OT - Research on Grammarians

[cabbie191]

Truth in advertising - I think correct grammar and word usage is important. In college I had a graduate assistantship in the school's writing lab. And when I find an error (typo, spelling, etc.) in my postings here, I really do cringe.

Research from Michigan indicates that overly-critical grammarians aren't necessarily the nicest people in the world.

I'm not trying to take a poke at anyone - it's just that since the topic of grammar shows up now and then on this board, I found the fact that someone did research on this a bit amusing.

Hear's the link two the story if your interested.

People obsessed with grammar aren't as nice as everybody else, study suggests

 

[Sonny44]

A link TWO the story?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Hardly a surprise. I expect the Fed. gov't funded this study with your grandchildren's tax dollars (yours, until you die, have already been spent). If someone would rather correct your grammar than deal with the substance of you communication, then they are, he or she is, a walking sex organ.

 

[Kibitzer]

Research from Michigan indicates that overly-critical grammarians aren't necessarily the nicest people in the world.

Hear's the link two the story if your interested.

People obsessed with grammar aren't as nice as everybody else, study suggests

Of corse Im interested.

 

[slug25]

Truth in advertising - I think correct grammar and word usage is important. In college I had a graduate assistantship in the school's writing lab. And when I find an error (typo, spelling, etc.) in my postings here, I really do cringe.

Research from Michigan indicates that overly-critical grammarians aren't necessarily the nicest people in the world.

I'm not trying to take a poke at anyone - it's just that since the topic of grammar shows up now and then on this board, I found the fact that someone did research on this a bit amusing.

Hear's the link two the story if your interested.

People obsessed with grammar aren't as nice as everybody else, study suggests

Check the subject verb agreement in your first line. Sorry; couldn't resist.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Of corse Im interested.

I be's sure your a nice guy anyways, Kib.

 

[Plebe]

Check the subject verb agreement in your first line. Sorry; couldn't resist.

Actually, that's not really wrong since "grammar and word usage" can be seen as a singular unit here (sorry, couldn't resist).

 

[Zorro]

Neither Kibs nor I are "obsessed" with grammar. It is just that we sometimes feel the need to defend the besieged ramparts of correct usage against those who persist in using "lead" for "led", "coupe" for "coup", "route" for "rout", "rein" for "reign" and other such linguistic shocks. Someone has to. Or so I think. And neither do we jump on every offense. It is just that there are some examples of poor usage up with which we simply cannot put.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Neither Kibs nor I are "obsessed" with grammar. It is just that we sometimes feel the need to defend the besieged ramparts of correct usage against those who persist in using "lead" for "led", "coupe" for "coup", "route" for "rout", "rein" for "reign" and other such linguistic shocks. Someone has to. Or so I think. And neither do we jump on every offense. It is just that there are some examples of poor usage up with which we simply cannot put.

I think it's a singular verb in the first sentence, and commas go inside the quotation marks.

 

[Monte]

Truth in advertising - I think correct grammar and word usage is important. In college I had a graduate assistantship in the school's writing lab. And when I find an error (typo, spelling, etc.) in my postings here, I really do cringe.

Research from Michigan indicates that overly-critical grammarians aren't necessarily the nicest people in the world.

I'm not trying to take a poke at anyone - it's just that since the topic of grammar shows up now and then on this board, I found the fact that someone did research on this a bit amusing.

Hear's the link two the story if your interested.
Why do so many people talk about their grammar, but never about their grandfather?
People obsessed with grammar aren't as nice as everybody else, study suggests

 

[bags27]

commas go inside the quotation marks.

Ah, this is one of those contested things. I personally agree with on this MilfordHusky, but present usage also allows for commas outside the quotation marks if the marks encase only one or two words. Also, of course, if the quotation marks encase an actual quotation and the punctuation is not part of the actual quotation.

 

[huskyd]

The FENG SHUI solution for grumpy grammarians:

 

[huskyd]

Neither Kibs nor I are "obsessed" with grammar. It is just that we sometimes feel the need to defend the besieged ramparts of correct usage against those who persist in using "lead" for "led", "coupe" for "coup", "route" for "rout", "rein" for "reign" and other such linguistic shocks. Someone has to. Or so I think. And neither do we jump on every offense. It is just that there are some examples of poor usage up with which we simply cannot put.

