On Saturday, Matt and I were running a few errands. There were some things we wanted to pick up for the Paradise Red Shoe Crew Walk for Families (a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House NL). The walk was on Sunday and as one of the three co-chairs, I’m thrilled to say we did very well for our first walk. We had over 60 walkers and raised almost $3,500!
Back to Saturday…
I’m not sure if I was just hyper-sensitive to the grammar fails that I encountered or if it was the universe was in alignment to show me the sad state of affairs within general society.
Here are some painful things we saw:
This mess was found on a bathroom stall in a Walmart. I need to carry around a felt pen so that I can respond with: “you are” very bad at grammar.
“Why can’t I just go to your website? Why do I have to Google search to find it?” Little bit of redundancy on Kenmount Road.
Found taped inside a car at a Sobeys parking lot. At least the owner has a sense of humour. I can appreciate that.
I realize that my grammar isn’t always stellar, but when you’re trying to be witty insulting or publicly representing your company, maybe make an effort to avoid looking foolish?
Seeing these errors caused me to shake my head in shame. I can recall the many reminders our class received while attending Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations Program. Christine, Gary, and Ted were among the instructors that constantly reminded us that correct grammar is not a suggestion, it’s a MUST. You can’t say “Oh I don’t know if it should be there, their, or they’re… let’s just pick one at random and hope that it’s correct.”
What’s the worse grammar fail you’ve encountered? Do you have any bad habits that you find yourself falling into now and then?
Funny enough, I’ve caught myself doing “you’re” when I just want to say “your.” Probably because I’ve grilled it into my head that “you’re” is often neglected and forgotten by many in the general population.
So many grammar fails to count! But the ones that bug me along with the abuse of you/your/you are/your’re has to be the there/they’re/their as well as then/than! What ever happened to practicing “safe grammar”!? I die a little inside each time I see grammar fails, but seriously love funny grammar fails. For example, for the longest time the large neon sign out front of Parkdale pharmacy in St. John’s was advertising new positions in their store. The sign finished off with “see head inside”. Not a huge grammar infraction here, but side splitting none the less!
Steph,
I hear ya sister! Their/there/they’re incorrectly used makes my soul die a little. Then/than – not acceptable abuses either. It’s not always possible to be perfect. Heck, I run to Google and check “breath vs. breathe” every now and then because I second guess myself.
Grammar errors such as they’re/their or its/it’s are an issue because they are jarring to the reader, disrupting the flow of words, even in the simplest of uses. It doesn’t change the meaning—we all know what the writer intended—it just makes us work harder to read. It exposes the laziness of the writer/editor and calls other details into question.
Great examples photo, btw.
I agree Stephen. When I’m reading something and the wrong there/their or its/it’s is used, I know the difference, but I usually make a mental note of the mistake. It disrupts my train of thought on what I’m reading. You’re described it really well to say it’s jarring.
I see people misspell things all the time (often in email) and it makes me wonder why they don’t care. Running a spell check doesn’t take more than a minute. Heck, a lot of browsers have automatic spell checking built in. We’re all busy, but why make grammar suffer when you have time to share that cute cat photo?
Thanks for commenting!