Posted on 08/30/2015 10:38:18 AM PDT by B4Ranch
Proper grammar seems to be a thing of the past -- why stress about tiny technicalities, right? Wrong.
You should be a grammar stickler for many reasons. Do you want to risk turning off potential clients, employers and connections because of grammatical mistakes?
Many people are so concerned with what they are saying in an email or text message that they completely forget to pay attention to how they are saying it. If you chose to turn grammar mode off when you are communicating with friends, that is one thing, but there is absolutely no reason to send a professional communication that contains errors.
Here are six grammatical errors that are so simple, yet such common offenders. Make sure you aren’t making them.
This is probably the most common mistake I see on social media, in text messages and in emails. This one is real simple -- if you are trying to say “you are” then “you’re” is correct. If you are talking about something that belongs to you, such as “your car” then you use “your.”
Many people confuse these and don’t even realize they are doing it. It’s real easy -- “two” is a number, “too” is an adverb that means “also,” and “to” is a preposition used to express motion, direction, limit of movement, contact, a point of limit in time, purpose, intention and destination -- to name a few.
For example:
“I would like to become an entrepreneur.”
“I too would like to become an entrepreneur.”
What should have been squared away in third grade continues to haunt grammar police on a daily basis. The there/their/they’re mistake is common -- but it’s really simple to avoid.
Use “they’re” when you are trying to say “they are.”
“Their” should be used when you are indicating possession.
Finally, “there” needs to be used when referring to a location.
Example: "They're going to love working there. Their company culture is amazing!"
This one is really just pure laziness rather than a grammatical mistake. Texting has completely ruined grammar and you/u is a perfect example. I understand that “u” is perfectly acceptable if you are texting a friend and are in a rush -- but it’s not acceptable in a professional email.
Here is an excerpt of an email I received last week from a C-level executive who is in charge of a company that does business worth several hundreds of millions of dollars every year:
… that would be gr8! Talk to u soon!
He managed to nail two text slangs back to back like a champ. Again, if it was a text message, fine -- but a professional email is no place for this. This email is actually what sparked me to write this article, so thank you grammatically challenged C-level executive.
When you are talking about time you use “then” and when you are making a comparison you use “than.” It really shouldn’t be that difficult to distinguish what one to use:
“We are going to grab a quick bite to eat and then head back to the office.”
“This new software update is much better than the previous version.”
This one confuses a lot of people, mainly due to the apostrophe, which typically symbolizes possession. Use “it’s” when you are trying to say “it is” and use “its” when you are looking for the possessive form of “it.”
“I looked at its owners manual to get the correct settings.”
“It’s a beautiful day outside.”
What are some other grammar mishaps that drive you nuts? Share them in the comments section below.
Lose/loose/loser/looser
Can we just coin a new word “Looze” to end the confusion once and for all, for the word “Lose” , for the meaning of
relinquishing possession, or suffering defeat?
Lady Mariya and Stannis would make a good Grammar team:
Amerei: “He brought them the gold they asked for, but they hung him anyway.”
Mariya: “Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry.””
>>effect/affect is like quickie IQ test<<
Whenever I’m unsure which to use, I just type “impact” and spare them both.
>>Makes my day when somebody says “your an idiot.”<<
Even better when they say “your a idiot.”
‘A’ vs. ‘an’ is a huge pet peeve of mine.
thank you for the encouragement! I’ll keep your post for future reference. :)
You can’t be too ambiguous.
I agree, as an engineer, that many of us are poor writers, but are you aware of the already brutal cirriculum? Where would you shove in another couple English classes?
Irregardless...
Oh, I could only wish! I turn on every spelling and grammar checker that comes within reach. ;-D
I have trouble remembering dates as well. History was always interesting, but I always scored low on tests. I can never seem to recall the dates of events. My wife can testify against me in this matter.
While technical stuff makes sense to me and stays with me while I work, I have to try really hard to appear literate. ;-D
Sigh. You make a good point.
When I went through engineering, a Bachelors took about 20% more credit hours than most other Bachelors degrees (e.g., arts, English, political science, or business). On top of that, I took a few general arts and business classes including a “graduate” level business finance class. They were jokes compared to my engineering classes. For most of them, I’d show up the first day, read the book the first two weeks, then show up for the midterms and final — and ace the class. Would not have dreamed of doing that with my engineering classes. (To be fair, I did actually attend a few of the finance classes, but that was mostly because of the blonde who liked to sit next to me and then have me tutor her after class. LOL.)
Then again, my parents taught me proper grammar and writing when I was in grade school. They also taught me math up to trig, basic science, and a love of reading. So maybe this is not a fair comparison.
So again, you make a good point.
I used to review resumes for a large business where I was on the hiring committee. Two spelling errors meant that the resume went into the circular file (trash).
