Basic Punctuation & Grammar

Jacks dead sister -

Is Jack dead or is it his sister? Basic punctuation can save lives!

With modern generations relying more upon technology to their job for them, people are becoming less willing to either learn or use correct punctuation.

Using incorrect punctuation could be the difference between smart and stupid. Do you want someone to take you seriously or laugh you off the face of the earth? Wether it be commas, apostrophes or capitalising words, it is important that they are used correctly if you want to say the right thing.

It's easier to use examples for this:

Jacks - many people called Jack
Jack's - it belongs to Jack

Eats, shoots and leaves - he ate, shot someone and then left
Eats shoots and leaves - what a panda does

Helping your Uncle Jack off a horse - Uncle Jack has trouble getting off his horse due to his old age
Helping your uncle jack off a horse - not capitalising a word could lead to ridicule and possibly a police investigation

Let's eat, grandma - I'm hungry grandma, we should go and eat something
Let's eat grandma - I'm hungry and fancy eating my mother's mother

If you plan on using words as part of your daily existence, make sure you use the correct punctuation and grammar. So much as a comma can determine the understanding of what you're trying to say.

Read More

If You Don't Know It, Don't Use It

A bit of an expansion on Basic Punctuation & Grammar, we start to focus on the misuse of words. Sometimes, when I read something, maybe on Facebook or Twitter, I struggle to take it seriously if they use the incorrect their or there.

Basic English is the foundation of a good future. The way that some people use words like they are correct,  I'm surprised they can survive daily activity. I understand that mistakes can happen and people can slip, but when you are purposely being ignorant towards basic high school English, I have no tolerance for you.

This doesn't just go for the written word, it can be the same for spoken English as well. People have local dialect and accents, I understand, but trying to be "gangsta" or "street" makes you sound thick.

Examples:

Your - it belongs to you
You're - the contraction of you are

Could of - what does this mean? You want to say "could've" or "could have"

Irregardless - not a real word

There - not here
Their - belongs to someone else
They're - the contraction of they are

Definitely does not contain an "A"

Loose - not tight
Lose - something goes missing

Supposedly - is not pronounced "supposably"

I seen it - no you haven't!  I would say you have seen it or you would say "I saw it."

I aren't - what does this mean? I are not what?

This list could go on for some time with almost endless nitpicking. As I said before, the small errors don't bother me as much as the broken English that you should know. You want to travel the world and experience new cultures? Well, don't complain when they don't understand your so-called English.

Read More