by Barbara McNichol

Daily Writing Tips has become a key resource for sharpening my mind about the proper use of the English language. But recently, a controversial post rocked my world by saying it’s okay to use “they” as a singular pronoun. Example: “Each person is entitled to their opinion.”

To quote the post’s author Mark Nichols: “Every time I use ‘they’ as a singular pronoun in one of my entries, someone scolds me for my grammatical error. My response? I (politely) tell them (him or her) to get over it.”

I consider alternatives to using “they” quite acceptable, thank you very much. My favorite option? Making the subject plural. E.g., “Each person is entitled to their opinion” becomes “All people are entitled to their own opinions.”

Here’s the link to the full article.

I admit, the author’s arguments have merit (despite going against the grain for those who insist on proper grammar in the written form). Be sure to weigh in on the survey at the end. I did.

 When you do, you’ll enjoy giving your opinion and then instantly seeing how it compares to what others believe. Come on, add to the fun—and the controversy.

P. S. After featuring this post in my ezine, I received numerous emails, some noted below. Please weigh in on this subject, too, by leaving your comments.

That IS a controversy! I’m a little queasy about using “they” and “them” with the singular and agree about recasting, but language changes …. M. W.

I remember about two years ago an editor gave a speech to my group and he covered the “his/her” vs “they” controversy. I agreed with him – His or Her is just awkward.

Using “his” was common back when it was ok to write everything as if all the world were male. But when the powers that be decided we actually had to include women, “his or her” became common. This writing “rule” has really only been on the books for three or four decades.

Personally, I think it messes with the rhythm and cadence of good writing and its awkwardness borders on preening and self-consciousness. To me it shouts, “Look at me! I’m gender conscious. I’m making sure everyone reading this is comfortable and no one ever will get their feelings hurt.” I believe being overly careful about being politically correct with “his or her” steals the energy from the piece. It is rarely required. “They” works just fine, just as contractions work just fine. “It is” vs “It’s” is just plain easier to read. “They and Them” is easier to read and it makes sense. – B.T.

About the use of the word ‘they’ as singular. About 15 years ago, a woman who was grammarian in our Toastmasters club pointed out that someone had made this mistake in a speech. I agreed with the feedback. But when I researched it at the time in a newly published dictionary, the dictionary said it was ok. I guess a dictionary captures popular usage rather than ‘correct’ usage. Still, I prefer this technique rather than using ‘his/her’ in a sentence. – G.S.

By Barbara McNichol

As hurried electronic messages go flying by, what gets lost? As you listen to multiple news shows, talking heads, and barking sports announcers, what gets lost? The clarity and correctness of our language, something we don’t want to lose (or is it loose?).

My antenna crackles in annoyance when incorrect language reaches it. And others notice, too.

Reading a list of 25 top grammar and language mistakes in a recent Ragan Report article got me going again. After all, I’m a baby boomer whose education made a BIG DEAL out of correct spelling and grammar for 18+ years.

In grad school, in fact, the professor returned our papers when she spotted the first mistake and marked them with Do Over! The message: “Get the language right or fail the course!”

How often are you told to “Do Over” when you write or speak inaccurately? I bet it’s rare. As a consequence, spelling and grammar have become, well, sloppy–so sloppy that folks from any generation don’t always know what’s right.

This example from the Ragan Report article ranked #19 out of the 25 top mistakes:

Using “me and somebody.” It’s common courtesy to put the other person first. Thus you should always say, “Fred and I went to the gym together.”

What’s the danger when incorrect sentence structure prevails? It’s heard so frequently, people think it is correct—and the mistake perpetuates. So I’m now on record shouting, “It’s not accurate! Do over!”

Who vs. That (and vice versa)

Another mistake that made the list at #20—using “that” instead of “who”—deserves #1 because of its impersonal connotation. Remember, “that” relates to things while “who” relates to people. Here’s the correct use: “I have a friend who did me a favor, one that I greatly appreciated.” See the distinction? In fact, “who” versus “that” is one of those pesky word pairings that can trip you up—what I call a Word Tripper.

What I’ve done is create a Word Trippers ebook, but that’s a drop in the bucket in the whole scheme of things. If incorrect language use–and its ignorance and apathy–bother you too, what can you suggest be done?

I’d love to hear your opinion on if correct grammar should be a BIG DEAL. What word trippers get under your skin?

Barbara McNichol provides expert editing of business and professional books, working with authors, agents, publicists, publishers, designers, and book consultants. Barbara created Word Trippers, an e-book guide that’s the ultimate source for choosing the perfect word when it really matters. You’ll find 350+ Word Trippers as a new Kindle e-book on Amazon. Full details at www.WordTrippers.com  or head straight to www.amazon.com

By Barbara McNichol

My attention was recently drawn to an article in Ragan Report (great resource for communicators) that puts the “Top 25 Grammar and Language Mistakes” in your face. Some, in fact, are Word Trippers that I include in my ebook.

This handful of grammar glitches stood out for me. I’m eager to point them out because they’re extremely important to good writing. I encourage you to take them to heart.

• Using “could of,” “would of,” “should of.” These are all 100 percent wrong, born of our sloppy speaking styles—could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. What you want to write is could have, would have, should have. We all coulda, woulda, shoulda become better at grammar.
• Using “me and somebody.” I tell my children that it’s common courtesy to put the other person first. Thus you should always say, “Fred and I went to the gym together,” or “Suzie and I saw that movie.”
• Using “that” instead of “who” (and vice versa). If you’re writing about people, always use who. If a company president says, “employees that are affected by layoffs will be greatly missed,” no one is likely to believe him because he’s treating them as objects by using the word that.
• Using “they” when referring to a business. “Starbucks said they would give everyone a free latte today.” Although this might sound right, the correct sentence is: “Starbucks said it would give everyone a free latte today.” And if that grates on your ears, then rewrite the sentence to avoid the problem: “Starbucks is offering everyone a free latte today.”

