Poor grammar makes me sic!

Oct 26th 2009
Karen HawkinsKaren Hawkins & On Writing!

57 Responses to “Poor grammar makes me sic!”

1. B on 26 Oct 2009 at 3:50 am #

   Y’know, it annoys me big time. Especially because English isn’t my first language, and you can accuse me of about anything, but I do not speak text book English. In fact, I’m very fluent and consistent with the use of the language in the US. If I, who have spend my whole life studying Portuguese at school, can speak English so well, someone who’s spend their whole life learning English should be able to as well. So, it annoys me.
   “Should of” is a very, very, very big pet peeve. I mean, it makes no grammatical sense. The contraction “should’ve” is just as easy both to pronounce and to write. I just don’t get it.
   “Their, there and they’re”. It’s freaking basic English. Okay, they sound alike, but… argh. Is it really such a big trouble to think for a bit which of the cases are you referring to and use the adequate word?
   Maybe I’m a freak, but I love studying languages, their (not there or they’re) structure, sounds, dynamics. Hell, I’ve been reading the freaking dictionary (okay, that’s a bit too over the top, but still).
   I think people in general are just too lazy. They just don’t want to make the littlest effort and think what’s the correct way of speaking and writing.

2. B on 26 Oct 2009 at 3:52 am #

   Obviously, I don’t mean to offend anyone. I hope I haven’t. I mean it about the general mass, not anyone in particular.

   ps: if you find some atrocious mistake in my post, before thinking “What a hypocrite,” please consider it’s 7am and I haven’t been to bed yet. Thank you! <3

3. Freedom Writer on 26 Oct 2009 at 4:43 am #

   I agree with B, it drives me nuts when someone writes should of instead of should’ve. They sound the same when you say them, and that is why many make this mistake in writing.

   Another bugaboo for me is then and than. Often people confuse them in written form. “It’s bigger then an elephant” is incorrect. It should be “It’s bigger than an elephant.” I have seen this used incorrectly by writers, students, teachers and everyone in between. Just ask dh about my rants on the subject. This too comes from the way we pronounce the words in spoken English.

4. dbrown3400 on 26 Oct 2009 at 4:48 am #

   One that really bothers me is “George and me went to the store” rather than “George and I went to the store.” Or worse, “Me and George went to the store.”

   And I’m with Free on the then and than. One of my pet peeves.

5. dbrown3400 on 26 Oct 2009 at 4:53 am #

   Another one that’s offensive is the “your”, “you’re”, usage. That falls in the same category as B’s “three Ts.”

6. Trini on 26 Oct 2009 at 5:05 am #

   I’m spanish (and I live in Spain) and my english is very bad, so please excuse me if I write something wrong. Please be patient with me. Anyway, in Spain I think we have the same problem of bad grammar, poor sentence structure and terrible spelling, especially in young people. I’m Human Resources Consultant and is terrible to read curriculum vitae with many lack of spelling… very sad…

7. Kim on 26 Oct 2009 at 5:52 am #

   I admit that my grammar is far from perfect, but my all-time pet peeve is “the reason is because.” I absolutely can’t stand it and it’s very common, both in writing and in speech.

8. LoriHandeland on 26 Oct 2009 at 5:54 am #

   I haven’t seen anything lately but I hear “wrong” things all the time. My problem (former English teacher) is that I can’t help but correct it. Drives IV nuts. I managed to tone my corrections down to a mutter, so now I seem like a crazy, muttering writer all the time.

   I do think texting is part of the issue. I’m glad my kids learned to write before texting became huge. I always laugh because IV will say “You wrote those papers for them,” which I NEVER do. I have to point out that all my annoying correcting made them decent writers. Ha.

9. Cail on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:01 am #

   I actually think a lot of the problems stem from the instant gratification world of news. No one has time to really read what they wrote before it goes straight to the newspaper website.

   I’m not great with some of those issues you all talked about. I’m a victim of the ‘Whole Language’ movement where we were not taught how to spell very well. Speaking of very well… I HATE when people say “I did good on that test.” You’ve got “well” and you’ve got “good.” Good is an adjective. Use it properly.

   I also hate when people try to sound smart by saying. “He went to the store with George and I.” That bothers me more than “Me and George went to the store.”

   I just learned the difference between ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ last week. I somehow doubt I’ll manage to learn how to use them at this point in my life.

