Your vs You're....Its vs It's....There vs Their.. (page 3)

tiki

'were' defiant...........because it is something that is not real.....as it were.............were i taller, i would be sexier..........were i taller i would appear thinner.. was i taller? was i taller than a dwarf? was indicates reality. were - coulda been......

Terry

There is always a natural tension between theory and practice of any kind.

Depending on one's teacher, rules can either be a tool to serve or needs or a bludgeon to control and punish others.

We've all probably experienced both personality types!

I don't really know why I've always maintained a high regard for great writers and eloquent speakers but I was fortunate to detect the difference!

I think perhaps it was the influence of my grandmother who went out of her way to comment on such matters in her public declarations of admiration.

When somebody you love and respect has a high regard you pay attention.

Unfortunately for me I turned pedantic for several years and was a royal pain in the ass. My difficult personality had more to do with that than anything else:)

I've grown out of most of my pedantry because of my youngest son, Nicholas, who has repaid my Karma debt by correcting everything I say!!

Ouch--was I really like that?

Yes, Terry, and now you know how it feels to be stupid!

mrsjones5

My nine year old corrected his 15 year old sister about her usage of a double negative. It was awesome.

Christ Alone

This stuff really bothers me to. Its like these people like to demonstrate there bad gammar too everyone. Get you're self together!

*edit: Sorry...EP already did this joke!

james_woods

Most English literature written more than two hundred years ago would be horribly misspelled by today's standards.

English is an evolving language.

Quark was a non-word when James Joyce made it up...it has now become one of the most important words in science, and by extension - in good English.

return of parakeet

Back in the day, I was a professional copy editor, an instructor of freshman composition classes, and a writing tutor for grad students. Unless you're writing professionally or academically, I say relax the rules, as long as the writing is understandable. This is an informal site for all manner of posters. What they say is far too important to sweat the small stuff. "Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblins" has no place here.

BTW, McCarthy's "The Road." What a downer, huh?

Terry

BTW, McCarthy's "The Road." What a downer, huh?

McCarthy never has a "happy" ending.

He can make you laugh until you crack a rib and then.......you'll pay for it later:)

His border trilogy was outstanding. I'd never read anything remotely "western" before that and I was gobsmacked by it.

Pickler

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots into the air.

"Why?" Asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black and white bear like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death.

An oldie but a goodie, from the back of a zero tolerance approach to punctuation, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss.

Defianttruth

Interesting James Joyce was one of William Faulkners influences.

OnTheWayOut

Their is sumpthin' 2 B said 4 proper writing, but texting has made it even worse.

U R rite, Terry.

But really, I try my best to write good (or is that well) and not be sensitive to how others write. And I make plenty of mistakes.

Your vs You're....Its vs It's....There vs Their..

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