Okay, I have a lot of pet peeves... the usual, you know. People who dial a number on their cell phone, then start up the car and talk incessantly while driving. Or people talking on a cell phone loud and clear in a store or a public place with no regard for others around them. In fact, a good many of my pet peeves are associated with the cell phone.
But it's grammar that's on my mind today. I'm talking about very simple, very basic, yet very common mistakes that an alarmingly huge percentage of the population is making.
The worst-- by far-- is the use of an apostrophe with a plural s. "Cookie's for sale here." "No exchange's." I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If you do this, please stop. 
And on the subject of apostrophes, it might be a good idea for everyone to double-check the old rule about "it's" and "its." This is probably the most common grammatical error in the English
And on the subject of apostrophes, it might be a good idea for everyone to double-check the old rule about "it's" and "its." This is probably the most common grammatical error in the English language, but if we all try very hard, we can correct it.
The other one I'd like to address today is the dangling participle. The worst offenders with regard to dangling participles or misplaced modifiers are newswriters, both on radio and television. Here is an example:
"Missing for three weeks, police found her remains in a nearby garbage dump."
The implication of this sentence is that the police were missing for three weeks. The corrected sentence makes it even worse:
"Police found her remains, which had been missing for three weeks, in a nearby garbage dump."
Well, her remains weren't missing; she was. A better version of this sentence would be:
"Police found the remains of the woman, who had been missing for three weeks, in a nearby garbage dump."
Seriously, this is an extremely common error. Next time you're bored watching or listening to a news report, try to catch one of these. You'll be surprised how often you run across them. Here is a wonderfully helpful guide you can use to find them... and to avoid them.
Yes, perhaps I'm being a harshly judgemental Virgo. Perhaps I'm making a big fuss over something many would consider trivial. But I take pride in what I learned at a young age and I believe it's important to remember and respect the guidelines and rules for intelligent writing.
I feel so much better now.
5 comments:
Oh, I am SOOOOO with you on all of these. Inconsiderate and inappropriate cell phone use is probably near the top of my pet peeve's list too. (Just kidding about the apostrophe in peeves!)
I also notice many of the grammar mistakes you noted (particularly the misplaced modifiers) when listening to the news.
Its nice to find a kindred spirit!
Mark :-)
Using the news as an example about dangling participles and misplaced modifiers is unfortunately a poor example.
In journalism (print, radio, and television) there is actually a specific way to write and sometimes that way does not jive with traditional grammar. Believe it or not, this is taught in journalism school.
Journalists (especially print) must convey the point in the fewest amount of words possible. Columns always get chopped due to lack of space. Writers try to convey the most amount of information in the shortest amount of space. Your final sentence, while correct grammatically is too long and considered poor news writing. In the print world space is money. Often frequent ass chewings from editors remind you of that fact.
The television and radio news world is not that much different. Don't forget that printed news preceded radio and t.v. In radio and tv, air time is money. Again short clipped sentences dominate. While they may not always be grammatically perfect, they save space for another news item or commercial.
One would not apply the same style of writing for a scholarly article in Public Libraries Quarterly as for an article in Library Journal. The same goes for writing for the web. The earliest web pages had lots of full sentences and paragraphs, now it is considered poor web design if your web page is too text heavy. As with all professions and mediums there are different standards for writing and communications.
Mark:
I like you more everyday.
Anonymous:
Thank you for the extensive explanation. I always figured that it wasn't just bad writing, but that there was a reason for what seemed like blatant mistakes. Sadly, as you said, it's all about money.
This doesn't necessarily make it right, but it explains it-- and redeems my faith in editors who I had worried were growing more and more ignorant of correct grammar and usage.
Cheers!
Doug
Oh, gosh yes!!! Poor grammar and word usage are big time irritations for me, and even more so for Superman and Light. I dispise the phrase I hear so often around here: "has went," as in "She has went to Wal-Mart." It isn't mildly irritating. It taxes the limits of my personal restraint. Gad I hate living in South Carolina!
And lets talk for a moment about newspaper writing rules. I've learned something new here. But that doesn't make it right. In my opinion the almighty dollar shouldn't compromise the integrity of the language. Of course my opinion won't influence the way news reports are written, but I just had to say it.
You just gave me a major grammar boner. Love you.
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