Explaining my intentional grammatical errors
April 14th 2008 04:06
I'll go through each item briefly, because the more interesting ones are deserving of a full post. But for now, here are explanations for the errors in my welcome post:
I'm starting this blog so that I can have a record of all the things which(1) irk me about the written word (or rather how its(2) misused),(3) I hope that it will also edify or entertain others of like mind! Whether your(4) a seasoned writer or a novice, the language is always changing, so I think it's always useful to talk about:(5) grammer(6), spelling, word usage/conventions, and even pronounciation(7). You never know what you could of(8) missed in English class in school, right? I hope to create the first real post here in the next couple of days.
1. which/that - This may well be the trickiest item on this list. "Which" is non-restrictive; "that" is restrictive. Because I used "which", it sounds like I want a record of all things, and that they happen to be about bad writing. What I should have done is used "that", which indicates that I want to record all things that bug me about bad writing. A good explanation, with examples, is located at Get It Write. Many people are confused by the distinction between "that" and "which". I'm a corporate writer, and one of my fellow writers makes this mistake all the time.
2. its/it's - "Its" is possessive; "it's" is a contraction of "it is".
3. comma splice - This is when a comma is used to join two independent clauses. Instead of a comma, I should have used a period, semicolon, or a transitional phrase. The Wikipedia entry on comma splices explains it succinctly. Comma splices are perfectly acceptable in literary writing, though; think Virginia Woolf.
4. your/you're - "Your" is possessive; "you're" is a contraction of "you are". This, along with #2, is the most common error on this list. At my former job, an email was sent to the entire company--which comprises thousands of people--with the subject line "Your invited to..."
5. incorrect use of colon - Except for special cases such as salutations in letters, colons must be preceded by an independent clause. In other words, make sure that what goes before the colon is a complete sentence. Not only is the clause preceding the colon in my example not independent, but it's almost a run-on sentence. Better to say "I think it's always useful to talk about these topics: grammar, spelling, word usage..."
6. spelling mistake - I just find it hilarious when people write that they're sticklers for good spelling and "grammer".
7. spelling and pronunciation mistake - It is, of course, "pronunciation", not "pronounciation". Adding the "o" is a relatively common gaffe that people make in both speech and writing.
8. could of/could've - People write "could of" instead of "could''ve" because that's how it sounds. But make no mistake, it's "could've", a contraction of "could have". In fiction, however, "could/should/would of" is sometimes used in dialogue or narration. Often, it has connotations of the speaker's class or education. An example is Chief's narration in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
In addition, this more an issue of style than correctness, but a comma between "or rather" and "how it's misused" wouldn't be wrong. There are a few more things that ought to have been written better, but they weren't intentional; I was half-asleep at the time of writing. Yeah, excuses, excuses.
It should be noted that the errors I pointed out are acceptable in most kinds of informal writing, especially conversational writing, e.g., on the web. A few spelling errors and typos are usually forgivable, but a surfeit of misspelled words and non-standard punctuation just looks sloppy and can frustrate the most patient of readers.
I'm starting this blog so that I can have a record of all the things which(1) irk me about the written word (or rather how its(2) misused),(3) I hope that it will also edify or entertain others of like mind! Whether your(4) a seasoned writer or a novice, the language is always changing, so I think it's always useful to talk about:(5) grammer(6), spelling, word usage/conventions, and even pronounciation(7). You never know what you could of(8) missed in English class in school, right? I hope to create the first real post here in the next couple of days.
1. which/that - This may well be the trickiest item on this list. "Which" is non-restrictive; "that" is restrictive. Because I used "which", it sounds like I want a record of all things, and that they happen to be about bad writing. What I should have done is used "that", which indicates that I want to record all things that bug me about bad writing. A good explanation, with examples, is located at Get It Write. Many people are confused by the distinction between "that" and "which". I'm a corporate writer, and one of my fellow writers makes this mistake all the time.
2. its/it's - "Its" is possessive; "it's" is a contraction of "it is".
3. comma splice - This is when a comma is used to join two independent clauses. Instead of a comma, I should have used a period, semicolon, or a transitional phrase. The Wikipedia entry on comma splices explains it succinctly. Comma splices are perfectly acceptable in literary writing, though; think Virginia Woolf.
4. your/you're - "Your" is possessive; "you're" is a contraction of "you are". This, along with #2, is the most common error on this list. At my former job, an email was sent to the entire company--which comprises thousands of people--with the subject line "Your invited to..."
5. incorrect use of colon - Except for special cases such as salutations in letters, colons must be preceded by an independent clause. In other words, make sure that what goes before the colon is a complete sentence. Not only is the clause preceding the colon in my example not independent, but it's almost a run-on sentence. Better to say "I think it's always useful to talk about these topics: grammar, spelling, word usage..."
6. spelling mistake - I just find it hilarious when people write that they're sticklers for good spelling and "grammer".
7. spelling and pronunciation mistake - It is, of course, "pronunciation", not "pronounciation". Adding the "o" is a relatively common gaffe that people make in both speech and writing.
8. could of/could've - People write "could of" instead of "could''ve" because that's how it sounds. But make no mistake, it's "could've", a contraction of "could have". In fiction, however, "could/should/would of" is sometimes used in dialogue or narration. Often, it has connotations of the speaker's class or education. An example is Chief's narration in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
In addition, this more an issue of style than correctness, but a comma between "or rather" and "how it's misused" wouldn't be wrong. There are a few more things that ought to have been written better, but they weren't intentional; I was half-asleep at the time of writing. Yeah, excuses, excuses.
It should be noted that the errors I pointed out are acceptable in most kinds of informal writing, especially conversational writing, e.g., on the web. A few spelling errors and typos are usually forgivable, but a surfeit of misspelled words and non-standard punctuation just looks sloppy and can frustrate the most patient of readers.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
i think i only guessed a couple of the spelling ones
id love to know what you think of the elipses . . . which you can see im quite fond of
im actually starting my own style of writing where i ban all punctuation except for my beloved elipses . . . its called the "lazy" style . . . i expect it to catch on really soon!
Comment by Irene
Grammar Matters
Cooking Monkey
Ellipses indicate thoughtfulness, hesitation, pauses, stream-of-consciousness, etc. It all comes down to style. In your posts and comments, I can see why they fit in. Your writing seems much more spontaneous than mine (which is really rather anal-retentive in comparison, LOL).
My own biggest writing gaffe is overuse of parentheses (I love them. See?). Whenever I edit my writing, whether for work or the web, I always end up removing a ton of them.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
sometimes i put a parentheses in and then mid-statement i think of something else i want to say and it becomes brackets inside bracket inside brackets and looks a bit messy . . . but i think your use of parenthesis looks nice!
oh and look i was spelling "ellipses" wrong too haha *smacks own fingers with ruler*