Information/Fun – National Grammar Day

The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar has declared March 4, National Grammar Day. How do you celebrate it? Speak well! Write well! Read well! And on March 4, if you see a sign with an appalling apostrophe, send a kind note to the owner.

If your local radio announcer says “between you and I,” set him straight with a friendly email. (It should be “between you and me.”)

If you receive a message from your bank saying, “After reviewing the file, please send us …,” then tell the writer about misplaced modifiers. (It should be “Having reviewed the file, I need you to send me …”)

Use the 4th as a day to upgrade your grammar skills. Read business correspondence with particular care, looking for errors. If something does not look right, check it out.

Why not have a grammar potluck lunch at your office and spend the time discussing the grammar errors that “set your teeth on edge.” Here are some questions for discussion:

1. Are grammar and spelling regarded as important skills within your organization?

2. What are your thoughts about the sender of an email message that is riddled with punctuation errors?

3. Which grammar errors irritate you the most?

4. Do you know of any grammar or spelling error that has caused a significant problem?

5. Is there a grammar point you are not sure of?

6. What is your favourite grammar book? When was it published?

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who decides to celebrate National Grammar Day.