Personalities of the Grammar Police

Duplicate thread.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/107158/Google-Eye-s

;-)

I've noticed that CR4 members aren't shy about pointing out typos, misused homonyms, and other errors of omission or commission.

While others members give the above members something to due and keep them occupied..... :-O

E.g., due, dew, do, and doodoo are not interchangeable.

--Ed. C.

Thank you,

My work is almost dun here. :-P

People who notice grammatical error are probably educated enough to recognize them as errors.

Quite.

Indeed!¡ Although I am an engineer, I also take care to present things grammatically correct. These days most people do not know the difference. Reference back to the thread about common core math and you will find a lot of reasons/clues as to why.

I wince a little when I read errors (not saying that I don't make any). It always makes me wonder how some of those people got to where they are today, after all, mastery of language(along with other things of course) and it's use is what really is supposed to set human beings above all other creatures.

"grammatically correctly" (but that is an inconvenient and cumbersome construct), or, more properly "in a grammatically correct fashion".

Although I am an engineer, I also take care to present things grammatically correct.

I believe that "correct" is correct. It's called an objective complement and modifies "things".

"An objective complement can be a noun or an adjective which follows the direct object renaming or modifying it. It is used with verbs like make, name, call, choose, elect, and appoint."

http://www.dailygrammar.com/Lesson-196-Objective-Complement.htm

I stand correct(ed)!

My post was a light-hearted (and unfortunately, probably light-brained) attempt to join in the humor. No offense was intended, but I do appreciate the enlightenment your reply brings. I have been a voracious reader since childhood, and as a result, I tend to edit according to how a text "feels" to me. But since English IS a changing language, that does not, as is probably the case here, always serve me well.

Thank you again, and I hope I have not caused offense. If I have, please accept my apology.

None taken!

No I think this is awkward, better to say "things that are grammatically correct" or "things in a grammatically correct manner"....$.02

...and it's use is what really is supposed...

...and its use is what really is supposed...

The apostrophe in "it's" only ever denotes a contraction of "it is"

I failed englinesh class.

Multiple tymes too.

Ruled science and shop class though.

that'll keep 'em busy.

Bugger em'

Grammar Nazi.

They have to be the reason why Einstein bailed out of Germany in 1933. And if my Dyslexia puts me in the same class as or some of these other people, then, the Grammar Nazi's can go suck a rope pencil or ..... damit, how do you spell check something you cant spell to begin with

Just put it out and use the community spell checker ...

Google it, Google will say, "Didn't you mean xxxxxx?" ...and then you can sit and contemplate how this machine is smarter than you....hahaha

That's thymes.

Stop that

I was thrown out of English as I was too disruptive. I found it boring and I let my feelings be known.

I was happier with the technical subjects.

I also passed English with a D- for the very same reasons. And the D- does deservable shows.

I did that in pretty much all my classes where I found gross discrepancies in the accuracy of the way things were presented or the lack thereof.

Spell it like it sounds, they said.

OKay. What if I jyn the militery and becum a Kernal somday, then wat?

(Sent to the principles office for being disruptive.)

I failed speeling two. Tree tymes

Some of us enganeering engeneering enginearing technical people aint arent aren't good at spellin speling speeling , XXX oh @#%*

Good grades in math and science are impotent important!

8 semesturz ago eye cudn't even spel engineer now I are won.

It is possible to do both.

It's not the mistakes that annoy me, it's the attitude that it doesn't matter that get my goat. It really does matter:

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin _{(that's for the British old farts for whom it will bring back memories!)}

In my previous job, I worked on a project where I didn't get to go to the main meeting and whenever I asked a question was told to "read the minutes". Generally, I found they didn't answer the question I had, but hey ho.

One day, I had just finished checking up whether a component was a left-handed widget or a right-handed one, in the minutes, when I overheard a conversation where my boss and colleague (both of whom attended said meeting) told a third person that the widget was left-handed. I re-opened the minutes and checked...as I remembered...it was right-handed.

I ventured to my boss and colleague (whom at that point I outranked) that the widget was in fact right-handed and was snarled and barked at and told to "read the minutes". After pointing out that those were the source of my information, the two read the pertinent entry and my colleague, who had written them, said "Oh, that's not what I meant; they're left-handed. I t doesn't matter, everyone knows."

I pointed out that anyone reading the minutes would "know" they were right-handed." The pair were not amused.

----

As with calcs and designs, it's not the mistake that's the problem, it's not asking someone to check it. I know a number of people who will ask me to check their English in important cases - and I'm glad to do so, and do it without ridicule as none of us are infallible.

"Lawyers get other people to pay for their mistakes.

"Doctors bury their mistakes.

