Grammar bitch talks grammar errors

August 7, 2014
Good grammar is sexy

Good grammar isn’t just sexy. It’s professional!

Grammar errors.

Read enough Facebook posts and even blogs and the grammar makes your eyes burn.
I am not exactly the grammar police, but I have to admit: I do judge. A little.

I mean, master the craft, writers. It’s not like we didn’t learn it in every year of school, starting in first grade.

A few things of interest to the grammar police today.

Since I’m a writer, I do have more than the average number of friends I could send this to, and THANK GOD:

Your and you're

If you don’t know: “you’re” is a contraction for you ARE. “Your” has nothing to do with “are.” Get out your grammar notes and learn the difference or lose credibility as a writer.

The difference between you’re and your is explained in the caption above. And I also used it in the sentence.

And then, there’s this, which my friend Barbara handed me for my birthday:
Birthday grammarBirthday bitchThat’s right. I’m not the grammar police.

I’m the grammar bitch.

Love you, Babs!

40 comments on “Grammar bitch talks grammar errors
  1. Carol Graham says:

    Love the last photo.

  2. I am the daughter of a grammar nazi! She still corrects me if I say something wrong, even though in her advancing age she’s taken to saying, “fixin’ to”. Drives me nuts.

    • Nora says:

      Use of Grammar is one of the first ways we give people an impression of ourselves. If you want to be thought well of by intelligent people, use good grammar. Can we convince radio announcers of how important that is? I fear not!

      • Nora, I’m not sure you realized that you replied to Walker’s comment instead of what I think you wanted to do, which is comment on the blog. The comment box is on the bottom below comments.

    • I think “fixin’ to” is a lovely Southern colloquialism and doesn’t count as bad grammar. It’s sweet and charming in older women. ;-))

  3. Tammy says:

    I am sure I have been a grammar violator but I do try. You have my permission to send me a message if you catch something on my blog. Meanwhile, the thing that drives me nuts, and I hear it a lot living in the South, is “might could” as in “I might could do that for you.” AHHHH

    • I do make mistakes also, inadvertently. But in general, I know the rules. 😉 “might could” is another one of those charming Southern colloquialisms I like. In the South, that is.

  4. My mother was an English teacher and we were constantly being corrected by her at the dinner table. Fun post, love that birthday card!

  5. kim tackett says:

    My goal in life is to master the semi colon. I am serious.

  6. A must share, because ending a sentence with a preposition was always a no-no as we were taught in Elementary school. Hopped over from Katherine’s Corner. I hope you enjoy the rest of your Thursday.

  7. I always have a problem with commas but I’m happy to say I do know the difference between your and you’re!

    • I use the Associated Press Stylebook, (since J school) which says no common in a series before “and.” It used to make lay people like engineers crazy when they edited news releases.

  8. Joan Stommen says:

    They call me the dot, dot dot lady……..my weakness for sure! LOL I can never remember what they’re called! But I too tend to judge…..seems many quotes and titles are never even proofed! Your cartoons and photos are hilarious, Carol….great piece! Good Grammar/good manners……yeah, let’s call it sexy! 🙂

    • I think some people just don’t know. Also, it’s hard to proof your own stuff. The first rule of writing is to have someone else proof–but not practical with blogs.

  9. Risa says:

    Sigh. It always makes me cringe when I see stuff like that. It just looks like the writer didn’t take the time to proofread. So what if it’s a blog! Writing is writing. I stand with you, sister. (“It’s” and “its” is another problem.)

  10. Actually ending sentences with a preposition is grammatically acceptable and a false rule. The dots referenced above are called ellipses. Singular = ellipsis. Like you, I appreciate good grammar, spelling, and diction. Shows respect to your readers.

  11. Karen says:

    In the style guide I wrote for our writers a few years back, I did offer a pass on ending sentences with prepositions. As dear Sir Winston Churchill once said, sometimes it’s necessary for flow, and being dogmatic about it is “arrant pedantry, up with which I will not put.” 🙂

    THAT SAID: the next time I see its’ used–anywhere, by anyone–I reserve the right to go postal.

