Correcting Others’ Grammar
A reader asks: How does one gently correct someone’s poor grammar? I usually let it slide but I want to help them to sound better educated.
I have a few basic rules:
I feel I have an obligation to correct the grammar of my wife or my kids, though I try not to do this in public.
If you’re a friend and you make a mistake that is bound to be seen or heard repeatedly, e.g., a mistake in a business presentation, you’ll receive an email from me on the subject.
There have been people in my life who have asked me directly to correct their mistakes when I come across them. This doesn’t happen frequently, but I eagerly accept the invitation when it comes up.
I try not to be pedantic. There are grammatical errors that we learned not to make in second or third grade, e.g., “My parents sent my brother and I to a nice school,” or “I should have went to the store.” I’m much more likely to address something like this than I am minor issues that few people care about, e.g., “Their mission was to boldly go.” (split infinitive), or “I appreciated him coming to me and apologizing.” (failure to modify a gerund with a possessive).
The life expectancy of Japanese people exceeds that of Americans by seven full years (84 vs. 77). Seven months would have been statistically significant, but seven years? How is this even remotely possible?
Re: the photo here, a reader notes, “Personally I’d prefer JD Clampett over JD Vance.”
The phrase “doubling down” might be cliché, but it certainly applies to what the Republicans are doing with respect to their extreme right-wing political positions.
Young readers may not recognize this scene from 1975’s “Blazing Saddles,” where the black dude has been appointed the new sheriff of a town on the western frontier. The bigoted white folks are extremely resentful, and here, the amiable town drunk is consoling him:
I almost clicked on this, then suddenly noticed that it’s sponsored by Chevron.
I highly doubt that Facebook gives a rat’s ass about your campaign, just like the vast majority of other Americans.
Here’s a new concept in electric transportation that I don’t expect to catch on. Imagine you park your car somewhere on a sunny day, you unlock a roof-mounted container, and pull out an array of solar PV that you then unfold and drape over your car. You plug the array into your car’s charge port. When you’re ready to leave, you reverse the process.
Why on Earth would anyone have expected anything else? Concern for others is so far off-brand for Trump, it would be like McDonalds serving fresh-squeezed turmeric juice and wheat germ.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Trumpism is that the top people who worked for the former president during his term in the White House refuse to support him for re-election, including our top military officers, but that the typical Republican voter does not seem to care a whit.
