# Grammar/Spelling Errors **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 12, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873 "2005-10-12T11:29:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/61 "2005-10-14T01:29:55Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > What about “Let I who am about to die leave”? Does that sound all right to you? It really grates on my ear. To be honest, it sounds better than the alternative “Let me who is about to die leave.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/62 "2005-10-14T01:35:51Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I agree that “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” sounds fine, and I would never dream of correcting it in informal speech or even in rhetorical speech. However, if I were proofreading a grant proposal, I would change this construction: it looks technically nonstandard to me, and in a situation where someone might be reading for grammar and making an important decision, I’d rather play it safe. > > Daniel Oh, absolutely. If it were important, I wouldn’t even go near the nonstandard construction, unless I was specifically aiming for a quote for some reason. “If there is one among you who has never sinned, that person may throw the first stone.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/63 "2005-10-14T01:56:57Z")
> [@BayleDomon](#): > > “If there is one among you who has never sinned, that person may throw the first stone.” 😃 As soon as Jesus said this, of course, the crowd parted and a little old lady came forward. She raised her hand and flung a rock, beaning the prostitute right in the forehead. Jesus rolled his eyes. “How come you always gotta mess everything up, Mom?” Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/64 "2005-10-14T05:15:27Z")
**Oy!** and **LHoD** are correct on the use of possessive pronouns with gerunds. Hell, that was no fun. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/65 "2005-10-14T07:06:58Z")
> [@RSSchen](#): > > So what people, did you all get together without me and agree that we were no longer going to snipe about people’s poor grammar/spelling? I just read a thread in GQ that I had to go over 3 times to get the context of because half (it seemed) of the entire post appeared to be misspelled? > > Did I miss this memo? Are we just letting people slide? Or are we actually getting more tolerant of people who can’t write to save their lives? > > I’m sure this invokes the law…where’s my spelling/grammar error, Gaudere? 🙂 I’ve just been extremely busy; sorry. Won’t happen again. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/66 "2005-10-14T10:30:52Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Possibly because you meant to type “that a gerund”? 🙂 (Actually, this is an example of a typo really obfuscating meaning: I had to read your post several times before I could figure out what you may have meant). Other than that, I agree with you. Curse you, Gaudere! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/67 "2005-10-14T10:32:22Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Possibly because you meant to type “that a gerund”? 🙂 (Actually, this is an example of a typo really obfuscating meaning: I had to read your post several times before I could figure out what you may have meant). Other than that, I agree with you. > [@Oy!](#): > > Curse you, Gaudere! :smack: . And again!!! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/68 "2005-10-14T16:08:09Z")
> [@wring](#): > > **LHOD** my rule is (generally) > > 1. Don’t correct other people’s spelling/grammar[.] > 2. Unless they’ve created an unintentional funny in the process. > 3. When asked, do admit that you (often) will skip over posts by posters who refuse to use capital letters at all, or paragraph breaks. [Period added by me] I can tentatively agree to these rules, with an addition to Rule #1 - Don’t correct other people’s spelling/grammar _unless they keep making the same damned mistake over and over and over and I get tired of looking at it, and how are people going to learn if no one ever tells them?_ ---
**Author:** ![Foaming\_Cleanser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Foaming\_Cleanser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foaming_Cleanser)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/69 "2005-10-14T19:13:53Z")
> [@RSSchen](#): > > I’m sure this invokes the law…where’s my spelling/grammar error, Gaudere? 🙂 By descending into the depths of nit-pickery, Gaudere might point out that an ellipsis should be used only to denote the truncation of a statement or quotation. To denote a pause, as in the sentence quoted above, a long dash is better because a situation could arise where a pause indicated by an ellipsis could be confused with truncation and thereby mislead the reader. In any case, the ellipsis above needs a space at each end because the first dot could be mistaken for a period — unless the first phrase of a truncation is a complete sentence, when the first dot _should_ be a period. But if this were a truncation, three more dots would have to follow, with the final dot — being consistent with a three-dot ellipsis, where the first dot is not confused with a period — having a space after it, and with the first letter of the following sentence being capitalized. > [@Case Sensitive](#): > > So if we return to the paraphrase and expand it a little, we get "Let Case, who is is of course without sin, cast the first stone. . . . > > {I am previewing like a motherfucker} Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/70 "2005-10-14T20:10:23Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > As soon as Jesus said this, of course, the crowd parted and a little old lady came forward. She raised her hand and flung a rock, beaning the prostitute right in the forehead. > > Jesus rolled his eyes. “How come you always gotta mess everything up, Mom?” > > Daniel loving this joke! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/71 "2005-10-14T21:03:21Z")
