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Bring back the BSG! Joel Send a noteboard - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 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.

Henceforth I shall refer to you as "the Right Guard of Grammar." :P
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" ).

While I generally share your feelings here, I am very conflicted on the subjunctive. On the one hand, it is legitimate grammar, and a necessary concept for effective communication; on the other, its usage is becoming almost non-existent and, in practice, when speakers and writers incorrectly use the simple past tense as subjunctive their listeners and readers immediately and fully understand the usage AS subjunctive. It is hard to argue maintaining the subjunctive as a distinct construction still adds anything to the language rather than merely complicating (and thus confusing) it needlessly. The subject came up in my recent norskkurs: Norwegian apparently has no distinct subjunctive mood AT ALL, and does not feel the lack. The comparison reminds me of another reason for me to dislike subjunctive: German, where the difference between simple past tense and the subjunctive mood is no more than a stupid umlaut. O^
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.

There is such a thing as constructive criticism; granted, you did not ask me, but I would wager most of your grammar students would say the same to you. ;)
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.

Do you include the merely ignorant in that majority? There is a difference between not knowing and not caring.
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.

I recall a commercial where a manager showing a new employee his work station confidently assured him he would be able to figure everything out on his own. The employee responded, "It's OK; I have an MBA," prompting the manager to say, "Oh... you have an MBA... in that case, let me just get you started...." ;)
6. (Off topic) Are people whiny bitches on Facebook or what?

The majority of statements on Facebook are self-absorbed narcissistic bullshit.

Again, one of its primary purposes, if not THE primary purpose.
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.

Seriously, whatever happened to the BSG?
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.

Refer to my response to Nate. Tell me again why nested threads are better than paged threads. ;) Also: My Cousin Vinny. :P
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.

I hate that.
10. Were there any grammatical mistakes in this survey?

Yes. I just told you.

I dispute that for the reasons elsewhere stated, but am open to correction if shown to be in error. :)
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This message last edited by Joel on 05/10/2011 at 08:56:22 PM
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Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 06:46:31 PM 1172 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... nossy - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 870 Views
I didn't see any errors Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 848 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors nossy - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 730 Views
You mean ... Nate - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 824 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. Nate - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 1043 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1336 Views
Tom can probably give you actual terms and correct rules, but here's my take on it. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:43:47 PM 814 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea... *NM* Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM 485 Views
Use them together, and only together, for fifteen years and we can discuss this again. *NM* Tom - 05/10/2011 09:32:30 PM 421 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 880 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? Nate - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 835 Views
Yeah, pretty much. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 796 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 683 Views
OK then. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 842 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have. Tom - 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM 737 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM 846 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones. Tom - 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM 689 Views
He made a mistake that I did not recognize as a mistake because I read his words as he intended. Joel - 06/10/2011 04:43:39 AM 841 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 889 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 853 Views
You're right of course! Nate - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 922 Views
I frequently am. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 917 Views
So I've noticed. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 839 Views
I like telling people, too. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 827 Views
You can use charmap. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 879 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 775 Views
Mmm, dashing. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 831 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 904 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: Tom - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 946 Views
I love this bit. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 928 Views
Bring back the BSG! Joel - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 879 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 803 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 956 Views
Re: serial comma. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 832 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 807 Views
Same here Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 708 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 790 Views
Re: Grammar junkies random thoughts - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 842 Views
Re: Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 906 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 899 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* Nate - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 409 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? Joel - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 805 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 742 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* Ghavrel - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 394 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 995 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p Nate - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 893 Views
I do not really think I am "right" on this one so much as "not wrong." Joel - 06/10/2011 12:01:36 AM 811 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! Nate - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 800 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more. *NM* Ghavrel - 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM 371 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. Joel - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 805 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. Nate - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 823 Views
Like I say, I appreciate exceptions when justified (and again, only claiming to be "not wrong." ) Joel - 06/10/2011 07:26:18 AM 710 Views
But you are wrong Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 852 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* random thoughts - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 425 Views
I disagree. Joel - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 789 Views
How utterly unsurprising Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 778 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." Joel - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 815 Views
Doesn't matter. Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 820 Views
Perhaps not, but it should, and I am not above being a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Joel - 08/10/2011 05:17:35 PM 920 Views
What. Zeeb - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 895 Views
Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right. Joel - 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM 884 Views
if you have trouble understanding my post it is more likely do to typing skills than grammar random thoughts - 05/10/2011 09:31:42 PM 798 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM 767 Views
You called? Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 881 Views
Grammar schmammar! Avendesora - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 917 Views
Wongy tip #77 Two Wongs - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 780 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. TaskmasterJack - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 783 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* Nate - 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* TaskmasterJack - 07/10/2011 01:46:50 AM 400 Views
A timeless classic. Nate - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 755 Views
Re: Grammar junkies wolfsister - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 807 Views
Yes. Camilla - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 745 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." Joel - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 789 Views
I try ironclad - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 839 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 708 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. Tom - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 802 Views
I wish more people knew this. Rebekah - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 741 Views
Junky Grammar. Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 741 Views
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