Throwback Saturday!

This is the very first post to appear on the Grammar Diva Blog, way back in 2013! (edited of course)

Welcome to the Grammar Diva blog….here you will find grammar information, interesting articles, and hopefully your input! We welcome guest bloggers, questions, comments, stories, and anything else that will make this an entertaining place to be! Of course we can’t always write about grammar (well, I guess we could), so we can also talk about books, publishing, words,  language and my favorite topic — coffee! (which I don’t believe I ever have!) So, grab your cup of java and read on (this is actually  a reprint of a guest blog I wrote for someone else’s blog) — 

TYPO Is (Sometimes) Just a Euphemism!

In 2008 editor Jeff Deck and former Dartmouth College student Benjamin Herson undertook The Great Typo Hunt, a road trip from coast to coast of the United States in which they located and corrected typos! Their journey was been made into a book and a blog. I will give you the link later. Mr. Deck, a former spelling bee champion, and his friend Benjamin Herson found over 400 typos on their trip….and they corrected about 55 percent of them — sometimes getting into a little hot water!

They did have some ground rules: 1. The typos needed to be in public  – things that everyone could see, like menus and signs. 2. They would not be unkind to those whose native language is not English. 3. They corrected only text, not any speech. 4. They learned not to correct a menu item until after the food was served!

Now, you and I both know that these really were not all typos….a typo occurs when your fingers inadvertently hit the wrong key. For the most part, these were simply common mistakes.

As an editor, teacher, and author, I know a mistake when I see one (or hear one)! What do you think are some of the most common mistakes in grammar (“grammar” meaning spelling, punctuation, and usage)?

In no real particular order, here are the Top Four Grammar Mistakes that I see:

4. There is no apostrophe in a plain old plural noun.

Here are my vacation photo’s! What?? Oh, you mean photos!! Don’t put an apostrophe in a plural noun unless it is a number, letter, or symbol (a’s, 5’s, &’s). Apostrophes are for possession.

3. Don’t use your when you mean you’re. I hope your coming with us. Huh??? Oh, you mean you’re! You’re is the contraction meaning you are. Your is a possessive adjective (for example, your shirt).

2. We were all corrected to use I when we said, “My friend and me are going to the movies.” However, sometimes me is the correct word to use (same goes for us, her, him, them, and whom). He gave the tickets to my friend and me. Using I is incorrect here. You wouldn’t say, “He gave the tickets to I,” so you don’t say he and I either. Between you and I is also incorrect. Between you and me is the correct way to write or say it. The rule is to use the pronouns I, we, he, she, they, and who when used as the subject of a sentence (or a predicate nominative, which is a noun or pronoun that comes after a verb of being. For example, “It is I” and “This is she” are both correct. “It is me” is incorrect.). Use me, us, him, her, them, and whom when used as the direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition in a sentence. The boss promoted him and me (direct objects). The boss gave her and him raises (indirect object). The boss gave the account to him and me (object of the preposition to).

1. Do not separate two sentences with a comma….EVER!! You will have a run-on sentence, otherwise, known as a comma splice (a definite no-no). I hope you can attend the meeting, it will be very productive. Sorry, no way. There are several ways to fix a run on.

I hope you can attend the meeting. It will be very productive. or

I hope you can attend the meeting; it will be very productive. or

I hope you can attend the meeting because it will be very productive.

–Arlene Miller, Your Grammar Diva

If you would like more information about The Great Typo Hunt: The Great Typo Hunt 

Or just Google it!