You Are Judged By Your Grammar

7/9/2021

Is grammar important?

The simplest definition of grammar

When we read posts, emails, or articles with bad grammar, it can make us laugh or feeling annoyed. But it can also ruin someone's reputation and business. I came across a comment from an editor who advertises her service in every author group: "Their totally nuts!"
Do I want to hire her to edit my book? I don't think so!

Simply moving a comma and adding a colon changes the meaning of the sentence, doesn't it?

Adding a small comma makes a huge difference.

When combining two words just doesn't work.

Spelling the word correctly makes things clear and precise.
You don't want to fill a cattle with water and sit it on the stove, right?

How many times do you come across sentences such as:

Kudos to you my friends!

Yup, and those:

The confusing to, too, and two.

Texting or commenting on social sites

When people misspell words and don't use proper grammar on social sites, we laugh because some of the misspelled words or sentences sound hilarious.

When you see bad grammar, what irks you enough to turn into a Grammar Nazi?

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12 Comments

Cindy J. Smith

7/8/2021 07:25:14 pm

I am not a grammar nazi, I notice things but let them slide, unless it is in a book! I paid to read it, I expect the English to be correct. I have written several poems, on purpose, that made my editor cringe. I feel sorry for anyone who is so uptight about a misused word, I firmly follow the rule if you are not perfect, don't say anything. A fb post or tweet is just a note, spelling and grammar are not really important. A book, an application, a school exam, a formal written work, they are were it is important,

Erika M Szabo

7/8/2021 07:41:25 pm

I agree! A typo here and there in friendly posts is fine, some of them are just autocorrect assuming the words that were meant to be used. However, I came across authors making basic grammar mistakes in their social site posts, and unfortunately, their published - unedited or edited by a not qualified editor - books contained the same errors.

Cindy

7/9/2021 08:51:23 pm

That is true and it is sad how many fake editors are out there taking advantage of Indie authors. I know several who paid big bucks for editing and gave away a bunch of books to "beta readers" and the end results were atrocious.

Eric J. Gates link

7/9/2021 02:27:43 pm

Knowing how much any author will strive to ensure the grammar is correct in our own books, it irks to see issues like these in novels produced by authors backed by the large publishing houses - it's almost as if the latter just can't be bothered. As for social media gaffs, I'll pass on them as hardly a day goes by without seeing a couple. Given many people take any comment other than outright agreement with whatever they say on social media as some sort of personal attack, it's just not worth the bother.

7/10/2021 06:41:49 am

I agree! There are a lot of books published with errors. It's not only publishing houses that don't bother with editing, but there are a lot of wannabe editors out there as well. They just want to make a quick buck and don't deliver quality work.

Paula Mann link

7/9/2021 03:21:14 pm

No, I'm not really a grammar nazi, and I condone many things. The only thing that gets my nerves is when I need to read ten times the same entence before my brain can decode through the errors.

7/10/2021 06:43:10 am

I hear ya! Reading unclear, confusing social site posts and messages could be very annoying.

Slate R. Raven

7/9/2021 07:15:09 pm

I thought those were great! My favorite was, “let’s eat Mandy!”

7/10/2021 06:44:05 am

Mine is when Sarah gets uninvited :)

A.J. Park

7/9/2021 08:06:58 pm

I love, love, LOVE this! I am a language enthusiast! Also sadly, I do know how easy it is to have a slip. Verbal slip = oops. Social Media slip = darn it. Mistake immortalized in print? Much worse!!

7/10/2021 06:47:18 am

So true! The other day FB reminded me of a "memory" a post from ten years ago, and I cringed when spotted a grammar mistake. I wrote "cattle" instead of "kettle" in the sentence

Alex link

7/10/2021 11:42:07 am

I tend to spot the errors more these days, or perhaps they just annoy me more. No book is perfect, but with spellcheckers available there is really no excuse for some of the basic issues.
I spend an hour cringing at a work presentation a couple of months ago. I couldn't concentrate on what they were saying for all the errors on the slides.

My sister teaches English, she once wrote a big fat F on an assignment written in text speak. There's a time and a place for it, but if you're an author promoting your work, or a student writing an essay - don't use it.