Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by:
Tom Send a noteboard - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM
1. Does anybody (besides me) use proper grammar when texting, posting on Facebook, etc.?
I always make a conscious effort to use proper grammar. Anything less would be uncivilized.
2. Do you correct somebody who uses incorrect grammar while talking? If not, do you at least do it in your head?
Yes. Errors that irritate me most as of late: 1) incorrect use of the subjunctive (e.g., "I wish I was..." ); 2) incorrect use of the nominal case for personal pronouns when the direct object or object of a preposition (e.g., "Between you and I..." ); and 3) misuse of apostrophes (e.g., "The website has an error on it's homepage" ).
3. Do you wince whenever you read a particularly awful Facebook post?
I don't just wince. I usually make a snide remark that points out the error.
4. Have you noticed a trend on Facebook where people don't even bother using periods to separate sentences anymore?
Yes. The majority of people are stupid. One must always keep this in mind. A corollary to this is that no one believes himself to be stupid.
5. Have you noticed misspelled words that have nothing to do with 140 character length? (Today I saw somebody spell "do" as "dew"

Of course. On LinkedIn, where one would hope a higher level of perfection is sought since it is primarily a business tool, I saw one person refer to himself as a "principle" of his company. It's refreshing to see people representing abstract ideas again, like in the Greek tragedies.
6. (Off topic) Are people whiny bitches on Facebook or what?
The majority of statements on Facebook are self-absorbed narcissistic bullshit.
7. Has anybody ever called you a Grammar Nazi?
All the time. I like to take the analogy another step and say that I'm the Führer of the Grammar Reich, may it last a thousand years.
8. Has Twitter and texting eroded proper grammar for today's youths?
Since we're discussing grammar, I would note that you have a plural subject with a singular verb form, and that "youth" is a collective noun better left in the singular (though that last point is really more a stylistic choice). I believe that the failure begins in the educational system, and social media are nothing more than a reflection of this failure.
9. Have you succumbed to the 140 character shortcuts? How often do you text or tweet this way?
I do not use Twitter. I loathe sending SMS messages, but prior to getting a smart phone I did abbreviate out of irritation (e.g., "can i c u b4 2mrw?" ). However, this was the result of having a numeric keypad only.
10. Were there any grammatical mistakes in this survey?
Yes. I just told you.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
This message last edited by Tom on 05/10/2011 at 08:11:34 PM
Grammar junkies
- 05/10/2011 06:46:31 PM
1112 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but....
- 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM
806 Views
I didn't see any errors
- 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM
792 Views
- 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM
792 Views
Must ... have ... grammar.
- 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM
986 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight.
- 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM
1265 Views
Tom can probably give you actual terms and correct rules, but here's my take on it.
- 05/10/2011 08:43:47 PM
756 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea...
*NM*
- 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM
462 Views
*NM*
- 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM
462 Views
Use them together, and only together, for fifteen years and we can discuss this again. *NM*
- 05/10/2011 09:32:30 PM
397 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes.
- 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM
792 Views
But do you actually regard them that way?
- 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM
779 Views
Yeah, pretty much.
- 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM
737 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have.
- 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM
679 Views
- 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM
679 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error.
- 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM
780 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones.
- 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM
639 Views
He made a mistake that I did not recognize as a mistake because I read his words as he intended.
- 06/10/2011 04:43:39 AM
789 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day
- 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM
831 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash.
- 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM
784 Views
- 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM
784 Views
You're right of course!
- 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM
854 Views
I frequently am.
- 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM
855 Views
So I've noticed.
- 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM
770 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by:
- 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM
884 Views
Good poll, especially for this site.
- 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM
892 Views
Re: Grammar junkies
- 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM
785 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating.
- 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM
830 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM*
- 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM
382 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again?
- 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM
738 Views
- 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM
738 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p
- 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM
821 Views
I do not really think I am "right" on this one so much as "not wrong."
- 06/10/2011 12:01:36 AM
743 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language!
- 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM
741 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more.
*NM*
- 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM
344 Views
*NM*
- 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM
344 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better.
- 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM
746 Views
I'm going to listen to the others.
- 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM
754 Views
Like I say, I appreciate exceptions when justified (and again, only claiming to be "not wrong." )
- 06/10/2011 07:26:18 AM
648 Views
But you are wrong
- 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM
778 Views
- 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM
778 Views
I disagree.
- 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM
722 Views
- 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM
722 Views
How utterly unsurprising
- 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM
690 Views
- 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM
690 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent."
- 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM
749 Views
Doesn't matter.
- 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM
762 Views
Perhaps not, but it should, and I am not above being a lone voice crying in the wilderness.
- 08/10/2011 05:17:35 PM
848 Views
What.
- 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM
827 Views
Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right.
- 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM
816 Views
if you have trouble understanding my post it is more likely do to typing skills than grammar
- 05/10/2011 09:31:42 PM
737 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand.
- 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM
712 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media.
- 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM
728 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM*
- 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM
355 Views
I did use that once to tell the story of you and CNRedDragon going to see Ice Princess. *NM*
- 07/10/2011 01:46:50 AM
365 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis.
- 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM
653 Views
