Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, etc.

[Khamûl]

Originally posted by RÃ*an
BTW, I've been assuming that your name means "Samwise Lover" - is that right? (I don't know what the 2008 means, though )

I think you're right about the first part. 2008 is probably the year she will graduate. I know I stick 2003 on the end of stuff sometimes.

[Rían]

*casts her mind back to the Jurassic period, which was when she was in high school*

Oh yeah, I remember doing that, too! Thanks!

Is that right, samwiselvr?

[Khadrane]

Originally posted by Hasty Ent
My biggest peeve is when people say "I could care less" when they mean "I COULD NOT care less."

YES!!! I HATE that! It drives me up the wall! I know that's the "normal" way to say it now, but it doesn't make sense.

I don't mind typos and spelling errors too much, but if they are too drastic (aka spelling an easy word like "they" wrong every time it's used) it can kinda bug me.

[azalea]

Aww, samwiselvr, no one is annoyed with you! It's not a problem at all because you're still just learning! There's plenty of time left in your school career to learn techniques to help your spelling, anyway! And some people are just not natural spellers! IF it does bother you, though, there's nothing wrong with creating your own spelling tests! In fact, that sounds like fun to me (I'm such a geek) -- there are a lot of words that I never can remember how to spell. I could make a list of them from the dictionary at the beginning of the week (maybe I'll just start with 5), then study them, practice writing them, etc., during the week, then on Saturday I'll test myself, or have my husband call out the words, and write them without looking. Then I can give myself a treat based on the results!
I always get stuck on "r" controlled vowels, like doctOR, computER, etc.
Ooo, I had a nice run-on in this post!

Oh, the "care less" thing -- I try to say it correctly now, but I think the argument for the other way (could) is "could you care more?" No? Then you could care less! I don't know, it's confusing, and frankly, I couldn't care less how people say it!

[crickhollow]

when my family would go on vacation (this inevitably means at least 15 hours in the car, and stops at every visitor information center between home and our destination), my mom would bring a small dictionary along, and we would have spelling bees.

[samwiselvr2008]

It's Samwise lover 2008 (2008 is when I graduate), that use to be my aol acount thing, so I made it that so that I could remember what it was, because at most of the places that I go, I only post ones, so I was going to make it that so that I could remember in case I only posted ones and then wanted to come back and post again some time later. However, I becaume adicted!

What anoys me, is that when ever there is a thread like this, I always post and explane that whatever I do, I can not spell good. Then, everyone that reads it and fills bad will say how sory they are and cleer it up. And then I will be looking around some a little bit later, and find those same people who had just apolagized and said that they understood complaning about my spelling again. IT IS SO UNFAIR! It's like, I fill that you are just saying that so that I wont hold anything against you, or something like that, and then you do it agian. If you hate my spelling, then hate it, that is your opinion, say so, and admit it. If you are fine with my spelling, then you can say so, but stick to it, don't say something that you don't mean, and don't just say it to go with the flow, or whatever. I want the truth, so tell it to me. Do not lie, and do not pretend to think something that you don't. Say what you mean.

That reminds me of a book that we are reading in class, called Justice for All. The main charicters father told him one night when they were eating out that he could pick anything on the menue exsept for shrimp (it was a sea food restraunt) so the boy picked a hamburger and fries. Then, the dad gets mad at him for picking that, when he had just given him permission to pich whatever he wanted to. Just like the dad had said something that he did not mean, you seam to do that with spelling. SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, NOT WHAT YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE. I WILL RESPECT YOUR OPINION OF MY SPELLING, SO YOU NEAD TO TELL THE TRUTH, I AM TIERD OF HEARING SOMETHING FROM SOMEONE (like in this case) AND THEN TURNING AROUND AND HEARING THE EXSACT OPASIT FROM THAT SAME PERSON. TELL THE TRUTH!!!!!

Lets imagine that Samwise had told Frodo that he would go with him to Mordor (wich he did), and then after shelobs lier (however you spell that) he took the Ring from Frodo, and ran of with it, and intead of sticking with his master, decided that he would just consider all of his promises a lie. Not only would he lie by not going with Mr. Frodo to Mordor, he would abandan him, and leave him to whatever fate he should come apon. After all, Frodo should have been more carefull, and should have noticed and fout Shelob like Sam had, right? What would have happend to the Ring? The Dark Lord would have probaly gotten it. What would have happend to Middle Earth? It would have been taken over by darkness. All because Samwise Gamgee told a lie!

