Have you ever noticed that people have horrible grammar skills?

Answer 1

As an English teacher, I see this all too often. I am told to stay clear of grammar lessons, but I ignore those mandates. I agree that school is partially to blame for poor grammar, but that shouldn't put all the blame on teachers and administrators (especially since I fight bad grammar on a daily basis!).

The prevalence of internet-text-based writing has eroded our attention to grammar: so long as the idea is conveyed, the vowels can be missing, punctuation is unnecessary and the shortest word is the best word.

Our comfort levels with colloquial dialect in school, in the media and in the workplace also lead to bad grammar. The grammarian is a "grammar snob" and, besides, who speaks formally now anyhow?

I'm glad people are taking notice. Maybe it's a start.

Answer 2

The first answerer is correct. We Brits do try to be correct in usage and grammar and all forms of punctuation.

I am also reminded now and then that the words I use are sometimes not familiar to the native American speaker (I live in Kentucky in a University town).

It seems that the average American uses, say, 1000 different words, whereas the average Brit uses say, 3000. (Numbers made up, but you get the picture. Eighty-one per cent of statistics are invented, you know!)

Three Cheers for the Brits.

Answer 3

Yes, I do notice. A lot of people don't know when to use 'who' or 'whom', space twice or once, or even capitalize! We use 'an' and 'a' at inappropriate times. Many like to use shortcuts while on Yahoo! Answers, and other stuff that has to do with Internet and chatting, but, the truth is, you're not supposed to use symbols in sentences! If you have an abbreviation, you either put periods in between, or capitalize all letters, depending on the word. I also notice that when people put in their ellipses (. . .) they put too many dots, or do not space in between the dots. They say 'you are' as 'your'. Plus, not many people know this, but you don't just say 'farther' or 'further' whenever you want to, there is a specific rule. 'Farther' refers to physically going more, and 'further' means mentally or verbally going farther. Just a quick tip, because I see that in books too! All in all, bad grammar is annoying! But, on the other hand, it is annoying to listen to people correcting everything you say, and sometimes we miss out on the point when that's all we concentrate on. Besides, I can't quite say I don't have bad grammar sometimes! But even if you're not sure about something, there is always the spell check on nearly everything too.

Answer 4

Yes!and how is it these people keep being passed to the next grade level?teachers and parents have much to do with the problem.

Answer 5

Oh yeah thanks to MS Word I can still check myself. If I am not using MS Word I just remember how the sentences were put together in a book I've read. I have photographic memory ;-) It still boils down to how you were taught at school though.

Answer 6

Yes. The Brits seem to do well though

Answer 7

Ain't never saw a thang like et.

Answer 8

What are you an english teacher, why is it such an issue.

I'ev never notised such a thing anyway. My grammer is flawless and impeccable so I would catch such a phenomenal if it were true. haha

Answer 9

Yes, they certainly do.

Answer 10

Yes they do, I blame rap music, with their stupid incorrect spelling of words and incorrect pronounciations of the words, DAMN YOU RAP MUSIC!!!
can I have ten points please?!