> [@Foaming Cleanser](#): > > By descending into the depths of nit-pickery, Gaudere might point out that an ellipsis should be used only to denote the truncation of a statement or quotation. To denote a pause, as in the sentence quoted above, a long dash is better because a situation could arise where a pause indicated by an ellipsis could be confused with truncation and thereby mislead the reader. In any case, the ellipsis above needs a space at each end because the first dot could be mistaken for a period — unless the first phrase of a truncation is a complete sentence, when the first dot _should_ be a period. > > But if this were a truncation, three more dots would have to follow, with the final dot — being consistent with a three-dot ellipsis, where the first dot is not confused with a period — having a space after it, and with the first letter of the following sentence being capitalized.Oh well. Stylebooks differ on the finer points of ellipses. Some put spaces before and after. Others don’t. Some only eliminate the space if the ellipsis indicates a truncated word. Some like the ellipsis in brackets in quotations. All seem to agree an ellipsis ending a sentence requires a period. You can make a proper ellipsis on your PC keyboard by holding down Alt and typing 0133 on the numeric keypad: … ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/72 "2005-10-14T21:40:45Z")
Seeing as a couple of people have seen fit to correct grammar, punctuation and spelling in my posts here, here is my official response: 1. I have vision issues - having had eye surgery this summer fixed some of 'em, but others remain, and there are times I simply cannot see the difference between some letters (such as a vs. e) or the difference between/lack thereof puncutation ( , vs. .) depending on which computer I’m at, what the lighting is and how my eyes are that day. 2. I also have carpal tunnel and arthritus in my hands, which also have an effect on my typing skills, and desire to go over and retype stuff. 3. I also don’t spell worth shit (relatively). My parents always thought it was damned funny when standardized test results came back - in the 95+ percentile in all but one category - spelling. 42nd percentile, thank you. My professional life revolves around spellcheck. There are some common words that I can’t seem to remember the correct spelling to save my soul. Liscense for example. that looks wrong. license? lisence? fuck it. which is why, I generally don’t give a shit when folks point out errors. Two of the reasons for them have to do w/disabilities. The third is what I like to think of as a “charming, if excentric, trait”. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/73 "2005-10-14T21:46:34Z")
> [@wring](#): > > The third is what I like to think of as a “charming, if **excentric** , trait”. {bolding mine} 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/74 "2005-10-14T21:53:58Z")
See? (and you didn’t even notice the arthr…arthrit um that disease one) ---
**Author:** ![ethanwinfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@ethanwinfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethanwinfield)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/75 "2005-10-14T22:56:34Z")
Damn! All this time I have been misquoting Jesus. I thought it was, “He who is without sin shall cast the first stone.” In that sentence, I don’t question that he is the subject. When you add, “Let” to the beginning of the sentence, doesn’t the subject shift from he to the implied you? Maybe we could just leave him out of it and throw our own stones. Let’s throw stones! Maybe it was all just a coping skill to maintain my sanity. I will now have to ask all the English teachers at work. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/76 "2005-10-15T17:13:54Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Sorry, but I’m not buying it: if you take the relative clause “who is without sin” out, you’re left with “Let he…cast the first stone.”, which just doesn’t work. Commas and periods go inside the quotation mark, if you please (colons and semi-colons reside outside). Those from the United Kingdom, like Mr. Wright, are excused from this restriction. There is also no need for the period in this instance, either. This is sufficient: > [@](#): > > …you’re left with “Let he…cast the first stone,” which just doesn’t work. By the way, if there’s an error in my post, it was intentional, so we could all chuckle at the delicious (but deliberately inserted) irony. If there are no errors, I win. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/77 "2005-10-15T21:49:41Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Commas and periods go inside the quotation mark, if you please (colons and semi-colons reside outside). Those from the United Kingdom, like Mr. Wright, are excused from this restriction. There is also no need for the period in this instance, either. This is sufficient:By the way, if there’s an error in my post, it was intentional, so we could all chuckle at the delicious (but deliberately inserted) irony. If there are no errors, I win. You are Scott Plaid and I claim the prize. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/78 "2005-10-16T00:02:37Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > If there are no errors, I win. I got yer prize right here, pal. {grabs crotch, thrusts pelvis aggressively towards **Stratocaster** } ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/79 "2005-10-16T00:13:47Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > You are Scott Plaid and I claim the prize. Let’s not forget that commas typically precede coordinating conjunctions that separate independent clauses, a glaring absence in your wretched sentence. Consequently, I can’t take your charge seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873/80 "2005-10-16T00:21:41Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > I got yer prize right here, pal. {grabs crotch, thrusts pelvis aggressively towards **Stratocaster** } I’ll allow the “yer” as a deliberate colloquialism, but “grabs” should start in upper case, this entire subsequent clause is incomplete, and there’s no closing punctuation. Don’t tell me about message board conventions, either. You should be using parentheses here. How can you expect me to take your crotch grab seriously with such shoddy sentence construction? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-spelling-errors/325873.md?page=5)