Dear Good People, please remember that I am not here to grammar shame anyone. I am here to teach. As such, I use examples to hammer home my points, such as this one. Good people, I know you want to own businesses and side-hustles that you want clients to support. However, how can anyone trust your offerings, if you cannot communicate effectively?
What if this writer is a personal trainer? Would you simply overlook the bad writing and invest time and money with this person? Many others will not be so kind, so do whatever is necessary to improve your grammar and writing skills. You will be amazed at how much better people respond to you on the job and in your everyday life.
Now, in the comments, can you rewrite this post to clearly express what this writer is trying to say? Keep it simple and clear. :)
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The Urban Grammar Lady had to update her book of no-no's to include this lie from the pit of English language abuse hell! Flewed?! Ugh! So pretty. So ridiculous. Go to school, good people! By the way, @kevonstage is funny. :)
Dear Good People, Antisociable is not a word! I recently listened to a blues show and heard the host say this during his banter with the audience. TheUrban Grammar Lady realizes that many older southerners were raised to speak a particular way that is not always grammatically correct. No judgment here. Just know the correct phrasing. Do not say unsociable or antisociable!
Correction: antisocial. Example: The lady at the party was antisocial and refused to talk to anyone.
Once upon a time, The Urban Grammar Lady attempted to work at a call center between teaching jobs. A young, urban male in his late 20s was talking to another female co-worker when the lady's ears burned at what she heard, mid conversation: Urban male: "...you know they say spunt is a word. Female Co-worker: "What?" Urban male: "Yeah, you know like, I done spunt all my money out my check." This is where the lady had to intervene! The guy said this word was in the urban dictionary online. After strongly admonishing him to ignore that stuff, the lady pondered ways to help others improve their language skills, and one year later, this website was born. TIP: Spunt is not the past tense of the verb spend! Correction: spent. Example: I spent all of my money on groceries. spend - present tense spent - past tense Speak well good people! Hear the Audio:
These pronouns can be tricky to use in writing and in speech. These words all sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Therefore, they are calledhomophones. 1. Use "there" to express location (adverb) or to begin a sentence (pronoun).
Examples: Is anyone sitting over there near the door? We ran from there to the end of the street when the dog got loose. There are too many people in this movie theater.
2. Use "their" (possessive pronoun) when speaking of the possessions or belongings of two or more people.
Examples: Trisha and Alice changed their work schedules to take Zumba on Monday night.
possessions or belongings = work schedules
3. Use "they're" as a contraction for the phrase "they are." The indefinite pronoun 'they' refers to a pair or group of people while "are" is a form of the irregular verb 'be' which is used to form an auxiliary verb or helping verb.
Examples: Tommie and Kenyon said they're ready to go home. Tommie and Kenyon said they are ready to go home. **Note: Do not use contractions in formal or professional writing, such as essays or reports.
pron. Chiefly Southern & South Midland U.S.
Himself.
"Speakers of some vernacular American dialects, particularly in the South, may use the possessive reflexive form hisself instead of himself (as in He cut hisself shaving) and theirselves or theirself for themselves (as in They found theirselves alone). These forms reflect the tendency of speakers of vernacular dialects to regularize irregular patterns found in the corresponding standard variety."
The Urban Grammar Lady is here to help you improve your writing and speaking skills. Good communication is essential to the advancement of your academic, professional and personal goals. Visit often to sharpen your standard English language skills. Don't forget to tell a friend!
