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
1171 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but....
- 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM
869 Views
I didn't see any errors
- 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM
847 Views
- 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM
847 Views
Must ... have ... grammar.
- 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM
1042 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight.
- 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM
1335 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
812 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea...
*NM*
- 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM
484 Views
*NM*
- 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM
484 Views
Use them together, and only together, for fifteen years and we can discuss this again. *NM*
- 05/10/2011 09:32:30 PM
420 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes.
- 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM
877 Views
But do you actually regard them that way?
- 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM
833 Views
Yeah, pretty much.
- 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM
794 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have.
- 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM
735 Views
- 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM
735 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error.
- 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM
844 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones.
- 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM
688 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
838 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day
- 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM
888 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash.
- 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM
852 Views
- 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM
852 Views
You're right of course!
- 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM
920 Views
I frequently am.
- 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM
914 Views
So I've noticed.
- 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM
837 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by:
- 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM
945 Views
Good poll, especially for this site.
- 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM
954 Views
Re: Grammar junkies
- 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM
839 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating.
- 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM
898 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM*
- 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM
409 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again?
- 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM
803 Views
- 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM
803 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p
- 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM
891 Views
I do not really think I am "right" on this one so much as "not wrong."
- 06/10/2011 12:01:36 AM
810 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language!
- 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM
799 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more.
*NM*
- 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM
370 Views
*NM*
- 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM
370 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better.
- 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM
805 Views
I'm going to listen to the others.
- 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM
822 Views
Like I say, I appreciate exceptions when justified (and again, only claiming to be "not wrong." )
- 06/10/2011 07:26:18 AM
707 Views
But you are wrong
- 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM
851 Views
- 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM
851 Views
I disagree.
- 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM
788 Views
- 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM
788 Views
How utterly unsurprising
- 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM
777 Views
- 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM
777 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent."
- 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM
813 Views
Doesn't matter.
- 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM
818 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
918 Views
What.
- 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM
893 Views
Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right.
- 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM
882 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
796 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand.
- 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM
765 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media.
- 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM
782 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM*
- 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM
380 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
399 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis.
- 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM
706 Views