10. Pesky on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:31 am #

    If it was a small personal blog I could have let this one pass…but it was a professional website that was talking about the synopsis of an upcoming movie….which now I will start giggling at every time I see due to this statement…

    “…causing the main character to flea to Italy” (Bet it was a long trip for Master Itchy. Issue is the guy playing the main part had a rumor going around that he never washed his hair a while back, which he debunked. I wonder if he’s going to have to straighten out the flea issue as well.)

    Luckily he’s going to be saved by the heroine that flew after him. I hope she brought some Frontline or Advantage with her.

11. Sabrina Jeffries on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:40 am #

    One of the ones that drives me nuts is “loose” and “lose.” I see it in published books and articles all the time. When the hero worries about “loosing” his heroine, I want him locked up!

    That one really drives me nuts.

12. Chloe Harris (Noelle) on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:43 am #

    I don’t mind the “Have you Eat Yet” It’s a southern colloquialism not really bad grammar. It something everyone’s grandparents said knowing it wasn’t really correct. But normally the phrase is “Did ya eat yet”, “have you” is much too formal.

13. Kathy on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:50 am #

    lol Pesky!
    I often find myself gramatically incorrect.
    On facebook, I just want to correct everyone’s spelling. If I’m not sure of a spelling, I google the word. It isn’t hard to do people!
    It also drives me crazy when people trying to sound smart, use words they can’t even pronounce.
    Makes me cringe.
    I have this problem though, I tend to “blend” my words when tired. I’ll start saying one word and change midway through and end up with a completely new word. The other day I blended pretty and lovely and got leety. Was that a brain fart or what?

14. evlqn on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:56 am #

    I really hate bad grammar and texting could be part of the issue, however, I noticed the downswing a long time ago. I think the problem started when they stopped actually teaching the children in school and sent home printouts for the parents to do with them.
    The kids don’t study from books anymore so they have nothing to go to for reference,unless you live at my house, where there are hundreds of reference books. The solution the schools have come up with is sent the assignments home and let the parents and the kids use the internet for any questions.
    I am taking online college courses and I am appalled at the lack of skills some of my fellow students have. Even when they say they use spell checker and the grammar guides their writing is atrocious.

    Pesky,I’m with you,when I see something like that, it warps my perception forever.

    Trini, as long as you can use your own language properly, you can be forgiven any difficulties you might have with ours.

15. evlqn on 26 Oct 2009 at 6:58 am #

    Any mistakes in grammar I have made ,remember I haven’t had any coffee yet. That’s a legal defense in 5 states.

16. kay on 26 Oct 2009 at 7:17 am #

    I have a number of problems with grammar. First of all my father was from the Appalachian area, so, he had a strong accent, which I later learned was a Scot-Irish dialect. My mother, on the other hand had a Pennsylvania Dutch dialect/accent or Swiss/German. Plus, I could not translate the sound that certain words make into my own spoken words. So, I had some problems growing up. I tried to correct it..by being really aware of what I was saying, but there are times, still, when I get excited and go too fast that a word slips in and some well meaning person corrects me. I find that irritating and embarrassing, but since it takes a very long time to inform people about regional dialects and their origins, I usually just let it slide. I also remember correcting my parents, and I feel guilty about it now that I’ve learned about dialects. The written word can be a problem also, I have a tenancy to think faster than I write.

17. Claudia Dain on 26 Oct 2009 at 7:22 am #

    Oh, yeah, drives me nuts. But *I* think the problem started long before texting. Language is a spoken thing first, writing and rules following in its (notice I didn’t spell =it’s=) wake. So when I heard teachers and talking heads on TV using bad grammar twenty and thirty years ago my ears bled…and now certain grammar boinks have =almost= become standard English.

    The language changes. The rules change to match the language. This doesn’t feel right to me, but it’s the nature of language.

    This is why 80% of the population ends a sentence with “at.” ARGH! I still can’t stop the bleeding from my ears!

18. Julia London on 26 Oct 2009 at 7:31 am #

    I’m with evlqn. I do things so fast on the web that mistakes creep in, so I am going to tread carefully here.

    One of the things that bugs me is getting emails from fans written in text language. I have to read the thing twice to understand it. I guess I am not so hip when it comes to texting — I tend to spell properly when I text.

19. evlqn on 26 Oct 2009 at 7:40 am #

    Last night when we checked the g-sons text messages,(yes the text police live here), we needed a translator. One little bimbette got a heck of a shock when we made one of our guys send her a message that no he would not get her alcohol now or at any time in the future. He had the choice of telling her or we would tell her mother for her.

