The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I have a stick up my ass when it comes to grammar.

There are certain things that I find particularly objectionable.  Atop that list is people who misuse "your" vs. "you're".  It's offensive to me that people don't care enough to learn it, especially because this is something that I learned in 3rd grade -- no lie.

If I know something is incorrect, I'm embarrassed when I do it by accident.  It's just something I care about.  My parents have always been good users of language and we openly discuss (and always have) some interesting intricacies of English, like "less" vs. "fewer" and how it's commonly misused.  I just think that proper use of language is important, and it's unfortunate when adults just give up.

Am I just being a snob?

To those of you that don't correctly use "your" vs. "you're" -- do you just not care?  Do you not understand it?  Were you never taught?  And if you do know, why do you continue to use it improperly?

Ugh. I do a lot of online dating. The grammar of the average person out there is abysmal. I can't figure out if it's just laziness or if they're actually that stupid, but it makes me weep for humanity. If I can't read the email, I delete it. I don't want to date a dumbass that can't properly use the English language. Particularly since I point out in my profile that I'm an English major. A minor mistake or a typo is one thing, but not using "your" and "you're" or "they're", "there", and "their" properly is pathetic.

The one that I really don't get  - When did the comma become a replacement for the period and actual sentences? I'll get 1 long "paragraph" with commas instead of a period and new sentences. It's weird. Can someone please tell me what the hell that's all about?

I take care to make sure my work e-mails and memos are written properly, but I don't pay much attention MB posts and similarly informal writings. I don't have time to proof read everything.

I'm with you. Most of my posts are done rather quickly and I'm not a very good typist. I easily overlook "you're/your" or even mispelling or misusing "their" somtimes.  If I have to write an actual letter I am able to do a much better job as I look for those things.   

Dave- I'm with you. I hate when I get emails from customers with poor grammar. My biggest pet peeves are the mis-use of "your" and "you're" and also "their", "there", and "they're".

Believe it or not, I also see a lot of mis-use of "were", "we're" and "where".  This one makes no sense to me since they aren't even pronounced the same!

About the only time I ditch "grammar rules" is when I'm texting or chatting online with certain people. I use "text shorthand" for certain words then. (Although I know this bothers Dave, so I don't do it on the rare occasions when we chat).

I'm with you Dave (and with Philly's additions). I'm amazed at the e-mails I get from classmates, the grammar is downright awful.

I don't claim to be perfect in the grammar department, however, the use of your and you're is something that was taught very early in school.

Jumping on top of the pile... I rarely correct people's grammar, but I catch every goof. The overwhelming decline of the English language in modern times is nothing short of depressing.

If you're concerned about others grammar on an internet forum then get the stick out of your ass. 

While I do know the the proper usage if I stop and think about it. 

Eye due knot wren righting en cyber space if eye have good grandma.

Exactly.

My correspondence in "real life" needs to be spot on.  While you won't catch me saying "too" when it should be "to" while playing on line, I certainly might state that I make less mistakes than some.  Get it?  Less mistakes?  I kill me. 

It depends on the situation.  If I receive e-mail from an internal or external customer and it has more holes than swiss cheese that gets me a little.  On line?  I barely notice.  I want to understand the point behind the message versus how it was written. 

My sisters and I constantly complain about the grammar issues.  I remember receiving a memorandum from a superior once, in which he chided all of us underlings with the following:  "Mediocracy will not be tolerated!".  I called him immediately to ask if a "mediocracy" was a form of government I'd never heard of.

Like some of you, I detest the your/you're, were/where/we're, two/too/to.  I also am bothered by statements like "Me and her went to the store" rather than "She and I went to the store". 

I know that I will make the occasional mistake, and that's fine in an informal setting, but I do care about getting the basics down. (<---ended the sentence in a preposition, which I would never while writing formally)

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/05/12/99-grammar/

I think that my biggest issue is that people are flat out missing the basics. I don't expect perfection when writing online, but basic grammar should be natural for most adults.


I'm not white...Of course, I think that entire site should actually be called "Stuff Midde-Classed Semi-Educated People Like". It reads like a commentary on the classes instead of the races in my opinion.

As a frequent mass murderer of the english language...I'm sorry...On some of the stuff, I think it depends on how it's used.If you're reading an entire thread,letter,email,etc,etc. with "Your" instead of "You're " I think it's stupidity.I feel spell check is part of the problem,just because the spell checker catches it,doesn't mean it's right.

So I apologize for my horrible grammer...

I am much more "in tune" with how people communicate, verbally.  Certain things just drive me nuts. 

"I just assume you go home." 

"I used to agree with that position, I've done a 360.  I don't agree at all now." 

"All of the sudden the car hit the horse."

"Anyways, I'm going to tell my boss off tomorrow."

...I could keep going.


Edited for, ironically enough, horrible typos!

^^^Don't forget needing to get "untracked".  Love that one, especially in sports.

