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| My Grammar died in 1959. |
Really, like, you know.. I used to tell my students not to use those words as punctuation. I am amazed at how many supposedly intelligent people populate their conversation with those words. When telling a story on Letterman a famous actress used "you know" so many times that I totally lost track of the story and wound up counting the times she said, "you know."
"Really"
That is another overused word. People seem to think that saying "really" is the only response to being told that someone fell down the stairs. Really? Just a replacement for a comma.
Spelling
I read a comment on a blog today where a woman said that she had gotten a principle fired... She meant to say principal.. I learned that one because someone told me that the man (or woman) in the main office at school was my pal.
Then there is your and you're. The first one means something that belongs to you such as your dog or your cat, The second one is a contraction for you are. So remember it by You're going to put your apples in the bag.
Then we have there, their and they're. They're going to put their apples over there. So which one means:
belonging to them
contraction for they are
place .
These are especially egregious when used in a Facebook status post by a former student. I always feel that they should know better because I know I taught those little tricks to them. Perhaps they just don't care... or perhaps the seventh grade teachers taught them that it didn't matter.... Zing.
Thanks for listening and stopping by. Cherish your friends, be gentle with one another.. Hugs, j
3 comments:
I have a professor who uses the phrases "sort of" and "kind of" to the extent that a teenager uses "like". I once kept a tally of the two phrases and during a 75-minute class, this professor used those phrases nearly 100 times before I stopped tallying. It is ridiculous.
On Facebook, I only correct someone if there is a joke in it. There is no point to "correcting" text-speak. My friends choose to appear illiterate and so I will allow them their foolishness. They do not realize that the habits they cultivate today in school will be hard to break tomorrow in their jobs.
Its a continual source of amazement to me that the general public can't get it's mind around contractions and possessive! Why, its PREPOSTEROUS! Maybe it's comprehension is even POSTPRETEROUS!
And while I'm at it, if there are antiques, why aren't there proques as well?
I try to watch for proper grammar; I think it is important to not get sloppy. I hope this shows class.
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