20. SheridanLA on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:02 am #

    5 or so years ago, i worked in a mall… the slogan they were using was “The things that Westfield do!” it STILL drives me batty. Of course, if I am wrong about that one, please correct me so I can let it go.. but it should be “does” not do.. right??

    My latest is the rather prevalent use of “dosent” as the spelling for “doesn’t”

    I am so with all of you also on the “it’s/its” and three T’s and the loose/lose…. people are relying solely on spell check now and not on proofreading.

21. ladydawgfan on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:03 am #

    One of my major pet peaves is when people turn verbs into nouns and vice versa. When in the heck did “disrespect” become a VERB????? You SHOW disrespect, you don’t disrespect someone!! GRRRRR!

22. Freshechelle on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:07 am #

    Ha!!! That last one was from my hometown paper. That headline slays me. Hopefully it doesn’t slay any cops.

    There is a man who goes around the US offering to correct signs for businesses who haven’t prufred (sic) their signs. It’s funny and benign when one is in a foreign country, it’s sad when it happens at home.

23. Sabrina Jeffries on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:44 am #

    Kathy, I do the blending words thing, too! How weird is that?

24. TrishD on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:59 am #

    I agree with everything!

    My biggest pet peeve? Double negatives. “I don’t got no time to go to the store.” They’re as bad as finger nails down a chalk board. This is closely followed by “baby momma” and “baby daddy” and the overuse of the word “got”.

25. Suzanne Enoch on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:16 am #

    Karen, thank’s for the pluge about my book. Ill be bloging more about it to’moroe.

    (Man, that was hard to do. My delete finger is twitching. *g*)

26. LauraR on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:19 am #

    Bad grammar is so jarring it makes reading feel very choppy. I had to read Suzanne’s three times before I understood it fully. sheesh!

27. Karen Hawkins on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:26 am #

    My blood pressure went up reading these … should of (ACK!), they’re and their and there, your and you’re, then and than, loose and lose – ARRRRGH! Those things drive me CRAZY.

    I’m not talking about the accidentally incorrect spelling unless it’s a professional issue, but the constant incorrect use of some of these things.

    Chloe, I’ve heard “Did you eat yet?” from the time I was a child, too! But you’re right about the ‘too formal’ aspect because the “Have you eat yet?” still fell very hard upon my delicate Southern ears. But then I’ve lived in TN, VA, GA, and FL. Maybe it’s more of a colloquialism in other Southern states?

    Eviqn, I had stronger English skills when I graduated from high school than my kids, but weaker math skills. I think some of the emphasis has changed and it’s sad that they’re not as prepared to present themselves as well with their language.

28. Karen Hawkins on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:34 am #

    On my gosh, how did I forget it’s and its? I just had a lengthy conversation with my son over that.

    Some of texting completely goes over my head. Or under my radar. Or just in one eye and out the other. Texting my stepdaughter has really opened my eyes to a lot of thing.

    Have you guys heard of LEET, the text language? Wiki it. It had a following for a while, but seems to be on the downswing. Thank goodness because I could never follow it.

    Suzanne, hawt water and a shot of bourbon will relax that twitchy delete key. Does it for me all of the time.

29. Gwynlyn MacKenzie on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:39 am #

    I live in PA and am sure you are all thrilled to know you’ve got a friend here. As for me, it irritates me everytime I look at a license plate or hear a tourism commercial. No, not that you are lucky enough to have a friend, but because you’ve GOT one. Hello? When did HAVE cease to function as a verb unless followed by GOT? It’s so prevelent now no one even seems to notice—except me. It makes me cringe every time.

30. Kim on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:43 am #

    LOL! Can I please plead the fifth on this K-Hawk. um, since I send most of my stuff to you for grammar and punctuation fixing. ha!

    Absolutely its gotten worse. Anthony is having fits right now with his English teacher. English isn’t her first language and she doesn’t have a good grasp of it either. She keeps dinging him and he’s right!

31. TrishD on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:45 am #

    Gwynlyn, I notice and it makes me cringe too!

32. Janae on 26 Oct 2009 at 9:52 am #

    I know the bad grammar started WAY before texting, but it’s so much easier to blame something current. My dad and my sil both use ‘we was’ all the freaking time, and it DRIVES me nuts. Growing up I used to correct my dad all the time, but gave up in college.

