How To Write English

October 8, 2006 Doctorneos

I’ve really had it at this point. More than one previous post has allowed that the English language is somewhat flexible, but I see more and more basic violations of usage, grammar and spelling that are just unforgivable. Further, it shows that those that are responsible for these extremely basic errors not only paid no attention in sixth grade grammar, but don’t seem to bother checking their work before publishing it. This seems to be a widespread situation with bloggers and website owners. I can forgive that. But news organizations and major magazines are clearly either not editing their content or the editors are just as ignorant as the authors. Foreign authors are completely exempt, in my view, as we should be thankful that they try to communicate to us in our native tongue at all. And, they do try to get it right.

Lesson One, for God’s Sake – Their, There and They’re

Here: check these words. If you have them in something you’ve written, check that the usage is correct. Buy a frickin’ copy of Strunk and White – at Amazon for six bucks. Damn.
their – means “belonging to a number of people, more than one person”
Wrong – “His hat was blue and pulled down over their ears.”
Right – “His hat was blue and pulled down over his ears.”
Wrong – “Their is my car.”
Right – “There is my car.”
Wrong – “Their the best at what they do.”
Right – “They’re the best at what they do.”

which brings us to

they’re – this is a contraction (two words contracted into one) of “they” and “are”
Wrong – “There American through and through and I can count on there support.”
(The above “wrong” sentence was published online by a major publication, quoting a political candidate, believe it or not.)
Right – “They’re Americans, through and through and I can count on their support.”
In other words – “They are Americans . . .I can count on the support they have for me.”

Lesson Two – It’s, Its, It’s
it’s is a contraction (see above if your short-term memory has been wiped clean by excessive cannabis ingestion) of “it” and “is” or “it” and “has”.
its is a possessive pronoun – it modifies a noun. Let’s (Let us) try this out.
It’s (it is) not likely that its stock price (the stock price belonging to the subject of the sentence) will rise as it’s (it has) been a long time since the company made a profit.

When?
If you need to be formal, as with a resume cover letter, then contractions probably aren’t appropriate. If you are writing to convey a story, thoughts or feelings, contractions are fine, are informal and often help the flow of the sentence.

Why Does This Matter?
If someone is reading something you’ve written, it means they wish to correctly adsorb what you’re trying to communicate. You owe them the courtesy of providing that communication in a technically correct fashion.

Aside from that moral view, the better reason is that language is power. Those who have power look for angles though which you may be exploited. Poor writing indicates that you are undiscplined, undereducated and likely to be from a lower class than theirs. If can can communicate correctly in a way that appeals to the sensibilities of the audience, you will seem less vulnerable. The prejudgements applied to everyday exisitence are real, wrong or right. When the body is absent, the words are the body.

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