I'd like to offer my thanks to all of the "Grammar Nazis" who

[MineralMan]

have helped me express myself more clearly over the years. I've thanked them individually already, when they pointed out that I had misused a word, spelled a word incorrectly, or used the wrong homophone in a sentence. Each time that happened, I was able to shed that error from my speaking and writing. So, I'm very grateful for those corrections.

These days, I don't make many such mistakes. I've been earning my living as a writer since 1974. In part, that's because people helped me to avoid errors in the past. I've always appreciated the time they spent doing that. It has been a big help, and it matters.

So, if someone points out an error in your writing, especially if it's a common error made by many people, tell that person thanks. Every error you never make again is precious.

[Frustratedlady]

1. Grammar is really spelled grammer. Just sayin'.

I don't correct others writing, but since you asked...tongue in cheek, probably...I decided to correct this one time.

[unblock]

6. At least Kelsey would agree with you

[BumRushDaShow]

63. Fixed

"I don't correct others' writing..."

[Frustratedlady]

2. My bad! You were right! Google got me. I owe you a heart.

[MineralMan]

5. LOL!

S'OK.

[rock]

3. Your welcome!

[Squinch]

9. You're reply is funny!

[rock]

13. Nice of you to say so

Thanks!

[Squinch]

14. Your welcome.

[rock]

19. You're right

That is funny!

[onlyadream]

45. Thats just to funny

I think its cute tho. But I won’t loose my temper over it.

[gibraltar72]

36. I saw what you did their!

[efhmc]

37. Right.There was a mistake there.

[gibraltar72]

40. This are fun.

[MyOwnPeace]

41. You are

SO write!

[malaise]

44. Their their

[yallerdawg]

4. Okay, MM.

Who're you going after now? What'd you find?

[unblock]

7. The correct plural form of Nazi is

“Republicans”

[MineralMan]

8. So it seems.

[Angry Dragon]

28. LOL

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Is this your way of saying "you can stop now" ? nt

[MineralMan]

12. It's always a good time to stop.

[shraby]

11. That doesn't just go for grammar. I've stumbled a time or two in my life and when I've learned

what I did wrong, I could hopefully correct and move on.

If you can't, it's to a person's detriment.

[ProudLib72]

15. You do realize that you don't use a comma between

a dependent clause and independent clause when the independent clause comes first.

The subject is covered here: http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/subordinateclause.htm

[MineralMan]

16. Thanks. I'm still working on that one.

I'm funny about commas, actually. That's one of the rules I break from time to time. When the reading flow of the sentence seems to require a comma, I sometimes use one in that way. Still, I do overdo it at times.

[ProudLib72]

17. Second sentence of your OP, MM!!!

Get to it!

(Is that authoritative enough to sound like a Nazi?)

I really ought not complain about others' grammar. I know the rules, but I break them. This is social media, and the rules are fluid when it comes to social media.

[mobeau69]

47. Good diction is also important.

I'm actually funny about good diction.

[Jim Lane]

48. Pardon me while I go all grammar Nazi on your source...

From the piece you linked:

If the two ideas have unequal importance, save the most important one for the end of the sentence so that your reader remembers it best.

If there are only two ideas, then neither can be the "most" anything. That author should have used "more" instead (as well as "better" instead of "best" for the same reason).

The piece does get it correct about the comma, by noting that it's more complicated than your summary would suggest. For example, either of these forms could be proper, depending on the meaning:
* I'd like to thank the grammar Nazis, who help me write better.
* I'd like to thank the grammar Nazis who help me write better.

The first one means that all grammar Nazis help the author write better. The second means that some grammar Nazis do help but others don't; the author is extending thanks only to the former group.

Finally, whether the correct form is "Grammar Nazis" (per MM's OP) or "grammar Nazis" (my own preference) is something that's probably not definitively covered in any style guide.

[ProudLib72]

56. Take a look at the second sentence of the OP

I contend that the first comma does not belong there. Following the reasoning in your examples, that sentence in the OP would indicate that MM is thanking the grammar Nazis only for those times they corrected his word usage (he listed three kinds of inappropriate word usage). I don't believe that to be his intent, and I stressed the list he included because its limited scope, I think, betrays his intent. We know (as does MM) that grammar involves more than correcting word usage, so I think that dependent clause is meant as a limited example of items he has had difficulty with in the past...

Good God, I totally lost my train of thought. I swear it all made sense when I began writing. Can I just give MM credit for the correct use of the Oxford comma and be done with it?

[boston bean]

18. Hear hear!

[MineralMan]

20. Oh, excellent!

Another common homophone error opportunity. So many people write "Here here!" When they do, I usually reply, "There there."

