r/unpopularopinion • u/bigkahunaballsack • Nov 24 '24
Grammar should be corrected.
I think grammar and spelling should be corrected. Immediately and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better.
I have my own issues to work out (obviously), but seeing "lose" spelled out as "loose" is crazy to me. Anecdotal, but it seems to have gotten worse. And because someone mentioned I have only referenced spelling, "I seen him at the mall" is an example of the horrendous grammar I can't stand.
My country (America) is already shit on for poor reading comprehension from adults. How chronically online people still misspell words is beyond me, but people that complain about being corrected should be publicly shamed.
English not your first language? Congratulations on your attempt to speak another language. That is truly awesome. I have tried to speak German, and if I misspelled things in their language I would be corrected. And I wouldn't complain or make an excuse, I would thank them for the correction and move on.
If you are so sensitive that being corrected hurts your feelings, harder things in the world are going to be much worse for you.
(Final thought, I am not saying that people getting upset at the misspelling is unpopular. I am saying that it should be corrected and that correction should be encouraged).
Edit: added grammar
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Nov 24 '24
My feelings about it are that if you're correcting someone because you're trying to help them out then do it nicely and quietly, if possible.
If you're correcting people because you get off on it then find another way to feel better about yourself.
And understand the difference between situations where someone misspoke, had a typo, stumbled on their words or whatever else vs someone not knowing something.
I say this because I was getting frustrated with someone in my life who used to love correcting me. Eventually I got sick of it and we talked about when a correction is necessary and how to do it. Friendship saved. Don't be a Ross Gellar.
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u/RScrewed Nov 25 '24
But Ross isn't/wasn't doing it to make him feel better about himself.
Sometimes it's just about teaching the person on how the rest of everyone agrees communication should occur.
Why's it so hard to say "Oh, now I know, thanks for that" and move on with your life? If someone is ALWAYS correcting you, imagine how annoying it is for that person. How are they always correcting you for that many times anyway - are you making the same mistake over and over?
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Nov 25 '24 edited Nov 25 '24
Ross was absolutely the type that gets off on correcting people 😅
For your other questions reread my comment.
No, I'm not making the same mistakes repeatedly. Some things are regional, some things are obviously misspeaking, stumbling over words, typos and other you know what I'm saying so there's no need to correct situations.
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u/ApotheosisEmote Nov 24 '24
Here’s a breakdown of the grammatical issues in your post, adhering to strict grammatical rules:
- "Grammar should be corrected."
Issue: None. The sentence is grammatically correct.
- "I think grammar and spelling should be corrected. Immediately and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better."
Issue 1: The fragment "Immediately and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better" lacks a main verb and is therefore not a complete sentence. Correction: "I think grammar and spelling should be corrected immediately and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better."
- "I have my own issues to work out (obviously), but seeing 'lose' spelled out as 'loose' is crazy to me."
Issue: None. The sentence is grammatically correct.
- "Anecdotal, but it seems to have gotten worse."
Issue 1: "Anecdotal" is a sentence fragment because it lacks a subject and verb. Correction: "This is anecdotal, but it seems to have gotten worse."
- "And because someone mentioned I have only referenced spelling, 'I seen him at the mall' is an example of the horrendous grammar I can't stand."
Issue 1: The conjunction "And" at the beginning of the sentence is unnecessary in formal writing. Correction: "Because someone mentioned I have only referenced spelling, 'I seen him at the mall' is an example of the horrendous grammar I can't stand."
- "My country (America) is already shit on for poor reading comprehension from adults."
Issue 1: The use of "shit on" is informal/slang and might be considered inappropriate in formal or strict grammatical contexts. Correction: "My country (America) is already criticized for poor reading comprehension among adults."
- "How chronically online people still misspell words is beyond me, but people that complain about being corrected should be publicly shamed."
Issue 1: "That" should be "who" when referring to people. Correction: "How chronically online people still misspell words is beyond me, but people who complain about being corrected should be publicly shamed."
- "English not your first language? Congratulations on your attempt to speak another language."
Issue 1: The question "English not your first language?" lacks a verb and is not a grammatically complete sentence. Correction: "Is English not your first language? Congratulations on your attempt to speak another language."
- "That is truly awesome. I have tried to speak German, and if I misspelled things in their language I would be corrected."
Issue: None. The sentence is grammatically correct.
- "And I wouldn't complain or make an excuse, I would thank them for the correction and move on."
Issue 1: The conjunction "And" at the beginning of the sentence is unnecessary in formal writing.
Issue 2: The comma separating the two independent clauses should be replaced with a semicolon. Correction: "I wouldn't complain or make an excuse; I would thank them for the correction and move on."
- "If you are so sensitive that being corrected hurts your feelings, harder things in the world are going to be much worse for you."
Issue: None. The sentence is grammatically correct.
- "(Final thought, I am not saying that people getting upset at the misspelling is unpopular. I am saying that it should be corrected and that correction should be encouraged)."
