#grammar nerd

[luckypunklemonade]

David Corenswet is the passionate nerd we need!

[alex2xander]

Be nice and don't mock tumblr users that communicate differently.

Examples:

1.) Typing quirks

2.) No punctuation

3.) Random Capitalisation

4.) Long run on sentences

5.) Frequently misspelled words

6.) Missing spaces between words

7.) Repeating words and sentences

8.) Posts audios and videos instead of typing

9.) Express themselves through custom emojis

10.) Use an AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication) device

Some users have intellectual disabilities, use speech to text, struggle with grammar, have hand tremmers, have high support needs, etc.

Regardless of how they communicate and their reason why, they still deserve respect. They are trying their best.

[conkreetmonkey]

I have a weird, muddy opinion on how people on this site call The United States of America "USAmerica." Yeah, it works, and it removes any confusion about whether you're talking about the country or the landmass, but at the same time, it feels clunky? USAmerica just feels... idk, it's like you couldn't say it out loud without sounding goofy? You can say "the USA" out loud and it sounds good and makes sense, but at the same time the "the" makes it a bit awkward gramatically, and you can't just say "I'm from USA," but you can say, in text form, "I'm from USAmerica."

THEN there's the fact that people from that country are typically referred to as "Americans," and things from there as "American." When someone says "America," you don't think about the two connected continents the term could technically be referring to, you just think about the United States of America. It's an unusually "built" country within the region, made up of 51 smaller, unified nation-states that have combined into one very large, culturally and geographically disjointed country under one sprawling government, where every state, now functionally more of a province, retains the ability to have differing laws and economic policies, yet must answer to the grand government that controls them all as a whole, like if every country in Europe was ruled by one overseeing organization but were free to remain distinct as mini-nations rather than homogenized provinces. Two USAmerican states are far more different in legislation and culture than, say, two Canadian provinces are.

Given this, it makes sense for the country to simply be named "The United States of America." It's a bunch of states from America that are united into one big Voltron of a nation. Of course, though, you can't just say something like "this book is a great work of United States of America-ian literature," due to the way the English language works. Within the framework of English grammar, ideally, a country needs an adjective form of its name to concisely describe people and things from there, and while there are no hard rules as to how to go about that to my knowledge, there are a few different ways. You can apply a prefix to the country's name such as "ish" (British, Scottish, Turkish), "ian" (Brazillian, Russian, Indian), "ese" (Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese), "i" (Pakistani, Somali, Yemeni), or "an" (Guatemalan, German, Mexican), or if it sounds good you can just get funky with it and change a vowel or two (Norse, French, Dutch, Malagasy). And then there's Iceland with the "ic" (because they're special).

So BASICALLY, from THAT standpoint, using "American" as the USA's adjective makes sense. It flows well, does what it needs to. The problem, of course, is the overlap with the name of the landmasses. Technically, when one says "South American," they could be referring to either the continent of South America, or the south of the USA. Same with "North American." Now, nobody actually uses either of those terms to describe regions of the country, probably due to this overlap. A USAmerican could simply say "I'm from the north" or "I'm from a southern state," and you would understand given the context of them being a USAmerican. But then again, they couldn't just simply drop the country and compass-ional (whatever tf the term is) region in the same clause like people from any other country could without it sounding weird. "I'm from South France" makes sense as a sentence, as does "This plant grows in Northern Australia." "I was born in the South of the United States of America" is clunky and overly verbose, yet the lack of a proper country name without a "the" throws a wrench into that.

So what do we (typically) do? Just say "American" and let context do the work, clarifying if neccesary. "I'm from Southern America" obviously is not intended to apply to the continents, although it technically could. The reader, simply due to the context of knowing that South America is a continent and "America" usually refers to the USA unless otherwise stated, understands that the writer almost certainly means they're from a place like Texas or Louisiana, rather than Argentina or Chile. This way of writing/speaking is imprecise and requires unspoken context, but it gets the job done. America the country is a weird case in terms of its makeup, and that's reflected in its name. You're not referring to one country, you're referring to 51 micro-nations held together with one big fat federal government spread over them, like the thick plastic wrap holding a pallet of crates, boxes and sacks together as one shippable unit. And besides, nobody ever says "America" to refer to both continents, even though they technically could. They say "The Americas," because while technically one region, NA and SA are both very distinct and barely physically connected at all, held together by a single small landbridge (that has a canal though it now anyways, so you can't walk from one continent to the other without crossing water anymore).

So, in conclusion, idk, the term "USAmerica" removes the needless complexity of situational context, but it's somehow clunkier-feeling than the preexisting norm of just saying "America." I use and will continue to use the term USAmerica for brevity's sake since it's the norm on this site, but I'd certainly never use it anywhere else. America is an unusual country, and its name reflects that. A square peg in a language made of round holes, that can still fit if you turn it sideways a little. idk. I suppose the only real lesson here is that a) American exceptionalism is unintentionally portrayed in the language the country speaks, and b) English has a weird grammar system where things that are objectively correct within it sometimes don't "feel right" for no reason other than lacking succinctness.

[rowan-violet]

Alright kids, we need to talk.

What's the difference between breathe and breath?

Breathe (Pronounced Breeth) is an action, a verb. She breathes.

Breath (Pronounced Breth) is a thing, a noun. He could see his own breath.

So proud of y'all for being creative writers. You write some awesome stuff. But first, remember this so you don't confuse nit-picky readers like me!

