Saturday

Grammar for Bloggers

Ok, guys. We all know I'm a teacher. In true stereotypical style, I am obsessed with correct grammar. It's something I've never found difficult but I know that some people do struggle. For this reason, I've decided to create a bloggers' guide to grammar. Bookmark it for future reference. Print it out and keep it on you. Make a poster and hang it above your bed. Whatever you decide to do with it, I hope it helps! 

62 comments :

  1. I love this! Though I'm sure I often put too many connectives in a sentence x

    Tinkerbell and the Lost Girls

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    1. I just use two as a guide. If you know what you're doing, it's ok to use more. I know I do! I only recommend no more than two to prevent those sentences that go on for half a page with "and" used instead of a full stop!

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    2. I always try not to make sentences too long, and hopefully I manage it! I know I often ramble when I get on one and I don't often pay too much attention to what I'm putting down. I try to think of it as though I'm writing on twitter so it's one long sentence or two shortish ones x

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  2. This made me laugh so much...! i know exactly what you mean.

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  3. Ha! This makes me so happy. I honestly don't read a lot of blogs because of the author's poor use of grammar. It makes me completely batty. Thanks for helping out the masses.

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    1. I know it's terrible, but I can't read blogs if the grammar is bad. It's too distracting! All I'm thinking of is how much I wish they'd used an apostrophe!

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  4. Hahaha I am glad you did include a "your & you're" correction #lifesaving
    Noor @ Noor's Place

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    1. Haha it's different if it's not your first language! Mind you, I think a lot of English people could learn from your grammar! It's better than some I've seen from native English speakers!

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  5. I love this post! Unfortunately, so many fantastic blog posts are slightly ruined by incorrect grammar - and who wants that distracting from the actual content of the post? I think you'll help a lot of people x

    www.colourmein-sc.blogspot.com

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    1. It annoys me too! In my defence, I can't help but spot grammatical errors. It is my job, after all!

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  6. Yes! People who use loose instead of lose make me cringe to no end.

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    1. "I'm loosing so much weight! My trousers are so lose now!"

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  7. I definitely do the too many connectives thing on occasion. But yes, 'loose/lose' and apostrophes in plurals are my pet peeves!

    The only one that I'd add to the list is less vs fewer - although it can be quite difficult (and I'm the first to admit I still struggle a bit when it relates to things like time, money or measurements) it does sometimes put me off when people say things like 'I should have bought less clothes today' when they mean 'fewer clothes'. But maybe it's just me who's funny about that...

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    1. Yes! That one is tricky! I know I still get lazy and use the wrong word in that context. I'm really trying to push myself out of the habit.

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  8. YES Becky!!! Love this. The your/you're and there/they're/their things annoy me- but it is NOTHING compared to the rage I feel at seeing OF instead of HAVE. The other ones that get me are it's/ its and where/were being used incorrectly. I do appreciate that some people find it tricky, but I really do get annoyed at poor grammar! xx

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    1. I know somebody who is really posh and thinks of himself really highly. He's terribly snobby about intelligence but he ALWAYS uses "could of". It makes me want to throw things!

      I forgot about "it's"/ "its". Admittedly, that took me until I was about 19 to understand. I thought that if something belonged to it, the correct usage would be "it's". For example, "That dog is waving it's tail". I'm so glad I learned the rule!

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  9. THANK YOU!
    The only thing I struggle with is the apostrophes on decades. I had a history teacher in 6th grade who always put the apostrophe and it stuck with me.
    I hate when people spell "definitely" like "defiantly". Definitely doesn't even sound like that. I can get "definately", but not "defiantly".


    http://www.katielikeme.com

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    1. Oh no! That's terrible! Though it's amazing how many teachers do not understand basic grammar- I see it all the time!

      The reason why people end up saying "defiantly" is because they spell it "definatly" and autocorrect changes it.

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  10. I love this post, bad grammar really stresses me out! Another one is when people mix up "to" and "too", so annoying!

    Suzanne x
    Twitter: @staylucky_

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    1. Not to forget "two"! Maybe I'll do a "Grammar for Bloggers Part II" at some point!

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  11. English is not my mother tongue so I really appreciate this! I struggle with so many things on this list... And by the way I can never learn how to spell definitely...Why does it have to be so hard? Haha! :) Thanks!

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    1. I thought it might be helpful for people with English as an additional language. I'm glad it is! I guess the easiest way to remember definitely is to remember that there are two Es and two Is.

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  12. Brilliant post! I hate the defiantly/definitely thing.....just how do they get mixed up, lol?

    I was always taught too that when using a sentence with two commas, if you removed the middle part (between the two commas) then the sentence should still make sense. Does that make sense?!

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    1. I worked this out a little while ago. People spell it "definatly" and autocorrect changes it to "defiantly".

      I teach that comma trick too!