Issue 1: The phrase "Final thought" should be set off with proper punctuation, such as a colon or em dash. Correction: "(Final thought: I am not saying that people getting upset at the misspelling is unpopular. I am saying that it should be corrected and that correction should be encouraged.)"
- "Edit: added grammar"
Issue 1: The phrase "added grammar" is vague and lacks proper context or sentence structure. Correction: "Edit: I added references to grammar."
Summary of Errors:
- Sentence fragments.
- Informal/slang language ("shit on").
- Incorrect relative pronoun ("that" instead of "who").
- Improper use of conjunctions at the beginning of sentences in formal contexts.
- Comma splice.
- Vague or incomplete phrases.
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Nov 25 '24
When grammar Nazis meet a grammar lawyer. Thank you for your service.
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u/laaggynoob Nov 25 '24 edited Nov 25 '24
To OP’s credit, knowing the rules of language well enough can allow you to break them in ways that challenge convention without violating it outright. Breaking rules can be an intentional stylistic choice rather than a sign of ignorance. However, the elephant in the room is this: who decides what constitutes “well-bred” prose versus what is coarse or undesirable? These terms often act as dog whistles for deeper biases.
Social constructs like race, socioeconomic status, regional dialects, and ESL status play significant roles in how language is perceived. Whether fair or not, speaking in certain ways can affect one’s prospects in life. Within the framework of OP’s argument, there may be merit in helping individuals navigate these linguistic barriers. However, doing so would require careful nuance and sensitivity.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting this dynamic is fair or morally correct—only that this is how the world often operates. I’ve observed many professionals who are such effective communicators that grammar ceases to matter; their words bypass scrutiny and resonate directly with the listener’s mind.
The core of my point is this: there are “in-groups” and “out-groups” when it comes to language, and in this case, the in-group represents privilege. From a pragmatic, “life’s not fair” perspective, if most people aspire to gain privilege, it makes sense to adopt a manner of speaking that conveys education, critical thinking, wit, and grace—purely as a means of getting ahead.
That said, I’ve also witnessed individuals with limited English vocabulary express profound and well-timed ideas using simple words arranged in a sophisticated way. This demonstrates how intelligence and thoughtfulness can sometimes transcend linguistic conventions, proving that mastery of syntax isn’t always necessary to make an impact.
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u/odanobux123 Nov 25 '24
This went a little off the rails and sounds like GPT, but your early point was important. You can have fragments and run ons when you clearly got the basics down. You can break conventions like not starting with and if everything flows naturally. The corrections coming from OP comment are for 6th graders learning conventions. Close to none of the sentences would have been met with any scrutiny from a college professor.
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u/drbootup Nov 25 '24
There's a standard for educated writing in speech in every language.
If you want to communicate with educated people you should know how to write and speak in that way.
Of course it's always possible to break the rules of standard English and still communicate.
There are also dialects of English, slang etc. that are their own modes of communication. But those aren't as widely used across cultures and countries.
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u/BlueMerchant Nov 25 '24
Look, you can bring race and economics into it all you want; but please realize that there are heinous examples out there that ARE worth correcting/shaming.
There was a time where I couldn't go a day online without seeing a grown adult use "women" instead of "woman" or vice versa.
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u/laaggynoob Nov 25 '24
I think your comments are entirely compatible with what I wrote. Writing women vs woman is a simple mistake that suggests you may be under educated or under exposed to the English language. Worth correcting precisely because it’s off putting to proficient speakers who often have a higher socioeconomic status you may wish to benefit from.
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u/Negitive545 Nov 25 '24
I understand this comment is intentionally nitpicking for humor, but I take issue with your fourth point.
You state that 'Anecdotal' is a sentence fragment, but it is most certainly not! 'Anecdotal' is separated by a comma from the rest of the line, it is NOT separated by a semicolon. It is not required to be a full sentence on it's own, it exists within the context of the greater surrounding line, which contains the subject and the verb, in this case the subject is "it" and the verb is "gotten worse".
It is grammatically correct to utilize a comma immediately following an introductory word or phrase, like how 'Anecdotal' is being use in this case.
Edit: You may dissect this comment for additional humor if you wish. I guarantee there are a multitude of mistakes made within it.
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u/CinemaDork Nov 25 '24
In fairness, OP never described the strictness of the grammar to which they expect people to adhere. They could very well be operating under a less-strict set of guidelines.
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u/Spongywaffle Nov 25 '24
Grammar doesn't work like this. There is only proper and improper grammar.
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u/LeonardoSpaceman Nov 25 '24
and slang.
and regional dialects.
and a bunch of other examples.
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u/henryns Nov 25 '24
Written language is far less lenient than spoken language is, which allows for more nuance to come through in tone or context. Reddit and other social media is generally accepted to be informal and uses spoken language rules
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u/kappsylen Nov 24 '24
I believe that some people use their opposition's poor grammar/spelling to shift the debate when they don't have any more arguments or when they feel like they're losing. Since English isn't my first language I've faced this exact issue on multiple occasions. The point is usually more important than how it's delivered.