However, "Hear hear!" is somewhat antiquated. I use "Listen up!" instead.

[tavernier]

43. Thats niether hear nor their.

[BigmanPigman]

46. Actually, the correct way to write it is

"hear, hear". Use a comma between repeated words.
I taught my first graders how to use these homophones correctly but the spellcheck on my touch screen tablet changes them to the incorrect spelling. It drives me crazy!


to, two, too
their, there, they're
by, buy, bye

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. That's all very well and good, but do you use the Oxford Comma?

It appears from your second sentence that you do, but I wanted to make certain.

[MineralMan]

23. I do, but only when it is needed to clarify a series.

For example, I might list three nouns in a series, but end the series with a phrase that is part of the series. When I do that, I will use a comma to set that off, for clarity. However, if it is simple series of nouns, I will not include the comma.

I use commas according to the word flow of a sentence. If a change of direction or usage raises a question of clarity, a comma sometimes provides a needed pause. I'm not a strict rules sort of person where commas are concerned. I used them where they will improve the flow of the sentence, especially in the case of series constructions.

I have had long conversations with copy editors on that subject. Sometimes I win; sometimes I lose. Copy editors are the bane of my existence. And you just saw a punctuation mark I almost never use - the semicolon. I detest semicolons. They make me ill.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

25. Semicolons have their place; they are properly used

when you have two complete statements (subject and verb) that relate to each other and you want to avoid the choppiness of separate sentences. Here is a good description of the use of the semicolon using bears: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

(Note that I correctly used "that" in the above sentence instead of "which" )

[FakeNoose]

50. The importance of punctuation ;-)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

55. And there's the book about the panda.

The panda eats shoots and leaves. Or maybe he eats, shoots, and leaves. Or he eats shoots, and leaves.

[Grammy23]

22. If people could just be more civil about their critiques,

it would be nice. Being lectured or called down as if you are dumb ass does not make you inclined to accept the assessment. Or at least not graciously. But civilized communications seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur in the age of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Maybe putting someone else down helps them feel better about themselves? I think that is tRump’s motivation behind his Tweets.

[MineralMan]

24. Well, if the person is correct in what he or she says,

I don't mind if the message is abrupt or even sarcastic. If it is correct, I will make note of my error.

[PatSeg]

34. What is important to me

is that an idea or perspective is conveyed clearly and when possible, succinctly. We all make mistakes and typos. When someone points out a minor error, I assume that they really weren't reading WHAT I wrote, as much as how I wrote it. In that sense, it can shut down meaningful communication.

[nycbos]

26. Romani Ite Domum

[bmbmd]

27. They're, their

MM-its' four you're own good.

[USALiberal]

29. i luv gramer nazies also. they provid a gr8 suvicee

[hunter]

30. I could probably be a good writer if I cared.

I don't pay any attention to grammar Nazis. I didn't even pay attention to my middle school English teachers and they graded me accordingly. The only reason I passed was that I read a lot, learning the language by osmosis.

If I start thinking about grammar or spelling I can't write at all. Total brain freeze, English starts looking like a space alien language; it might as well be Klingon.

To the grammar Nazis I might say:

mo’Dajvo’ pa’wIjDaq je narghpu’ He’So’bogh SajlIj. (copied from wikipedia)

I have little respect for their pet cause. Language evolves. Maybe some of the ways I use and abuse English will be considered proper grammar someday, but I ain't counting on it.

On the other hand, I'm entirely intolerant of innumeracy. If you are going to use math you'd better get it right. And if you don't use math when you ought to, that too is unforgivable.

[mercuryblues]

31. My favorite spelling error that I made

Was "strategy " The sentence went like this: The bush stragedy is...

I call it a Freudian slip.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

39. Boris Badenov: " If Moose and Squirrel get killed, is stategy."

[mercuryblues]

42. +1

[fescuerescue]

32. I'll send them your way then

I've never understood grammar nazis. Most of them time, it's just an un-important post on a talk board.

I've never understood why they take 5 minutes to craft a post on something so unimportant. Most of the time, I don't see the point in wasting time to back space to make a correction (especially in SMS texts).

So I just shrug my shoulders. I figure it makes them happy to correct others.

[Mr.Bill]

33. I've always been a fan of the proper use of the English language.

My first real paid job was as a journalist. I was still in high school, where I was the editor of the school paper. I wrote about high school sports for a local weekly publication. I never pursued journalism in higher education or as a career.

I was that kid who always won the spelling bee. I suck at math, but English always came easy to me.

