The Internet has done countless wonderful things for humankind. That said, it has led to decline in respect for the written word, especially regarding grammar, punctuation, and capitalization, and most egregiously, spelling. As Exhibit A, I would suggest anyone take a good look at any Facebook page. If you want to be taken more seriously and not annoy the more discerning people you know, learn to avoid these common Facebook mistakes. You can learn to avoid these mistakes without needing cash loans for tutors.
1. They knew the difference between “your” and “you’re” in days of yore
It appears that no one knows there is a difference. If you are using the contracted form of “you are,” the word is “you're,” with an apostrophe and everything. Take a second to edit – it won’t take long and you’ll look better for it. You double check everything when you fill out a personal loan application, right? The word “your” is a possessive, as in “your grammar skills are worse than a middle school student, and you’re 40.”
2. Apostrophe is not a Greek deity
Apparently, the majority of Facebook users don’t know about using apostrophes, and so many of them ironically were given degrees and certificates by institutions of education. This can result in unclear communication and, more importantly, annoying me. If you use a possessive that uses a contraction, use an apostrophe – if 12 year olds know that you don’t have an excuse. It will make your pinky feel useful.
3. Capitalization that doesn’t involve D.C.
I will admit to guilt on this one if using an instant messenger. However, that’s because many times a lag in the conversation can make it confusing. That said, a Facebook status message can be edited before your pathetic grammar skills are put on display for all to see. Especially note that indicating yourself in the first person requires a capitalization, meaning it is indeed a capital when you write “I.”
4. Using homophones incorrectly
Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and mean different things. People use “past” when they mean “passed,” “then” instead of “than,” “to” instead of “too,” etc. The rotten thing is that if people thought about it for a second or two before posting, they would probably catch the mistake and not look so foolish.
5. Totally random punctuation
Punctuation that has no function in the English language has no place in writing, unless you are posting mathematical equations on Facebook for the Nobel Committee to consider. For instance, I have a friend who often uses “..” instead of an ellipsis (…) or a period. Did that many people skip English? Commas, hyphens, and semicolons can be confusing, but the basics are not beyond grasping. Calm down on the exclamation point usage while you're at it.
6. Copy/paste statuses
It isn’t so much a mistake as an instance where the mistakes are more glaring. I am not a fan of the "copy and paste this to your status" trends, and it becomes more of a nuisance when the mistake is repeated ad infinitum. If you intend to copy and paste a viral message status, fix any mistakes before you do. It isn’t as if it is that difficult. It's as easy as getting online cash loans.
7. Quiz titles
I have actually seen grammatical mistakes in quiz titles that were about grammar. I don't know who writes these quizzes, but for heaven's sake, if you are writing a title on something that will be passed around and inevitably end up in my news feed, please get it right. It is bad enough that we have to be bothered with announcements about who is taking what quiz, but numerous quizzes with incorrect titles are something we all don’t want to see a lot of.
No comments:
Post a Comment