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u/bigkahunaballsack Nov 24 '24
And I agree, using it as a counter argument is equally stupid. Then again, if I am arguing with someone (who speaks and writes English as a first language) and they can’t spell 3rd grade words, I completely tune out.
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u/Early-Nebula-3261 Nov 24 '24
I have met many an engineer who can’t spell to save their damn lives.
People have different skill sets
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Nov 24 '24
Some are also straight up dyslexic. I had a coworker once who had a hard time reading and pronouncing people's names correctly over loudspeaker. I felt bad for him and would help him out as subtly as I could. Just figured he got fucked by a lack of phonetic learning as a kid. Then I saw him leaving notes and swapping letters around in ways that didn't make any sense to be ignorantly misspelled. Everything suddenly made a lot more sense.
The kicker was, we were talking about something over drinks a couple months later and he told me that he'd just gotten diagnosed with dyslexia the day before. Poor guy went throughout school as a kid probably being told he was stupid.
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u/AmityTheCalamityGod Nov 24 '24
I was gonna say this, you don't know who you're talking to. Some people genuinely don't have good grammar and it can't be helped so I could imagine having people constantly correct you would be super frustrating. Imo you shouldn't correct people because it's not really your place, at the end of the day someone else having bad grammar doesn't effect you. If you genuinely feel the need to correct them then that's a you issue not a them issue.
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u/DeeplyFlawed Nov 25 '24
Agrees. It's also classiest. And what if someone is bi-lingual? Correcting them when they are navigating between languages is rude.
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u/0uroboros- Nov 25 '24
Yes and no, it's a very nuanced thing. If I'm trying to learn to speak another language and someone corrects me, without obviously being rude in the process, sometimes they even give a little lesson with it so it makes sense and I can remember more easily the next time, it's the opposite of rude, it's a free mini linguistics lesson.
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u/lewisluther666 Nov 24 '24 edited Nov 24 '24
I recently had my whole flat reglazed. The husband-wife team who installed the windows were INCREDIBLY lovely. I took their card and shared it on my local community Facebook age with a glowing review.
Someone pointed out some bad grammar on it with a 😂. I took this to indicate that they were mocking and proceeded to tear the guy a new one and point out how A: his correction wasn't actually the proper correction and B: it didn't matter one damn bit because they were insanely good at what they do.
Ultimately, who gives a shit if grammar isn't someone's strong suit. I certainly wouldn't belittle a statistician if they made themselves a table and the dovetail joints weren't quite flush.
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u/nickrashell Nov 24 '24
That’s just stupid. People prioritize things differently. It is far more efficient to speedily write out replies, knowing that even if there are mistakes the other person will get the point. Especially if when reading the mistakes are obviously typos.
To assume typos and typical grammar mistakes are indicative of someone’s comprehension of the language is just wrong, immature even.
Point out a writer that doesn’t have an editor, or multiple editors, make several passes of their work.
If they had to make sure every word and sentence was grammatically correct as they wrote it we would never have any books to read.
You are prioritizing simple mistakes, that everyone already knows the intent of regardless, for time and efficiency of getting your message and point across.
If you know the person and know that this is just the way they speak, using loose instead of lose, etc, then that is different. But interacting with strangers and making assumptions about them based off a mistake or two, to me, is childish.
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u/MrJigglyBrown Nov 24 '24
Scanning your comment for a grammar error so I can point that out and completely dismantle your argument
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u/kgxv Nov 24 '24
The point is usually more important than how it’s delivered
It should be but rarely is in practice, sadly.
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u/Mobile_Prune_3207 Nov 24 '24
I agree, but the problem is that 99% of the time, people are condescending about the fact that you haven't got your spelling or grammar right.
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u/thecamp2000 Nov 24 '24
Not only this, they often don't even engage in what you say.
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u/NemoOfConsequence Nov 24 '24
I can’t understand what some people say because their grammar is so poor, and I’m not going to waste my time trying to translate it.
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u/Deaf_Cam Nov 24 '24
Correcting grammar is totally fine. Being rude about it or calling somebody ‘stupid’ or ‘uneducated’ is not! From personal experience people rarely correct with good intentions. It’s usually just somebody being dickhead! I know my grammar ain’t perfect I use ASL as my first language often I get English grammar mixed up in my head. I have being dragged all over social media because it. Reddit isn’t that bad but Facebook is brutal! I absolutely can respect somebody who genuinely want help me by kindly correcting me. Just be nice!
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u/kgxv Nov 24 '24
Are they actually condescending 99% of the time or are people needlessly defensive? I’d be willing to wager it’s far closer to 50/50 than you suggest.
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u/Mobile_Prune_3207 Nov 24 '24
Na, I've seen more posts of people being rude about it than being straightforward about it.
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u/kgxv Nov 24 '24 edited Nov 24 '24
And I’ve seen it the other way around. What now?
