Grammar Pedantry

[Jennifer Piersol]

Ah... I get easily hacked off about grammar misuse, too - although 
I'm sure I make a lot of mistakes myself... oh, that's one right 
there - a lot.  I think that has to be my most cringe-provoking word 
combination ever.  My students (mostly high school dropouts who have 
been in jail at one point or another - all pretty much "victims of 
society") make quite a few grammar mistakes as a whole, but this is 
one of the worst.  I've begun starting off the year with a lecture 
about "alot" being two words.

Another pet peeve of mine: the extremely popular 's for plurals.  
Witness a sign I saw in my college dorm once:

"Meeting's are on
Tuesday's and Thursday's
Snack's will be
provided!!!!!"

Argh!

And last, but not least, I see quite a bit of loose for lose, there 
or their for "they're", and various "-or" words (color, flavor, etc) 
spelled "-er" (coler, flaver, etc).  Luckily, I have a lot of red 
pens in my school bag. :)

Jen (who shouldn't get mad at mistakes like these, as she's a 
linguist, and they're taught that "if it gets the point across, it's 
'correct'")

ps.  Small ot rant about my students, one in particular.  I have a 
student who has extreme trouble reading and writing... he was a drug 
addict for almost 20 years, and in jail most of that time.  He just 
recently ended a short prison stay, and decided to come back to 
school.  However, he was talking to me yesterday (about the amount of 
trouble he is having passing a standard assessment test that places 
students in the right English/Math classes) and said, "But - like 
everyone else here - I need money, and if I don't pass that test, I 
ain't never gonna get it."  Which means that even though his skill 
level is *way* too low for college coursework, he decided to come to 
my school so that he could come "learn to read and write good" (his 
words) without having to have a job at the same time.  How 
frustrating.  He would be much more suited to classes at the adult 
school (where they have remedial classes) - but he has to pay the 
rent, so he needs his financial aid.  Meanwhile, he's taking up all 
my time by asking how to spell eleven and asking me if "accidented" 
is a word (but saying accidentally while pointing to it), and 
breaking up my lectures mid-stream.  

Um... sorry.  That was a little longer than I had expected.  Didn't 
mean to whine and moan so much.  I need to remind myself "6 more 
weeks, 6 more weeks, 6 more weeks".

Jen (again)