I understand some people just aren't grammar sticklers. That's alright; I try not to say anything about it. (My secret confession is that I don't always proofread or remember every rule either.)
However, for those times when grammar is important, I've found a really nifty reference: Dr. Grammar's FAQ. Loads of little segments answering those ever-pressing grammar questions, like accept versus except (important distinction there!).
I have a feeling it'll come in handy, which is why I'm blogging about it. My blog: personal filing drawer for Leah's brain.
Comprise?
Bill Walsh, author of Lapsing Into a Comma, says, "Nothing is ever 'comprised of' something.' To comprise means to 'contain or to embrace': The jury comprises seven women and five men.... Even when used correctly, in my humble opinion, comprise and constitute tend to sound stilted. Some form of is made up of sounds better in most cases" (123).
This is my pet peeve. I fight with my PI over this all the time.
Posted by: coturnix | 22 January 2006 at 04:36 PM
I wish that a copy of a grammar/usage dictionary would be issued to people upon birth. I'm not perfect either, but when people can't understand what you're trying to say, it gets to be a problem.
Posted by: Amy | 22 January 2006 at 04:45 PM
Um okay if you don't know the difference between accept and except then you need to go back to middle school - or grade school. In my family, you get in trouble for saying "I am good" instead of saying "I am well". My father is the ultimate grammar nazi...and well so am I. I can understand some people not knowing the really difficult stuff but stuff like except v accept and well v good drive me up a wall. Love you Leah!
Posted by: Audrey | 22 January 2006 at 04:45 PM
It doesn't matter a lot to me in speech or in informal use as long as I can understand what ideas are being expressed. I try not to be too critical, though, of those making an honest effort. My mom stumbles a lot with English, but considering she didn't start with English and didn't get to take ESL classes until much later in life, she gets a pass. Besides, I understand what she says.
When I read newspapers, magazines or books, I have a higher standard, and when I write articles, I expect more out of myself as well.
Posted by: Jimmy | 22 January 2006 at 11:44 PM
See, your mom definately has an excuse. Of the romanized languages, English is probably the hardest to learn. However, people like me who are out of High School and have spoken English their entire lives, there is no excuse. I mean come on. Granted, you won't notice the grammar mistakes as much in verbal communication since many are spelling issues. I just can't excuse people for not being able to use proper grammar. Writing an e-mail to a buddy is one thing, but a paper? No excuse.
Posted by: Audrey | 23 January 2006 at 11:11 AM
I'm a total grammar stickler, too, but I'm very "odd" about it. Like, I break grammar rules all the time (see? I purposely left out the "of"). But, here's how I rationalize the difference - I break the rules on purpose. Of course, that indicates that I know the rules.
Most people don't know the rules. That's what bugs me. If someone says "ain't" even though they know it's not a "word," I'm fine with that. But if they casually throw the word around, not knowing that it's improper... well, I get infuriated.
But I never correct people unless they ask me to. People don't like to be corrected.
And it's sad, because that not only tells me that they don't know grammar, but that they don't care to.
Posted by: mikey | 24 January 2006 at 11:46 AM
Leah can probably tell you this too, but the Dutch speak English really, really, really well. Its amazing that they use proper grammar that 9 out of 10 of my friends do not use. It shocked me. I would listen to them speak and be amazed at how many of them used proper spoken English. Maybe it is because they learned it as a second language really early on, but my Spanish grammar is never that perfect. Granted, I'm not really fluent in Spanish, but still, I misuse normal stuff pretty easily, interchanging estar with ser, that sort of thing. At least some people in the world speak proper English...
Posted by: Audrey | 27 January 2006 at 01:58 AM
oh, and Dutch people don't think they really, truly speak a language even when they're perfect at it. People would say, "I don't speak much English," but they would be able to give me perfect directions places and answer basic questions. Good enough for me -- I didn't need to launch a discussion on classic lit.
Posted by: Leah | 27 January 2006 at 10:20 AM
` Hey, glad I found this blog! It's really neat! I love writing myself - been working on a novel since 1997 - and I've become a total grammar stickler myself!
` Also, I'm trying to make a language of my own, which is neat. Have you ever done anything like that?
Posted by: Spoony Quine | 31 January 2006 at 04:46 PM
Isn't it okay to use adjectives to modify nouns with a linking verb between them? You can say "I am sick." Or "The dog is brown." Why can't you say "I am good?"
You can't say "I am doing good," because "doing" is an action verb and good is an adjective. Nor can you say "Things are going good," because "going" is also an action verb. In those cases it is definitely necessary to substitute "well."
I can't adopt "I am well" until I understand why it would be different. I think it is using an adverb to modify a noun. Can anyone help explain this?
Posted by: nlipke | 23 May 2007 at 10:36 AM