Now that was an awesome rant! By the way, well said. I agree 100%! (Another pet peeve of mine: there is no such thing as more than 100% in terms of effort or agreement.)
Your comments negates your point. In particular, the spelling and grammar in your comment was excellent. Think you might be selling yourself a little short in those regards.
Not trying to be snarky. I’ve seen your posts before. You write quite well and clearly have a very logical mind.
LOL. I had a typo in my response. Should have been “Your comment,” not “Your comments.” Your grammar was better than mine!
Thank you so much. FR isn't usually the fountain of compliments.
I stick close to spelling and grammar checkers, thus emulating literacy. ;-D
Truthfully, I struggle with spelling. I write a lot of technical documents, perhaps more than my share because most of my peers avoid that task.
I also hunt-and-peck to type, and have been doing that since entering college way back in 1967. Being a rather stubborn and rebellious cuss, I was sure typing was of no use to me. Now I am reaching the end of a long career in computer science ... after writing God knows how much code. Sometimes I think that writing software and engineering papers fosters terrible spelling since mnemonics are prevalent in that text. Add in a touch of dyslexia; and, it is simply a miracle that anyone can read what I write.
Thanks again for your friendly comments.
“If you want to impress me, explain rocket motor performance in terms of the principles thermodynamic and fluid dynamics. Please factor in the affects of particulate masses of various combustion byproducts for the fuel/oxidizer of your choice.”
Why would I try to explain something I’ve never studied and know very little about. And who said I wanted to impress you?
“Spelling and grammar are not even remotely an indication of intelligence.”
Definitely wrong. Intelligence is the ability to absorb, assimilate and retain information and knowledge, which means intelligence is directly related to a person’s ability to learn anything, including tie your shoelaces. Not being able to learn spelling and grammar - or worse, ignoring them - is an indication of lesser intelligence capability.
“Most engineers can’t spell worth a crap;...”
I find it humorous that I’m still seeing people trot out the engineer defense after almost 20 years pointing out spelling and grammar deficiencies online...The same would go for architect, but I suspect most can’t spell it.
A person can go through college with a C average and still be an engineer. Which equates to an IQ (Intelligence Quotient, the ability to assimilate knowledge) of around 85 to 90. Genius is 120.
“Most engineers can’t spell worth a crap; however, they can land vehicles on Mars.”
And here I was thinking it was NASA that did that...silly me...
I’ve always wondered how many of those engineers’ brilliant ideas were sent back because they couldn’t possibly be actually manufactured. I know how many times I had to make custom cutting tools in 8 years as a machinist because some brilliant engineer drew something on paper that no standard cutting tool made would do.
NASA is an organization that has scientists and engineers on its payroll. NASA also contracts work out to aerospace companies; and, they employ scientists and engineers as well as tradesmen. I assure you, it is always the scientists and engineers that design NASA's hardware and flight characteristics. The organization is quite inert without its PEOPLE.
And who said I wanted to impress you?
Ditto. We are conversing about your misguided notions.
Intelligence is the ability to absorb, assimilate and retain information and knowledge...Not being able to learn spelling and grammar...is an indication of lesser intelligence capability.
You have included only a part of the definition. From Merriam:
...the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : reason; also : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria...
Spelling is RULE based and somewhat arbitrary rules at that. Intelligence is the ability to make correct observations and process knowledge into solutions.
I know how many times I had to make custom cutting tools in 8 years as a machinist because some brilliant engineer drew something on paper that no standard cutting tool made would do.
None of the machines and cutters you use came from RULE based rote activity. They all came from problem solving "outside of the box". This is one of the things intelligence does: Solves problems by creating new machines, processes, and materials. Spelling and grammar have NEVER participated in that effort. They are used to document the new stuff "after the fact". The documentation is usually edited for public dissemination by someone other than the original author. (We used to call those secretary pools.)
I am somewhat familiar with machinists. All I have met are brilliant, high on the IQ scale. Their problem solving aptitude is usually stunning. None of them got to where they are because they spell well or keep their grammar in order. They are brilliant problem solvers.
I worked many years as a software/electronics engineer. I took machine shop courses while in high school, and now maintain a machine shop of my own as a hobby. From the very beginning I regarded machinists as my intellectual equal or superior, and was never disappointed. Machinists have taught me a great deal through the years; so, I appreciate machinists as much as any engineer or scientist. It is a fact that my machinist friends and I have made some pretty neat machinery just by working happily together.
I have observed the snobbishness that some engineers hold for machinists. I try to set them straight whenever I can. Depending on the school they attended, this correction may not take place. Those types are usually problematic even for other engineers.
Please understand that the mind of an engineer is often different from your own. Machinists have minds where better memory is one predominate difference.
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