My sister once performed an evaluation of an employee, in which the employee wrote that one goal for the year would be to not "half-as" any work.  Sis had to explain that the term is to "half-ass", and that such term shouldn't go on an evaluation that would be reviewed by "important folks".

Scratching my head on this one a little. Do you not like the term itself, or do you think that "untracked" is the wrong term to use there.

Example:

"The Suns offense finally got untracked in the second half against the Spurs, scoring a franchise record 46 fourth quarter points."

...this is a correct use of the term "untracked." It is often misused as "on track," but the correct term really is "untracked."

It annoys me when people don't know the difference between "ho" and "hoe". ;)

I can tolerate people using the wrong forms of they're/there/their, to/too/two and so on.  What grinds my gears is text speech.  "U" instead of "you", "gr8" instead of "great"...LOL and some others are fine, but when it is used too much, it really pisses me off.

Between the leet speak for online and texting, and the "hip hop" speak, English and proper use of grammar is almost in a tailspin in parts of this country.
In the last college English class I took, the teacher made the final an hour long writing exercise that had most of the younger members of the class freaking out. They had gotten so used to using spelling and grammar check on their computers, that they were almost paraniod when faced with the daunting task of writing a paper by hand.
The older students got better grades, than the younger computer savy students. The best part was that one of the younger students was a journalism major and a writer for the school paper and she was always bragging about her stories. She got a C+ on her final and she freaked out claiming that the test was unfair, and no one could get a good grade. During her rant I showed the other people around me the A I had gotten. As the people nearby me laughed at this, she looked over and saw my grade and clammed up. She left the room in tears.
So I am with your 100% Dave on the whole grammar thing. Everytime I read something that is written poorly, or hear someone talk using bad grammar, I instantly wonder about their intelligence or education level.

I completely disagree.  To be "on track" is a good thing.  "Untracked" is like derailing, no?  Seems like a bad thing to me.  I think the correct term would be "on track".


http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/untracked.html (http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/untracked.html)

I actually don't think that this is correct.  Slang has always been used.  I use it, too.  But I know that "Bitch, you crazy!" isn't proper.  I think that most people who adopt this kind of thing know when to use it and when not.

I think that the big problem isn't with these things like text and verbal talk, but in the professional world.  I notice a lot of errors on websites, emails, and business postings.  A facebook update is one thing, but a facebook cause, that can be edited and proofed, is quite another.  I think that these things (far from the hip-hop community) are contributing to the issue.

They should be getting the other teams offense untracked.

The problem is that the younger generation is bringing the slang into the professional workplace with them. Instead of a sub language, slang has become their primary form of communicating throught childhood and primary schooling. Now they are bringing it into secondary schooling and into the workplace.

You'd be disagreeing with the dictionary...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/untracked (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/untracked)

No disrespect to whoever this "Brian" person is up at WSU, but I'll go with the dictionary before that guy's blog page. ;)

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002148.html (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002148.html)

These guys call it an "egg corn" error, like when people call Alzheimer's disease "old-timer's disease", or when people call an acorn an "egg corn" (hence the term)

On this term, they end by saying "By the way, the OED so far knows only the "not furnished with a track or path" and "not tracked or traced" senses of untracked; Merriam-Webster's 3rd Unabridged has essentially the same two senses; and the AHD doesn't have it at all. Encarta had nothing, and suggested helpfully (though bizarrely, in my opinion) that I might be interested in unfrocked. It's curious that such a common usage is lexicographically ignored -- I wonder if sports terms in general are similarly underdictionaried, and if so, why?"

This is as of 2005.

It didn't get red-marked when used on Journalism papers in college, and that is good enough for this fella. ;)

I would've red-marked your ass!   ;D

Whenever I decide to torture myself and read comments to an article, I come across the immortal "your an idiot".  It drives me crazy.

Ummm... nevermind.

^^^You had to go there, huh?  Sorry for unintentionally violating you, 'Stroke...

Sa-weet!

What can Arkansans do to improve their "mastery" of the English language?

I'm still lobbying to have the letter "R" put back into the alphabet up in Maine... Arkansas might be beyond my ability to help. ;)

the letter R is totally not needed.

Can't ague with ya thee, SpotsChick...

Da letta "R" is  important in werds like soder and idear.   Ovahrated in werds like muddah, pakah, & cah. 

Good point hoodie. I was thinking of lobstah when I was writing that ;)

I just had a client send me text to go on her corporate website that was so poorly written that you couldn't even make out what she was saying. One long run-on sentence per page. I had to sit and break the "sentences" up into readable text. Wow.

Wicked Pissah

Wait- Was her message was poorly written or the website?

Without the "R" you cannot say Wicked Retarded

The text that she sent me to put on her website. It was ridiculous.

Wicked Retahdid

and Dezi Arnez's Character name on I love Lucy was? without "r"'s? >:D :D ;D