Complex Numbers

Write Angles

https://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/43-embarrassing-phrases-even-smart-peopl...

English doesn't make a lot of sense. I'd like to be able to say that this is by design, but no one "designed" English. It's what you get when a bunch of other languages get into a bar brawl with no clear winner, while drunk.

The upside of this is that people who can make any sense at all out of it get the privilege of feeling superior.

When someone uses grammar incorrectly do you make an assumption about his or her intelligence or education?

Yep.

For all the people who insist that "spelling doesn't matter" and "you're being pedantic if you care about grammar," I make an effort. I'm not always successful - few are - but at least I try.

I'm supposed to be the lazy one, here.

On the other paw, spelling and grammar change organically over time, and some changes have good reasons behind them. Anyone who screams at the highway department for signs like "No Thru Street" has Issues. Everyone knows what is meant, and you've only got a short time to look at that sign; it just makes sense to shorten the word from "through," which could be confusing as it looks like "trough," "tough," "thorough," "though," etc. - all of which are also pronounced differently, just for funsies.

In short, it's okay to make changes I'm okay with, and it's not okay to make changes that piss me off. I never said I had to be consistent; hell, English isn't.

Anyway, the article.

Like it or not, words, spelling, and punctuation are powerful and can leave a lasting impression on others. But even the most educated people often unknowingly make common writing and speaking flubs. Check out this long list of ubiquitous grammar mistakes.

I'm not going to copy most of them here; I'm just going to note the ones I take issue with.

4. "I" as the last word in a sentence.

Yeah... that's too simplistic. I can think of examples where a sentence should end in the first person singular pronoun. "There but for the grace of God go I" is a pretty famous one. The real trick is to figure out whether the pronoun is a subject (I) or object (me); the former is rarely placed as the last word, but it does happen.

5. "Me" as the first word in a sentence.

Okay, sure, this is technically wrong from a purist point of view, but I grew up in the South, and that's just how we talk.

24. Hot water heater

If anything, it's a cold water heater. Just use "water heater."

Except for the edge case when you have a new water heater and it fills up with cool water, the water in the tank is already hot when the gas, or heating element, kicks in and makes it a bit hotter. Okay, maybe also if you live in a shitty apartment and you use up all the hot water in a five-minute shower. Point is, I wouldn't ding anyone for saying "hot water heater," even though "water heater" is more appropriate.

28. Subject and pronoun disagreement.

This one is subject to debate...

Yeah, it really is. Despite numerous attempts, no one has been able to come up with a genderless singular pronoun that's widely accepted. (Don't get me started on the idiotic "xir" bullshit. Nothing natural in English starts with x. Before you say "xylophone" or "xenophobia," those are from Greek roots.) Until then, if the antecedent is of indeterminate or nonbinary gender, by all means, use "they/their" unless they (see what I did there) have made their (again) preferred pronouns plain.

34. Throws of passion

Just know that a throe is a sharp attack of emotion. So, to be in the "throes of passion" is to be violently consumed by something.

I'm highlighting this one because of the mental image I got of "throws of passion."

Again, it's not that I never make mistakes. I just think that, as writers, we owe it to ourselves and our readers to do the best we can, and keep learning this weird-ass language.