Wednesday, March 4

Does today "affect" or "effect" me?

Hey, you all, it's National Grammar Day!
Straight from the web page, nationalgrammarday.com, comes this:
Do you adore clean, correct sentences? Do ungrammatical advertisements make you cringe? We understand completely, and this is why the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar and MSN Encarta have designated March 4 as National Grammar Day.
How can I participate?
Speak well! Write well! And on March 4, march forth and spread the word. We want people to think about language and how it can be used best.

Also on this web site is a list of the "Top 10 Grammar Tips," including the explanations behind:
* Me, myself and I
* Is it "good" or "well"?
* Less vs. fewer
* Which vs. that
* i.e. vs. e.g.
* Affect vs. effect
* Insure vs. ensure
* To split or not to split: The truth about split infinitives
* A preposition you can't refuse
* Conjunction function
You know what I've noticed about my grasp on grammar? When faced with something grammatically wrong, I can feel it, in fact, I smack against it as if it were a brick wall, and then I quickly fix it my head to move on to the next thing. But when asked why something is wrong, I seldom can come up with an intelligent explanation. Sometimes my best reasoning is just, "Well, I just know it's wrong, that's all." So it's nice to have some of these issues spelled out somewhere (even if I didn't even read them, and probably won't bookmark the page either).
So, go into the world today with a clean mind, and give everyone you know the gift of good grammar!

[Editor's Note: Thanks to Alison for the heads up!]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I am glad to hear I am not the only one that cannot explain why something is wrong. It's embarrassing, seeing the field I have chosen to make my living! But don't ask me, just correct it!