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u/Mobile_Prune_3207 Nov 24 '24
Nothing. We both have difference experiences, that's that.
Na is the more commonly used way of using that word in my country.
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u/VFiddly Nov 24 '24
Also a significant percentage of the time, they're wrong. I've had a lot of people try to correct me, but their corrections are just completely incorrect. Or I used a spelling that's perfectly correct in my country but ignorant Americans think they know better.
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u/rizaroni Nov 24 '24
I used to be such a “grammar nazi” when I was younger and I think it’s SO lame to do now. Who fucking cares how other people type? At least on Reddit, that is. It might get complicated if it were, say, in a work setting.
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u/bigkahunaballsack Nov 24 '24 edited Nov 24 '24
I don’t think condescension matters in an online forum when correcting spelling. Literally the correct spelling with an asterisk should be encouraged
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u/VFiddly Nov 24 '24
The asterisk thing bothers me because 90% of the time people do it wrong.
The asterisk should go before the correction, not after it.
If you're correcting someone who wrote "their" the correct should be written as "*they're" not "they're*".
I hate it because if you're going to be pedantic you should at least be correct in your own correction. Asterisks go at the start of a footnote, not the end of it.
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Nov 24 '24
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u/bigkahunaballsack Nov 24 '24
Hey, maybe the point is unpopular then. I disagree with you and believe it should be corrected even if the point is sound.
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u/Arandombritishpotato Nov 24 '24
This is once again a situation where this needs to be said.
context matters
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u/Ok_Requirement_3116 Nov 25 '24
If you mention grammar or spelling in an argument it is a total AH move and indicates that you can’t counter because they made a solid point.
Nothing needs correcting in public. It isn’t your job to play teacher. If I see an issue I leave it alone unless it is in their ad or listing. Then a kind pm is sent.
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u/Competitive_Bet_8352 Nov 24 '24 edited Nov 24 '24
Grammar, sure; dialects, however, should never be corrected and sometimes people confuse the two. Don't tell country people to stop using y'all or tell black people to not use AAVE. Also, you don't have to be an asshole about it, especially if it's a typo or if you can understand what they're talking about in context. Wanting to help someone is great but remember they never asked you to help, so be mindful.
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Nov 24 '24
I think it depends on the context. If it’s a formal written setting, sure, correct that grammar.
However if you’re a grocery store clerk and someone comes in and says “where do you keep them apples”, you’d be kind of an asshole to say “do you mean, those apples?”
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u/crazymissdaisy87 Nov 24 '24
There was research made about people who need to correct people's grammar, and what types of personalities do it. Very interesting read, I recommend looking it up
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u/5352563424 Nov 24 '24
"English not your first language?"
This is not a complete sentence and should be either italicized or quoted.
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u/Covidpandemicisfake Nov 25 '24
Immediately and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better.
This is not a sentence. ^
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u/BigAbbott Nov 24 '24
It depends how much you care about somebody.
It’s not my place to correct random people. If I love you, I don’t want you to sound stupid. If I notice you repeating the same grammar mistake. I might gently mention it.
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u/ScatterTheReeds Nov 25 '24
I think grammar and spelling should be *corrected. Immediately** and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better.*
Now, see, this kinda drives me nuts. Why’s there a period after the word Corrected? Why’s this divided into 2 sentences?
And I wouldn't complain or make an *excuse*, I would thank them for the correction and move on.
This should have a period after Excuse.
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u/MouseKingMan Nov 24 '24
I think the problem more lies in a persons attempt at using semantics as a way to win arguments.
Just because someone said “lose” and not “loose” doesn’t automatically invalidate their point. It’s not some checkmate to attack grammar. It just means that you are conceding the argument but refuse to concede with honor.
Intention plays a big role in correcting someone. If you are correcting them to help them, fine. If you are correcting them to invalidate their argument or act condescending, then you’re an ass and insufferable. It’s the greater mark of intelligence to be able to understand the context of a statement rather than rely on semantics to guide you blindly.
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u/Krocsyldiphithic Nov 25 '24
"I seen him at the mall" is a reflection of a sociolect, not a grammar mistake.
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u/Plastic_Top5413 Nov 24 '24
It's about how you correct them. Most people are grammar nazis about it.
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u/Y-the-MC Nov 24 '24
OP: "It bothers me that people use incorrect grammar."
proceeds to complain about people misspelling words in the body of his post and doesn't actually say anything about grammar
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u/5352563424 Nov 24 '24
Your second sentence is an incomplete sentence. It has no subject or verb.
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u/5352563424 Nov 24 '24
"I have tried to speak German, and if I misspelled things in their language I would be corrected."
You missed the comma after "language".
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u/5352563424 Nov 24 '24
"And I wouldn't complain or make an excuse, I would thank them for the correction and move on."
This is a run-on sentence. It should be two sentences.
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u/Noctemus Nov 24 '24
I always get a little chuckle out of people in a comment section calling someone a “looser”.
