Tag Archives: mistakes

The funniest forum exchange I’ve seen in a long time

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From Slashdot.org (thanks to @PhilJamesRoxby on Twitter):

Disgusting grammar.
by XcepticZP (1331217) on Thursday February 19, @11:05AM

What a disgusting display of English grammar. Come on, Slashdot! I thought you editor's had better standards.

Re:Disgusting grammar.
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 19, @11:12AM (#26917645)

If you are going to criticize someone's grammar. Your post should be grammatically flawless. And your post isn't. That's laughable.

Re:Disgusting grammar.
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 19, @11:39AM (#26917979)

If YOU are going to. criticize someone else's. Grammar. Don't use sentence fragments to do. It.

Re:Disgusting grammar.
by hairykrishna (740240) on Thursday February 19, @12:38PM (#26918911)

Shatner, is that you?

How not to begin a sentence

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blahA full day of copyediting today reminded me of another pet peeve: Goofy words at the beginning of sentences.

They're the lazy guy's way of communicating, the equivalent of n in an algebraic equation. In these sentences as in algebra, the objective is to get rid of the n and replace it with something meaningful. And when we're successful, the whole equation—the sentence—adds up more sensibly.

Two n words stand out: Continue reading →

It’s Moronic Monday!

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Monday is blah. Monday is blue. Monday is the perfect day for complaining. So... Every Monday (time permitting), I will whine, criticize and otherwise carry on about some grammar or spelling goof that makes me crazy. It might be something I spotted recently or just one of those common, irritating errors that the nuns at St. Margaret's Elementary slapped out of me. [Disclaimer: Nobody's perfect. I make mistakes, too. But just for fun, let's pretend I don't.]

Yes, we can!Today's goof comes from syracuse.com, an affiliate of Syracuse's Post-Standard. Given that the site draws more than 58,000 visitors per month -- and represents a metro-area newspaper that boasts a new $40 million press hall -- you'd think the peeps over there would be staffed to the gills with copyeditors and proofreaders. Maybe that would make a difference.

They need me.