Friday 12 June, 2009

It's time!

Here is something that has been bugging my innards for a while, and I knew, just knew, that I had to do a post about this. Maybe I will make this a continuous series, I don't know. But it really is time!

I am here, oh faithful readers, to give you a lesson in good grammar. Here are some quick and easy tips for you, so you can achieve better writing results!

Disclaimer: I aint no grammar guru, but these are just basic lessons everyone should know!

1. First and foremost, it is spelt GRAMMAR, not GRAMMER. -shivers-

2. '...' are called ellipses. If you must use them, use them only in threes. For instance: "Oh I thought...I thought you were serious!" and not "He stood in the corner.....................................and saw her standing on the other side."

3. Chatspeak. Stay as far away as you possibly can. "OMG..lyk u r so funeee!!!!!!!!" sounds like an adolescent talking, and is really unfit for normal writing situations. Writing "Oh my goodness, you're so funny!" is not very hard to type.

4. 'You're' is short for 'you are'. Your is short for nothing. It denotes belonging.
Wrong: Your so cute. (Your what is cute?)
Right: You're so cute.

5. 'Common' is defined as belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public; "for the common good", or having no special distinction or quality. It is not another way of saying 'Come on.'
Wrong: Common, dance!
Right: Come on, dance!

6. Exclamation points. Use them more than twice, you're really a lunatic!
Really wrong: Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok: Wow!!!!
Great: Wow!

7. Inverted commas. These are very important for dialogues. Try not to write them without these. Also, a full stop, exclamation point, or comma always comes before closing the inverted comma.
Really Wrong: I love you she said.
Wrong: "I love you", she said.
Right: "I love you," she said.

8. Serial commas. I learned these very recently. These are commas used immediately before a conjuction.
Wrong: I ate chocolates, lolipops and chewing gum.
Right: I ate chocolates, lolipops, and chewing gum.

Well, that is all for now. Most people know I am a crazy grammar freak, and I just wanted to share my so-called 'knowledge' with you. I hope these lessons help you, and who knows, I may come back for more! Let me know what you think!

13 comments:

Rashmi said...

Hehehe i now know where this inspiration came from :)Grammar queen!

Mihir said...

"Wrong: Your so cute. (Your what is cute?)" just cracked me up. I just wonder what is the real reason behind this post.

Ire said...

I am too scared to say anything here.

Supaar said...

@ Rash: Shut up! hehhe :P

@ Mihir: Hey! Thanks for visiting! And the you're, your confusion is very very prevalent!

@ Nikki: Puhleasse! It's an open forum! Speak your mind! :)

Meghana Naidu said...

and how about Kool! KOOL.
i mean, you actually take the trouble to spell it wrong?

*gosh*
*gasp*

funny thing is, me and a friend were discussing the exact same points a few hours back. ;)

Supaar said...

@ Meghana: That's a really KOOL point. Sheesh! ;P

Bad grammar is the pits, no?

Ire said...

I am not scared of saying anything. I am just worried about my dilly-dally grammar!

Supaar said...

@ Nikki: Oh common! Err...come on! :P

dusky hues said...

Hail Guru Grammar Mata!

In the next post, you can address how mixed tenses don't make much sense...

And of course, gender is an issue that needs to be addressed not just socially but grammatically too ;)

Razzer said...

But but common....grammer cant be that tuf to spell out? Lol.


Really now. It wouldn't be such a bad thing to get that disclaimer out of the way. No? Aft all, he idea of you bein' a guru isn't all that bad. Of course, that's jus my opinion.

Your post - I like !! :-)

Supaar said...

@ Anand: Welcome to my blog! :D

And no, I seriously am NOT a grammar guru! But thanks for the compliment anyway! :) :)

H said...

THANK YOU!!!! (Sorry about that one)
Finally..I hate grammatical errors...and one of my favorites is stationary-stationery :D

Akhil S Behl said...

well.. in case you don't plan to start screaming at me for this.. i distinctly remember being taught no commas before an 'and'.. (my ellipses are shorter! am i forgiven? :P )

i would love it if you would do a post of the use of semicolons for my benefit.. :D