    I agree with everything that’s been said. Add the misuse of effect and affect. Pronouns. For example, Steve and Joe went to his house to play wii. However when they arrived at Steve’s, his sister was already playing the wii. However, the his refers back to Joe since his name is the last proper noun used, when it should be Steve.

33. Claudia Dain on 26 Oct 2009 at 10:27 am #

    Karen, I think you’re right. Math skills have been focused on in a major way for the past, what?, 15 years? More? That’s fine, but English is our Mother Tongue! This was my constant battle cry when I taught high school English. You have to know your Mother Tongue! How hard can it be??

    Very hard, obviously.

    I just read a book where West, East were capitalized. They are not supposed to be! “He went north on I-95.” is the correct usage. And this was a published book! Where was the copy editor?

    The seasons aren’t capped either, as long as I’m on this rant.

34. Louisa Edwards on 26 Oct 2009 at 10:36 am #

    The last time my husband and I ate out at the nicest restaurant in our little town, I had to forcibly restrain myself from getting up and correcting the multiple spelling errors on their Specials chalkboard. Granted, there were some complicated and/or foreign words but still. Is it so hard to look the tricky ones up?

    Not a grammar issue, per se, but it still drove me up the wall. And stems from the same laziness and anything-goes attitude that leads to poor grammar, I think.

35. Pesky on 26 Oct 2009 at 10:38 am #

    As long as it isn’t absolutely atrocious spelling and grammar I tend to be more amused than outraged. I’m terrible with typing something up really fast and sending it. I do proof for work since it’s part of my job, but if I’m sending a quick post I can really mess it up.

    How you present yourself in the written and spoken language is something that is causing employers to become very concerned. Brilliant minds that cannot communicate their point succinctly and accurately are fairly useless. Part of my job is translating the brilliant computer minds into english that can be understood by the masses.

    I can’t blame the teachers for this phenomenon of poor communication, they have had to add advanced courses to common curriculum in order for our children to be able to interact with modern society. What do I mean by this? Calculus used to be a Senior prep course, it is now taught in 8th grade in our local school district. They teach it because now they have to add, computers and ecology and modern science and literature and all courses designed so the school can pass “No Child Left Behind.”

    So now I just ask myself, did they accurately communicate their point? All’s good

36. Chloe Harris (Noelle) on 26 Oct 2009 at 11:49 am #

    Karen – you know the more I think about it, “Have you eat yet” on the menu might just be a transplant getting the colloquialism “did you eat yet” wrong. And in that case I am in total agreement with you.

    It’s a good thing you went last weekend. There was a rock slide yesterday and they are saying parts of I-40 will be closed for up to three months near the NC/TN line. Bad news for ski season.

37. Sweet Jane on 26 Oct 2009 at 12:07 pm #

    KarenH, I had a laugh looking at your pictures. Actually, bad grammar can make me either sick or laugh out loud, depending on the context… I’m more tolerant when it’s only the menu’s translation, when you can get steack or pastas or whatever. I’ll usually jusr make fun of it.

    But yes, I can get pretty pissed off if it’s a case when people are expected to know how to write. Then I’m with B and Freedom Writer… One of the contexts in which it annoys me most is when people are showing off their stories, novels and whatnot. As I read, I’ll keep thinking: That probably doesn’t mean what you think, or: You can’t say it like that, or: Get a course on punctuation! Bad punctuation can really ruin a text.

    I’m also doing the same thing as Kathy and Sabrina. My thoughts go quicker than my tongue, and I’ll just contract two or more words in one (hardly realizing it at times). A creepier version of that is when I speak of something and think of something different at the same time… I’ll suddenly slip the wrong word in the middle of a sentence, unwittingly revealing my secret thoughts. It can be embarrassing.

38. Karen Hawkins on 26 Oct 2009 at 12:50 pm #

    Oh, effect and affect! That makes me wince.

    Pesky, my brother is a brilliant computer mind and devours books like candy, but good luck getting the boy to write a note containing a complex sentence structure. He thinks quickly and writes quickly. His grammar is good, but choppy, choppy, choppy!

    Like most of you, I have different tolerance levels for different types of writing. Casual writing — blog posts like these or notes to people or anything grocery-list-like are written in haste and I’ve been known to leave out an occasional letter or misspell something. But when you’re putting something out there for public consumption, then you need to use those ancient grammar school skills. The problem is, so much of the writing kids do today is casual so they have very few chances to exercise their ‘public grammar.’

