What causes so many grammatical errors in the questions and answers on this site?

Answer 1

This is a difficult question to answer with any authority. However, from reading what high school students write for essays and book reports, I can tell you that proofreading or editing is more painful to them (in general) than having a root canal without anesthetic. They wrote it and it's up to someone else to understand it.

In addition, they often know that their section on grammar will be over if they just tough it out. Getting through it is much easier than actually learning it. Lastly, and this is the surprising thing, even after some of them learn the rules, they often have no impetus to change any manner in which they express themselves. This means that although they understand that they did well in the grammar section in English, it is somehow disconnected from the way they should speak and write and, ultimately, think. One has no connection to another!

It is unfortunate that the few lessons students in high school get in creative writing tend to emphasize the highly descriptive over the businesslike memo type of writing. I would love to see a reality check in public schools which ultimately recognizes that when students write something in the future, it will not be appreciated as Shakespeare, but simply for its straight-forward information, content and purpose.

Alas, to the many English teachers out there, writing a memo or simple factual paragraph based on interpreting a situation or previous communication is beyond their scope of understanding: they never learned the technique because they never worked in the business world. Oddly enough, most of the people who are teaching these kids have the least understanding of what it is they will need in order to succeed in the outside world.

Answer 2

This really bothers me as well. I think it is a combination of several things. Typing quickly, not preforming a spell check, not proof reading. I hope to God that these are the main reasons and it's not that all of these people are that horribly uneducated. SCARY!

Answer 3

Schools spend so much time teaching Divesity, and Gender Issues, and Self-Esteem that they haven't got time for boring old spelling.

And, forget dreary Mathematics, or poky, dull World History.

Answer 4

People do not know how to form grammatically correct sentences. I am going to surmise that is the reason.

Answer 5

Individual's standard of written English, not reading through/checking before submission and the failure to use the 'check spelling' tool.

Answer 6

Keyboard,

Keyboard makes mistake when you punch the keys fast..

Answer 7

Because mother tongue not English

Answer 8

lethargy

Answer 9

stupid people