Ah, English grammar. That sacred rulebook that some of us—especially the old-timers—still clutch onto as if it were the last bastion of civilization. The spelling, the usage, the syntax… it all matters, doesn’t it?
Or does it?
This train of thought began chugging down the tracks when I received a forward of a popular yesteryear song. I remarked that it was a favorite of mine. But lo and behold, the vigilant friend (let’s call her The Guardian of Grammar) swiftly corrected me:
“It should be ‘one of my favorites,’ not ‘one of my favorite.’”
To me, it felt like the difference between potayto and potahto—a muchness of a muchness, if you will. But it got me wondering…
And to this dear friend of mine, in case you come across this blog and you read it, it’s all said in good humor!
Is Success in Life Based on the Grammar of Your Prose?
Will a misplaced comma derail your career?
Will an extra “S” stop you from achieving greatness?
Would Shakespeare have been laughed out of town for writing “to be or not to be, that is the question?” instead of “To be or not to be; that is the question.”
And yet, there’s a certain breed of people who cannot resist correcting grammar. We all know them. They lurk in emails, they prowl on WhatsApp, and they pounce on Facebook posts with the precision of a cat spotting a laser dot.
You say, “I could care less.”
They say, “You mean you couldn’t care less.”
You type, “Your welcome.”
They reply, “It’s you’re welcome.”
You casually say, “Me and my friend went to the market.”
They swoop in with, “My friend and I.”
A Tribute to Everyday Grammar Battles
To be fair, sometimes these corrections are lifesaving. Consider the classic case of “Let’s eat, Grandma!” versus “Let’s eat Grandma!” One is an invitation to dinner, the other is a crime scene.
And then there’s the dreaded apostrophe abuse. It turns up uninvited in places where it has no business being:
• “Fresh Mango’s for Sale” (Mango’s what, exactly?)
• “Happy Anniversary to the Smith’s” (The Smith’s what?)
• “Your going to love this!” (No, you’re not.)
But at the same time, does a minor slip in grammar mean we are less of a person? Should we be judged by our ability to tell effect from affect in casual conversation?
The Great Grammar Divide
There are two kinds of people in this world:
1. Those who can read “I ain’t got no time for that” and move on.
2. Those who feel a physical twitch and MUST correct it.
The second group, my friends, are the ones who send passive-aggressive texts like, “I think you meant ‘their,’ not ‘there.’” And while I admire their dedication, I often wonder—do they have an internal red alarm that goes off every time they see “loose” instead of “lose”?
A Final Thought (or Thought’s?
At the end of the day, success in life isn’t necessarily measured by flawless grammar. If that were the case, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and even Steve Jobs—who famously once said, “Think Different” instead of “Think Differently”—would have all been failures.
So, to my dear Grammar Guardian, I thank you for keeping our language from descending into chaos. But if I say, “one of my favorite” instead of “one of my favorites,” let’s just call it poetic license and move on, shall we?
After all, language is meant to connect us, not divide us.
(Unless, of course, you insist on using “irregardless.” Then, my friend, we may have a problem.)
What do you think? Should we let minor grammar slips slide, or should we continue fighting the good fight? Let me know in the comments (or should I say, “comment’s”?
Nalla Madras 