  12. Hey Carol! I just mailed you a copy of my novel Finding Grace that you won in my recent blog giveaway and I’m already shaking in my boots!!!! I am certain the grammar bitch will find something so I’ll just prepare myself. The thing is…I definitely know the difference between your and you’re and its and it’s but sometimes I get in a hurry and use the wrong one and then just overlook it. I tend to think that happens with the vast majority of us. And because my mind is so amazingly creative 🙂 when I reread it, my mind allows me to see exactly what I want to see….funny how that happens with EVERYTHING in life. So yeah, sometime I screw up. I hope you STILL enjoy the book! ~Kathy

  13. Suzanne Gray says:

    Preach on Carol! Seems like a whole lot of people have no idea what to do with apostrophes or punctuation anymore.

    I confess to making mistakes in my work sometimes because it’s impossible to proof your own stuff, but I’d hold up a wedding to get it fixed once I do notice.

    I personally LOVE the Grammar Police. I just wish the force was a little bigger.

  14. HaH! Love it! I’m sort of afraid to write very much because I’m pretty sure you have good reason to judge me already! But, I guess I just need to add ‘Bitch’ at the end to fix it, right? Bitch?

  15. I am admittedly terrible when it comes to grammar. I am so used to working with editors but you are right, Carol it just isn’t practical with blogs.
    It is so hard to proof your own work because your mind knows what you meant to say and you may see what you meant to write.

  16. penpen says:

    Is it bad grammar when we take nouns and turn them into verbs. I cringe when I hear or read sentences that say ‘So and so was tasked with doing such and such.’ Is that more grammar bitch [about increasingly common usage] than grammar police?

  17. Lana says:

    I’m forwarding this to my sister because she has called me the grammar bitch on occasion! Glad I’m not alone.

  18. I try hard to proofread, but I’m afraid I sometimes make mistakes. I appreciate being able to go back and edit, if I find them! I find it stressful when I have to use my phone to make comments, because autocorrect is not always my friend – and the screen is sometimes hard to see to know if all is well!

  19. My sis has her MA in English, and we’ve both been professional writers for about 30 years, so we agree about the importance of good grammar. I might have also given that card to my sis. She is weird abut parallel structure.

  20. Ha! I break the preposition rule All. The. Time. My thinking is that it’s stylistic and many an editor have agreed. You’re and your is one thing (same with its and it’s and more), but some rules allow breathing room… thankfully.

    Love that card, though! 😀

  21. I guess we can all be lazy. I might not be a grammar police. I attend to be a police when it comes to ceramic pieces.
    I’ll eye ball a mug and see if everything is done just so. Mostly around the handle.

    Coffee is on

  22. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they were in a hurry? Probably not.

  23. My problem is that I usually see the problem myself, about a second after hitting the post button. Then it will drive me crazy.

  24. Daphne says:

    I couldn’t agree more , Carol. So many people seriously need to edit their writing before publishing.

  25. Myke Todd says:

    Now, this if funny… except when I do it.

    I miss the days when I had people in my circle who would proof read my poems, and finds these errors. I rarely had issues with spelling. My problem was using the wrong words, that sounded like the correct ones. And, then there was this time she told me, if I ever used “truth be told” again, she was going to strangle me. That carried some weight, and truth be told, I have never done it again since.

  26. Donna says:

    I heard this joke with Yankees and a southern woman who asked them, “where y’all from?”
    We are from a place that doesn’t end a sentence with a preposition….
    “Where y’all from, bitch?”
    Still makes me laugh
    I try hard but I still have to look up things….lay or lie? Lose loose….a friend of one sent a correction on the comments instead of a private message….she was right. I corrected it, but, really? I know you would be helpful but never embarrass…

  27. giggle,I love this post.Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop xo P.S> I posted my new giveaway on Friday ♥

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