    Chloe, we drove on that very road last weekend! I even mentioned to Hot Cop as we were driving that the mountains were made of shale and limestone and very unstable and frequently had landslides. He scoffed, saying he ‘couldn’t imagine’ there being so many landslides on such a heavily used road. Ha! Nature showed him!

39. Beth C. on 26 Oct 2009 at 12:53 pm #

    Okay, I’m going to step up and say I have problems with English and it is the only language I speak. I hate languages. I love science…it follows a step by step process and there is only one path to follow at a time.

    English has exceptions to every rule. It changes at the drop of the hat. One or two spaces after a period? Only use contractions when speaking is now use contractions all the time. And while in my head I may know they’re is the word I want…sometimes the body types there. It’s not conscious…it just happens.

    And I’m even worse at spelling. How can you find out how to spell a word if you can’t find it in the dictionary?

40. Rachel Gibson on 26 Oct 2009 at 1:36 pm #

    It seems to me that the older my children get, the less they speak proper English. It drives me insane, and yes, I correct them.

    Just last night my 23 yr old son asked, “can you borrow me 20 bucks?” I was shocked. I told him, “No. I can’t borrow you a damn thing until you can use proper English.” So irritating.

41. TerryS on 26 Oct 2009 at 2:33 pm #

    Tweets and text messages are just convenient excuses. Several years ago (before tweets and text messaging) I saw my all time favorite example of poor grammar on a sign outside the local charity store.

    50% off
    all used
    seniors
    this weekend

42. Nicole Jordan on 26 Oct 2009 at 2:34 pm #

    LOL, Karen. I’m with you all the way about poor English.

    But I admit I have some pet peeves, like using subjective case after a preposition instead of objective case. “Going to the store with you and I” drives me nuts.

    And then there are lots of things I probably get wrong that don’t bother me at all — in fact I actively sin.

    “How are you doing?”
    “I’m good,” I answer. OR “Not so good.”

    Technically I should say “I’m well.” But I never do that.

    Also when I call someone on the phone who can recognize my voice, I identify myself by saying “It’s me.” Now I know very well that the proper case is “It is I.” But it’s second nature to do say “me.”

    What really drives me nuts is if I find improper usage in novels, especially Regencies, where the upper classes should know correct usage. I’ve even had copy editors change my text incorrectly! Boy, that really gets my goat.

    Rachel, love your answer to your son!

43. Trini on 26 Oct 2009 at 2:48 pm #

    Evlqn, I agree with everything you say. Since I can remember I always read very, very, much and I like to write too, so for that reason I think I hate bad grammar. I am a woman of letters not of sciences, I do not know to add two more two without a calculator (yes I confess it, I am a donkey and very clumsy with the numbers). I always have presumptuous to write correctly and without lack of spelling (in spanish, because my english is pathetic). However, I try to see movies in english and the same with internet to improve. As I can see, thanks to all you I will be able to improve much more. Thanks

44. Sarah on 26 Oct 2009 at 2:51 pm #

    You know what makes my brain explode every time? Using cause instead of because. It’s fine in texts when it’s all about short, sweet and cut out letters, but news letters, magazine articles (I wish I was kidding) and emails are off limits! Two different words, two different meanings. I suppose I could live with ’cause, since it would at least indicate something is supposed to be in fronts… but even that seems too much to ask

45. LauraR on 26 Oct 2009 at 3:00 pm #

    Thought of another word misuse, whose and who’s.

    The grammar mistakes that most drive me crazy are the obvious mistakes in books that should have been proofread and corrected before (printing and) I *bought* the book!

46. Pesky on 26 Oct 2009 at 3:09 pm #

    Karen. Short and concise is great! I love the guys that do that! Makes my job just that much easier. It’s when I have to go through pages of text so I can get to the point that drives me nuts. If you need to type in a command, that’s how you start the page. Explanation about why should be a couple of paragraphs at most or notated in the appendix.

47. Cail on 26 Oct 2009 at 4:44 pm #

    i just thought of another one that bothers me. Shrimps. It’s not shrimps! UGH.

48. Mari on 26 Oct 2009 at 5:14 pm #

    Texting has led to the demise of the english language, I am convinced. My kids write in “text speak” all the time and it drives me crazy. But they pay me no mind when I tell them it will hurt them on term papers and such, because they can just use the spell check function!

49. Karen Hawkins on 26 Oct 2009 at 7:13 pm #

    Beth, we all do that sometimes. Like I said, it’s not the casual misuse that bothers me, it’s when people don’t even try to know the rules. You’re right — some of them are confusing, especially spelling!

