Grammar and MN users.

[coffeeandbiscuittime]

I started browsing Mumsnet whilst completing my Master's degree. I have always been concerned about whether my English grammar/language/pronunciation is correct. I am English - north-west so I have an accent, also had a lisp as a child, always got the picked on for this, believed I was rubbish at English, so achieving the Master's is a big deal for me.
There are really interesting debates on important topics on Mumsnet but I find the nastiness of people pulling posters up on grammar really offensive.
We need to accept that Mumsnet is an open forum for people of all walks of life, with different cultures, backgrounds and for some English as a second language. To continue to pick up on posters grammar means that some people will stop posting. This then reduces the variety of opinions and debate then becomes very narrow.
I am ashamed of my fellow Mumsnetters, please accept that not everyone has had the same education/interest in grammar as you, but their opinions are still valid.

But they are often not pointed out in a nice way. They are often said in a superior way. The poster that said ' not this again' I apologise I did not realise it was such an offensive topic. This is really putting me off browsing Mumsnet , which is a shame as I do enjoy the debates , just not the bitchiness and supercilious comments by posters.

You are not wrong. There are some people on MN who seem to make it their life's mission to be as unpleasant as they possibly can be. I have no doubt been unpleasant myself to some, but never over someone's grammar or spelling. In short, there are some right bitches on here, and one can only suppose they have alienated so many people in real life that they have to resort to hiding behind a keyboard to attack others.

@derxa

I am English - north-west so I have an accent, also had a lisp as a child, always got the picked on for this, believed I was rubbish at English, so achieving the Master's is a big deal for me. Your pronunciation and lisp are nothing to do with written grammar.

Agreed.

You’re not the first person to post a thread like this. You won’t be the last. You’re unlikely to change the world / MN.

I don’t disagree with you (although it is jarring to read very poorly written posts).

But come on, here you are telling people off and how to behave, yourself.

However, I do disagree that we should just accept, for example, 'could of' because we know what they intended. If people are not made aware of their incorrect use of the English language, then they will go on to teach their children, etc. and the true English language will be lost.

@ReasonablyUnreasonable - I don't agree. This is an informal forum, and I don't think we should bother picking up on "could of". I think there's a slightly patronising tone about saying "we need to make people aware of their incorrect usage" - I doubt pointing it out will achieve anything, and I'm sceptical that if we don't stop it somehow children at school will think it's right, and then professional writers, editors, proof-readers etc will start forgetting what the correct syntax is.

It does really irritate me when people don't proofread their posts at all, so you end up with a paragraph full of alphabet spaghetti. The mistake/s may have originated as autocorrect, but the most cursory glance should catch it before posting.

Even worse is when there are typos in the title of a thread.

It’s hard to take someone seriously who doesn’t understand the use of too/to, of/have/off and their/there/they’re.

oh well, if makes someone feel better about themselves to put others down by being rude and goady that's good isn't it ?
now flame me because, horror, of horrors i never use capitals on here

Well, rest assured MN, will ban you for correcting grammar-but feel free to ridicule people for any other reason.

-rest assured, MN-

@ReasonablyUnreasonable

And recently, the number of 'puppy's' for sale. Not as in 'this puppy is for sale' but rather intending to show multiple puppies!

Or, conversely, "It's my babies first birthday tomorrow," or similar.

It does stagger me how people can be so totally clueless about grammar that six- and seven-year-old children are taught at school.

It used to be said on usenet that any post correcting someone else's spelling or grammar would contain a spelling or grammar mistake. It is now called Muphrys Law.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

"Could/Would/Should/Must OF", "Loose/lose", "too/to/two", and people who clearly have no idea how to use apostrophes appropriately but just go ahead and throw them in any word ending with an "s" anyway. All of it drives me absolutely potty to the point whereby I just instantaneously skip over any post or close any thread where it's egregious.

Apostrophising plurals and real names for crying out loud? Seriously? You'd be forgiven for thinking they don't actually teach English grammar to native English speakers any more. It's understandable for people who are not native English speakers or were not formally educated in English, but those are a tiny minority.

I couldn't care less if people think it's rude for pointing it out. In my opinion it's offensive to proceed without the slightest regard for the poor people attempting to read your drivel. It's not difficult to proof read your post or give a few seconds thought to what you are actually typing. It's the height of laziness. So contrary to earlier claims, no, it doesn't get the point across regardless, it causes people to close your thread and disregard any cogent point you might actually be making.

@DadDadDad You are right and in my mind you would only point it out to people you know in face-to-face situations, and only then people you know well. I wouldn't point it out to a stranger.

I am from a younger generation than most on this forum and, from experience, my peers have a poor grasp of spelling, grammar and punctuation. I find it distressing (perhaps a slight exaggeration) as we go to school for years to be taught how to correctly use our language but it seems to be forgotten immediately education is over.

Mumsnet's corollary states that "you will notice the spelling or grammar error one ono second after you click on POST MESSAGE".

And an ono or ohno second is the shortest possible unit of time.

Totally agree OP, there's no need for it except to be an asshole

@UnaCorda

Even worse is when there are typos in the title of a thread.

I have just read "How Can I Get Passed It" !

Sorry Op.

Yeah, but what about ‘could of/should of’? Surely that gets a free pass?

I don’t correct SPAG but I’m always quite pleased when other posters do

I think it’s one of MN’s quirky charms.

It is by hand I gotta something pointed out that we learn. Otherwise, we could keep on making these mistakes over and over again. I would tell you that I used to make the dreaded mistake of using “of” instead of “have”, but I don’t anymore. This is after years of working during which I sent sent loads of letters and emails. Cringe now how many times people must have cringed but not said anything.

I do see that repeated people on same thread remarking on it isn’t nice and then is no longer helpful.

You sound incredibly pompous yourself. As pp stated, if you're offended by people pointing out SPAG errors perhaps MN is not the place for you.

Your apostrophes are incorrect, but noone has pointed it out, perhaps to be thoughtful: it's not all bad.

@LouisBalfour

Yeah, but what about ‘could of/should of’? Surely that gets a free pass?

I don’t correct SPAG but I’m always quite pleased when other posters do

I think it’s one of MN’s quirky charms.

It's not really quirky and it certainly isn't charming. Grammar Nazis are all over the internet

There are certain grammatical errors that people just shouldn't be making when writing. Such as "you was" or "I done".

To continue to pick up on posters grammar means that some people will stop posting.

We must be on different Mumsnets because I honestly see this only very rarely. From your post a stranger to the forum would be forgiven for thinking that hateful Mumsnetters leap on every mistake with a virtual red pen. It crops up occasionally but I honestly don't think it is as big a problem as you imply.

I wouldn't point things out (even though I might privately shudder) not least because, as someone up thread pointed out, you could almost guarantee that if you post a correction to someone's SPAG you will inevitably make a mistake yourself

My pet hate actually are the posters who send a solid, monolithic block with no paragraphs whatsoever. However, I don't comment. I simply close the post without bothering to read.

I don't comment but the one thing that really irritates me is when posters write 'could of' or 'would of' when it should be 'could have'/'would have' because I find it depressing that grown adults don't have any understanding of English grammar, despite having spent at least 12 years of education in school.

But I guess it's because linguistics is something I studied at university and really enjoyed.

However, I don't mention it, as it derails the thread.

[quote WalkingInTheAir13]@UnaCorda

Even worse is when there are typos in the title of a thread.

I have just read "How Can I Get Passed It" !

Sorry Op.
[/quote]
I doubt that was actually a typo, but no, I couldn't get "passed" it...