Every now and then, there is a moment of grammar excellence that warms me from the inside out.
Thank you, Gmail.
Thank you for doing the unpopular thing.
Thank you for not taking the easy way out.
Thank you for showing us that some people still care about preserving our language.
Categories: Grammar Excellence · Web
If you’re one of my Boston readers, you may have heard the Boston Herald’s report that more sexual assaults occur on the Red Line than any other branch of the MBTA. (As someone who rides the Red Line approximately 200 minutes each week, I was somewhat bemused.)
The best thing, reader Adam pointed out to me, is the lead of the story. Check it out:
Now, when (Adam and) I picture this, what comes to mind is a creepy man flinging himself onto a train and having his way with it vigorously.
I bet the train doesn’t call him the next day.
Thanks, Adam.
Categories: Amusing Language · Journalism · News · Reader-Submitted Errors
Reader Lisa sent me this awesome video of The Soup’s interpretation of the film How She Move:
Love it!
In other news, I bought a new camera today — the Olympus FE-280, which I enjoyed immensely before losing it on New Year’s Eve — and will be trying it out at the Spice Girls concert tomorrow night! 
That means that there will be plenty of new pictures of local errors and grammar vandalism!
Thanks, Lisa.
Categories: Amusing Language · Movies · Stylistic Issues · Television
Earlier today, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, I Don’t Like You In That Way, and I came across a curiously worded ad for an adult DVD rental service.
Read it closely:
Really? This was recommended by Oprah magazine?
Well, technically it’s O: The Oprah Magazine.
There’s no way that an ad for this appeared in O. If it had, we would have heard about it now, with Oprah sending her Mafioso henchmen after the perpetrator.
I’m no legal expert, but are any of you? Do any of you know if it’s legal for this ad to say it was endorsed by Oprah? Or does it mean nothing because the magazine, though clearly implied, was technically correct?
Heh. I know this isn’t exactly grammar, but it’s along the lines of something I think you’d like.
And, just because it made me crack up when I saw it:
Categories: Advertising · Amusing Language · Stylistic Issues · Television
When I was still running this blog through Blogger, I started having polls on the site. Unfortunately, WordPress does not currently have a poll widget for this layout. (If anyone knows how to do it without creating one’s own layout, please let me know!)
Here is the poll and the final results:
When is the word “thru” okay?
Total votes: 118
Thanks to everyone who voted! I wish I could have polls on here again.
Personally, I voted for never. I detest the word thru. I think it’s lazy, unnecessary and an insult to our language.
Granted, I can also see the other point of view. I think that the English language is complicated, especially when written, and so many of our words have silent letters. That makes it difficult for children and people learning English. I speak French, Italian and Spanish (the latter quite badly), and I love that I can read an Italian sentence aloud and pronounce it perfectly because everything is pronounced the same way. (French is another story.)
But does that mean we need to invent new words to make it easier for those who struggle? I don’t think so.
If we keep going at this rate, are we going to see the word enuf appearing in print soon?
43% of you said that the word thru is okay in certain circumstances.
So, tell me, which circumstances are those?
Categories: Uncategorized
Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday. If you know me, you know that I go Oscar-crazy every year, trying to see as many nominated movies as possible — I even create weird mathematical formulas that figure out which films have the most overall importance!
Anyway, I digress. This has to do with grammar, I swear.
Every news outlet has been reporting that three nominations went to Sweeney Todd the Barber of Fleet Street.
Seriously. Every single news outlet.
Not Sweeney Todd, the Barber of Fleet Street. Not Sweeney Todd: the Barber of Fleet Street.
Please, please punctuate that correctly! Defy the powers that be! Use correct grammar!
The man accused of killing a Georgia hiker is also the focus of an investigation in Florida that is probing the disappearance and death of a nurse.
Flaws in a federal sex-offender registration law left a criminal free in Kansas City, Mo.
The faulty law allowed seven-time convicted sex offender Terry L. Rich to be released from custody last month by Senior U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs when Rich’s lawyer brought attention to the defect, The Kansas City Star reported Wednesday.
Whether or not there was a legislative blunder, the wording should be enforced as written, until it is changed by Congress, Sachs said.
Rich, 59, reportedly has yet to be listed in the sex offender registration system required by state law.