[heavensbeehall]

Been reading a lot of fics that use dialogue tags wrong, or seem unclear on how to punctuate dialogue. I never comment that the author is doing it wrong becuase that seems so mean. Fic authors are doing this for free.

(I certainly never learned how to write dialogue in school--only essays so I don't really blame people for not knowing. But it still bugs me when I read a story; I can't help being an ornery, old lady, guys!)

[rydiathesummoner]

My favorite part about the localization of this game is that the localizers understand grammar, and when to use it correctly or incorrectly to add flavor to the characters.

[samgemrus]

This almost makes me wish I was still teaching English Language Arts...

some of my favourite sign fails <3

[lyaoooh]

I just remembered that one time in 6th grade my English told me “Good job using Google Translate” on my homework, and I was SO irritated. Like, no, I did NOT use Google Translate at all, Woman!!!

My English (3rd language) was still terrible tho

For example: “I'm sure [Name] would take care of [Name] after I will be gone …”

That sounds like a nightmare and I am totally going to discuss it with my current English teacher, with whom I already argued about the usage of “were” in “[I] wish[ed] …” and “If [I] …”, and the difference between “if” (conditional) and “whether” (clear options, usually two), and also whether or not “[I] better …” is grammaticly right (does it count as slang?)

[burning-violin]

Listen. I know that being a grammar stickler is problematic. I know that language changes and evolves and holding to strict rules is a holier than thou attitude that I don’t want to have. But English language grammar is also a bit of a special interest of mine and seeing “and I’s” everywhere makes me want to tear my hair out.

“I’s” is not a word. Yes, yes I know it technically is now in the common vernacular because people use it and know what it means. That’s not the point. The point is that the plural possessive of “I” is “MY”.

In school, they tried to hammer in the sentence structure “___ and I” so hard they forgot to iterate that “___ and my” is also sometimes correct. The important part was that it’s polite to put yourself second, NOT that you always have to use “I” when referring to yourself alongside other people.

“Joe and I went to the store” is correct.

“We went to the store in Joe and I’s car” is not.

How to remember? Take “Joe” out of it and you’ll have the answer.

“I went to the store” (same as above)

“I went in I’s car” - sounds ridiculous to anyone who speaks fluent English. (If you don’t, I’m not talking about you when this upsets me. You’re learning.)

“I went in my car” is correct. “We went in Joe’s car” is correct. Ergo, “we went in Joe’s and my car” is correct.

This is also the case if you would use “me”.

“He sold it to Joe and I” should actually be “he sold it to Joe and me.”

Again, I know it doesn’t really matter, especially in common/conversational English. But grammar is there to assist with clarity. And if we allow ourselves to move further and further away from what is “correct”, eventually it could become unclear, and communication will become even more difficult.

Tl;dr

“And I’s” is not technically grammatically correct. Use “and my” or “and me” instead. Not sure what to use? Remove the other person from the sentence to test it and help you figure it out.

[hahawishmeluck]

i fucking love first/second/third person tenses because it’s so like. idk funny? kind of accurate to the human experience imo. like:

*I* am the First type of person ~points towards self

*You* are the Second type of person ~points towards you

*He/She/They* are the Third type of person ~gestures to everyone else

it just Makes Sense

[abitboldshop]

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Funny Mug — Silently Correcting Your Grammar — Gift for Grammar Nerds, Teachers, Writers, Office Humor, Coffee or Tea Lovers

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A thoughtful gift for birthdays, holidays, or any special occasion, this mug is sure to bring a smile to the face of your favorite word nerd. The high-quality ceramic design ensures it will be a favorite companion for years to come, whether it's sitting proudly on an office desk or nestled at home in a cozy reading nook. This humorous and relatable mug is a must-have for anyone who takes pride in good grammar while sipping their favorite beverage.

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[liaromancewriter]

Punctuation matters 🤣

[head-empty-river]

for anyone who doesn't know this grammar rule and is super confused by it, here's a psa i guess?

it's vs its

it's

if it can be broken down into "it is" then use an apostrophe "it's"

ex: "it's okay dude, you'll be fine"

its

if it's possessive, aka something that belongs to or is a descriptor of "it", then don't use an apostrophe

ex: "its grin widened"

my thoughts on the topic:

it's a weird grammar exception that (in my experience) wasn't explained well in school, so (like i used to before learning this) many people would get confused between the two. "it's" is more common, since often the thing being described with "its" tends to make more sense if a specific word is used instead. i think its most common use is in referring to previous statements (like in this sentence), or in describing something unknown/incomprehensible (imo best utilized in eldritch/cosmic horror).

fyi, english teachers often don't want you to use "its" or "it's" in essays when it can be avoided (which is partially why i think this distinction isn't taught. when students don't feel comfortable enough using it, they're more likely to choose other words instead).

[phoeberaven]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's "fentanyl", not " fentanol".

Spelling ain't gonna save a life, but it's driving me bonkers how many people say/spell it wrong.

[keyboard-squared]

5 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases (According to an Editor)

Most people don't realise they're using these words and phrases incorrectly!

The English language is a funny thing. Ask any two people about a specific word or phrase and they’ll probably say or explain it differently depending on where they’re from and how their family says it. Some people grow up not even knowing that they’ve got their phrasing or spelling wrong, and those mistakes then come out in their books. But it’s okay, because that’s where I come in. In case we…

[e-vay]

So… those Doom Abilities in Sonic X Shadow Generations, huh?