I have to admit that horrendously bad grammar and punctuation frustrates me more then almost anything else. I’m very much of the Eats, Shoots, and Leaves mindset. Of course everyone has their weaknesses. I know that I slip up here and there, but my biggest problem is comma splicing, or the complete absence of a comma when it should exist. I know the rules of commas, but no matter how many times I proofread something I can always come back and pick out a comma error.
I think my favorite personal grammar antic is about a shop a few block from my house. It’s a small local business on the outskirts of my neighborhood. When it first opened it was called, “Mom’s and Babies Nutrition”. That’s right, one possessive mom, but several babies with no access to the nutrition. Those poor babies! Well that drove me nuts for years, but it gets even better. Some time over the last few months the shop has changed owners. In fact they don’t even sell the same products. So did they take the sign down? Well..sort of. You see they removed the word ‘nutrition’ and replaced it with a banner. Now the sign reads, “Mom’s and Babies Boost Mobile”. Basically it’s the same demographic. Same mom. Same babies. But now the mom has a cell phone.
About a year ago a friend of mine showed me a blog post she’d read about grammar mistakes. You have to read it, it will have you rolling. The blog is Hyperbole and A Half. She’s created a mythical creature called the Alot to help her cope with people that shove the words ‘a’ and ‘lot’ together.
*Image belongs to Allie Brosh
And while we’re at it, here, have more grammar funnies. This is from one of my absolute favorite comedy shows, “That Mitchell and Webb Look”:
edwoodworth said:
Next time I’m on the base, I’ll try to remember to take a picture of a sign that says:
O’Club Parking
Is that like O’Hara parking or O’Reilly parking? And who is this “O’Club” person who gets a whole parking lot? How do I get that?