"Managers don't make mistakes; circumstances change.

"If one is an Engineer, and one makes a mistake, it is there for all to see and point at." - Anon.

*(and then there sa the guys liek enthat will poitn back and say if you thingk this is so easy thyou doit you selr..)

And then there are the guys like me that will point back and yell at them and say,"If you think this is so easy then you do it yourself!"

*Pre-proof read and spell check and follow up re-proof read. Seriously, my typing skills stink as bad as my grammar and spelling. Grammar Nazis choke on it!

This guy probably had the most effect on the quality ^{(the deterioration)} of spelling and grammar that wasn't quite what he intended.

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery :-O

#10 and hit the link

How true. When I hire new employees, one of my "rules", actually the first one, if you are not sure, ask. No such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers.

They should check for fowl (sic) play. I'm sure there are a lot of embarrassed people, whose emails have been "corrected", that could be considered as suspects!

I find it an interesting coincidence that this is posted on May the Fourth... Star Wars Day.

The errant syntax of Yoda, for example, would fuel the cerebral apoplexy of any Grammar Nazi that is worth his salt.

coincidences is the world full of.

Coincidences, the world full of, is!

"Nazi's, I hate nazi's" Indiana Jones.

Thanks for the correction....let me have a redo....

"Nazis, I hate these guys" Indiana Jones

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5sp3dIyNA2A

Here's an original.

"Nazi's, I hate nazi's" phoenix911

My work is done here, but your work had just begun.

Well in today's parlance, Indiana Jones "owned" the Nazis....so

I'm just saying that my "Yoda" is better than yours!

My yoda still has the Midwest accent.

Somebody needs to point out the mistakes, lest we be misinterpreted...all we have to work with here is written communication, no body language, no subtle verbal inflection, no facial gestures...somebody once said 90% of communication is non-verbal...when working with so little here, accuracy is critical...Spelling, grammar, punctuation, get it right or be misunderstood....

Go nuts... We need to more self regulated quality. Both professionally and satirically, satirically from mostly by the biggest offenders.

despite typos and grammatical errors, most posts are understandable. I didn't understand what they were saying, apart from who they were, and how clever. Even looking at the diagrams, they don't explain the findings.

cnc jim

A man was crossing the campus at Harvard for the first time,and being quite lost,he asked a passing student:

"Can you tell me where the library's at?"

With nose held high,and a very aloof and superior snort,he replied:

"At Harvard,we do not end a sentence in a proposition!"

"Well,in that case,may I rephrase my question?"

"Certainly!"

"Could you tell me where the library's at........A$$-__ole?"

For those rare timze when you have to make shure that yur spelling is Korrect,chek for content by reading forward,and spelling errors by reading it backwards.

Werkz for me,anyway.

Interesting....

Breaking the Code: Why Yuor Barin Can Raed Tihs

http://www.livescience.com/18392-reading-jumbled-words.html

I always notice but don't correct bad grammar, spelling, or syntax. But there is some ageism in how much it annoys me. If the posting or other communication looks like it was texted from a phone and written by some tat boy with a tow hook in his eyebrow, I'm much more likely to be annoyed. I suppose that is a personality trait.

jhammond

Then there was this time in my former career at a former Fortune 500 company (my "former" status caused by the transition of the company to its "former" status), when there was a big summer rainstorm. This 40 year old dump of a building we were in had a sieve for a roof. On the top floor, there were buckets all over the place to catch the leaks. It took a couple days for the mess to get cleaned up, and the facilities manager must have taken some grief for the slow pace. Apparently feeling badly that she was responsible for the inconvenience to the building tenants, she sent out a contrite note... closing with "I apologize for the incontinence."

Maybe it was a Freudian "slip" (wink,wink)?

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

According to a researcher at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole.

"It doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are..."

Try telling that to the Cambridge University English professor grading your essays.

I took a few night courses in college a few years back... and the instructors/professor dropped the hammer on the students to shape up, they were third and fourth year college students, to they should show it.

Well, they didn't take it seriously, they felt they didn't have to the first (2) years, si why now.(and that is in my opinion, is the colleges fault to let them slide). Well when the hammer dropped for these students to shape up and they didn't, very quickly they began to fail to the point of not being able to recover and had to drop out.

And of course, these same students blamed everyone, Professors, the colleges, the system, they blamed everyone except where the fault really belong to, themselves.

Instead of putting the time in to bring up the quality of their homework, they spent the time instead on getting petitions, grievances together and brought in front of the board. The even had a sit-in protest,... quite a production I must say.

A poor life's choice of these (past-tense) students..