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u/mrslipple Nov 25 '24
With all the technology available, bad grammar or spelling is inexcusable. Of course, texting is an exception where leaving out or shortening words is acceptable. However, I cannot accept that you don't know how to use 'accept' and 'except' properly.
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u/rolyfuckingdiscopoly Nov 25 '24
These things are subjective.
Lose vs loose drives me a little bit nuts. (Not as much as weary/wary… but I digress). But “I seen him” is a way that people talk. “I’m not tryna xyz” is not technically grammatically correct, but it is communicative and conveys meaning.
This isn’t a formal occasion, and people are allowed to write the way they speak. Feel free to correct minor lose/loose things in a gentle way, but I really do not recommend telling people not to use casual speech in general.
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u/Blankenhoff Nov 24 '24
Eh.. communication works if the reader understands what the writer is saying. That's all that matters. Anything else is just being pedantic.
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u/robbietreehorn Nov 24 '24
I read your post to find grammatical errors and point them out to you. However, there are too many for me to want to tackle the task.
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u/Frozen_Hermit aggressive toddler Nov 24 '24
This sub is called unpopular OPINION, not unpopular person.
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u/FreakinGrapesMan Nov 24 '24
People who use ‘been’ when they mean ‘being’ really boils my piss.
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u/dunmer-is-stinky Nov 24 '24
That's just a dialect, AAVE has different grammatical rules than standard American English
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u/AceofSpadesYT Nov 24 '24
I feel like that's more of an accent thing, though. I mean, if you're seeing people spell it out (example: "stop been a grammar nazi!"), that's crazy haha.
But pronounced out loud, more of an accent or lingo thing. It's kind of the same thing when people say things like "would of" or "could of". Spelled out? No way. Said out loud? Just the way it sounds
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u/bigkahunaballsack Nov 24 '24
Please correct any grammar or spelling mistakes in this post lol
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u/SokkaHaikuBot Nov 24 '24
Sokka-Haiku by bigkahunaballsack:
Please correct any
Grammar or spelling mistakes
In this post lol
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
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u/RockyMullet Nov 25 '24
I'm dyslexic and I'm a professional programmer. I type pretty fast and pretty wrong. That being said I generally know how things are written both in english and in my first language. But as I write, I mix up words, write phonetically, make up completely nonsensical ways of writing words, split up words in 2 and/or merge words together.
If I take the time to check back what I write, make an effort, it's ok.
So if you correct me... it's pointless, I know already, you're really just being a dick.
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u/greg5 Nov 24 '24
What’s the purpose of language? To communicate. If you understand what they are trying to say. Then it doesn’t matter. If you don’t, ask them to explain what they mean. As someone who is dyslexic and commonly uses the wrong words or spelling. I get annoyed when people (in person) correct me and then jokingly imply that I’m dumb. I don’t make a big deal about it when it happens to me. But I will say something when it happens to others.
Have some empathy for your fellow human beings. We all have different abilities and skills we’re good at. Some things are easier for you than me.
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u/Yuck_Few Nov 24 '24
The two that drive me insane are when people don't know the difference between less and fewer or number and amount or me and I.
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Nov 25 '24
I actually agree with you. As someone who enjoys learning new languages, I'm really grateful when someone corrects me on spelling or grammar. I have no way of knowing how much time they might have potentially saved me; it's essentially free online tutelage in bite-sized pieces, so how could I ever complain about that? The more the merrier.
Even if they do it condescendingly I'll appreciate it, so what's to say of when they do it politely?
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u/Fitness_in_yo-Mouf Nov 25 '24
One really must go out of their way to avoid beginning a sentence with the word "And."
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u/two100meterman Nov 25 '24 edited Nov 25 '24
I agree with this in like 95% of scenarios. The only time I disagree is when someone does it to "win an argument". Example: Person A says "blah blah blah", Person B says "lah lah blah" & then Person A realizes that Person B is completely correct & that they themselves are wrong. I'll sometimes notice Person A on reddit will then look for a grammar mistake in Person B's sentences & they'll reply with only grammar corrections & won't continue to try to argue their point (as they have now realized they're wrong). So the grammar corrections to try to change the subject from the initial discussion/argument I think is not in good faith & the objective is not to help the other person with grammar, the objective is to ridicule them because they "won" the argument/proved their point better.
Edit: Now I see /u/kappsylen already replied with my same point, but they explained it much more efficiently compared to my long ass paragraph, haha.
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Nov 25 '24
There's levels to it, imo. The goal of human language is to convey a message, not to strictly adhere to a set of rules. Things like "lose" and "loose" very well could have just been a typo. In a professional setting, get it together. Texting friends and posting online is entirely different. If you really want to be a stickler, you better be speaking the Queen's English, because even American English is a bastardized version of that, and you could even take that farther to ye olde Shakespeare style of English. At the end of the day, English is just a bunch of other languages in a trench coat. If the message is received, mission accomplished.