[Andúril]

I want the truth, so tell it to me.

Okay. The truth is (to me at least, as best as a two minute viewing might allow) that your latest post has 19 spelling mistakes.

Sorry. I'm evil, and people are the enemy.

[Lizra]

The truth is I never once was "thinking of you" when posting on this thread! (except to tell you to get over it when you got wacky!)

[Rían]

samwiselvr2008 - well, you really have me confused. I didn't read back over the entire thread, but the only post directed at you that I can remember is the one just following your last post. So when you say:

Then, everyone that reads it and fills bad will say how sory they are and cleer it up. And then I will be looking around some a little bit later, and find those same people who had just apolagized and said that they understood complaning about my spelling again.

Can you at least not say "everyone" and "those same people"? I know that I, personally, have not attacked you, but have tried to encourage you (as have several others). I think that maybe you are feeling so bad about this that you are reading into other people's posts that we are attacking you, when we really aren't. That's so easy to do - imagine someone is thinking something that they aren't thinking over an issue that you are sensitive about. Maybe I'm missing something, but just looking back a few posts, I see azalea, lizra and I all encouraging you, not attacking you.

Now if people do complain about spelling errors in general, please do NOT assume that we are complaining about YOUR spelling - that's not fair to assume. As I said in one of my earlier posts, spelling errors just happen to catch my eye and bug me in the sense that an out-of-tune note would bug a musician, but I'm NOT bugged at the PERSON that made the spelling error or played the sour note.

[samwiselvr2008]

I was talking about what has happend in the past. People say that they understand and then they go back later and complane, and even if it is not about me (and it is true that some of you have been incouraging me), I still fill like it was somewhat directed towds me, you are, after all, talking about bad spelling, and I AM a bad speller, and you are talking about bad spellers in general. Sorry, but sometimes I take things to personly, and this is one of them, I have after all tried everything that I could. It is not fair that you talk about and complane about bad spelling, when I can not help it. Even if it is not directed towds me, it still seems like it is. I geuss that it is one of those things that you can not understand unless you have been there, just like how people can not understand life in a wheel chair like me, and tons of other people who have experiensed life in a wheel chair. Same with spelling, (I think), you can not say that you understand completly unless you yourself have been in my passision, or very simuler to where I am.

[Lizra]

Aaack! Do you find this as amusing ( in a sad sort of way) as I do Rian! Samwiselvr, Life isn't fair....That's one thing I do understand. Just do the best you can, and don't worry about what others think. One of my children wishes she could communicate as well as you do! But life isn't fair.

[Celandine]

grammer and spelling and punctashun i hate em all

[Rían]

samwiselvr2008 - Lizra is referring to the fact that one of my kids is in a wheelchair (she and I have been talking a bit thru PMs). I'm sorry that you are, too (at least it appears that you are - is that true?) because I know many of the difficulties - get somewhere, lift w/c out of car, lift son out of car, start going, encounter stairs, try to find elevator, etc. However, I see in the happy thread that you are also a Christian, like me, so we know that God very carefully allows certain painful things in our lives for a greater good that sometimes only He can see (but that we'll be able to see in heaven! and you and my son will be leaping for joy there, according to the Bible!)

Now I will NOT stop talking about spelling errors on this thread because you are possibly thinking that I am looking down on you - I have clearly stated that I am NOT thinking bad about you - please take me at my word, it is really unfair to me if you don't (and the other people who have very nicely taken their time to encourage you, too).

A very important, but difficult, lesson that I have learned over the years is to stop "filling in the blanks" of what I think people are thinking - my idea of what they are thinking is usually very wrong, and it only makes me fret and get upset. God gives us grace to deal with the things that ARE, not the billion and a half things that you can IMAGINE. I really hope that you can learn this, too - it is such an important lesson. You just need to do what you think is right and don't worry about what others may be thinking (now, you need to be as considerate as you can of others, but don't let what people may be thinking stop you from doing something that you know is right)- and ESPECIALLY don't "fill in the blanks" of things that they MIGHT be thinking, but MOST PROBABLY AREN'T!! This is all meant very kindly and I hope it helps you. You can PM me if you would like to talk some more

[Rían]

Looking back on your post, just one more bit of hopefully helpful advice from an older Christian woman to a younger - you need to concentrate on pleasing God, not people. You'll never please everyone, anyway - don't let it bind you in fear! So what if you can't spell? As long as it is not due to a moral fault (like you are too lazy to put effort into it, or you are really rebelling and refuse to try and do well) - then SO WHAT? God knows, and He looks at your heart, not at your spelling grades. You concentrate on getting your heart right with His help, ok?

