“Since the creation of the Internet, the Earth’s rotation has been powered, primarily, by the collective spinning of English teachers in their graves.”

- Author Unknown.

Today, Wednesday March 4th, is National Grammar Day. Apart from raising awareness of the fact, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the topic in general, with particular regard given to blogging.

Readers of the Blueprint are already aware of the 5 Surefire Methods For Effective Online Communication but as the comments show, the topic of grammar is HUGE and highly debated in the Blogopolis. It’s a fire that is sure to burn for a long time yet to come.

On January 13th I said:

“I believe that it’s our responsibility as writers to make use of correct grammar

I still hold myself to that value and still consider myself a stickler for correct grammar. Heck, I’ve even had work correcting someone else’s poor writing, but am I wrong?

What Is Bad Grammar?

Two of the earliest “rules” I can recall from English class were “never to start a sentence with a conjunction” and to “beware of sentence fragments.” But I break those rules on occasion. And I cringe every time.

Another one was “never to end a sentence with a preposition.” I think Winston Churchill said it best: This is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put

I have to admit I never really got that rule but it’s something to think about.

Bad Grammar = Great Blogs?

Clearly I have no problem breaking some of the rules, particularly when it comes to blogging. In this writing medium patience is not a virtue, brevity is.

Readers tend to skim the content, slowed only by the need to scroll the page. I wonder at times if they see the webpage as Neo sees the Matrix! But I digress. (There goes another English teacher)

Many consider blogging to be an extension of conversation and as we all know, no one pays much attention to grammar during a conversation.

What’s Good For The Goose…

Still, this is the written word and one of the best ways to improve our writing is to read. How can we expect to improve ourselves or help others improve if the grammar we use is not up to scratch?

I’m talking about the things that can cause harm, the things that really ruffle my feathers. Things such as:

Incorrect use of the apostrophe, particularly its and it’s.

Incorrect use of their and there, your and you’re.

Using the word of when it should be have – “I should of known that!”

Oh, and here’s one that you Americans are fond of but really winds me up no end. Lose vs. loose. “A person wants to lose weight so their clothes feel more loose.” You didn’t loose the game on Monday night!

Over To You

Bad grammar can detract from your intended message, cause you to lose subscribers and even sales, but where should the line be drawn?

At what point does bad grammar overwhelm the quality of the content? Or does grammar contribute so much to the content’s quality that the two are inseparable? Does bad grammar make you sic? Comment and let us know.