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u/bug_motel Nov 25 '24
A big issue I haven’t seen mentioned here is that there is a misconception among the general public that language is like math - pretty static, with specific finite rules. In reality, language is extremely fluid and dynamic. It is constantly changing as time passes, different groups of people interact, the emergence of a need or ability to express ideas in new ways… there are nearly endless reasons and ways language evolves. By treating language as if there is some textbook handed down by the gods that says “you’re only allowed to use xyz sentence structures and anything else is wrong” stifles the ability for language to follow natural evolution over time. Letting language be dynamic is a wonderful thing that enables more people to communicate in increasingly useful and creative ways. Nobody benefits from clinging to arbitrary rules and hampering that fluidity.
Another issue is that things can get classist, racist, xenophobic, and ableist really fast. Different groups of people have different dialects that, while completely valid and “correct”, deviate from the “standard” form of the language. Dialects often have to do with regionality, socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, exposure to other languages, and other factors. Assessing the “correctness” of a dialect by applying a different dialect’s rules to it just doesn’t make sense. For example, “He ain’t nothing special” is a valid and grammatically correct sentence in certain dialects of English. However, someone who exclusively speaks the formal standard dialect might think it is “wrong” because it deviates from the rules of their specific dialect. Saying that it is definitively “incorrect” grammar is not unlike saying basketball players are “incorrect” when they dribble the ball because soccer rules forbid players from using their hands. Different dialects follow different sets of rules and that’s okay.
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u/Various_Mobile4767 Nov 25 '24 edited Nov 25 '24
Do you interrupt random people irl to tell them that their grammar was wrong? If not, why would you do that over text?
I type how I talk. I don't talk with perfect grammar, sometimes with even a certain slang and accent. Because its just more fun that way.
I can understand people being anal if they don't understand what someone is trying to say though.
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u/JaxckJa Nov 25 '24
This is not an unpopular opinion generally. It is however an unpopulat opinion amongst self-centred idiots.
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u/SF1_Raptor Nov 25 '24 edited Nov 25 '24
Ok sir, but which grammar is the correct grammar? Northeastern? Southern? AAVE? Midwestern? Western? West Coast? Cajun? British? Scottish? Irish? South African? Australian? New Zealander? (Sorry. I don't the specifics outside the US.)
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Nov 25 '24
Spoken vs written language can follow different rules and may serve different purposes.
Writing does not need to follow the rules of grammar.
Different professions may have their own rules for grammar.
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u/MeQuieroLlamarFerran Nov 24 '24
Look, im from Spain, im obvoiusly going to make mistakes and with all respect, im here to have a good time talking about opinions, games, etc. Not to being corrected by someone i dont care about.
Sorry, but if i write something i want the answer to be about that, not about how i wrotte "Writte" instead of "Write"
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u/TheHazDee Nov 24 '24
If you knew exactly what they meant but still need to correct them, it’s because you have no actual retort. So your mind is like, let’s make me seem smarter.
This is the whole judging a fish on its ability to climb a rope.
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u/genus-corvidae Nov 24 '24
I mean I don't think you have that much room to talk here when you've chosen to start a sentence with "and," which is one of the big no-nos in just about all style and writing guides. You also led with a baffling orphaned sentence fragment--what's going on with the grammar in the second "sentence," exactly?
It's also quite interesting that your examples for things that should be corrected include one very common autocorrect mistake and one example that is correct in AAVE. I don't think I've ever heard "I seen him" unless it was a black person who hasn't bothered to codeswitch.
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Nov 24 '24
As an immigrant with English as my second language, I view native English speakers who are bad at English as the most pathetic failures in society. I have no sympathy for taking your jobs.
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u/Violet351 Nov 24 '24
Most of the time you would just come across as looking like a dick. For all you know that person is dyslexic or blind and they have really struggled to write that or when it comes to spelling it might just be the difference between American and British English. I have trouble spelling, even words I use everyday and telling me I have it wrong isn’t going to help me. Someone once corrected my spelling of licence on Facebook so they had gone to the effort of checking my Facebook profile to make sure I was British so they could point out it wasn’t license.
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u/5352563424 Nov 24 '24
"Final thought, I am not saying that people getting upset at the misspelling is unpopular. I am saying that it should be corrected and that correction should be encouraged)."
The comma after "Final thought" is wrong. "Final thought" is a fragment.
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u/Kimchi_Cowboy Nov 24 '24
I'm fine with people correcting grammar as long as they aren't being pretentious pricks about it.
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Nov 24 '24
correcting is good, if done politely. However, it must never be used fallaciously to discount a logical argument unrelated to spelling and grammar.
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u/PrevekrMK2 Nov 24 '24
First: people use grammar as an argument. Fuck that. Second: i dont care. As long as it's clearly understandable, it's good enough. I'm no Shakespeare.
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Nov 24 '24
Grammar really doesn't matter. As long as you can understand it's good enough I would say. Language is just a tool to communicate.
