Aug 22, 2012 / General Advice & Pro Tips

Focus On: Grammar Blogs

You might have noticed that we’re grammar nerds here at the Daily Post. While we’re healthily obsessed with the topic, we don’t post about it exclusively, but there are some bloggers who do. If you’d like to try your hand at posting about grammar or linguistics, here are some ideas inspired by WordPress.com grammar bloggers:

  • Rant about your pet peeve. Does a particular mistake really make your blood boil? Do you grit your teeth every time someone says “for all intensive purposes”? Does it make you scream whenever someone verbs a noun? Blog (forgive the verbed noun) about it. The outlet will do you good.
  • Go into depth about a less often examined issue. Some grammar mistakes – it’s/its, your/you’re – are frequently pointed out, albeit to little avail. If you have knowledge of a less commonly discussed grammar question, share it. If you’ve always been curious about the rules for a more complex language issue, do some research and write up your findings.
  • Pick on a beloved movie, song, or author. Using a specific, widely-known example to illustrate a grammar mistake is a wonderful way to punch up such posts.
  • Or praise a beloved movie, song, or author! Is there a movie or a song you could use to highlight language principles? Do you know of an author who never once misuses a word or splits an infinitive? Sing their praises.
  • Pick a side. Did you notice my use of the singular they just above? Did it irritate you, or did you consider it a workable solution to our lack of gender-neutral pronouns? How’d you feel about the Oxford commas above it? Certain points of grammar are divisive, and posting about them is guaranteed to stir up some debate.
  • Tell an origin story. Where did the word groovy come from?  When did we start using “neat” to mean “cool”? Or cool to mean cool? Why do we say “in a pig’s eye”? There are an endless number of neat, cool words and sayings to investigate.
  • Theorize. Some of the more interesting grammar posts are about grammar itself. Where did the rules come from? How important is the ability to write properly today? How important should it be?

Finally, in a post about proper grammar, it’s inevitable that I butchered at least a sentence or two. I look forward to your pointing out my mistakes in the comment section! And if you know of any great grammar or linguistics blogs we should be following, be sure to mention those, too.

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  1. My biggest pet peeve is the misuse of “than” and “then.”
    Something I personally struggle with is when to, or when to not use dashes between certain words. Of course, Firefox spell check is no help because a good 95 percent of the time it offers both as a viable spell check options.
    Sighhh, the English language is so strange!

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  8. A great new book on this subject is “What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to understand crazy American culture, people, government, business, language and more.” One chapter is on grammar and identifies common mistakes made by foreigners (and Americans!) plus it gives tips to adding polish to your writing and speech. It is endorsed worldwide by ambassadors, educators and editors.

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  9. I’m in, at last! I speak Spanish and Italian too, and I think it’s quite important to observe every paragraph written for everybody and try to help and learn for improving our communication. Thank you in advance for your comments.

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    1. I would also like to be corrected for my mistakes! I speak Italian and Spanish ,too, and I know that my English is very influenced by my Latin roots,though my spelling is not so bad…….Any help would be welcome!

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    1. I think a Geek can have a pejorative meaning, but often just refers to people who are kind of extreme enthusiasts with hobbies or interests out of the mainstream, and generally more absorbed in their preferred activities, to the exclusive of other activities, than most. My sister and her boyfriend are geo cashing Geeks, for example. Some people are technology geeks. The comment writers here, calling themselves geeks, probably spend more time and care more about the minutia involved in writing. If a person is so involved in one such activity, they can be out of the mainstream “loop” with regard to fashion trends, movies, popular music, politics, books, celebrities, television, sports, etc. They are sometimes considered “out of it”
      because they are in their own world with such a depth of interest in whatever they have chosen to pursue, that they don’t fit in, in a lot of social situations. All this being said, the term can be used “loosely” rather than to the extreme. Doesn’t mean they are not likable, but you kind of have to go into their orbit to make a connection with them.

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