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  13. This made me chuckle, but it's super helpful reminder at the same time! I'm personally all about the 'off' instead 'off of' thing, it's a pet peeve amoung many peeves of mine :) xx

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    1. I HATE "off of". It should always be "off" or "from"! "I jumped off the bridge"/ "I got it from Marie Claire magazine!"

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  14. THANK YOU! Hahaha these annoy me terribly. Everyone should be made to read this before writing anything, anywhere!

    http://ramblingofabeautyblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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  15. Lol, oh dear I'm guilty of a few! Great little lesson here, I wish you were my English teacher in school!

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  16. This is brilliant!

    The one that always annoys me most is the whole have/of misuse; I just want to pick people up and give them a good shake whenever I see it written on a Facebook status update or tweet!

    Interestingly, with stationary/stationery, at school we were taught:
    - Stationary Cars (as the middle letter in Car is A)
    - Stationery Pens (same rationale as above but with E)
    It's one thing I've always remembered since leaving school!

    Also, if you ever get the chance to see Lynne Truss or David Crystal do a talk or workshop, they're both well worth seeing with some excellent anecdotes and information about the English language. :-) x

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    1. That's similar to the way I always remembered it.

      I'll definitely look them up!

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  17. Definitely/defiantly and loose/lose - I can't even describe how much these irritate me! I've also witnessed someone using "to" instead of "too" repeatedly -.-

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  18. Love this! There should be a special kind of punishment for people who use 'of' when they need 'have'. Not sure what it is....I'll work on that.

    M x

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    1. Let me know when you've worked it out!

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  19. This is very useful for me, thank you! I'm Italian and my English is far, far away from what I'd like it to be.

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  20. I love this post! I'm sure my grammar isn't perfect but some of these drive my crazy - in particular getting definitely and defiantly mixed up. Similarly, people saying they 'brought' something rather than they bought it winds me up no end! xx

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  21. I love you, Becky. Go grammar police!

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  22. Love this! Apostrophe mistakes irritate me the most. Although to me 'then' and 'than' don't sound the same. Do words that sound very similar also count as homonyms?

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  23. This was very helpful. Although, English is not my maternal langage, I try to write correctly and respect the grammar.

    HUGS for you!

    Rally

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  24. Love this! Lose and loose!? How can people get these mixed up?! And one you haven't mentioned but riles me so much is when bloggers use the word infamous instead of just famous. I could actually shout and swear it bugs me so much :( x

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  25. Haha, this is so funny! I'm not native English speaker, but I TRY to put my sentences together correctly;)

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  26. Should of/could of/would of quite honestly makes my blood boil. I find it so distracting if a post is poorly written and it really ruins my view of the blog. This post is perfect! x

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  27. Thank you for this, and thank you for how you acted in this post. I never had a formal education, okay, I never had an education period. So I struggle. People have pointed this out before, and they were quite rude. My wife also struggles with grammar from time to time. People have made fun of her, because of this. It truly does hurt. So, thank you, for not only helpful, but also kind. I am sure I make quite a few mistakes on my own blog, and I struggle with commas a lot. But I am trying to get better. :)

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  28. GREAT post. i always try hard with my own grammar but find it slightly more difficult since leaving uni - i have to think a bit more!
    :)

    Rosie xo
    A Pocketful of Rosie

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  29. I'm probably a bad grammar criminal sometimes but thanks for this haha. Another one I can't stand is peak and peek being confused, well people forgetting about "peek" entirely and saying they had a peak at a new collection or something, agh!
    x

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  30. This is great! It makes me cringe when I see mistakes like the ones you've listed on someone's blog. The main aspect of blogging is writing; the grammar should be at least half decent!

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  31. Ironic you have rules on capitalization and then the entire post is capitalized. Other than that, very informative.

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    1. Haha good call! From a typographical point of view, block capitals are more effective as they are clearer than using a mix of upper and lower case. As this is more an image than a written post, it made more sense to use the capitals. It also creates a more cohesive look with my blog design. I chose them more for aesthetic purposes.

      Of course, block capitals can also work well within written posts. When used as a method of expressing shock or to emphasise certain aspects, it is a very acceptable use of capitals.

      My point was more about using capitalisation correctly. It's not incorrect usage to write in block capitals, but it is incorrect to capitalise common nouns unless they are at the beginning of a sentence.

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  32. Holy crap this is a brilliant post. Must get printer ink ASAP.

    Jemma xx

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    1. Perhaps I'll create a printable edition haha!

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  33. This was seriously helpful. I'm from Germany but still write in English, so my grammar surely isn't perfect. A lot of those rules are different in German, which is why I tend to get confused a bit. This comment probably is a mess considering the grammar but I'm still learning! ;)

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  34. Such a good post! I'm so glad you put 'of is not a verb', this winds me up so much. xx

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I read all comments and appreciate every single one, even if I can't always reply. If you have a question or need a reply, feel free to tweet me @BeckyBedbug- I always reply to tweets!

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