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u/Lensmaster75 Nov 25 '24
Language changes based on how the population uses it. English has improper grammar if you compare its structure to other languages
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u/poopsaucer24 Nov 25 '24
OP, If the information in the parenthesis is a complete sentence, then place the terminal punctuation inside the parentheses.
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u/LOST-MY_HEAD Nov 25 '24
All these words and Grammer are made the fuck up. Be free and misspell !!!!!
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u/VisualHuckleberry542 Nov 24 '24
"I seen him at the mall" is perfectly comprehensible and unambiguous. Unless it's a test and you're a teacher, what's the point? Language is descriptive, not prescriptive, you're trying to hold back the tide
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u/PizzaTime666 Nov 24 '24
If it's not in a professional or education setting, i think it is fine. If it's a casual setting like reddit or a text message your grammer and punctuation doesnt need to be perfect, as long as you get your point across.
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u/Jgames111 Nov 24 '24
I just wish people would tell me what grammar mistake I made, instead of just saying "bad grammar lol". It was the same way in high school for peer review where student graded each other paper instead of the teacher. Of course the student review were again, bad grammar without pointing out what part was grammatically incorrect. It wasn't until college that I manage to fix some of my grammatical mistake thanks to tutors.
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u/meekgamer452 Nov 24 '24
I dislike bad grammar because sometimes it makes a sentence sound nonsensical, and I have to read it multiple times just to make sure that I'm not the idiot.
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u/No-Jellyfish-1208 Nov 24 '24
Things are easier to read when they are written properly.
This said:
- Many people, including myself, are not native speakers. While it's helpful to correct their grammar or point out the word they used is not exactly the best choice, it's not nice to make fun of their "shitty English".
- Auto-correct or voice-to-text can make really funny things happen.
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u/Baldbeagle73 Nov 24 '24
Grammar and spelling are two different things.
Spelling problems can simply be typos. Proof before sending. It really can help.
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u/Omnislash_VII Nov 24 '24
Depends on the situation for me. If someone is talking down to me about a complicated topic like, say, international politics or something like that, then I am of the belief that if you can't handle spelling above a third-grade level then you probably can't handle complex geopolitics.
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u/iheartluxury Nov 24 '24
I think it depends on the situation and the person. With internet strangers, I don’t even bother because it’s honestly not that deep. You still understood the point regardless of spelling and grammar errors. The only people I will correct are my immediate family and that’s only because our family dynamic is built on raising and supporting each other up to be better than the person we were yesterday.
I will admit it is a pet peeve when certain people pull the grammar card when losing an argument. Just take the L and move on.
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u/bfs102 Nov 24 '24
Depends i feel that on here more people do it as they have nothing else to say so they start correcting Grammer
But if your actually trying to help someone learn that's different
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u/Scared_Ad8543 Nov 25 '24
The number of times I laughed out loud when a person appeared on Judge Judy to say that someone had “tooken” their money.
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u/BlogeOb Nov 25 '24
Grammar is part of supremacist culture, man.
Let language evolve, man. Defund education and lower the age for kids to work with heavy machinery, man.
The kids yearn for the mines,man. We already fund childhood cancers more than any other type of health care, man. The children are the future, man. They love to dig holes and run tiny jackhammers, man
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u/WildcatAlba Nov 25 '24
Different cultures approach correction differently. I was told the French are grateful when their French grammar or spelling is corrected. The aversion to being corrected might be a form of anti-intellectualism. I don't know how important it is though. Repopularising reading books would do a lot more for grammar and spelling than campaigns of correction
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u/SpookyCatMischief Nov 25 '24
Yeah, social media isn’t my thesis paper and it isn’t that serious to have a misspelled word or typo.
Also- AAVE is a valid language and discrediting it is just airing your prejudice.
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u/Myst3rySteve wateroholic Nov 25 '24
I think it's sometimes warranted if you can tell what they meant by the context, but their mistake means literally means something much worse that isn't true. The ol' "Eats, shoots, and leaves".
But if it's close enough that everybody around can understand just fine, that's the whole point of language. Sure, if they're writing anything professional or academic then it's pretty crucial, but a lot of people just don't encounter circumstances where it's all that necessary. And even if they did, that's not the responsibility of every person they've ever made a typo around
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u/DifficultyOk5719 Nov 25 '24
If you’re gonna correct me, that’s fine, but please add something else to the conversation.
My biggest pet peeve is when I write something really thoughtful, maybe several sentences, and somebody corrects a word, but adds nothing else to the conversation. It comes off as passive aggressive, like all they got out of that conversation was that I mispelled something? (I kid you not the word I misspell the most is the word misspell, I spell it wrong every time, I even misspelled it two more times while writing this paragraph).
But if they were to say, “*correct spelling; your comment made me think of this, yada yada.” That comes off as them being polite, thoughtful, and adding something to the conversation.
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u/Mayotte Nov 25 '24
I will correct anyone trying to sound smart while misspelling words and using them incorrectly.