Want to peruse the whole article so you can learn from all 25 mistakes? Here’s the link.

Please share other grammar glitches that might trip you in the comments section below.

Here’s a great idea for celebrating National Punctuation Day this year. Write a haiku poem and enter a Haiku Contest. Winning entries will receive a plethora of punctuation goodies from the day’s founder, Jeff Rubin.

How do you enter the contest?

Send your best Haiku 5-7-5 (syllables, that is) poetry to Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.com by September 30 to be included for prizes.

These three Haiku examples came from Craig Harrison, one of the best trainers and prolific writers around.

• Which colon to use? Colon or semi-colon? I’ll use a comma.
• Exclamation points. Some people just love to shout, In print and in speech.
• Serial comma. What is your philosophy? To use or not to?

Did you know?

In 2006, National Punctuation Day® founder Jeff and his wife, Norma, began performing Punctuation Playtime® assemblies in elementary schools. Punctuation Playtime® has been performed nearly 75 times in schools from California to Chicago to New York. Punctuation Playtime® is a 45-minute program for children in grades K-6. Punctuation Playtime® features games, activities, and storytelling—even a rap song—to reinforce important punctuation lessons in an effort to enhance children’s reading, writing, and communication skills.

 How can you celebrate Punctuation Day?

1. Go to www.NationalPunctuationDay.com and become familiar with punctuation rules and issues.

2. Organize punctuation activities at your school, library, or office.

3. Share punctuation peeves at Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.com.

4. Send photos of incorrectly punctuated signage to Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.

Jeff presents more ideas in The Exclamation Point!- Fall 2010 ezine. To get your PDF copy, email him at Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.com with The Exclamation Point! in the subject line.

Recently I learned what a hot topic grammatical errors can be when one of my favorite blogs, Article Writing and Marketing Insights from Ezine Articles, took a subject close to my heart and made it relevant to everyone who writes.

Within 24 hours of posting “Avoiding the (6) Common Grammatical Errors That Make Authors Look Du…Unprofessional,” the blog received 776 views and 93 comments. That’s evidence of how “hot” the topic of incorrect grammar can be!

The blog post started:

in these days of txting, iming and all low caps, its easy to take shortcuts to writing

However, even though we now use our keyboards as we once did our phones, what most people do not understand is how unprofessional the improper use of the English language can make an article, and its author, look.

Look at the sentence above again. Does it look professionally written to you? Now, I’m not saying you need to go back to 9th grade English class and try and figure out where your participles are dangling, but making sure you have a command of the basics is essential.

The post went on to list six common errors that make authors look unprofessional. Five of them are what I call Word Trippers—a pair of similar words with different meanings and spellings that can trip people up: loose/lose, affect/effect, it’s/its, their/there, than/then. (The sixth addressed misuse of semicolons, something that riled writer Jeff Rubin so much, he established September 24 as National Punctuation Day.)

Among the blog comments, the most philosophic came from a subscriber named Jenny who wrote, “I am always amazed at how many who consider themselves writers make these mistakes — which are so easily avoided if one is paying attention. Personally, I think they just don’t care. Thanks for a provocative post that is a very good starting point in dealing with a problem that is unfortunately much bigger than those six examples!”

Do They Care?

As an editor who deals with mistakes like these in articles and manuscripts, I endorse Jenny’s observation that the problem is bigger than these six examples. But I challenge her statement, “I think they just don’t care.” Rather, I see three factors at play here: (1) People tend to write in a stream-of-consciousness manner, eager to get ideas down (that’s how I approach drafting of my ezine and the initial piece is downright sloppy). In this creative mode, fine tuning isn’t the first priority. (2) “Instant messaging” is just that! People seem to be hurrying to move on to the next thing, feeling good about “getting that done” and prematurely declaring the piece complete. They don’t make sure what they’ve written comes across exactly the way they wanted to say it. (3) Writers often lack the desire, discipline, or dedication to revisit their prose with a fresh eye, a clear mind, and breathing space to think it through.

Half-Baked Prose

I call the result of this propensity to write fast, move on, and never look back “half-baked.” After all, you wouldn’t eat a loaf of bread that’s half-baked. Why would you send out a written piece that isn’t fully “cooked” either? The solution? Take time to put your writing “back in the oven” and question the key elements: the validity of the thoughts, the logical thread of persuasion, and the correct use of each word. Yes, gremlins such as incorrect grammar and punctuation still get through unintentionally. So do unclear transitions and inexact word choice. Because of these, reviewing your written piece only once simply isn’t enough.

Three Steps to Perfection

I suggest if you habitually add these simple steps, you can “bake” your piece close to perfection:

(1) Print your piece and then go to another area to read it aloud as if a 10 year old needed to understand it. You’ll recognize unclear passages quickly that way.

(2) Question each word for its meaning, spelling, and role in the sentence, then take time to look up what you suspect isn’t correct. Don’t rely on memory alone; it can be shaky. Instead, access easy-to-use resources that will make your writing life easier.

(3) Revise, reread, revise, reread . . . until you’re satisfied.

Above all, slow down and think about your readers, be they 10 years old or 100. No one wants to eat half-baked bread, nor do they want to read partly polished prose. Flavor your writing until it’s “cooked” just right!