I have become a regular contributor to my local newspaper and they seem to publish my letters every sixty days or so, which is the frequency their guidelines permit. One that I submitted some weeks ago turned up in this morning’s paper. I must admit, I do enjoy being a published writer 🙂
After thoughtlessly offending a dear friend, I no longer correct anyone, no matter what, not even my own children.
I admit I sometimes do flinch visibly.
My personal most hated grammar problem today is the failure of understanding that the word “you” is both second-person singular and second-person plural.
Should we need to clarify its inclusiveness when speaking to a group, one could say, for example, “Will all of you please come in?” I have no problem with the use of “you all,” as in, “You all need to hear this.”
My most unfavorite second person plural atrocity is “you guys,” and the plural possessive is an abomination, especially when asked, “How is you guyses’ (I have no idea where that apostrophe should go!) dinner?”
The only response I want to make to that young waiter is, “My dinner is nauseous and I am nauseated.”
In closing, I contend that there is a big difference between grammar errors and typos. Typos are sometimes excusable.
Jean Urbanski
Salem”