Yes, it’s another random holiday to celebrate. Today, March 4th, is National Grammar Day. A day to “March forth” to speak well, write well, and help others do the same.
If anything, I hope my Facebook friends will take a few extra moments to distinguish between “your” and “you’re” and, possibly, use a comma in their run-on status updates. (That might be too much to ask.)
In honor of the day, I thought I’d share ten grammar myths (note the word myth here – that means the are not necessarily true) from Grammar Girl:
- A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
- You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word “however.”
- “Irregardless” is not a word.
- There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.”
- Passive voice is always wrong.
- “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing.
- You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels.
- It’s incorrect to answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.”
- You shouldn’t split infinitives.
- You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition.
Grammar Girl notes: Read the explanations before you write to express your outrage. You can read brief explanations on these myths.
I hope you’re feeling a bit more educated on grammar today. Feel free to use your learnings in your Facebook and Twitter status updates today. (I thank you ahead of time.)