[azalea]

I just want to clarify something, too: I was not saying your spelling doesn't annoy me just to be nice. When I say spelling mistakes annoy me, it of course doesn't mean that I am annoyed with the person. I guess a better way to say it is that a spelling mistake causes my brain to have to do a little more thinking. When I'm reading a post, and come to a word that is misspelled (is that spelled correctly? ), my brain has to stop for a split second to "rework" the word so that I can then continue reading. Almost everyone has spelling mistakes or typos in their posts at some point, so the conversation wasn't directed at any one person or group of people. I hope this clears things up a little. I really enjoy your posts, and the content of the post is the most important thing to me, not the spelling, punctuation mistakes, etc. I was being honest, in that spelling mistakes annoy me because I have to read the post more carefully, but it makes no difference if the poster is you or Sister Golden Hair or Aeryn or Rian or whoever making the post.

[crickhollow]

the 'moot is not the place to take things personally, samwiselvr. Most, if not all of us, used plenty of smilies in order to show that all was in fun. We also have made a point to poke fun at ourselves over this quirk we have about proof-reading posts. We like you whether or not you're grammatically correct

[samwiselvr2008]

Okay, well I'm sorry to for getting so mad. RÃ*an, I am not in a whell chair, but I was for seven weeks, so I know that I'm not an expert on it, but I sertantly know more about it then most people. I am not trying to please other people (well I am, but, it's not my mane focus), but some things just anoy me. I am sorry if I made anyone mad, it just anoys me, because I know that even if it is not directly stated at me, it may be somwhat. The point is, is that not everyone is or ever will be a great speller. I know that we all make spelling mistakes at some point, but I don't like it when people say things like "I hate spelling," because then I fill targeted. I guess that what I am trying to say, is that I don't mind if people say "I don't like it when people make careless mistakes, are when people always abreveate," but that could just be because I was doing that alot, untill someone did metion that. I know not to take things personly on the moot, but, it still makes me think.

[Laurelyn]

Samwise Lover:
I am a writing person. Spelling always came easy to me somehow from the day I decided to write. I just wrote in the letters.
Sometimes I got the word right, sometimes I got it wrong.

I'm not trying to rub anything in. It's just the way I am.

So: It's just the way you are. I don't mind. I couldn't mind. It's like my disregard of complete sentence requirements.
I like what you say. How you spell it doesn't make any difference. Perhaps sometimes I have to go over and read it twice to make sense of the words that are spelled incorrectly if they confuse me, but I honestly don't mind. I cannot be mad at you for trying.

One day you'll reach the star at the top of the sky, Samwise.
And I can see you're the type to keep climbing. Don't apologize to us for what to can't help, please. I'm gonna like you just fine however you spell things.

[Silverstripe]

I try not to get too annoyed when people don't use proper grammar and spelling, because I do the same thing myself. My opinion is that I shouldn't really complain about something unless I'm never guilty of it. I do correct other people's grammar sometimes, though. I'm trying not to do that, but it's hard to stop myself!
Anyway, sometimes statements that are technically grammatically correct are more confusing than bad grammar.
I enjoy what people have to say, though, whether they say it in a grammatically correct manner or not. So everyone just have fun! I couldn't care less about how you spell and whether you use proper grammar.

[crickhollow]

*sigh* I try not to read my campus paper unless I'm in the mood to be tolerant of grammatical errors. They've dramatically improved their spelling, so perhaps I shouldn't complain.

Still, in this edition, one of the writers quoted herself in the third person, and made this statement on the same article: "the suspect was an 18-year-old male that the police were suspicious of." Aside from the redundancy, one should never end a sentence with 'of'. It should read: "...18-year-old male of whom the police were suspicious."

*embarrassed* My only comfort is that I know other campus newspapers are just as bad.