Interesting stuff. I used to be (internally) harsh to those who made common grammar mistakes like the one in this study, until I read one of Emily Dickinson's letters in which she misused "it's." I get the feeling precise grammar is a product of modern education...I've read a lot of manuscripts from the 1800s or earlier that are riddled with misspellings, and it's rare that such errors muddle the meaning of the text.

I've read a lot of manuscripts from the 1800s or earlier that are riddled with misspellings, and it's rare that such errors muddle the meaning of the text.

Maybe so, but their hand writing penmanship was impressive.

My participle is dangling.

Braggart!

There are pills for that.

My tonsils are always the size on the right. It causes an argument when I change doctor (when I move city). One time, I got up and looked at them in his mirror, and said, "No, I was right, they are perfectly normal. If I had tonsillitis, they'd be touching."

He proved as accurate in diagnosing a broken bone in my foot.

and usually the doctor then excuses himself and consults..... 'google'.

Minutiae!

As the child of an English professor and grandson of a grammatically strict lawyer, I find myself unable to ignore such errors when I encounter them. I just try to not editorialize, except when the opportunity presents to have someone hoist on his own petard. My supervisor, who retires today , always seems to struggle with written grammar, but I would never criticize him for that as his meaning is always crystal clear. His boss, the English major, is fair game, and a much more satisfying target.

I do think your average grammar snob conveniently ignores the evolution of language. We do not write and speak as Shakespeare did, nor will our descendants, 400 years from now, speak or write as we do.

And if you can't laugh with others at your own mistakes, you are a pretty poor specimen.

Be careful of your location when using language.

For instance,in England,if you say a lady looks like a million pounds,it is a compliment.

Try that in the states and see what happens.

Also,there are many dialects with word meanings changing over just a few miles,and according to pronunciation:

Example is the word Naked. Pronounced with a long A..means not wearing any clothes.

Down South,the same word,spelled the same way,but pronounced "necked" means

dey ain't got no clothes on and dey is up to sumptin'.

IMHO,the "grammar snob" tends to be those that always paint inside the lines,and believe in strict enforcement of the smallest detail.

They make good engineers,although they can be hard to work with,and often lack diplomacy when dealing with others.

These are the kinds of people that you hire if you want the job done precisely right,according to specs,such as mission critical functions.

NASA comes to mind...well it used to anyway..until it became subservient to the pressure of public relations.

A good company needs a mix of all types,from rough-in to finished product,and all stages in between.

Sorry, but I'll stick my post #27. I suffer Dyslexia, does that make me stupid? If it does, at least I'm not alone.

In my world, " Book Wise" does not mean your educated, unless you have common sense and able to put the common sense to use.

Perfect grammar did not build this world as we know it, pictorial drawings did! The importance of advancement is to be able convey what you(r) doing or what you expect as end result.

What is the correct way to use/spell wright, right, write. rite or .... to each their own. Or, is that there own ....?

I'm so confused now ......

I DON'T have problems with Dyslexia, but I still learn far better by doing than by sitting with books and lecturers. If I can't DO it, I can't "internalize it", or "make it my own". But after taking several Calculus courses I knew I needed in order to be able to do the math I wanted to do, I found that I do the Calc in my head, now.

Books and Professors didn't do that. But tutoring 5 other students, and doing the Calc on the road as I drove a bus across country helped me to get it solidified.

Same thing with Non-Right-Triangle 3-Dimensional Trig. It works, but if you NEED 6 decimal accuracy (I seldom, if ever do), then it takes paper.

But life is about estimation, which equates, in communication, written or otherwise, to "Did that make sense? OK, I knew you'd get what I meant."

And that's what we are doing, when we write it the way it comes out, and don't grammar nazi it to death.

I suffer Dyslexia, does that make me stupid?

Hope you don't write code... especially code with a lot of parentheses.

There's different levels (severity) of dyslexia. Spelling was mine.

I always had a dictionary on my desk at work and fellow co-workers use to tease me about it, but they were also the ones always borrowing it, including the director of maintenance. Then it got to the point I had to lock it in my desk drawer at night because the night shift crew would borrow it and not bring back. After I started locking it up, the teasing stopped and more dictionaries started showing up in the hanger.

And I have wrote coding in the pass with little problems. As long as person knows and understands the area that suffers the dyslexia, they can usually work around it with little problem.

Just wonder what Alexander Graham Bell, Pierre Curie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday, Nikola Tesla, and others would say about the topic?

I have also wrote code... I always installed error checking an routines that were working to pin point problems... The problem I had, I don't beleive it was dyslexia it was more due to 18 hours a day of coding. I loved it a little too much.

At least looking back, I have to say I love it.... Because I have no other explanation.