"up . . . put . . . WHAT"?!!

 

[Zorro]

It's a, I say, it's a joke, son!!! Stole it off'n ol Winston Churchill. Reductio ad absurdam, don'cha know! As for the pronoun, try reading the original sentence substituting either "is" or "am" for "are" and see how it reads. And with due respect, Milford, with whom I seldom disagree, is wrong about the placement of the commas.

 

[MilfordHusky]

It's a, I say, it's a joke, son!!! Stole it off'n ol Winston Churchill. Reductio ad absurdam, don'cha know! As for the pronoun, try reading the original sentence substituting either "is" or "am" for "are" and see how it reads. And with due respect, Milford, with whom I seldom disagree, is wrong about the placement of the commas.

I rarely disagree with you as well, but see the source noted. I don't know how authoritative it is, but it's consistent with what I learned and have seen in print in several places.

Quotation marks -- The Punctuation Guide

See also rule 3 at

Quotation Marks | Punctuation Rules

Further research finds that this is the American approach. Folks educated at Oxford or Cambridge would do it differently.

Be careful using the "how it reads"test. To many uneducated folks, things that are blatantly incorrect sound perfectly fine.

 

[Zorro]

Perhaps we are on different wavelengths. Are you suggesting that the relevant part of my original post should read; ..."lead" for "led," "coupe" for "coup," "route" for "rout," "rein" for "reign,"...

 

[Plebe]

Perhaps we are on different wavelengths. Are you suggesting that the relevant part of my original post should read; ..."lead" for "led," "coupe" for "coup," "route" for "rout," "rein" for "reign,"...

The short answer on this is that "American style" is with the comma or period always inside the quotation marks. All of the major style guides (AP, MLA, Chicago) hold on to this longstanding norm. The field of linguistics, however, is a notable exception: http://www.linguisticsociety.org/sites/default/files/style-sheet_0.pdf

This article from Slate also observes that the paradigm seems to be shifting on this question: http://www.linguisticsociety.org/sites/default/files/style-sheet_0.pdf

 

[Zorro]

Aaargh! Looks like you got me! Hoist by my own petard, as it were, and a petard ain't no good thing to be hoist by! Next time I want to make a list of emphasized words, I will damned well use italics.!

 

[Kibitzer]

I think it's a singular verb in the first sentence, and commas go inside the quotation marks.

Thanks for bringing this up.

Here in America, both periods and commas always are correctly placed inside (to the left of) quotation marks. (But not in England.) For example:

"In Geno we trust," or

"I like our chances."​

Keep quotation marks inside (left) of colons and semicolons. As for exclamation points or question marks, well. . .

. . . I'm not gonna go there today.

 

[vtcwbuff]

A question for the compulsive grammarians. Do you also correct people in normal conversation?

 

[pacific 44]

Most of the time you will loose unless you are the dominate team.
Lets go eat grandma
Lets go eat,grandma
Tiny,tiny,tiny little comma and grandma is saved.

 

[MilfordHusky]

A question for the compulsive grammarians. Do you also correct people in normal conversation?

I'm not sure if I fit into that category, but I probably do. Generally, no--that would be obnoxious. When my kids were growing up, I tried to teach them proper grammar. With other folks, I probably noticed it, but let it slide.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Most of the time you will loose unless you are the dominate team.
Lets go eat grandma
Lets go eat,grandma
Tiny,tiny,tiny little comma and grandma is saved.

Autocorrect creates some interesting errors. One I see often is "defiantly" in lieu of "definitely." It totally changes the meaning and often adds humor.

 

[bags27]

It's a, I say, it's a joke, son!!! Stole it off'n ol Winston Churchill. Reductio ad absurdam, don'cha know!

This will definitely come back to bite me--and it probably should--but you misspelled absurdum.

 

[MilfordHusky]

This will definitely come back to bite me--and it probably should--but you misspelled absurdum.