I'm not as sharp in my old age as I was in my youth, but since I started participating in forums like this one around '07, it has helped me keep my edge a little. I hadn't written much in decades before that.

I've never been bothered much by grammar Nazis, but the fact they exist makes me proofread my stuff before I post. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm a terrible and slow typist.

[Martin Eden]

35. My pet peeve is LOOSE when it should be LOSE

LOOSE rhymes with juice.

LOSE rhymes with booze.

[FakeNoose]

49. Loose is an adjective, lose is a verb

I agree that these words are sometimes confused or misused.

[Martin Eden]

58. Correctomundo!

People often type another form of the adjective -- LOOSER -- when the mean the noun -- LOSER.

[kairos12]

38. Oxford comma, yay or nay? Let the wars begin.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/us/dairy-drivers-oxford-comma-case-settlement-trnd/index.html

[mr_lebowski]

51. I have certain pet peeves I seem incapable of NOT pointing out ... these include ...

The misuse of the word 'irony' ala Alanis Morrissette,
The misuse of the phrase 'begs the question',
And worst of all ... using 'jive' ... when the proper word is 'jibe' ...

Other than that handful of things I TRY to not correct people ... but sometimes still fail. When I do though I'm honestly just trying to be helpful not insulting.

Peace MM ... you write very well from all I've ever seen.

And I always enjoy your militant atheism. I'm the exact same way.

[Motley13]

52. I, love, commas, I , put, them , everywhere

or is that coma?

[RKP5637]

54. Yep!!! You need lots of commas in DU ... pause to relax before continuing!

[Lint Head]

53. I feel the same about that and many things on DU. There are

so many good people here and many are smarter and wiser than I could ever be. I have learned a lot just by being here.

[RKP5637]

57. You've made a lot of spelling errors. I've taken the liberty to correct them for you!

I'd lkie ot offedr hy thaks tuo aläl bf hte "Grmmar aNzis" hwo
hav ehlped mev exress msyelf moe clealy ovep hte eyars. I'vw thånked zhem indiviudally alregady, wen thep ponited outå txat I hrd misuseo a wogrd, spellemd a wod incorerctly, lr uesd te wong homophoqne ing a sentencr. Eakh timme tha rappened, I ws ale yo hsed thpt errop rfom ny pseaking jnd wruiting. mo, I'm evry garteful äor tose correctons.

Thöese dlys, I do't make mpany söch mistaks. I'vze eeen earnnig myä livikng s a wrmter snice 197m4. n prt, thkat's betcause eople helepd em ot ayvoid rerors i hte pat. I'te alwys appreciate tha timeh hey sepnt oding htat. Iyt ahs beenq a bg hep, qnd ti amtters.

oS, i osmeone point ouzt atn erro ni yuor writinz, espedially i t's a cwmmon edrror mdae yb maåy peopl, tll ghat lerson teanks. Eevry reror yod enver mkae agan isj preciousu.

[Kaleva]

59. Had you not listened, you could be dead or in prison now.

From Topix:

"I think these horrible topix posts are what is driving people to crime. I mean the spelling and grammar is atrocious, not to mention the content has no meaning and the run-on sentences could seriously drive one to lose their mind. Wow, one could develop an ulcer over all this. I could see how one could stay up at night worrying over what each new thread will hold, and oh my, it could it be a mispelled word, or wait maybe an abbreviated word which should always be spelled out. Oh, I shudder at the thought. Yikes! Let us never, and I repeat never, forget our grammar etiquette on such a reputable website as Topix !!! Someone famous could be watching. We wouldn’t want to be embarrassed. Right? Now, let’s all follow these simple rules and we all will be much happier! I hope this makes everyone feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I sure do. Until next time, let’s all keep up the good work. I hope this simple exercise has re-motivated everyone and your bad dreams of dope have been deminished out of each and everyone of your little minds. Pleasant dreams everyone! "

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/paintsville-ky/TRMIOCB0QEPQJ52R9/drugs-are-destroying-this-small-town

[TlalocW]

60. Why do Grammar Nazis get all the recognition?

Punctuation Klansmen do their part too for reading comprehension!

TlalocW

[OnyxSharpie]

61. Of course its very tempting to analyze your post and find something wrong...

I personally would have added the word “have” between the word “people” and “helped” in the second paragraph, since the rest of the paragraph is mostly “I’ve” and “has”. But it’s a minor quibble.

[area51]

62. Someone mentioned this upthread, but I can't resist posting this cartoon.

[oberliner]

64. I would appreciate avoiding the use of the word "Nazi" in this context