    Pesky, here’s what an email from my brother is like:

    K-

    Bought 10. Ok?

    R-

    OR, if he’s feeling particularly chatty,

    K-

    I bought 10. Ok?

    R-

    He’s so brief that sometimes I’ll read an email from him and wonder what in the heck he’s talking about, so I’ll call him to find out. He’s talkative in person, just not on paper. Concise is good, but he’s so bare bones he forgets things like, oh TOPICS.

50. Karen Hawkins on 26 Oct 2009 at 7:35 pm #

    It’s funny, but MSN.com has funny headlines as one of their articles today. Check these out:

    McDonald’s Fries the Holy Grail to Potato Farmers
    Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
    Lucky Man Sees Pals Die
    Scientists at Loss after Brain-eating Amoeba
    Confusion Caused by Crash Blossoms

    And my personal favorite,

    Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

    Heh!

51. Pesky on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:21 pm #

    K

    It’s all good.

    P

52. Sabrina Jeffries on 26 Oct 2009 at 8:39 pm #

    Karen, at least your brother writes you e-mails. My brother puts the entirety of his message in the subject line, and when you open the e-mail, there’s nothing there. Now THAT’S succinct!

53. Noelle Pierce on 27 Oct 2009 at 5:05 pm #

    Oh. My. Goodness. (Yes, those are fragments as sentences. For emphasis. *g*)

    This is such a big deal for me. When I was in sixth grade, our English teacher used to drill us with sentence upon sentence, teaching us to recognize subject, verb, prepositions, objects, adverbs, adjectives, etc. She was our teacher for three years. Taking two languages in school taught me about different verb tenses and conjugation (and was more helpful than any English class I took, beyond those three years with the grammar police, whom I loved). Enter years of technical writing in graduate school and my punctuation is set.

    Now I’m a college professor and it takes me an hour to grade one paper which is only four pages long. I can’t NOT correct the spelling errors, the grammar errors, and the poor writing in general. It’s like a compulsion. I don’t think it’s all the fault of texting, either, though I’ve gotten my share of papers with “u” and “2b” instead of “you” and “to be.” [deleted expletive]

54. Patricia Barraclough on 27 Oct 2009 at 11:35 pm #

    You have me wondering, which of our local cafes did you stop by? The poor grammar really does get to me. Yes, we are Yankee transplants, but good english is good english no matter where you live. I listen to the adults and children at the library where I work and cringe. I hate correcting my grandsons so often, but my daughter knows better. Her husband thinks it’s funny. I keep trying to explain “If you sound ignorant, you will be treated that way.” Texting hasn’t helped much. Online sites where short cut english (for lack of a better phrase) is the norm do not help. I listen to some of the teachers and am really disappointed. They have finished college and still don’t use the language properly.
    I’ve noticed more typos and editing mistakes in books, magazines, and newspapers than ever before. It is frustrating to be reading a book and want to take a red pen to it because there are so many errors.
    I think the schools need to go back to teaching basics or do a better job of it if they already are.

55. Karen Hawkins on 28 Oct 2009 at 9:33 am #

    Pesky, you’re such a wag!

    Noelle, I had the same problem when I was a college instructor for American Government and International Relation classes. I ALWAYS gave a percentage of the grade for grammar. I would get some papers that were simply unreadable, while others were very well written. Oddly, the ones in the middle were the most difficult to grade. Bad grammar and good grammar are easy to address, but mediocre grammar takes a lot of work to grade. Don’t you think or was it just me?

    Patricia, we stopped by a small place called Scotty’s. The food was great, the wait staff and cook colorful, and the people very friendly.Even though their slogan wasn’t quite what I’d have used, we’ll definitely go back!

56. Jo Lynne Valerie on 28 Oct 2009 at 8:06 pm #

    I happened upon your blog because I was on another blog… And anyway – THANKS FOR THIS, I literally cracked up right out loud. SO FUNNY. Now I’m inspired to take a photo of a horribly misspelled sign that IRKS me every time I see it! Thanks again.

57. yoshian on 22 Nov 2009 at 7:25 pm #

    I don’t know how to start this and whether I write it correctly. I live in Indonesia and English is not our second language. I always find that people using Thanks God instead of Thank God which makes me confuse which one is the correct one. Hope you can help me.

    p.s. I think Thank God is the right one.

    Thanks