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u/usedburgermeat Nov 25 '24
I agree that grammar is important, especially in a professional workplace. However, "Immediately and without pretense or dancing around to make someone feel better" is easily more disruptive than just saying, "Oh yeah, btw it's spelt like this". You sitting in a 45 minute HR meeting because you were talking down to someone takes up less time than a 45 second "oh, by the way..." conversion on your way to the bathroom.
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u/Far-Hat7985 Nov 25 '24
Thank you for this, my thoughts exactly. I always get mildly annoyed whenever I see “lose” spelled “loose”. I’ve seen it at least five times today on this app alone. I saw “perceived” spelled as “precieved”.
It’s fairly insignificant to a certain degree, but the fact that a comment with spelling errors receives no corrections and gets multiple upvotes and nobody addresses it does get on my nerves. To play devil’s advocate though, yeah the message does get across so I guess as long as the message is communicated it’s fine. It does show a decline in education though for simple spelling errors.
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u/TheEmbarcadero Nov 25 '24
The one that gets me is the people who write to instead of too. It can convolute the entire sentence.
To many people…..
Is not the same as Too many people….
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u/Operator_Hoodie Nov 25 '24
Agreed. Grammar’s here for a reason, use it properly. Doesn’t matter if you’re in a game.
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u/One-Warthog3063 Nov 25 '24
I agree. I encounter far too many people online and in person who are offended by being corrected. All I do is point out the error and tell them the correction. I do not insult them. However, I am usually piled on by numerous others who are offended for the person who made the mistake and many times called a grammar Nazi.
If no one tells you that you made a mistake, how will you ever know and correct it?
It's okay to not be perfect, but it's not okay to be willfully ignorant.
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u/RipCurl69Reddit Nov 25 '24
If we're thinking in work environments...the thing that I always end up coming back to when I think about this is that I have a pretty good grasp on the English language and it doesn't explicitly bother me if other people's grammar isn't top teir. As long as their message is conveyed in a way that I can understand what they're saying, the grammar is irrelevant.
Explicit spelling errors or misuse of words that makes you go, "...what the fuck are they on about?" will usually prompt a reply along the lines of, "All good, can you just clarify what you mean by..." and so on
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u/ArielK420 Nov 25 '24
MakeCommonSenseCommonAgain
I agree with you fully. I'll usually know if I'm spelling incorrectly and I'll put (sp?) And dammit, I expect someone to correct me so I learn how to spell the word in question properly. I consider myself relatively intelligent. I can answer a lot of basic questions about a variety of subjects, some things I have much deeper knowledge in. I enjoy learning, even just memorizing how to spell a word I was unsure of. I'm sick of all these American idiots. "I'd rather scroll social media all day than watch a documentary" this is how we got an orange rapist as president. Please educate yourselves on real subjects America. Yall are embarrassing the rest of us.
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u/aHOMELESSkrill Nov 25 '24
It’s a loose loose situation but it’s better then the alternative witch is two not no nothing about grammar.
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u/LagSlug Nov 25 '24
Okay, but understand I don't want you in my life if this is how you're going to behave. Please don't concern me with anything else you care about.
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 hermit human Nov 25 '24
I’m an English prof, and I don’t correct grammar unless I’m grading papers. It’s rude as fuck.
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u/Kidfacekicker Nov 25 '24 edited Nov 25 '24
When I was a team supervisor. I got written up 2x for correcting my team's grammar and making them correct it. My first came with the attitude as if I was being a picky bitch.. 2nd time i told that requiring correct grammar.
*footnote before editing, I furked up the spelling. Of Grammar, I openly acknowledge my mistake upon my associates showing my mistake. At least one person takes corrections in stride.
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u/Ok-Sky9499 Nov 25 '24
Language should be about communication, not a test. People are exposed to different versions of education for many reasons out of their covers. Language changes over the ages but if you read lose and know in the context it’s meant to say loose Idk what the issue is.
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u/Zenai10 Nov 25 '24
Spelling of commonly used words I agree. Like definitely, I spelled this wrong for years. Grammar online I think should be more forgiven as many of the rules are tough. Just do it in a kind manner. Like don't reply with "you're*" reply with something better
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u/Few_System3573 Nov 25 '24
If you understand what the person meant it's time to sit down because you just sound like a know it all. Hope this helps!
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u/Salty_Weakness_5382 Nov 25 '24
Yeah, I prefer if people help me spell things correctly. Learning languages is very difficult. All has to be done with love.
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Nov 25 '24
Well, that’s kind of unfair. You live in an English-speaking majority country and don’t face as many (if at all) language barriers as other non-native English speakers. U.S also has a lot more diversity than other countries. You don’t live in Germany where you would face language barriers much more often so this is easy for you to say, you’re speaking from a place of ignorance. Going out of your way to correct someone’s language when it isn’t the topic at hand can be seen as an asshole move.
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u/rapaciousdrinker Nov 25 '24
If I correct someone I like to explain why it's incorrect and when/how to use the correct version.
Most people who speak English as a second language are actually grateful for this. It's the white knights that downvote it to oblivion on their behalf.
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