Am I unreasonable?

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
I just thanked my paralegal for something and he wrote back "your welcome". He also writes things like "their coming in tomorrow". It drives me nuts some days. Gosh, when I worked for bosses, I used to check and double check everything I gave them. Now I'm the boss, and frankly, I expect the same. Am I being unreasonable? :confused:
 
those kinds of errors drive me nuts too. :eek::p

dh's secretary just sent me an email and part of it read "i should of..." instead of "i should HAVE...."
 
Nancy,

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all. I don't know how old your paralegal is, but these days with text messaging, grammar has gone out the window. But OTOH, working for attorneys, I always proof their grammar and spelling as well and I've corrected their mistakes too.

I just went through four months of looking for a job and I've taken more grammar tests than I care to count. Obviously, employers are still looking to find qualified people with proper grammar.

Marcy
 
That's one of my pet peeves, as well. For informal communication, most people seem very comfortable with indifferent punctuation and spelling. But it gets out of hand fast. I used to drive past a shopping center that had a "Ladies Heel's Repaired" sign, as well as a "Quiznos Classic Sub's". The Quiznos sign was eventually changed. Eventually.

The you're/your & they're/their thing eludes most people as well. I occasionally teach college courses, and I dread grading papers. It is so rare to see them used properly, I actually circle them and write "Good job!" whenever I see them in correct usage. The spellchecker won't catch it - the student has to know which one to use.

Does he use "They're" and "You're" correctly in other contexts? You'd be doing him a favor to show him the difference if he doesn't know, although I doubt he'd see it that way...
 
That kind of thing bugs me too, Nancy, you are not unreasonable. I am also bothered by random capitalization of nouns and the words "utilize/utilized." Just say "use" or "used." :D

Sparrow
 
Nanci,
Your knot been unreasible. Sum peeple jest dont git it. :p

P.S. Kidding. Bad grammar/spelling drives me NUTS. I'm a former journalist, and I often want to copy edit everyone I meet!! :)
 
Stephanie0523 said:
Nanci,
Your knot been unreasible. Sum peeple jest dont git it. :p

P.S. Kidding. Bad grammar/spelling drives me NUTS. I'm a former journalist, and I often want to copy edit everyone I meet!! :)
Click to expand...

That's funny Stephanie! I'm a screenwriter and I am always rearranging people's dialogue in my head to make it more compelling and dramatic. :D

Sparrow
 
sparrow13 said:
That kind of thing bugs me too, Nancy, you are not unreasonable. I am also bothered by random capitalization of nouns and the words "utilize/utilized." Just say "use" or "used." :D

Sparrow
Click to expand...

Me too, Sparrow! The random capitalization thing drives me batty. And the misplaced commas. My paralegal has issues beyond his writing. He will come to me and ask if he can "axe" me a question. :eek: But that's a whole other thread.
 
Mispronunciation of the word "often" is one of my pet peeves.
The T is silent. It is pronounced "awfen".

6449927_bodyshot_175x233.gif
 
OMG me too. Drives me CRAZY. I'm 31 and I cannot understand why people can't get the concept of an apostrophe-- I never thought it was all that difficult! UGH.

I remember when similar grammatical errors were a generational thing; they may still be-- my old boss looked at me in abject horror when I told him I'd never diagrammed a sentence and in fact have no idea what a subject or object actually is. I just read a lot when I was a kid and knew how sentences are supposed to work!

I also think MS Word has erroded whatever spelling knowledge we may have once possessed.
 
And don't get me started on it's and its!! I've even seen its', which isn't even a friggin' word!

Oh, and I hate when I go into a store and the areas are listed as Womens and Mens!!

BTW, I use to love diagramming sentences!
 
Nope, I am a complete freak about that, especially when you work for someone who makes the big bucks. I have several, several examples but one that sticks out is when someone says "supposeBly" instead of "supposedly". I hear this everywhere! UGGGGGHHHHH!

Clarissa
 
I have to admit that I am guilty of grammatical and spelling errors all the time. I believe (as a poster said above) that we have become a society that has been programmed to NOT think about it any more as we rely on Microsoft to correct us when we make an error. It really takes all the thinking out of it. It does not take into account the proper use of most words as long as they are spelled correctly, although sometimes the grammar check will make a recommendation for their/they're, etc. However, it completely throws me off when programs do not have the spelling or grammar checks... I try though :eek:

I have even read some posts here that make your head spin because they don't really make any sense with blatant errors, words missing, misspellings, incorrect use of words, run-on sentences and some just overall bad conversational styles. People tend to type the way they speak.

It also seems to be the younger you are the less likely you are to think that spelling and grammar are important.

That being said, the more formal the correspondence, the harder I try to scrutinize every word, punctuation mark and grammar content. Also, if not using a program that checks spelling I will always open a word doc and type any word that I don't know and see if I am spelling or using the word correctly... helps a little anyway! :)
 
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Count me in, too!

What about the correct uses of two, to and too? Ugh!! I am an English major, so...you know how I feel! Ditto on everything mentioned so far. I have decided many times to call and offer to be a proof-reader for my local newspaper. There are blatant errors every day! I have never actually done it, but these things really get me going, especially while reading the paper over breakfast!!

Also, I am one of those that pronounces the "t" in often. The correct pronunciation is a silent "t", but it is also acceptable to pronounce the "t". I just learned about this one, too. I will try to change my pronunciation, but this one will be difficult for me!

I also LOVED diagramming sentences when I was in fifth and sixth grade!

So Nancy, you are not out of line!! Many of us are standing with you on this topic!

Jenn
 
In a continuing grammatical theme, I am reminded of a political ad I saw on TV today. One of the onscreen sentences said "....more than 50 CT businesses have WENT out of business."

I almost fell off the elliptical. Come on, people. I know language is fluid but it ain't* that fluid!!




*use of the word "ain't" is for point-making purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement of aforementioned word by this author. :p

Sparrow
 
My last name is Edwards

I can't begin to tell you how many intelligent,educated people address things to us as The Edward's instead of The Edwards'. Drives me nuts!!!!

elliemom
 
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