Rich’s attorney reportedly argued the law excluded his client because Rich traveled between states in the past and the law only pertained to a sex offender who travels in the present tense.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Nelson asked Sachs to understand that Congress meant for the law to include all sex offenders, the Star reported.
I do NOT consider this a victory for my cause.
Thanks, Ryan.
Categories: Grammar Errors · News
I was delighted to hear from reader Christina, a fan from Germany. There will be more mentioned about Christina later, but for now, check out this great stuff.
I asked her how she came across my blog, and she told me that there was actually a write-up about me in the October 2007 issue of Spotlight magazine! Spotlight is a magazine designed for adults looking to improve their language, and it’s published in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.
It’s basically sound bites from the Boston Globe’s feature, but it’s new stuff — and I loved it! Check it out:
Categories: About the Grammar Vandal · Media Coverage
I received the following email late last night and thought that it would make a great discussion:
Kate: Could you please enlighten us language teachers about the following sentences- which is/ are correct usage? And why?
1. My favorite fruit is apples.
2. My favorite fruit is an apple
3. My favorite fruit is the apple.
4. My favorite fruit is apple.
I tend to think 1, 3 and 4 are correct. What do you think?
Thanks for your help,
E Trottier
What a great question! Ordinarily, I would go to look it up in my books and online, but I have no idea even where to start.
If you’ve read the Globe feature on me, you know that I mostly go by instinct. In this situation, I think that 1 and 3 are correct. The second option would be correct if you were referring to your one favorite piece of fruit in the world. (My favorite fruit is an apple that came from a farm in the Berkshires, and it had a red and green swirl on it that kind of looked like Drew Carey when you squinted really hard at it.)
What do you think?
Discuss!
Categories: Ask the Grammar Vandal · Stylistic Issues
Observant reader Ryan noticed this incredible sign:
Again, another sign that is the epitome of grammar insanity!
Which error irks you the most? For me, it’s the calamity that is “Fixe’s.”
Categories: Businesses · Grammar Errors · Reader-Submitted Errors · Spelling Errors
I have now finally, finally, finally made the long-awaited switch to WordPress, at the insistence of many of my friends (particularly Ryan). I started working on this a few months ago, but it was the horrible cold that I’ve had for the past few days that gave me the gift of time to actually finish it!
What do you think? Are any of you largely for or against Blogger or WordPress?
Do you like the layout? The image at the top was designed by my friend (and WordPress lover) Andy over the summer.
At this point in time, what I’m looking forward to most is being able to write posts in advance and arrange for them to post at certain times. This way, I’ll be able to get posts in every day, even on the days when I’m out of the house from 8:00 AM until midnight or later.
Thoughts?
Categories: About the Grammar Vandal · Blogs
Christina Aguilera and her husband, music executive Jordan Bratman, welcomed a baby boy late last night and named him Max Liron Bratman.
In a move markedly different from how she revealed her pregnancy, they announced it merely hours after the birth.
After her rep announced it to the major magazines, Christina made an announcement herself on her official Web site.
The message:
“Dear fans,
“Today is a very joyful and special day for Jordan and I as we welcome our first son into this world.”
I stopped reading right there.
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to grammar is when people say “and I” instead of “and me,” thinking it makes them sound smarter or more correct. In fact, plenty of people shun “and me” altogether.
Not a smart move.
The easiest way to avoid that is to drop all extraneous words from the sentence to see if it makes sense. For example, Christina could have said, “Today is a very joyful and special day for I,” and realized that “and me” would have been the better choice.
That being said, I’m glad Christina has a healthy baby, and I hope he got his mom’s voice and his dad’s fashion sense.
Categories: Entertainment · Grammar Errors
My friend Alexa directed me to this horrifying movie poster:
Yikes. I’m not a fan of the title.
The worst part is that a title with perfect grammar could have been easy — only they chose to do this. Having this title does not add anything to the movie. That’s my opinion on the matter.
One complication is that it can be argued that “How She Move” is a colloquialism. What are your thoughts on that?
Thanks, Alexa. If you’re a fan of funny news, Knut, Overheard in New York or right-wing rhetoric — or any combination thereof — check out her blog, Alexa Shrugged.
Categories: Movies
It is most definitely time to add polls to this blog. I added them to the bar on the right.
The first one asks your opinion regarding the word thru. Be sure to vote. Voting ends a week from today!
Categories: Polls
