons.

[William]

In that show the Dead Zone, that guy wakes up from a comma and has special powers. I can see how using them can be to your benefit.

[whfropera]

"The controversial comma sent lawyers and telecommunications regulators scrambling for their English textbooks in a bitter 18-month dispute"

that tells you a lot right there.

I tend to have apostrophe issues. just in case anyone was wondering.

[CircusKelli]

Gawd, Nils... you could have just TOLD ME my grammar sucked. You didn't have to do a whole post about it... sheesh.

[Torrie]

I love you more and more every day.

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

I tend to be a grammar nazi with myself (though you couldn't always tell that from my rushed posts) more than with others when I'm reading blogs. I can forgive errors if I enjoy the story being told.

I'm totally unforgiving when I see grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes in newspapers or advertisements, though. Then I'm totally brutal with my virtual red pen.

[Tanya]

So true. I get VERY annoyed with your and you're, to/two/ too and their/they're/there and people who can not get it right. GAH!

And I agree with Torrie. A little more each day.

[Ern]

Preach it, brother! Preach on! Grammar matters!

Now, shall we begin the international militant branch of the Apostrophe Protection Society?

[Allie]

To those people who consider themselves fellow grammar nazis (and just for the record, it's genetic- my sister and I have both inherited the trait from Papa Nilbo), this will make your toes curl: there is a store in our city called "Party's Galore".

[Ortizzle]

Oh, dear, Allie. Now you've done it. Made me start thinking of B. G. S. = Bad Grammar in Supermarkets:

1. can vegetables (where are the *can't* vegetables?)

2. 10 items or less

I, too, have the grammar nazi curse. My father was one of those people who taught grammar by example:

-Can I go outside, Dad?
-You can (comma) but you may not.

[Nils]

Ah, ortizzle - love the examples (well, hate them, actually - the "or less" makes me crazy, too), and yeah, that sounds like a very 'Dad' thing to say. My kids have also frequently heard (as did I, in my younger years): "How do you I spell (word)? That's why we have the dictionary, dear. Come back when you're done and YOU tell ME."

And by the way: Oxford Concise. Accept no (pale) substitutes. It will teach you how to spell. (Raised eyebrow at Laura) And to recognized correct spelling when you see it.

[Ortizzle]

Nils: Ha, ha, the old dictionary trick. That was another one my father was fond of using. Practice makes perfect. And if you practise enough, you will find that good spelling and good grammar begin to colour your life. Students nowadays would do well to avail themselves of online dictionaries (O.K., www.askoxford.com!) instead of relying on the often treacherous results of spell-check. :-)

[Nils]

Or, as we Canadians like to call it, spell-cheque.

[Ortizzle]

Spell-cheque. Heh, heh. Good one. And wouldn't it be nice if they actually gave us a cheque in restaurants instead of the *bill* ?

OK, gotta' go. Cheque ya later.